Sunday, February 26, 2012

Tiny Terror and Groundwork

Yesterday I was grounded due to high winds, so none of the horses worked. I was originally going to feed them and toss them out allowing me to get home early. Best laid plans. Then my dad calls saying he was on his way to paint the feed room. There no way I can leave while he is working.
While he did the small wall, I went out to talk to the boys. I started playing with Winston, doing stretches and him following me around. Next thing I know there is a spoiled baby pushing between us. I ignored him as best I could. Eventually Winston went off to eat hay and I let Roscoe come up to me. We did some stretches and worked on our halts. It was all good until I was heading back to the barn. Roscoe had gone to check out the Appies running around, but then he saw me leaving. Soon I had a cantering pony headed my way. Not normally a problem, but today he decided that he would play with me like he plays with DaVinci. Hmm...600lbs of rearing colt vs me, not good. The worst part was he would not back off and let me leave. I literally took off my glove and was fending him off. I learned to move into him, crazy right but it worked. That boy puts his head up and looks down with trouble in his eyes. Some how, some way I escaped. I immediately went and got his halter and the dressage whip. Time to put the Tiny Terror in his place. He only tried once on the lead and I put a stop to it at once. We so want to establish manners before he is bigger. The last time he pulled these stunts, he was 6-8 weeks old and a lot smaller. Hopefully he just got the wind up his butt.
Today the weather was much better. Comrade and I extended the work we did last week by adding a bigger jump. His trot work is really coming along, but his canter is still weak due to lack of fitness. Using the small cavaletti, we worked on picking up leads. Then I added a small "X" after the cavaletti. He is starting to get the idea of push. Then I added the large vertical. I was happy that he was able to push over the fence and maintain the canter after. With time and work impulsion will come, but the glimmers I see now give me hope.
At my barn I decided on ground work for Rosemary and Winston. I started by lunging Rosemary, then I put her in the balancing system.
Not my pony, but shows the system
The system allows the horse to connect the front the the back while figuring it out for themselves.There are three settings so you can change the difficulty level. Perfect for Rosemary who needs to learn connection. She looked great, better than that picture above. If I can get that while under saddle I will be thrilled. After working her both ways, I took the system off and used the surcingle with the lunge line to long line her just at the walk. She stomped her feet some, but she moved on well. I can't wait for her to start driving training.
Next was Winston. He was a bit of a tourist during the warm up lunging. Once in the system, he focused on the work. He knows about connection and I was more interested in burning some calories off the big boy. We ended with transitions. Winston was a happy pony.
As the sun started setting, I hopped on DaVinci. Surprise, Surprise my pony was cruising today. He felt great. Every ride I have on him is a blessing considering his knee infection could have been the end of his working career. Also, mom and I have noticed he is calmer and quieter. He has been on the natural herbs, Heavens Peace for a couple weeks now and really seems to be working.  We have even started Winston on the herbs to see if they help him as well.
As for the Tiny Terror, he enjoyed a long nap while everyone was working. Tomorrow I will sic mom on Roscoe. She won't be distracted by those cute ears.

3 comments:

  1. Your tiny terror is adorable! Thanks for stopping by my blog - glad we found each other. :)

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    1. And he knows it too. Your grey boy certainly caught my eye. I have a soft spot for grey horses, though mine tend to be smaller :)

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  2. Thanks for following my blog as well! I've returned the favor and I'm glad to have found your blog.

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