Bentley’s Training

[Kelly]

I drove Bentley out in the hood this morning, he did awesome!







Bentleys training has moved at an incredible rate. I keep thinking… am I rushing things?… am I going too fast for him…. but I feel he is ready as he wants to keep learning new things and going to new places. We have worked really hard to get where we are today. Bentley and I do something fun every single day! It isn't just the few things I’ve posted here on the forum, there is so much training involved in creating a solid trail driving horse and we are both having a blast!

 

[Kelly]

Confusion!

I just want to clear up any confusion you might be having, I mean jeeze, two dark horses and both their names start with a “B” how do ya know which one is who?

There might be a quiz later, so I need ya to pay attention

……….



It’s later! Quiz time! Which horse is this? Breezy or Bentley?

If you guessed Breezy then you are right! First of all, I haven’t driven Bentley under a bridge next to water yet and secondly Breezys mane falls to the right side. I can hardly tell them apart when they are out in the back pasture with their fly masks on




Quiz number 2:
which horse is this? Breezy or Bentley?

If you guessed Bentley then you are right! First of all, If you had read the previous post then you would have seen this same picture of Bentley and secondly Bentleys mane falls to the left side. Ok, there we go, easy peasy that should clear up any confusion on which horse I am driving at any given moment


OH OH OH… Bentley has a “L” in his name so his mane falls to the Left and Breezy has a “R” in his name so his mane falls to the Right

 

[Penny Voss]

Big plans this weekend, HUGE! We packed up and headed to McCown Valley State Park for Bentley first overnight camping trip. I got everything all set up at camp and off we went to find some trails….
View attachment 50159


We found the trails… what a disappointment! The grass on the trails were taller than my horses, boo! There was a teeny tiny gate that I would have had to unhitch Breezy to get through, boo! I was really looking forward to this trip as it was only 1 hour away from home, but it was a bust, boo We carted maybe 35 minutes, boo! So I decide to pack up (the same day we arrived) and head back home, boo. I was a little nervous to head back home at 1pm with the temps at 100 degrees and the fell like temps at 110, but it was only an hour so off for home we went. I was extremely happy once we got home to find my horses were absolutely fine in the trailer. No sweating, no panting, no flared nostrils, no sign of heat at all, YAY! Good to know. It wasn’t a completely failure, I have to look on the bright side of things… my ponies got to trailer together for the very first time, they did get to see new sights, and my trailer is perfectly ventilated… so win, win? I think so. Win some, ya lose some.


So today Bentley and I ended up ground driving at Oakmont Park here in Fort Worth. Beautiful park, lots of shade I think I have the most photogenic horse on the planet
View attachment 50160

Ohhh, you think your horse is more photogentic? Oh yeah, post up!

 

[HersheyMint]

Confusion!

I just want to clear up any confusion you might be having, I mean jeeze, two dark horses and both their names start with a “B” how do ya know which one is who?

There might be a quiz later, so I need ya to pay attention

……….



It’s later! Quiz time! Which horse is this? Breezy or Bentley?
View attachment 50258
If you guessed Breezy then you are right! First of all, I haven’t driven Bentley under a bridge next to water yet and secondly Breezys mane falls to the right side. I can hardly tell them apart when they are out in the back pasture with their fly masks on




Quiz number 2:
which horse is this? Breezy or Bentley?
View attachment 50259
If you guessed Bentley then you are right! First of all, If you had read the previous post then you would have seen this same picture of Bentley and secondly Bentleys mane falls to the left side. Ok, there we go, easy peasy that should clear up any confusion on which horse I am driving at any given moment


OH OH OH… Bentley has a “L” in his name so his mane falls to the Left and Breezy has a “R” in his name so his mane falls to the Right

So clever of you to name them according to their mane

 

[Kelly]

Bentleys training is going so good. Last week we went to Foster Park and I taught him how to drink out of a dog water fountain






His weekly training schedule usually looks something like this:
*2 Driving days about 20 minutes each
*1 Day of ground driving at the park with just me, no horse friends
*1 Day of being ponied off Breezy away from home

If we have additional training days in a week, then those days are spent on ground manners, easy short lounging sessions, camping adventures and obstacles.

