Andy + Polocross= BAD IDEA! (Video)

Kokopelli

Kokopelli

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I fell off :o and my mum managed to get it on camera!!
So had a very interesting day! I think Andy feels a bit too well I'm hoping its only temporary though.

He was fine with the racquet but the ball was obviously going to eat him. :rolleyes: It was quite entertaining and I just found him funny after a while.

We were practising starting the chukka where you line up and the ball gets thrown in for you, but everytime the ball was thrown Andy spun and went in the opposite direction and I had no steering so had to drop the racquet :p

He does look very smart in the white bandages though, might have to wear them more often!! :D

[youtube]0aba6Ht7csk[/youtube]

Feel free to have a laugh at our expense!
 
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he looks a different horse now! well done. :D

i love the way he's spinning as soon as the ball is thrown, almost like he's ready to charge and be victorious! lol
 
Hmm, was he excited or scared when he kept backing off?

You do well riding him with this head that high, is that a Polo thing, or is he like that all the time? I would find it quite unnerving :o.

So, you doing it again, or have you decided it might not be for you?
 
riding_high said:
he looks a different horse now! well done. :D

i love the way he's spinning as soon as the ball is thrown, almost like he's ready to charge and be victorious! lol
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I think that was because he was scared of the ball! But I like your idea better :D

quirky said:
Hmm, was he excited or scared when he kept backing off?

You do well riding him with this head that high, is that a Polo thing, or is he like that all the time? I would find it quite unnerving :o.

So, you doing it again, or have you decided it might not be for you?
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Mixture of both I think but mainly scared. We were hoping he'd eventually settle but he didn't so we took him home after the morning session as I didn't think he was up to doing some proper chukkas in the afternoon.

He has a high head carriage and today he was so excited it was made worse. Would of been a lot worse without martingale and sheepskin noseband though!

But we're not doing it again, we feel he hasn't got the right mental attitude for it.


bettyboo I think thats just where he was trying to take off with me and I was holding him back so he produced a very odd trot :p
 
I don't think polocrosse is going to be Andy's idea of fun :o :p

He looks much better behind saddle, clip helps too :)

I like the fact that there are big horses doing polox with you - when I did it I felt huge on a 16.2 :eek:
Maybe more practicing at home with the stick & ball before next practice? :)
 
Aww bless you hun, hope you didnt hurt yourself? Andy is looking good all nice and smart! and he certainly seemed to be feeling well in himself :) at least you guys gave it a go..x
 
only_me said:
I don't think polocrosse is going to be Andy's idea of fun :o :p

He looks much better behind saddle, clip helps too :)

I like the fact that there are big horses doing polox with you - when I did it I felt huge on a 16.2 :eek:
Maybe more practicing at home with the stick & ball before next practice? :)
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We have been doing so much hillwork so glad its starting to look better now. There were quite a few big ones there, but also some very very little ones, a big range of people.
I don't think we will do it with him again as he's not enjoying it really and it has to be fun for him. Also if we were on a proper field I would be in the next county as no corners to stop in :o

quirky said:
Oh well, at least you gave it a go and if he can't cope, then so be it :).
Good on you for giving it a go :).
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It was good fun today just don't think we'll do it again! Thank you.

Frube said:
Aww bless you hun, hope you didnt hurt yourself? Andy is looking good all nice and smart! and he certainly seemed to be feeling well in himself :) at least you guys gave it a go..x
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Nope feeling fine, landed on my feet then hit my knees so jumped up instantly and went and got him after he had a good blast around the arena :rolleyes:

I think he's feeling a bit too well :cool:
 
Kokopelli said:
He has a high head carriage and today he was so excited it was made worse. Would of been a lot worse without martingale and sheepskin noseband though!
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No horse should have a high head carriage. That is a really, really nice horse you have there. I like him a lot, where did you get him? Is he thoroughbred?

What bit do you have him in? Couldn't see but could see two reins. He doesn't appear to like it. Do you do flatwork with him?

If you could make that work long and low into a snaffle and take it from there...well. You'd be two to watch. IMHO.
 
3 things.

1. 99% of ponies that wear standing martingales are weak in the back.
2. The way he moves behind suggests he has back problems.
3. He needs a few weeks off to address points 1 and 2.
 
alligator40 said:
3 things.

