Recent content by maya2008

If she was perfect for the second one, perhaps the first was off putting for some reason. - not enough room? - rotten? Our lot generally won’t stand still if the girth isn’t tight enough or the saddle not quite right or the mounting implement not safe (water container, log, rock…). On the...

I have had many novice children straight out of riding schools as sharers. Most were keen to learn and went on to have their own. One or two decided it wasn’t for them - better to figure that out before you’ve bought one! I insist on a lesson per week and I supervise with chores until they know...

Yesterday, the youngster I was leading decided, half way down a hill in walk, to squeal and reverse into my pony, kicking. No reason that anyone could see, a second before we were all picking our way quietly down a grassy hill. Mine was too stunned to react - I swung her out of the way, let out...

Those were real situations I have been involved in. I asked because I was curious and people seemed to be being rational again. A) Vet advised there was no safe sedation they could put in feed beyond sedalin and that does very little. No dart gun available. That is reality. Pin them behind a...

I saw a really sad one. Rising 5yo Welsh x Arab mare. Doing… well… rising 5yo Welsh Arab mare kind of things. Feisty and opinionated. The current people bought the pony to bring on, and are now selling on because the pony is doing young pony things. Just why? I’d love a 14.2/3 Welsh Arab...

Are you ok on other horses? Could you have a few lessons at a local riding school on the slowest, ploddiest horse they have and see if you enjoy that? Sometimes, confidence is horse specific. My daughter is completely fearless on her dad’s 3 year old. Backed and brought her on herself, will...

I think what you see is the issue with a demo situation. As said above, when training horses at her yard, this trainer will search and search for vet issues that no one can find and is really good at differentiating between nervous/unsure horses, those with past trauma, those with current pain...

Now that people are having a rational discussion again… Out of curiosity, how would people use food to train if: - the fear response to humans was so high they would not take food, of any kind, from them? Especially if the need was high to get something done asap e.g. urgent wound care. (No...

Lots of youngsters are looking weedy and small after last summer. There was enough food to keep weight but not enough protein to really grow. We looked for a larger pony recently and I saw so many undersized youngsters. I think we will back ours at 3.5 in the autumn, turn away for the winter...

Are these still being made? Their Facebook page’s last post was 2023.

Worth trying Coopers Spot on to be 100% sure it’s not related to mites or fly bites or sweet itch? Cut feed down to grass/hay only and see if you have a feed allergy? Check your pasture for plants? Over the years I have found that most horses won’t eat things that are not good for them - but...

It’ll probably never be used on the same pony twice, so for this purpose that’s not something I can say. The advantage of the flower hackamore was that every pony instantly understood and could apply their training to the new pressure sources, even if fairly recently backed. We had a Nurtural...

Has she been turned out with other horses since the vetting, at the sales livery or at your yard? Is there any heat/swelling/missing skin/hair or other sign of external injury?

Thank you! I’ll look at those. We don’t use it for long when we need it, but I value my children’s safety quite highly so reasonably pricey but would do the job isn’t an issue! I also sometimes use it for a new ridden pony when we’re faffing with bits and I want to see what’s the bit and what...

Emphasis is on safety for short term use out hacking, no need to school or jump, just to keep the pony still able to be ridden safely on steady hacking routes incl minor roads. For occasions like after wolf teeth removal (I prefer to give a few weeks without a bit but they always start nagging...