I Did a Thing...

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Monday I picked up the new replacement cart. I have to say, although it's taken FOREVER to get the right equipment, I think we *might* just have it now! And, naturally, I've had a nasty cold virus that's prevented me from taking Falcor out in his new cart. Saturday looks to be the day though! Maybe pray for me a bit? haha!
My daughter's been after me that Jasmine pony has hand-me-down equipment. Well, she's just got a harness upgrade to Comfee Fit, but I do realize that she'll need a new set of wheels on her easy entry for CDE to do past training level. So I bit the bullet and contacted the manufacturers and arranged to buy the small cart anyways. Then the pony has quality equipment the whole way around and won't need upgrading. I put my easy entry on facebook marketplace to sell with skis and fenders and it was paid for within an hour. So that made the whole transaction easy!

Now I can stop spending money, right??? 😄
 
Here it is you guys! Finally got it all together! And we survived. The first drive was a group drive and my pony was pretty darned excited with the activity. I thought it best to put him to a pallet with some tires on it before I put him to the cart, and I'm really glad I did! We had a few "woohoo" moments but the heavy pallet in the snow helped him get to thinking a bit quicker. We put the cart to and had a really fun drive! My daughter rode her mare, Special, and our leasor and her daughter came out to drive with us. So, from left to right: my long-time friend Kelsey and her one-eyed Willy pony, then Phillippe, and Jasmine, and then Falcor and myself, and Ali and Special on the right.
Group Drive.jpg

I even went for another drive yesterday on our own. Went straight to the cart. He's a little hot to head off but walked out reasonably. His trot feels tense and I'm going to need to learn to trust him to not take off across the field on his own. We worked through the cones at a trot at the end of our drive yesterday. I felt like I had some serious EUREKA moments there. He put his neck down and really started THINKING about turning and what I was asking for. I see oodles of cones in our future. And I'm great with that!

Anyways, I did the thing, and nearly 6 months later, I'm actually DOING the thing!

Falcor Winter Drive.jpg
 
Standards Equine said:
Here it is you guys! Finally got it all together! And we survived. The first drive was a group drive and my pony was pretty darned excited with the activity. I thought it best to put him to a pallet with some tires on it before I put him to the cart, and I'm really glad I did! We had a few "woohoo" moments but the heavy pallet in the snow helped him get to thinking a bit quicker. We put the cart to and had a really fun drive! My daughter rode her mare, Special, and our leasor and her daughter came out to drive with us. So, from left to right: my long-time friend Kelsey and her one-eyed Willy pony, then Phillippe, and Jasmine, and then Falcor and myself, and Ali and Special on the right.
View attachment 51304

I even went for another drive yesterday on our own. Went straight to the cart. He's a little hot to head off but walked out reasonably. His trot feels tense and I'm going to need to learn to trust him to not take off across the field on his own. We worked through the cones at a trot at the end of our drive yesterday. I felt like I had some serious EUREKA moments there. He put his neck down and really started THINKING about turning and what I was asking for. I see oodles of cones in our future. And I'm great with that!

Anyways, I did the thing, and nearly 6 months later, I'm actually DOING the thing!

View attachment 51305
Click to expand...
What a great pic this is!!!
 
Marsha Cassada said:
EEE! You look pretty high off the ground in that last photo! My toes would have definitely curled up. How exciting for you all!
Click to expand...
The cart even has a ladder to get into it! Just kidding, it has a step, but I don't use it. I might need to when climbing in with an apron on though. It feels very stable and it's so light weight!
 
Yesterday I went to get Falcor out of the pen and he seemed in a funny mood. He took a cookie from me and ran away! Then he came back and took another cookie and I put the rope around his neck. He pulled right out of my hands. Fortunately the rope had looped through the halter so it stayed with him but it's not something he'd ever done before. He wasn't hard to catch after that, but he felt like he was just waiting for the fight, like I was going to haul back and knock his block off. I kept a very positive attitude. I don't know how he's been handled previously, but I'm not going to give him cause for more anxiety. So he came out and I redid his tail wrap. I'm not wrapping him for a long tail, but I'd like it to be thicker if I can help it.
Fortunately for him, there was a lovely lady at the farm doing massages for her practicum on equine bodywork and she needed a few extra horses. So she got her first experience with a Hackney. Instead of going to work, he got a massage. Hopefully next time I go pull him out, he's feeling more interested in what we will be doing.
It's not yet been 6 months with us and a whole lifetime of barns and trainers. I don't think anyone ever took the time to develop a relationship with that pony. And that's a huge part of what we do at our place. So we'll just give him the time he needs to come around and do our very best to provide him what he needs to feel secure.
 
Today Falcor's in for another new experience. I have a friend who has a Bemer set up. After finding out from the massage student that he has all sorts of scar tissue in his shoulders, and she suspects an old cervical fracture that's healed, he gets to have some extra therapies to help him feel better. I've also ordered him some vitamins to help support his body and anxiety. I'm looking forward to the day when he's feeling confident and interested in participating.
 
