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Post by mrsfields on Mar 24, 2012 15:34:02 GMT 1
my lads seem to be happiest either doing absolutely nothing other than mooching about in their fields (however, their mooching consists of A LOT of high speed shenanigans and extreme playing - they're definitely not amblers lol!!), OR when they're in regular work - the in-between can just be awful, as i often feel like i go back to square one every time, and it can really knock my confidence when they're antsy and bucky through not being worked enough... but when i persevere and keep up their work levels they really are a joy to ride - super mellow but incredibly responsive - just lovely, and they really seem to enjoy themselves too, and really "listen" and learn like sponges! i'm also better when i'm riding regularly - it totally mellows me out as i have a super-intense stressful job, and i just feel so much better in myself when i've been doing tons of riding...
maybe all too often we can get to the tricky "in-between" stage and give up... but it really is worth working thru it (obviously as long as there are no underlying pain/health issues) - i for one feel encouraged to persevere with my lads, thinking about it this way...
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Post by jes on Mar 24, 2012 17:08:20 GMT 1
Very interesting thread indeed. I have two horses and struggle to keep them both exercised enough, not helped by my gelding being difficult to hack out alone, however I do what I can with the help of my husband once a week and an occasional friend.
Neither of them have any 'issues' as such, both are healthy and sound. Yes, my gelding has always been nappy on his own due to his own lack of confidence, but over the years I have worked very hard at this and we can now do short 20-30 minute hacks on our own.
I have noticed that they are both much easier to handle generally when they are working regularly, and this doesn't have to be hard work. Working them just 3 or 4 times a week makes a big difference, and that can be hacking, in hand work, going for a walk in hand, even if just for 20 minutes. In the depths of winter when I could only work them at weekends and not always then due to the weather, they were both more grumpy and less amenable.
LisaP you make a good point about using sharers/riders to help exercise. I wish I could find a suitable person!
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Post by rifruffian on Mar 24, 2012 20:57:12 GMT 1
hullo rowanrachel good report. Despite not knowing you or your horse I want to make a suggestion......that the pony should not be ridden unbitted. If you are going through the same 'mind wars' about bits, as you have about bare feet, I'll make another suggestion; full cheek snaffle, a thin one for a small mouth. You need the control offered by a bit in difficult circumstances; of course the horse needs some training to respond correctly. If the horse is not familiar with bit, you need to spend some time to 'mouth the horse'. That's all; good luck next ride.
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rowanrachel
Olympic Poster
Life is better when you share it with Horses :-)
Posts: 741
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Post by rowanrachel on Mar 24, 2012 21:45:24 GMT 1
hullo rowanrachel good report. Despite not knowing you or your horse I want to make a suggestion......that the pony should not be ridden unbitted. If you are going through the same 'mind wars' about bits, as you have about bare feet, I'll make another suggestion; full cheek snaffle, a thin one for a small mouth. You need the control offered by a bit in difficult circumstances; of course the horse needs some training to respond correctly. If the horse is not familiar with bit, you need to spend some time to 'mouth the horse'. That's all; good luck next ride. Hi Rif - oh how well you know me already :-) yes I go through several different crisis moments about all these things on a regular basis. :-) I am looking into different options and am borrowing a bittless bridle to try out but also would like her to be comfortable with a bit. Her owners who gave her to me are determined I don't ride her in anything but a 'happy mouth' the one they bought is a loose ring with roller and to be honest I've tried two sizes and she HATES it. I'm not really impressed with happy mouths anyway and she's prone to chewing and mouthing so even if I could keep her in it I think shed demolish it in no time. My friend has a full cheek snaffle I am going to try. Honey has been ridden in her past but has had some very severe bits and contraptions used on her in previous homes and the first time I tried her with a bit we took about 20 steps back in our training and she lost alot of trust in me (but it wasn't done in the best way and I was kind of pushed into it by her owners wanting to check I was ok with everything before I took her- ) so I've been a bit of a chicken with the butting issue to be honest! But I'm going to persevere- and have a friend going to give me some lessons with it when I find a bit that suits. :-) Ps sorry for hijacking the post talking about my bitting! And thanks Rif- I'm always glad of constructive comments- ps honey's feet have been super!
