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Well, at least you tried Marsha! I don't even want to consider the outcome if I tried to put Cappy and Peanut together. It would be ugly, I'm afraid. They are enemies. Their gaits are very different, too. Peanut is bouncy and has alot of action. Cappy moves very long strided and low headed.
I had Cappy in the sled yesterday for one last trip before our snow gets washed away tonight with a rain storm. Peanut was quite sick for a week so I was too busy with him to be able to enjoy the snow we got last weekend as much as I had hoped to.
If anyone is so inclined, some good healing thoughts for Peanut would be welcomed :)
Sorry to hear Peanut isn't feeling well. Praying for Peanut!
 
Marsha, I'm in the same boat here. I wish mine could get along and I could work them together, it would be a good time saver! Midnight is really coming along though. Looking forward to hearing about her progress this Spring/Summer.
 
Well, at least you tried Marsha! I don't even want to consider the outcome if I tried to put Cappy and Peanut together. It would be ugly, I'm afraid. They are enemies. Their gaits are very different, too. Peanut is bouncy and has alot of action. Cappy moves very long strided and low headed.
I had Cappy in the sled yesterday for one last trip before our snow gets washed away tonight with a rain storm. Peanut was quite sick for a week so I was too busy with him to be able to enjoy the snow we got last weekend as much as I had hoped to.
If anyone is so inclined, some good healing thoughts for Peanut would be welcomed :)
What is up with Peanut? What a worry!
 
Driving my two together is VERY HARD. I know it looks easy in the in the videos I share but I am working my butt off to keep things moving in the correct direction and Sky is always dragging the both of us. I have to be paying attention at all times and talking to them to keep things as even as I can. It's easier when they are in their team harness, but I still have to work very hard. This is why I typically pony Sky behind us... LOL!
 
Thanks Willow Flats! He's doing better, fingers are crossed he remains well.
Marsha, it was quite a worry! He had a "fever of unknown origin" probably from anaplasmosis (ticks! :() and a secondary colic. He finished his sixth and final dose of IV Oxytet on Friday. It was a really long week. Still waiting on the Lyme titer to see if that is positive as they can be infected with both at the same time.
 
Thanks Willow Flats! He's doing better, fingers are crossed he remains well.
Marsha, it was quite a worry! He had a "fever of unknown origin" probably from anaplasmosis (ticks! :() and a secondary colic. He finished his sixth and final dose of IV Oxytet on Friday. It was a really long week. Still waiting on the Lyme titer to see if that is positive as they can be infected with both at the same time.
Danged ticks!! I hate those little buggers.
 
@Cayuse sorry to hear about Peanut :-( I hope he gets well soon!

Northwolf, sorry to hear about Prince. Is he the pony that you drove in a team occasionally last year?

I hope that you continue to log your driving hours with us.
Yes, I drove him a few times last year. He was the most motivated driving I've ever had :)

WOW @Northwolf! Your list is so impressive! I wish I could run with my ponies but my body was never meant for running. LOL. I'm so sorry to hear about Prince. It sounds like he lived a very long happy life with you. HUGS to you and all your ponies!
Thanks Mindy! Sometimes, I wish I'd more time to drive my minis, but since I'm working as a software developer, I've that need to move outside in my leisure time :rolleyes:

Even though I haven't driven in a few days, we are still working. I'm taking them for walks, working on ground maneuvers, and tricks.
That sounds great! I think it's very important to keep the horses movable, and there are many other things we can keep them busy except driving :)
 
I forgot to tell about great news: we have a new pony in our barn, we picked up him 7 days ago. His name is Fuego, he's a 17 years old partbred shetland gelding, he's taller than my minis. He's not my own, his new owner is a girl from a near town. Fuego was a good driving pony, sadly he had laminitis in 2018 and 2019 and his previous owner lost her motivation to work with this great guy. I'm positive he will not get sick again when he's worked regularly and getting the correct feed (only hay, no grain or grass allowed to him). For me it's a great opportunity to practice my hoof trimmer skills too. We will now carefully start to work him on the ground again and will get him back to the cart in 1-2 months.
 
Sending healing vibes for Peanut ❤️

I have to echo Mindy's comments on team driving. Even hitching two seasoned minis together still presents challenges. Especially when I'm used to driving singles. I have to remember that the lines effect both horses. Do when one gets out ahead of the other I have to pull back with both lines even though my first response is to pull the line on the side of the faster horse. Trying to keep them even, get the lazy puller to step up and the faster horse to back off.... Then if their gaits don't match...

I love reading about everyone trying out pairs on here. It seems like, as a group, we encourage and push each other to try new things. It's so much fun!

NorthWolf it's good to have you back! I looked into running with my minis last year when I was training (I'm not a runner so it was all new to me). I might try it this spring.... I think my colt, Perry, would love it. That little guy lives for running and none of the other horses will run with him.

Marsha, I loved the video of Midnight! You've done so great with her. It's been fun to see her progress. I can't wait to see how she progresses through this year.
 
