AprilBlossom
Well-Known Member
So I managed to successfully get aboard the pony last night! (Also, hello, im new) Took a bit of time, seeing as weve now got lunging down to a fine art and its terribly boring so we must muck around and whinge (yes, he actually makes whiny noises when fed up, and hurt noises if ive upset him!) as much as possible until a new challenge is presented.
Tom is said pony, an ex trotter whos around 4 I think, have acquired the ride on him from a lady who loves him but gets more pleasure out of just spending time with him than riding him, so hopefully I shall by next year be able to take him out to shows etc and she can enjoy watching him throw some shapes in the dressage arena and maybe even pop some little fences, but lets not get ahead of ourselves... He was forcefully ridden around a sponsored ride circuit, going over jumps against his will and such last year but since then hasnt been ridden as he became, ahem, dangerous to ride (I wonder why). So Im starting completely from the beginning again and not rushing things as I want to get it right this time, poor lads not had the best start but hes still so trusting and friendly, rather like a large dog at times in his enthusiasm to make friends!
Yesterday the new challenge was a set of stirrups, which we werent too fussed about, just looked at them quizzically a couple of times, tried to taste them, didnt like the taste, so left them be, and a pair of reins, which we didnt care about at all, a bit miffed as to why we werent allowed to eat these, but not too concerned.
So we had a bit of nice work on the lunge, some nice transitions and then some loose schooling, which was fine until we got a hoof caught on the gate, which made a terrifying scary noise, so let of some im scared farts and propelled ourselves through the air across the school. Once wed recovered, we were still feeling a little cheeky, so tried to convince me to have a little play by jumping around in my face and trying to pick me up by hanging me by the hooded jacket onto our bit. Didnt work, so decided to straighten up and play nice again.
At this point, Tom is nonchalantly wandering along the far end of the school trying to find some grass to munch on until I produce the mounting block. We use a metal stepladder type bench, which he has seen before, but prompted a lot of huffing and puffing before we could walk around it and I could move it around him. Once it had been tasted (not tasty) and wed tried to kick it over, stand on it and such, it was deemed a non-threatening object, so I stood on it and fussed him a bit around his saddle area, along top of neck, ears which was lovely, but he couldnt understand how I was now taller than him. I dont think he was too taken with this being the smaller party, so we then tried to climb up onto the block and join me, to readdress the balance, to find a bit of a telling off, which we accepted and stood nicely. I leant over him and he stood like a rock bless him, put a foot in stirrup and waited for him to adjust to most of my weight on his back, all fine, then quietly mounted. All the while he stood perfectly still, no one by his head, just me on his back in an otherwise empty school. I let him walk a little circle then dismounted and made a huge fuss of him.
Hes the first youngster Ive worked with by myself and its so rewarding, so thanks for reading what effectively is a short novel on my mounting of a horse, something most take for granted, but Im so pleased with how well everythings going and would love to hear some tips and ideas on what things I should start looking at next I was thinking in hand walk around the village in tack, with friend on safe pony, then led with a rider on, integrating a bit of lunging every now and again to keep the muscle tone coming along...?
Tom is said pony, an ex trotter whos around 4 I think, have acquired the ride on him from a lady who loves him but gets more pleasure out of just spending time with him than riding him, so hopefully I shall by next year be able to take him out to shows etc and she can enjoy watching him throw some shapes in the dressage arena and maybe even pop some little fences, but lets not get ahead of ourselves... He was forcefully ridden around a sponsored ride circuit, going over jumps against his will and such last year but since then hasnt been ridden as he became, ahem, dangerous to ride (I wonder why). So Im starting completely from the beginning again and not rushing things as I want to get it right this time, poor lads not had the best start but hes still so trusting and friendly, rather like a large dog at times in his enthusiasm to make friends!
Yesterday the new challenge was a set of stirrups, which we werent too fussed about, just looked at them quizzically a couple of times, tried to taste them, didnt like the taste, so left them be, and a pair of reins, which we didnt care about at all, a bit miffed as to why we werent allowed to eat these, but not too concerned.
So we had a bit of nice work on the lunge, some nice transitions and then some loose schooling, which was fine until we got a hoof caught on the gate, which made a terrifying scary noise, so let of some im scared farts and propelled ourselves through the air across the school. Once wed recovered, we were still feeling a little cheeky, so tried to convince me to have a little play by jumping around in my face and trying to pick me up by hanging me by the hooded jacket onto our bit. Didnt work, so decided to straighten up and play nice again.
At this point, Tom is nonchalantly wandering along the far end of the school trying to find some grass to munch on until I produce the mounting block. We use a metal stepladder type bench, which he has seen before, but prompted a lot of huffing and puffing before we could walk around it and I could move it around him. Once it had been tasted (not tasty) and wed tried to kick it over, stand on it and such, it was deemed a non-threatening object, so I stood on it and fussed him a bit around his saddle area, along top of neck, ears which was lovely, but he couldnt understand how I was now taller than him. I dont think he was too taken with this being the smaller party, so we then tried to climb up onto the block and join me, to readdress the balance, to find a bit of a telling off, which we accepted and stood nicely. I leant over him and he stood like a rock bless him, put a foot in stirrup and waited for him to adjust to most of my weight on his back, all fine, then quietly mounted. All the while he stood perfectly still, no one by his head, just me on his back in an otherwise empty school. I let him walk a little circle then dismounted and made a huge fuss of him.
Hes the first youngster Ive worked with by myself and its so rewarding, so thanks for reading what effectively is a short novel on my mounting of a horse, something most take for granted, but Im so pleased with how well everythings going and would love to hear some tips and ideas on what things I should start looking at next I was thinking in hand walk around the village in tack, with friend on safe pony, then led with a rider on, integrating a bit of lunging every now and again to keep the muscle tone coming along...?