1. 99% of ponies that wear standing martingales are weak in the back.
2. The way he moves behind suggests he has back problems.
3. He needs a few weeks off to address points 1 and 2.
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as much as i agree you can tell alot from photos, i dont think you can diognose andy and tell his owner to give him weeks off :rolleyes: other then the fact his heads in the air (which would annnoy me personally) he looks miles better then he did in the first pics. so i think they are heading in the right direction. and listening to their lesson report and vid the other day, i think she has a knowledgeable instructor who would be able to point it out if andy DID need weeks off.
 
alligator40 said:
3 things.

1. 99% of ponies that wear standing martingales are weak in the back.
2. The way he moves behind suggests he has back problems.
3. He needs a few weeks off to address points 1 and 2.
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Actually

1. Standing martingales are the accepted tack of choice for polocrosse, as for polo. I would also very much like to see the scientific paper which proves that 99% of ponies (does this include horses btw?) wearing standing martingales have back problems. Or is this just a completely meaningless made up statistic?
2. The vet and experienced instructor are happy with this pony. All relevant checks have been made. I believe the rider is also experienced enough to know when her pony isn't right.
3. I think you need to stop being so rude
 
skewby said:
No horse should have a high head carriage. That is a really, really nice horse you have there. I like him a lot, where did you get him? Is he thoroughbred?

What bit do you have him in? Couldn't see but could see two reins. He doesn't appear to like it. Do you do flatwork with him?

If you could make that work long and low into a snaffle and take it from there...well. You'd be two to watch. IMHO.
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He is in a loose ring snaffle. He doesn't normally work like this it was literally because he was so worked up but somewhere I have a lesson video where we got him to work long and low and he went fantastic.
We got him off some friends through pony club and we think he is full TB but if he isn't he has a lot of it in him :)

alligator40 said:
3 things.

1. 99% of ponies that wear standing martingales are weak in the back.
2. The way he moves behind suggests he has back problems.
3. He needs a few weeks off to address points 1 and 2.
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He has got a weak back but we are working on it and he is getting better already. We have had him about 2 months now and have been working very hard with him to get him muscled up and he still has a long way to go.
The standing martingale was only on for today because he got so wound up due to the polocrosse, I never normally use it we are normally in simple tack.

He hasn't got back problems I can assure you that, he was just going funny because I was holding him back and he was trying to take off with me he never normally goes like this but thought I'd post video for a laugh at him being silly.

sidsmum said:
Aw bless him! At least you gave it a go! :D
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Thank you :)

eva said:
well done :) he's got some glimmers of beautiful movement! it's great to see you two progress! keep it up girl :)
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Thank you! He's certainly looking better I just hope he calms down soon :p


Thank you BSJAlove and rhino! :)
 
rhino said:
Actually

1. Standing martingales are the accepted tack of choice for polocrosse, as for polo. I would also very much like to see the scientific paper which proves that 99% of ponies (does this include horses btw?) wearing standing martingales have back problems. Or is this just a completely meaningless made up statistic?
2. The vet and experienced instructor are happy with this pony. All relevant checks have been made. I believe the rider is also experienced enough to know when her pony isn't right.
3. I think you need to stop being so rude
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much better put then my post! :)
 
BSJAlove said:
as much as i agree you can tell alot from photos, i dont think you can diognose andy and tell his owner to give him weeks off :rolleyes: other then the fact his heads in the air (which would annnoy me personally) he looks miles better then he did in the first pics. so i think they are heading in the right direction. and listening to their lesson report and vid the other day, i think she has a knowledgeable instructor who would be able to point it out if andy DID need weeks off.
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No need for :rolleyes: IMO.

This pony is well "publicised" on HHO..and if the OP is paying an instructor, then the instructor will say whatever the client wants to hear.
That pony could do with at least 3 months off, a damned good feeding/non ridden regime and a rider with a bit of patience.
 
rhino said:
Actually

1. Standing martingales are the accepted tack of choice for polocrosse, as for polo. I would also very much like to see the scientific paper which proves that 99% of ponies (does this include horses btw?) wearing standing martingales have back problems. Or is this just a completely meaningless made up statistic?
2. The vet and experienced instructor are happy with this pony. All relevant checks have been made. I believe the rider is also experienced enough to know when her pony isn't right.
3. I think you need to stop being so rude
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1. Do you have no empathy?
2.Whatever.
3. Get in the real world.
 
alligator40 said:
No need for :rolleyes: IMO.