I forgot to tell about great news: we have a new pony in our barn, we picked up him 7 days ago. His name is Fuego, he's a 17 years old partbred shetland gelding, he's taller than my minis. He's not my own, his new owner is a girl from a near town. Fuego was a good driving pony, sadly he had laminitis in 2018 and 2019 and his previous owner lost her motivation to work with this great guy. I'm positive he will not get sick again when he's worked regularly and getting the correct feed (only hay, no grain or grass allowed to him). For me it's a great opportunity to practice my hoof trimmer skills too. We will now carefully start to work him on the ground again and will get him back to the cart in 1-2 months.
Hi Northwolf
I would like to talk to you about your mini pack saddle. We are attempting to build one for a larger pony for packing this summer and my husband has questions. Could you email me at [email protected]
Thanks
Jody
 
Midnight was really wound up so it was a little nerve wracking. So cold. I should have taken her farther but my hands were frozen. Easy to keep all the rest of me warm, except hands. My new bell surcingle from JSRI Show Equipment came today so I tried it on her. We did some gentle longeing wearing the bells. She did not like it.
She didn't want to put her boots on. She didn't want her tail brushed. She didn't want to leave bossy old DD on our drive. I wanted to get her to walk more on the drive, but she was too feisty. Because of weather, we haven't done much work lately and she was feeling uppity.midnight bells.jpg
 
Midnight was really wound up so it was a little nerve wracking. So cold. I should have taken her farther but my hands were frozen. Easy to keep all the rest of me warm, except hands. My new bell surcingle from JSRI Show Equipment came today so I tried it on her. We did some gentle longeing wearing the bells. She did not like it.
She didn't want to put her boots on. She didn't want her tail brushed. She didn't want to leave bossy old DD on our drive. I wanted to get her to walk more on the drive, but she was too feisty. Because of weather, we haven't done much work lately and she was feeling uppity.View attachment 40855
Hi Marsha,
I can relate to you! We both have new girls that we are working with around the weather and Annie and I have days like the one you have described here and then followed by a good day. Yesterday, when I had a chance to drive Annie it was so windy that I almost turned around and went back inside. But she surprised me and did so well I almost cried I was so happy. And of course when we finished the wind died down!

I am planning to trailer her an hour from here to a play day this Saturday where there will be minis and full size horses taking turns driving a course. I figure I'll walk her around on a lead first so she can see all the horses and carriages and if she takes that in stride I'll hitch her and we'll give it a go. It will be timed and all that but I don't care, it's just for experience. Iv'e been working on stand with her because she will need to be able to stand with the other horses and wait her turn. It's time she gets to go in the trailer somewhere fun other than the vet or dentist!
 
Finally had a nice day today, not too muddy, not too cold. Ground drove both the boys and they wore me out o_O with their foolishness. All three of us seem to have forgotten everything we know :eek:o_O.
Glad no one was watching!
 
NorthWolf it's good to have you back! I looked into running with my minis last year when I was training (I'm not a runner so it was all new to me). I might try it this spring.... I think my colt, Perry, would love it. That little guy lives for running and none of the other horses will run with him.
Thanks MajorClementine :) If you're not yet in a good running condition, I suggest to start running without horses first, and add the horsey later. It's a lot of fun to run with miniature horses! They definitely love it and it's very good for their shape.

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We did only a few drives last time. Not very much time...:oops: here's a video with Moony on a fast sulky drive:

He's such a good boy, it's a lot of fun to drive him! He loves running fast, but he's always under control. Even when he's getting scared. When outside temperature is low, he's going nut too, but we made it to turn his energy into positive engagement. We will start his trot racing training soon for the new trotting season. His first race this year will be in May.
If you ever have a horse who's unsure, don't loose your mind, keep going on and just go for walks, do not try to enforce something. I think the best training is to walk or run with your horse, preferably long distances ;) We take our minis to hikes from time to time. That is a great option to show them how exciting the world is and that they don't have to fear anything.
20191012_140129.jpg 20200107_215648.jpg

I successfully introduced him to the treadmill last summer. That was a mess! He don't wanted to climb on the treadmill first. It needed some weeks of patience to persuade him to climb the treadmill AND leave it safely backwards. Then we started the mill. That was the bigger part! He got panic and tried to jump over. :eek: So we did very, very small steps. Tried to start the mill only for one step and stop it, then two, and so on. I remember I was soooo proud of him as he did a full 5 steps in a row on the treadmill without getting scared! Always stopped the mill after a few seconds. Then he did half a minute, not perfect, but without having an accident. As we reached one minute, it was almost done. I increased the time, always very carefully.
He's now a Pro :D can go over a half an hour, very relaxed but diligent, can handle speed differences (only walk, we do no trotting on the treadmill) and the most important: he LOVES it! He even climb on the machine when I do not ask for, when he has the opportunity.


I think every new thing we add to our horses experience, make them stronger and gives them more trust to us, and that's what we need when we are driving our horses!
 

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Still on a high from Annie's success at her first play day. The scurry she placed 2nd and 4th in was an optimum time scurry where she had to keep a steady working trot. We had to run the course, turn around and do it in reverse without coming in under 71 seconds, but be the fastest and closest to 71 seconds. she came in at 71.8 seconds with me and the first place winner was 71.5 seconds. It is a really good challenge for controlling your speed. They hold one each month with different (just friendly competition) courses and have 9 acres to drive around and some hazards so I plan to keep taking her. It's just so nice to have a horse that I can take places.

My 12 yr old friend came to drive this morning and my husband was here so we hitched both horses and traded drive time for a couple of hours. Kriss Kross was really anxious and acting up driving around with Annie, like he has in the past. I take him out solo and no problems. Like driving a perfect horse!
I did have Autumn drive him one day while I ground drove Annie, leap frogging around him and he did fine with that. Maybe it's just other horses in carts? I wish I knew how to help him. Maybe have my husband drive him while I walk with a cart? Something else that puzzles me is that while he goes great with the cart, he has the same high anxiety when ground driven, both with blinders and without. I found out his prior owner thought he was nuts and sold him as pasture pal to the woman who sold him to me and didn't mention any of his issues. He is as sweet as can be so I am not going to give up on him. He is here to stay. Maybe put driving in company aside for now and work on confidence building in hand or start over with ground driving until he can relax? Drive him solo and don't worry about it? Any ideas?
 

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