Bernster
Well-Known Member
Clever Hera!
Mid June Weekend Thread
- Thread starter Ambers Echo
- Start date
milliepops
Wears headscarf aggressively
she was so pleased with herself afterwards, when I sent her off to hang out with Frankel while I put the ramp up she went prancing off with her tail over her back, haha.
palo1
Well-Known Member
Brilliant - she is going to be fantastic for you to work with!!
Beautiful and brainy - Watch OUT!!palo1
Well-Known Member
We got 9 off the mountain, one sneaky stallion escaped. Still an absolutely amazing experience and they're all doing well at the rescue, will see vet and dentist this week.
Also found another herd of 7 in a decent spot currently so in total we have 15 that might be accessible enough to work with semi-regularly until we can get them into a corral and then a box. Cant post photos as usual but I can post scenery!!
We have a FB group, Mourne Horse Watch, if it's allowed to publicly post that, we will have a fundraiser soon and I know asking/ posting about donations can be weird!
Looks beautiful! Do the graziers get in touch with you directly about the ponies they don't want/have been dumped? I am interested because in this bit of Wales the graziers (on the whole) don't do anything like that. They get a bit irritated with dumped ponies as they tend not to survive and then the graziers feel that they are blamed for that but the existing herds are possibly a bit more 'managed' or at least 'owned' I guess?
smolmaus
Well-Known Member
Its a complicated one as the land is "owned" by local farmers but managed by the National Trust and at least one other organisation who's name has fallen right out of my head atm. We found out about them through concerned members of the public. We dont have any wild pony species, or shouldn't anyway, so there really isn't any question of just letting them be. They just aren't able for the terrain in the winter and there is nobody willing or able to manage them on the mountain even if they could be managed. Basically everyone involved wants them gone except the odd person on FB who cares more about being able to look at them for 5 mins on a walk than whether or not they're going to starve to death over Christmas.
palo1
Well-Known Member
Oh blimey, that does indeed sound complicated.
I would be personally very dubious about the concerned members of the public ...and equally dubious of those that want the ponies there for any scenic value! My family are graziers as are some of my friends and neighbours and have hill ponies as they always have done and managing them is something of a balancing act but thankfully where we are it seems to work out ok on the whole. There used to be a market value for the ponies which there isn't now so the motivation to have a gather and deal with them is very low but I don't know a single grazier or pony owner that doesn't want them. They are, however gathered - not annually now but every couple of years and colts and some stallions removed. The hill horses represent something incalculably important. It is something I have given a lot of thought to over the years as the ponies sometimes look awful and yes, very sadly some die every year. But when you talk to the graziers and owners there is clearly a lot more to it than just money or 'tradition'. We have a hill mare that comes down to home every year; she is wormed, vaccinated and de-loused (it is a bit of a fallacy ime that these ponies are pest-free due to their 'natural' lifestyle lol; they cope brilliantly but I don't really want our domestic herd taking on passengers! ) She spends the summer being ridden; she is an amazing horse who was born on the hill in a 10 day period of snow cover and she lives happily up there in winter. She is not quite typical of what you might think in a number of ways however. We visit the herd in winter ourselves a couple of times a week; great dog walk!! The other graziers of that hill see the horses most days too. We have had mares live well into their late 20s and even early 30s and in summer they look amazing. Winter is a hard time sometimes but I have trudged through the snow worrying about them only to find them incredibly hale and hearty. Most of the graziers I know will pull a horse off the hill if it is struggling beyond what they understand to be tolerable/manageable (and they don't want people complaining about them or reporting them either!!) though I get that other people might see things differently. Having gone from thinking it was terrible to leave ponies on the hill, over the last couple of decades I have learnt to trust the graziers opinions and experience too to be honest. On the bigger areas of mountain that simply isn't possible so, sadly for individuals, natural selection takes effect. For the herds and their 'bloodlines' that is a good thing I think.For me, the ponies value is in their ability to cope with the life they have; once they are removed from the hill that is lost forever but maintaining their terrain, feeding, drinking and herd knowledge through their lifestyle ensures that hardiness, adaptability and sense is there in the base of our equine 'family' if you like. With horses increasingly 'bred' for leisure with all the problems and issues that brings I think this is really vital. I have always felt enormously privelaged to have a relationship with particular herds and have seen them through quite a few years now. We haven't lost a horse on 'our' hill for nearly a decade. We don't know why one of the mares broke a leg but she was shot by a grazier when found in trouble. She may have been harassed by a dog sadly. There is also a sense, with the graziers that I know that they have always understood the conservation value of the horses; even when farming and grazing policies have been very muddled there has always been something of an understanding that the ponies play a necessary part in the bigger picture.
