Post by penny70 on Jan 13, 2011 14:57:19 GMT 1
Don't EVER let anyone tell you your Highland is either stubborn or lazy. Yes, she may be fat, but if they are being stubborn or lazy it will ALWAYS have an underlying reason, even if it is only that you are riding them before they have had their breakfast, and actually they'd like their breakfast first thanks mum!!
Highlands (I have one too) are extremely intelligent animals - too intelligent for their own goods sometimes, as they expect us stupid humans to understand everything they are trying to say to us. Sadly, we are often too thick to notice what they are attempting to communicate, so they start doing things like plant, or buck or whatever.
My Highland used to yank the reins out of my hands whenever I rode - I got the dentist, changed bits, had the saddle checked, got his back done etc, thought that it must be just lazy pony...a year on I got a different dentist out (couldn't get hold of the first one) who found terrible hooks that he said would have been there at least a couple of years...did his thing and lo and behold yanking pony stops yanking and has not done it since.
If that didn't teach me something about him, nothing would.
I know also that they can be naughty sometimes, and Mouse will yank sometimes with my 7 yo on board, but I think that's a combination of him pulling back when 7yo pulls him, and doing it because it makes Mouses life easier (Mouse and 7yo stop for a while for 7yo to gather reins again!). Clever, you see, not daft!
I'm absolutely not having a go at you by the way, but at the people who don't understand native ponies...we need as many people as possible on our side, as there are too many people ready to have a go at the hairy ponies (and their owners) of the world, I have found.
Highlands (I have one too) are extremely intelligent animals - too intelligent for their own goods sometimes, as they expect us stupid humans to understand everything they are trying to say to us. Sadly, we are often too thick to notice what they are attempting to communicate, so they start doing things like plant, or buck or whatever.
My Highland used to yank the reins out of my hands whenever I rode - I got the dentist, changed bits, had the saddle checked, got his back done etc, thought that it must be just lazy pony...a year on I got a different dentist out (couldn't get hold of the first one) who found terrible hooks that he said would have been there at least a couple of years...did his thing and lo and behold yanking pony stops yanking and has not done it since.
If that didn't teach me something about him, nothing would.
I know also that they can be naughty sometimes, and Mouse will yank sometimes with my 7 yo on board, but I think that's a combination of him pulling back when 7yo pulls him, and doing it because it makes Mouses life easier (Mouse and 7yo stop for a while for 7yo to gather reins again!). Clever, you see, not daft!
I'm absolutely not having a go at you by the way, but at the people who don't understand native ponies...we need as many people as possible on our side, as there are too many people ready to have a go at the hairy ponies (and their owners) of the world, I have found.