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Post by jennyb on Mar 25, 2012 15:09:44 GMT 1
Well, I got on a very spooky and sharp horse this morning, jogging and spooking at everything. Brilliant, I thought, he's obviously got lots of energy! So we went for a fast hack, lots of canter later and he was buckle end, plodding along like a donkey. Physically he is tip top, he's in great health but he likes to play and is a very sharp and clever little horse, he thrives on the work.
As an aside, I was very amused to discover that saying "Hi Ho Gazdag! AWAAAAYYY!!!" in canter actually makes him go faster! I was in a very silly mood today and said it to him mid-canter, he put his little ears back and zoomed off, I was giggling madly. Thank goodness there wasn't anyone around....
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Post by rosemaryhannah on Mar 25, 2012 15:30:31 GMT 1
Watch it Jenny - you'll turn round and find Johnnie Depp just to your right ....
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Post by Kelly Marks on Mar 25, 2012 18:46:01 GMT 1
"you'll turn round and find Johnnie Depp just to your right .... "
Goodness! Remind me what you have to do to get that again?!
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Post by jennyb on Mar 26, 2012 10:12:47 GMT 1
Really?! I'll be doing that again then!!
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Post by BJMM on Mar 26, 2012 10:27:20 GMT 1
;D ;D I do that sort of thing with Blaze and I'm really far too old to be tearing around the countryside like a madwoman ;D but it is so much FUN!!
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Post by laurac on Mar 26, 2012 13:10:00 GMT 1
Excellent thread, not read it all yet but just commenting yes I do believe horses do need physical work and it should improve their behaviour and well being However when I first had big fella and had problems which i couldnt resolve I sent him to a professional yard for schooling livery for 4 whole months to be worked (£170 a week ) It achieved absolutely nothing, Big Fella would still rear everytime he left his buddies in the stables and would rear outside the indoor school, be difficult to handle, the professionals at the yard just said was 'he just doesnt want to work' This was after he had passed a 5 stage vetting and had vets/back lady/ saddlers etc look at him, in his case it was physical & emotional problems and no amount of 'work' was ever going to sort him out, but it did take a long time to find the right people to fix him and a lot of patience
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Post by rosemaryhannah on Mar 26, 2012 21:57:52 GMT 1
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Post by 2 bays & a grey:D on Mar 28, 2012 12:01:28 GMT 1
wondered what the reference to JOhnny Depp was ;D
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Post by june on Mar 28, 2012 21:12:12 GMT 1
Some of the polo ponies get winter off and we're at the stage now where we are starting to get them fit. We do 2 weeks building up walk, 2 weeks building up trot and 2 weeks building up canter before they start playing. The first couple of days walk can be quite interesting with some of them. However most of them just slot back into the routine and don't give us any problems at all. Once we start them back in work they work 6 days a week until they are fit and then we drop it down to 4 or maximum 5 days a week or which 3 days is usually playing polo.
I always say that polo ponies are the easiest horses to ride. Once you've ridden a polo pony it is hard to go back to riding anything else. I've ridden one horse in the last year that wasn't a polo pony and was amazed how slow the response to an aid was. Not that it was that slow but it was way slower than with a polo pony! Polo ponies have a great work ethic and nothing much fazes them as they are used to sticks and balls whizzing past their heads. We exercise them round our local farmer's fields with whirly balloon bird scarers, the ones that go bang going off and a hawk kite and they just walk past them as if they aren't there.
So, I'm not sure its as simple as work that makes horses easy. I think routine, clarity and consistency, confident handling and riding, plenty of turnout, not too many calories and then work is the key - oh, and being pain free is important too!
PS Anyone want to ride some polo ponies? We've got 56 here at the moment with 20 coming back into work so slow work, one member of staff off as her son has had a lung transplant, and its manic!
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Post by rosemaryhannah on Mar 29, 2012 23:47:54 GMT 1
Can't remember where you are June - south of Ayrshire anyhow! I have family down south ...
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Post by june on Mar 30, 2012 19:39:53 GMT 1
We're in a village called Shillington on the Herts/Beds border.
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