lily’s progress!

[dottylottie]

I thought i’d make a thread that i can update with what we’re up to, for anyone remotely interested lol.

yesterday (day of arrival) we had a little walk over the motorway bridge up to the summer fields just in hand, and she was brilliant! marched through the puddles, wasn’t phased by the motorway bridge, fine with a car coming past, but the sheep at the fence line got a wide berth lol.

today we went in the arena for the 1st time with the intention of doing 10 minutes of groundwork - the goal was to back up a couple of steps nicely and stop when i asked. well, she stopped when i asked, and she did back up, but then she also went round and round me in circles bit of stamping with the front feet, and one cow kick which she did get told off for. my mum kept calling her sassy, whilst i was fighting her corner saying she’s just anxious and confused, with her pirouetting around me lol. there were some positives though - she didn’t invade my personal space, the kick wasn’t aimed at me (i don’t think!) and she did end up backing up nicely before we went out. she also stopped every time i asked her to.

I’ve confirmed that she will be moving at the end of the month, because this yard just doesn’t have the facilities for me to work with her since the arena is less than 20 x 40 and the surface was so deep i tripped a couple of times myself - plus the hustle and bustle isn’t going to do us any favours, she definitely seems the type to be far better on a small quiet yard.

i’m very glad that i did view her and i know how chilled she is when she’s settled somewhere, otherwise after tonight i might’ve been thinking “uh oh”

on the plus side, my mum put her out today whilst i was at work, naked because she doesn’t have a key to my cupboard, and she didn’t roll! very glad to have a mare who takes pride in her appearance haha

tomorrow she’s having her feet done, and we’re going to walk up to the fields again and have a little wander round the avenues to see a bit of traffic and practice waiting to cross the road, and then all being well we’ll do the same route under saddle on tuesday! i’m actually quite glad that she needs bringing back into work completely, because it takes the pressure away from the ridden/fast work - we can do lots of walking in hand/under saddle/long lining without the worry of her losing fitness lol.

despite her antics tonight i’m loving having my own little horse to get to know! i treated her (myself) to a nice haas body brush and she seems to love a pamper session, she was stood resting a leg with her eyes half closed whilst i fussed over her tonight

 

[splashgirl45]

All sounds promising , good luck with your ride

 

[southerncomfort]

Why was your mum naked?? Sorry, couldn't resist! Good she didn't roll though....

Glad you're making good progress, she sounds like a poppet.

 

[dottylottie]

a very well behaved pony for our walk and for the farrier! i was told that she can be funny picking her back feet up so i got a lick to keep her occupied since i can’t fix that in the space of 2 days - worked a treat, she made me look like a complete liar and was so focused on it she nearly fell over! downside, the sleeves of my new coat STINK of garlic lol. no fuss over the sheep today, and we gave a road sign an investigation before she deemed it not a-pony-eating-monster, she makes me so proud the way she’s willing to give scary things a sniff rather than hightailing it in the other direction!

and we have photos!

 

[dottylottie]

first ride tonight and this time i’m requesting advice! so all in all she was very good, but we had a few episodes of reversing a bit too quick for comfort because she didn’t want to go forward - for the most part i turned her round and pushed her forward and she was fine, but a couple of times my mum had to come and pull her forward. i know that it all comes from her lack of confidence, she’s not being “naughty” or trying to “get one over on me”, so if she wouldn’t go forward i just had my mum come and remind her she’s not on her own and she was fine, and at the end i got off and walked her to explore some traffic signs so we could end on a good note of her feeling confident and me not feeling frustrated.

she really is green as grass from her sheltered lifestyle lol, despite being nearly 10. going forward im going to carry on with the walking in hand to build her confidence in herself and her trust in me, but when it comes to riding i’m torn on whether or not to have another horse for company - i don’t doubt that it would reassure her, but i’m worried it might make our problems worse. up until now, we’ve gone out on our own each time so she knows no different since being here, and i’m questioning whether to go with company to increase her confidence now, or persist on our own so she doesn’t end up being worse on her own! i also don’t really have anyone who will come with us just for a 20 minute walk, or a pony my mum can borrow just to walk with us. once we move i’ll have multiple people from local yards to meet up with, but until then i’m stuck!