 

[MaryFlora]

Your schedule seems nicely balanced to me, providing plenty of learning opportunities!

I bet the dog waterers see lots of usage!

 

[Standards Equine]

Look at all of your success! You should be so proud. And I understand about wondering if you're rushing. Some of them are just naturally confident driving animals, some just need more time to sort it out. Obviously, you've got a really good feel for your animals.
What fun!!!

 

[Kelly]

“Naughty Pony” … Or a horse just being a horse

Sometimes i think it is good to test or push your pony at home to see what kind of reaction they will have. When I do this, it prepares me for what they might throw my way and how they will respond to my reaction.

As we drove around the pasture in the bike, I could see the excitement building in his eye. I could feel his energy level escalating. I knew Bentley wasn’t focused on me, instead he was watching my husband run around like a busy bee. He was listening to the screech of the saw as it cut wood. I could feel his pace pick up, his nervous energy beating faster. I didn’t try to fight him nor get his attention. I just watched him and let him be in the moment. His moment. When he broke into a canter I let him take a couple of steps so he could feel what that was like in the bike. Back down to a trot, a very fast trot. The trot was so fun! I like going fast so I let him continue. It’s when the pony thinks he is in charge is when things can go terribly wrong terribly fast. Trot, trot, trot. As soon as he bumped his bum up in the air and before his hind hooves settled back to the ground is when I stopped him dead in his tracks. It happened so fast that he didn’t even know what hit him. I was back in charge again, he was no longer making any decisions, and at that moment I had a very calm pony in my hands. Here we go, back to business.

 

[MaryFlora]

Bentley is just going to get better and better with your direction! If I remember you have him in mind as a competitive pony in trail driving?

Whatever your plans he is looking great!

 

[Kelly]

Thank you! Nothing competitive about us, but we do LOVE trail driving ….and camping out

 

[Clara Levitsky]

I have never heard of an endurance event for driving minis. I've seen competitive trail drives (ECTRA) and I've seen people run with a mini doing an endurance ride (AERC). Can you please tell me more about endurance driving for minis?

 

[MaryFlora]

For some reason I thought there were endurance events for minis but have no actual knowledge myself!

I did come across an interesting article on a mini who completed a 25 mile endurance ride, without a rider or a cart. I don’t know how to link the article but it is under: holistichorse.com, and the article is titled, “Miniature Horse Completes 25 Mile Endurance Ride”.

 

[HersheyMint]

For some reason I thought there were endurance events for minis but have no actual knowledge myself!

I did come across an interesting article on a mini who completed a 25 mile endurance ride, without a rider or a cart. I don’t know how to link the article but it is under: holistichorse.com, and the article is titled, “Miniature Horse Completes 25 Mile Endurance Ride”.

That is a great story

 

[MaryFlora]

I bet Bentley would waltz right through a 25 miler!

 

[Kelly]

Bentley and I just got home from Fort Richardson State Park. This was his first time to camp ALONE and to trail drive ALONE! There were no other horses around, no neighing neighbors. Had a blast!

 

[Dragon Hill]

Woo hoo! Way to go, Bentley and Kelly!

 

[HersheyMint]

Beautiful!!

 

[MaryFlora]

Thank you for the trip! A beautiful park and the trail looks wonderful! Love Bentley’s trot, it is so consistent and forward moving!

The history is probably pretty interesting. You can’t help but think of people who passed through that area ages ago and also in our own more recent past. Fun to think that horses are still a part!

Did your lovely rig perform as hoped? If not, pm me and I’ll take it off of your hands!

 

[Kelly]

Oh yes, my rig was glamorous! Glamping at its finest LOL Nice HOT shower, cool AC during the day, hot coffee in the morning, cold wine from the fridge… everything was perfect

 

[MaryFlora]

So I shouldn’t expect a pm?