This pony is well "publicised" on HHO..and if the OP is paying an instructor, then the instructor will say whatever the client wants to hear.
That pony could do with at least 3 months off, a damned good feeding/non ridden regime and a rider with a bit of patience.
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no. the instructor wont. im sure there are plenty of instructors in HHO who would be offended to read that. a very big generalisation to make! there are plenty of caring instructors out there who WONT make a horse work in pain just to get money out of a client. your world is obviously a much darker place then mine :rolleyes: (oops sorry im not allowed to put that!)
 
alligator40 said:
No need for :rolleyes: IMO.

This pony is well "publicised" on HHO..and if the OP is paying an instructor, then the instructor will say whatever the client wants to hear.
That pony could do with at least 3 months off, a damned good feeding/non ridden regime and a rider with a bit of patience.
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May I ask how Andy being well publicised (whatever that means) affects what my instructor says to me?

I'm also assuming that you have met my instructor to make the assumption that she doesn't give a damn about the welfare of the horse and just wants money?

I can assure you that she will not teach a horse/ pony in pain.
 
alligator40 said:
1. Do you have no empathy?
2.Whatever.
3. Get in the real world.
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1. Plenty, thanks. For people as well as animals though. I do however have a dislike of nonsense statistics, must be the science degrees :)
2. Not really much to say to that, is there? The lack of rational (adult?) discussion is rather disappointing, I must say
3. I already do, thank you. And if I thought that the pony's welfare was being compromised I would be the first to stand up and say so. Possibly slightly more politely than you managed to, I would imagine.
 
monkeybum13 said:
Koko - glad you are not hurt! I must agree Andy looks very smart in white bandages.

Why do some people post just to cause upset? Some people really need to chill out! :rolleyes:
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Thank you, he does bless him! The money that was going towards a racquet and ball is now getting him a nice new pair of white boots to make him look very smart :)

I don't know either tbh, I suppose people get a kick out of it or something?
 
Awww, look at Mr Andy, all excited. And a little bit scared of the nasty wasty ball :o

He's looking fabulous now and moving nicely too :D Once he's learnt to contain the excitement and channel it into something useful he's going to be stunning!

Why not do lots of practise at home with a ball, because he will get used to it? I have THE biggest girls blouse ever who managed to carry a bloody great bit flapping flag on the Common Ride, depsite the fact the first time he saw it he pulled the tie ring out the tree and bolted :o Weeks of practise later and he went hacking carrying it:D Get yourself some soft tennis balls and spend weeks chucking them at him, and school with a big stick in your hand. Then you could try again and see if he enjoys it more before giving up. It looks so much fun:D

P.s ignore the rude replies and don't let them rile you, then they'll go away.
 
Great decision to pull him out after giving it a go :) Nice to see sensible heads on! I also think, though it is hard to tell, that he is looking a bit better weight wise, would be quite interesting to see a comparison photo now as he looks well.
 
rhino said:
1. Plenty, thanks. For people as well as animals though. I do however have a dislike of nonsense statistics, must be the science degrees :)
2. Not really much to say to that, is there? The lack of rational (adult?) discussion is rather disappointing, I must say
3. I already do, thank you. And if I thought that the pony's welfare was being compromised I would be the first to stand up and say so. Possibly slightly more politely than you managed to, I would imagine.
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Actually................(annoying, isn't it?):p

1. OMW..you have a Degree!!..well, bugger me..All Hail..shame you still cannot see an underweight/unfit pony doing far more than it should ATT.
2. I can discuss anything you like, Sweet. Adult, or your level. You can choose.
3. I have, as far as I'm aware, haven't mentioned any welfare problems?..Do you think there may well be?
 
alliagor 40 or whatever- just who do you think you are? How rude and un necessary. I'm sure you're incredibly brave and oppinionated sat behind your key boeard
 
He's looking loads better, keep up the good work :)

When I played polo, most of the ponies were in standing martingales and had high head carriages. Don't take my word for it though, here are some of the best players in the word at Deauville '09: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hive_Xd204&NR=1
It's like a HHO house of horrors - standing martingales, strong bits and riding hats that aren't going to help you much if you land on your head! :P

I'd love to have a go at polo or polocrosse with my current horse, though I think it would fry his brain like it did Andy!!
 
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