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Post by wabuska on Dec 24, 2012 9:43:18 GMT 1
Fine wooly coats.. and happy expressive youngsters. They really warm the heart. Well done!
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Post by maryanne on Dec 24, 2012 9:46:55 GMT 1
Yes please to the workshop on the 13th! As far as I know I'm free  |
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Post by kafee on Dec 24, 2012 12:39:55 GMT 1
Yes please to the workshop on the 13th! As far as I know I'm free OK, you're top of the list. Is there anything in particular you'd like to work on? I guess we'll be do a session with the yearlings, and a session with the older ones again, that worked well. We didn't do as much I'd expected, but I felt what we did do was very interesting, useful and constructive. Fine wooly coats.. and happy expressive youngsters. They really warm the heart. Well done! Thank you kanga, they are a delight to work with, so friendly and trusting. Can't wait to turn them out, they're ready. |
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Post by sophielouise on Dec 24, 2012 13:08:08 GMT 1
Yes, please for another workshop! |
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Post by SarahW on Dec 24, 2012 13:28:47 GMT 1
I'm looking forward to this already and have put it in my diary IN PEN! With all the ponies in one place and more or less the same students, we should be able to get lots done and make a start in the practical stuff straight away. It will be great to see how well the foals have grown by then as they were already in great condition. The Forest has been good for them this year.
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Post by alonerawnut on Dec 24, 2012 16:56:47 GMT 1
I'm free Thurs / Fri to come and help - would be lovely to see how they've been getting on!
And I'm definitely up for another workshop in April - please add me to the list.
Happy Christmas!
Laura x
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Post by kafee on Dec 24, 2012 22:15:51 GMT 1
ok, on the list for an IH workshop on 13th April so far are: me, Sarah, maryanne, Sophie and alonerawnut!!!! Is Jenny free on the day, Sarah, would love her to join us again!?
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Post by SarahW on Dec 24, 2012 23:22:52 GMT 1
I can certainly ask.....
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Post by kafee on Dec 26, 2012 11:21:39 GMT 1
Thanks Sarah. Sunny and Excaliber are definitely ready to go to the field. Excaliber decided a few days ago that pony nuts are GOOD, so I increased his ration to the same as Sunny's. On Christmas eve I did some leading work with with him in the corral, and he was almost foot perfect. Instead of picking feet up, I sponged pig oil and sulphur on to his legs as they have some lumps on them and I don't know if it's mud or scabs. Then I started doing some leading work with Sunny. It was going really well to start with, and then Excaliber decided to have a hoon around in his side, which set Sunny off. He was very good in that he didn't break away from me, but this clearly wasn't a good idea. So when they'd finished, I got Sunny to walk a few steps and stop next to me several times, keeping well away from the dividing fence, and left it at that. I've reduced their ration of pony nuts!!! I always do the poo picking while they're eating their buckets and/or hay, so that they are not around me while I'm bending down. Excaliber had finished his bucket by the time I started to poo pick his side this morning, and as he had plenty of hay left from last night he didn't start to eat hay. Instead he walked over and stood next to me, and then carefully but delibrately turned his bum towards me!!!   Although he was very calm and quiet, having him seen him ruthlessly double barrel Sunny, I wasn't going to stay there, so I moved to pick up elsewhere, and he did the exactly the same, all over again. This happened 5 or 6 times until I gave in and scratched his dock: yes, that's what he wanted! I think I'll leave scratching the docks of foals until they have properly learnt to respect humans in future, for reasons of safety and sanity! When I finished poo picking, I gave both foals a good session of scratching behind the ears before leaving, and this is what happened next:-  Happy Christmas everybody. |
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Post by maryanne on Dec 28, 2012 10:04:57 GMT 1
Ahhh they love each other really! Hope you managed to get them to the big field ok in all this horrible weather (I remember back in early December your lane to the field had water running down it!). For the workshop on the 13th maybe we could do some of the clicker training we spoke about before? Also maybe some basic ground rules such as leading/backing up/moving feet etc? My NF tries everytime to 'get into my space' - even though i ask her out of it each time. I am sure it's something to do with my body language not being clear enough. She does seem to respond well once she understands. Maybe long lining too with some of the older ones? Hope you had a lovely Christmas |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2012 21:42:57 GMT 1
What Kafee hasn't told you is that she's done a brilliant job in continuing to teach these babes to lead. Me and Laura (alonerawnut) went over this morning to "help" and it rather proved how well Kafee has done. After a little leading around his corral, I took Sunny for a little walk up the garden and back and he was a proper little IH Babe, walked when I walked, stopped when I stopped. He got a little excited and tried to run and leap and play a couple of times but when I declined to join in he came back next to me and led nicely again. Laura did the same with Excalibur who was a little less keen on leaving his corral, his leading isn't quite as advanced as Sunny's but he has come on a long way too. At the workshop he was quite nervous of people other than Kafee whereas today he was a big brave chap interested in meeting both of us and with a little persuasion he walked out of his corral and up the garden and back. He also tried a couple of attempts at bouncy bouncy games until he realised no one was joining in  We did have to tempt him with some pony nuts on the way back into the corral when he got a bit sticky in a narrow section but he responded calmly and walked on nicely without rushing. I think it's safe to say both these boys have seriously landed on their feet with Kafee |
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Post by kafee on Dec 28, 2012 22:13:52 GMT 1