 

[Barton Bounty]

I wouldnt worry too much, she will just be unsure of her surroundings. Just tuen her and go round and nudge her on. You will get there

 

[dottylottie]

I wouldnt worry too much, she will just be unsure of her surroundings. Just tuen her and go round and nudge her on. You will get there

that’s what i was trying to do, but she was backing up with so much speed if i turned her round i think she’d have fallen on her face she’d go forward, id tell her how clever and brave she is, then she’d plant her feet and i’d be thinking spoke too soon…i wouldn’t mind if it was at something notably out of the ordinary, but she’s fine with traffic, sheep/cows now, traffic signs and barriers, puddles, but funny looking grass is a big no

baby steps and we’ll get there! i need to keep in mind that i don’t trust her because i don’t know her properly yet, and she’ll be feeling the exact same way! she’s a poppet on the ground though, and when i walk her in hand she looks back at me to check in rather than just dodging in the other direction

 

[Fjord]

She's lovely! I'm sure she'll get used to it all in no time.

 

[dottylottie]

we had our second ride last night, kept the routine the same and just went for a 10 minute walk, much more settled and less dramatic! she even offered me a little trot - i didn’t ask for one intentionally, but clearly i squeezed her on in walk too much so we just went with it! 2 cars came past her with no fuss, but we did have a couple of little strops. however, we both put our big girl pants on and got on with it she definitely gets a wriggle on when we head for home and tried to stop at the door to go back in the block so we went to the bottom of the lane then came back up because one thing i do not like is a nappy pony that carts me home haha. biggest victory is that we went all the way back on our own - sorry for ditching you mum

she also let me pick out 1 back foot without bribery, which was a big improvement from the other day when she told me in no uncertain terms to clear off lol.

I’ve always been a very confident rider and the reason i bought lily was because i felt perfectly safe even when she was spooking when i tried her, but our first ride i was definitely hesitant to push her too much when she was having her little dance’s because obviously i don’t know her and i don’t know what she’ll do so i was very proud of the both of us for just getting on with it took a short crop with me too so i could push through it easier, only to forget to take it off my mum the whole time anyway

baby steps most definitely but for her 4th time out on her own in her whole life and 2nd time ridden on her own she was very good and definitely improved - just reminding me she is still a welsh!

 

[dottylottie]

dentist, jabs and a very long walk with my partner and the dog today! little madam had to be sedated because she point blank refused to open her mouth for her teeth, no tension or fear whatsoever just pigheaded ignorance lol, she’s definitely been sedated before because she knew exactly what was coming but a very good girl for our walk! we ventured off the yard properly and walked the route i’d normally hack in hand, and after the first 10 minutes she relaxed completely and enjoyed herself, strolling along on a loose rope just taking it all in bless her, i think it was close to an hour so we were both knackered when we got back no fuss about a dog barking at her or cars coming past, but the lady with an umbrella got a snort so naturally all grooming sessions for the next couple of weeks will be done with an umbrella

very proud tonight, it made me so happy to see her actually enjoying herself!

 

[dottylottie]

our first ride alone today, and our first ride off the yard! we had a few “moments”, but now that i’m figuring out what makes her tick i can judge better when she needs pushing through it, or when she just needs a moment to stand and look. we had 2 episodes of the rapid reversing, one at the same big bale of haylage outside that’s been there everytime we’ve gone past, and one at the bridge over the train tracks that leads off the yard - we can let her off for that one because the last time we went over it a train went under right as we were in the middle and we both pooped our pants lol.

we were out for maybe 15 minutes, and she had to deal with roadworks, barking dogs, bicycles, a bloke on some scaffolding drilling, and that hissing noise buses make when they set off - she spooked at the lot bless her but she really tried, we didn’t have any dangerous antics even with the bloke drilling intermittently whilst we were waiting to cross a busy road with roadworks at the other side!

to top it off, when we got back to the bridge i told her to wait so i could hear if there were any trains coming, but by the time we stopped we were on the bridge and a train came right under us, but besides a little on the spot spook she just stood there! i’m so proud of my little pony, especially compared to the explosion we had last time the train came - typical really because there’s hardly ever any trains going past lol.

it was such a small thing but i was so proud of how she handled it that it made me all emotional, we walked up on a long rein with me patting her telling her how proud i was, before she spooked again at the same van we’ve been past almost dailykept my wits about me for a big longer so she didn’t deposit me in the ditch next to the path after that

 

[Barton Bounty]

All good progress , unexpected things do happen but stay focused and you will get there! Sounds like you are really enjoying her

 

[dottylottie]

All good progress , unexpected things do happen but stay focused and you will get there! Sounds like you are really enjoying her

thankyou! i’m looking forward to our move at the end of the month so we can actually use the arena and do some proper schooling and groundwork. i’m loving getting to know her, she’s such a character! it’s funny really that i absolutely did not want a mare, but i ended up with one with such a similar personality to me