So last night, I went up and caught my dragon pony fairly easily. He only took 1 thinking circle before putting on his halter. I never hide it. He is aware that I'm coming to catch him. I gave him a couple of B1 and a Inositol in some timothy pellets and camelina oil. He liked his snack. I brushed him and harnessed him up and he seemed pretty relaxed about it all, until I put the cart to him. Then he started shifting now and then ready to head out. This was the first time I had to get up into the cart without someone heading him. But, no time like the present to train it! So with a few reminders of "whoa" and a bit of a temper tantrum by him, we got it sorted and away we went. He felt like he was going to take off at one point, but not beyond what I could manage. We worked a lot in the cones at a walk, but when we got into trot, he needed to be able to move out before he could settle. Well, we have the room... so we went out in the field, bumped and jostled along on the semi-frozen ground. It's been melting off the little snow accumulation we had, but there is still some in the field. Anyways, we started working on bending lines, serpentines, circles out in the field and eventually that neck came down and he relaxed and I felt I could actually ask for more forward at that time. It's not about the speed or pace, it's about how is body is holding tension or relaxation that I'm looking for ultimately.
Anyways, it was as nice drive. We finished with a bit of cone work and dismounted on my own as well. He got another snack reward and put away dry. This evening he gets another Bemer session.
He's a good boy, just with a lot of years of tension and scar tissue to get through. He deserves the best I can give him.
 
He's a lovely pony. He sounds a little bit like one of mine temperament wise. Mine is a little hot and can have a nervous edge. Sometimes he needs to get an initial trot out of his system before he settles, and sometimes it's a big trot :D for a few strides. Circles and serpentines relax him, too. I have to remember to breathe when working him, it centers both of us.
 
@Cayuse I've trained myself to yawn when I'm feeling anxious around horses. It causes my body to relax. And now I do it really without meaning to! He really enjoyed his last Bemer session but unfortunately the sessions are on hold for now. The weather has turned, we've gotten nearly a foot of snow and it's suddenly so cold my water pipes are frozen! Go figure! Because we don't have a barn, the blanket can't come out for treatments. So we will wait.

In the meantime, Falcor and I had a conversation about being caught to be blanketed and fed his grain and supplements. I didn't use cookies again, and we worked with a bit of honoring - I'm not sure what other word to use here. I would walk to where he could tolerate me, and gently touch him, if I could, and step back. If he needed to move, I would gently follow him but without pressure or intensity, just presence. He never left far. I brought up the halter to his nose to touch him with it and I could feel that was at the maximum he could handle in that moment, so I touched his nose, took it down and stepped back. Best part, he FOLLOWED ME! Hooray, huge win right there. So we were able to gently come back, pet his neck and he could stand to be properly haltered. There were cookies after we got to the tie rail.
Slowly, slowly and consistently I think we'll make progress working in this manner. And it's going to take the time that it will take... but I think this little dude will come around.
 
Standards Equine said:
@Cayuse I've trained myself to yawn when I'm feeling anxious around horses. It causes my body to relax. And now I do it really without meaning to! He really enjoyed his last Bemer session but unfortunately the sessions are on hold for now. The weather has turned, we've gotten nearly a foot of snow and it's suddenly so cold my water pipes are frozen! Go figure! Because we don't have a barn, the blanket can't come out for treatments. So we will wait.

In the meantime, Falcor and I had a conversation about being caught to be blanketed and fed his grain and supplements. I didn't use cookies again, and we worked with a bit of honoring - I'm not sure what other word to use here. I would walk to where he could tolerate me, and gently touch him, if I could, and step back. If he needed to move, I would gently follow him but without pressure or intensity, just presence. He never left far. I brought up the halter to his nose to touch him with it and I could feel that was at the maximum he could handle in that moment, so I touched his nose, took it down and stepped back. Best part, he FOLLOWED ME! Hooray, huge win right there. So we were able to gently come back, pet his neck and he could stand to be properly haltered. There were cookies after we got to the tie rail.
Slowly, slowly and consistently I think we'll make progress working in this manner. And it's going to take the time that it will take... but I think this little dude will come around.
Click to expand...
Excellent! I loved reading your successes! Good boy Falcor
 
Another Bemer session last night for Mr. Falcor. It took me maybe 5 minutes to put his halter on. He backed away once, but did not leave. I was really proud of him. It was windy and unpleasant out. This turkey pony is starting to get a personality. Yes, he muggs for cookies but last night he was not only searching me but found the pulls for the zippers on the pockets on my jacket. He carefully started to pull on them! The lady who does his treatments was just laughing. She's bringing her mare to board with us at the end of March. Apparently her mare is quite stoic and aloof. She's hoping that coming out to the farm will help the mare come out of her shell and she'll become more personable. That seems to happen a lot out there.
Today is COLD again, nearly -20 C. Tomorrow is supposed to be the same. I want to get the skis put on the carts and go break trail again, but not when it's so cold.
 
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