Ahhh they love each other really! Hope you managed to get them to the big field ok in all this horrible weather (I remember back in early December your lane to the field had water running down it!). Hello maryanne, I'm afraid I abandoned any idea of moving them to the field today, due to the wet! The lane is running with water but that's normal, it's basically a water course in winter! It has been a torrent after the heavy rain this past week, which is exceptional, but we're used to coping with it. As it had rained a lot in the night and the sky was still dripping, I decided that although I would be able to drive far enough into the field to unload the foals, I wouldn't be able to drive out again. However, michelle, alonerawnut and I had a very productive morning leading the foals out onto the lawn and back again. It actually stopped raining for most of the morning. It wasn't without the odd outburst from the foal being led, due to the foal left 'behind' having a mad moment or two, which set the other one off, but all in all, they were very well behaved under the circumstances. Excaliber didn't want to leave the safety of the corral, but the enticement of a handful of fresh grass worked wonders. Once out on the lawn he didn't want to go back, and who can blame him, it's boring, and wet and squashy in the corrall, but a bowl of pony nuts was enough to get his undivided attention!  Both foals lead beautifully, (apart from when the other was having a mad moment,) hey-ho!  Michelle worked with Sunny, and alonerawnut with Excaliber, and both coped really well with the waywardness. Excaliber also found a bosum buddy who would scratch his dock in alonerawnut: he was in ectasy! (Couldn't see any lice, but I will deosect them anyway.) We had a chat about what to do on the 13th, we missed clicker training, but I've now added that in. Longlining is on the list, 3 of the older ponies can be longreined, and they are all at different levels. |
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Post by kafee on Dec 28, 2012 22:37:08 GMT 1
What Kafee hasn't told you is that she's done a brilliant job in continuing to teach these babes to lead. Me and Laura (alonerawnut) went over this morning to "help" and it rather proved how well Kafee has done. After a little leading around his corral, I took Sunny for a little walk up the garden and back and he was a proper little IH Babe, walked when I walked, stopped when I stopped. He got a little excited and tried to run and leap and play a couple of times but when I declined to join in he came back next to me and led nicely again. Laura did the same with Excalibur who was a little less keen on leaving his corral, his leading isn't quite as advanced as Sunny's but he has come on a long way too. At the workshop he was quite nervous of people other than Kafee whereas today he was a big brave chap interested in meeting both of us and with a little persuasion he walked out of his corral and up the garden and back. He also tried a couple of attempts at bouncy bouncy games until he realised no one was joining in We did have to tempt him with some pony nuts on the way back into the corral when he got a bit sticky in a narrow section but he responded calmly and walked on nicely without rushing. I think it's safe to say both these boys have seriously landed on their feet with Kafee Aw, thanks Michelle. I confess the conditions the foals are living in are not perfect, due to the weather and the age of the fencing etc., but the foals are doing well despite that. It was really good to work with Michelle and alonerawnut. We discussed what we were going to do and how to approach it beforehand, which resulted in fantastic experiences for the foals. Brilliant!!! They are both great IHers, who were calm and confident, which the foals picked up on and responded to. Sunny has been getting a bit cheeky with me lately, but he behaved beautifully for Michelle, and Excaliber fed on alonerawnut's quiet leadership, and found that he really could go through the 'dreaded gateway' without being attacked, and it was nice outside. |
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Post by SarahW on Dec 29, 2012 10:26:17 GMT 1
I think everyone is in the same boat (in some cases literally) and just having to do what they can with the mud, water, rain and wind.
We can certainly look at clicker next time - perhaps how to set up the association and avoid mugging behaviour. It is hard to fit everything in when we get so engrossed with what we're doing with one set of ponies! If we have the same set of people more or less, we'll be able to start on practical stuff straight away. Perhaps we should start with the older ponies this time round.
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Post by kafee on Dec 29, 2012 15:09:41 GMT 1
As the foals were so brilliant at the leading yesterday, I decided to repeat what we did. I took Sunny out and down the lawn first, and then back in. He had a bit of a whoosh on the way past Excaliber, but apart from that you wouldn't have guessed that leading is all quite new to him. He didn't want to go through the narrow bit by Excaliber on the way back, but I insisted and he did it. Then I took him back out onto the lawn again and let him graze for 10 minutes in hand. The fences aren't safe for him to be loose and hooning around. Excaliber was calm and continued to eat his hay while Sunny was out.
Then it was Excaliber's turn. Having left his bowl with some pony nuts in it just outside his gate, I caught him and lead him around in the corral a few times, before opening the gate and walking out. I think he had spotted the bowl, but he followed me out calmly on to the lawn, where I let him eat the nuts. We walked all the way down the lawn and back, then I picked up the bowl, added some more nuts and then lead him back into the corral with the bowl and let him finish the nuts. He was beautifully behaved. I then led him out of the corral onto the lawn without the bowl and let him graze in hand for about 5 minutes. Sunny was a bit worried about being left behind, but calmer than yesterday. Excaliber walked back into the corral without the need for the bowl.
I now feel confident that I could unload and lead them up the track to the field, if I had a few helpers. Any volunteers?
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Although he was very calm and quiet, having him seen him ruthlessly double barrel Sunny, I wasn't going to stay there, so I moved to pick up elsewhere, and he did the exactly the same, all over again. This happened 5 or 6 times until I gave in and scratched his dock: yes, that's what he wanted! 
We did have to tempt him with some pony nuts on the way back into the corral when he got a bit sticky in a narrow section but he responded calmly and walked on nicely without rushing.
Michelle worked with Sunny, and alonerawnut with Excaliber, and both coped really well with the waywardness. Excaliber also found a bosum buddy who would scratch his dock in alonerawnut: he was in ectasy! (Couldn't see any lice, but I will deosect them anyway.)