 

[Barton Bounty]

thankyou! i’m looking forward to our move at the end of the month so we can actually use the arena and do some proper schooling and groundwork. i’m loving getting to know her, she’s such a character! it’s funny really that i absolutely did not want a mare, but i ended up with one with such a similar personality to me

Hehe that’s amazing!! Im so chuffed you have found your forever pony after the move she can properly start settling in

 

[dottylottie]

Hehe that’s amazing!! Im so chuffed you have found your forever pony after the move she can properly start settling in

thankyou my mum said to me the other day that i’m going to have to keep her forever now because she likes her so much, i said that was always the plan!

i’m hoping so! i think she’ll settle quicker on a smaller yard, but i’ve ordered some calming cookies and the powder just in case to make things as smooth as possible lol

 

[Barton Bounty]

thankyou❤ my mum said to me the other day that i’m going to have to keep her forever now because she likes her so much, i said that was always the plan!

i’m hoping so! i think she’ll settle quicker on a smaller yard, but i’ve ordered some calming cookies and the powder just in case to make things as smooth as possible lol

She will thrive on the smaller yard im sure

 

[dottylottie]

lily moved to her new home on sunday!

straight on the trailer and travelled very well, but the poor love was sweating buckets when she got off. sponged the worst of it off and left her to chill, went back up in the evening and put her in the arena for a leg stretch…she LOVES the mirrors lol. left her for about 20 mins whilst i did my jobs and when i went to get her she was still stood looking at herself

we had our first ride last night and she was more settled than she ever was in the old arena, nothing miraculous but she eventually started to stretch her neck down more and do some circles without dramatically falling in! it’s very apparent she’s had no schooling since being backed 2/3 years ago, so we’re pretty much starting from scratch but now we’ve got an arena that’s big enough to work in we can get cracking.

the mirrors proved more helpful than i anticipated - usually she’d be whinnying and not liking being on her own, but instead she happily trotted round desperately trying to get a peek of the mirror-pony downside is that as soon as we approach or ride alongside one we lose all bend or focus because she’s so intent on watching herself, but at least it made me get creative with my circles and patterns to avoid going past!

i have a few friends stabled on nearby yards too, so we’ve got plenty of hacking buddies now!

 

[IrishMilo]

Lovely looking pony, very smart!

 

[dottylottie]

Lovely looking pony, very smart!

thankyou!

 

[PurBee]

Thats adorable reading she’s in love with the mirrors

There’s some videos on youtube of wild animals being filmed discovering themselves in a mirror, and their reactions, it’s fascinating.

Great to hear she’s settling in so well so soon, best of luck with her

 

[dottylottie]

Thats adorable reading she’s in love with the mirrors

There’s some videos on youtube of wild animals being filmed discovering themselves in a mirror, and their reactions, it’s fascinating.

Great to hear she’s settling in so well so soon, best of luck with her

she’s actually a bit of a madam with other horses, so i was surprised she got on with mirror-pony so much! just like her mum, prefers her own company

thankyou!

 

[Barton Bounty]

Really chuffed for you that she seems settled and happy

 

[PurBee]

she’s actually a bit of a madam with other horses, so i was surprised she got on with mirror-pony so much! just like her mum, prefers her own company

thankyou!

Do you think she understood the reflection was herself, or another pony?

Ive been toying with the idea of getting a mirror for mine

 

[Barton Bounty]

Do you think she understood the reflection was herself, or another pony?

Ive been toying with the idea of getting a mirror for mine

I tried with mine, it made him neurotic he was lunging at it trying to bite it

 

[PurBee]

 

[Peglo]

My lass likes looking at herself in the mirror too. It’s very cute. And I think she knows she’s looking at herself.

so glad the move went smoothly for you both.

 

[dottylottie]

Do you think she understood the reflection was herself, or another pony?

Ive been toying with the idea of getting a mirror for mine

i can’t help but question it! maybe she just likes herself so much because she’s not picking up on any less-than-friendly body language? fascinating lol. either way, she’s quite content in the arena now, last night we did some raised trotting poles in a bid for a peachy pony bum and she bounced her way over them very nicely bless her.

 

[dottylottie]

My lass likes looking at herself in the mirror too. It’s very cute. And I think she knows she’s looking at herself.

so glad the move went smoothly for you both.

thankyou!

 

[splashgirl45]

Keep us posted, sounds like you are doing well

 

[dottylottie]

Keep us posted, sounds like you are doing well

will do, thankyou!