On the big mountain (not our grazier rights) we are also familiar with particular stallions and their bands; the strong ones keep to the tops and we have seen some amazing horses over time. At the same time we are enraged by those folk who think they may be doing a horse a favour by dropping it off on the Welsh hills; those poor things invariably starve in their first winter of 'freedom' as they have no 'rights' with the existing horses and have no knowledge of where to go when the weather is bad or dangerous. It is, as you say, complicated. I can't help but admit I am sad to hear of feral ponies being removed as they don't really know any different. I don't know what life offers them after that in a sense but it sounds as if NI is different to Wales.
ETA - I am pretty shocked too to hear that the NT are supporting the removal (theft?) of someone else's livestock - they wouldn't get away with that here in Wales...
HufflyPuffly
Well-Known Member
Had a great time on the ARC Fun Ride ?.
smolmaus
Well-Known Member
We are very different to Wales yeah. We don't have native hill ponies here. When I say semi-feral I mean that these are all dumped domestic equines that have bred over the past few years. It's clear which of them have had homes in the past and which ones have been born there and none of them are coping well. The NT are supporting established sanctuaries in rescuing abandoned ponies who have nobody else to look out for them, they do not belong to the local landowners who graze sheep on the mountain and the landowners want them gone. It is absolutely and unequivocally not theft of any kind.
palo1
Well-Known Member
It is good to hear that no theft is involved (it would be really shocking if it were tbh though!!) and really sad that there are a number of dumped and unwanted ponies - poor blighters must find it very hard to cope.
I am glad there are people looking out for them.
smolmaus
Well-Known Member
That would be quite shocking and a strange thing for me to openly admit to being involved in! ?It is good to hear that no theft is involved (it would be really shocking if it were tbh though!!) and really sad that there are a number of dumped and unwanted ponies - poor blighters must find it very hard to cope.
It is lovely to hear that your Welsh hill ponies do still have people they can rely on to look out for them.
palo1
Well-Known Member
j1ffy
Well-Known Member
palo1 and smolmaus - it's really interesting hearing about the hill ponies!
I got a couple of pro pics from Sunday, it's lovely to have a memory of our final test together. Sorry that the plaits are so awful!!
I got a couple of pro pics from Sunday, it's lovely to have a memory of our final test together. Sorry that the plaits are so awful!!
Chippers1
Well-Known Member
Pro pic for me too over the Newborough Leap (I bought this Jpeg and a print version so I think it's ok to share!)
Not sure why Buzz looks unimpressed, he towed me into this
Not sure why Buzz looks unimpressed, he towed me into this
palo1
Well-Known Member
j1ffy
Well-Known Member
Pro pic for me too over the Newborough Leap (I bought this Jpeg and a print version so I think it's ok to share!)
View attachment 73797
Not sure why Buzz looks unimpressed, he towed me into this
I think he's got quite a smug look - "this is easy!"
j1ffy
Well-Known Member
Wow! He is really beautiful!
Thank you! I hope he finds a lovely home, I've told him to buck off anyone who doesn't seem nice
palo1
Well-Known Member
Thank you! I hope he finds a lovely home, I've told him to buck off anyone who doesn't seem nice
Excellent advice!!
Chippers1
Well-Known Member
Haha yes that's definitely it! Need to try the bigger ones...
Ambers Echo
Still wittering on
Great pic, Chippers x
scats
Well-Known Member
Did you do the zoo route?
HufflyPuffly
Well-Known Member
teapot
Well-Known Member
Braved my lessons today - first was a bit samey horse and content wise, but second I had a lovely younger chap, who was new to me and out of my comfort zone. However small, pleased with what we achieved, and felt like I learnt something.
Not quite how it was before jokes/relaxed wise and instead utterly utterly professional. Clearly passing on my views formally had got through.
Not quite how it was before jokes/relaxed wise and instead utterly utterly professional. Clearly passing on my views formally had got through.
milliepops
Wears headscarf aggressively
... skidding into the back end of this thread after having a really useful lesson this morning. I've got my brain in a scramble over the right canter piri, 2 reasons really, firstly that the right canter isn't the same as the left one and in *comparison* the right piri feels laboured. Secondly because I've probably been riding the line towards the piri in the Inter1 test plan in a way that doesn't set us up particularly well.
Anyway this morning's lesson was accompanied by the sound of multiple lightbulbs buzzing into life. It doesn't matter what the left piri is like, I just need to concentrate on making the right one good, whatever that requires, and not get distracted by the comparison.
additionally, i should ride the line towards that right piri in a way that enhances it, not sabotage ourselves knowingly. the I1 piris are both on short diagonals, left one first,H-B, then flying change and turn back off the track B-K to do the right one. i've been riding the turn like a V shape as you would draw it but I KNOW that kills the canter and then there's only a stride to try and create it before the piri. So why don't i round it off, risk losing 0.5 for doing that but getting an extra 1.0 for making the piri better. Duhhh!
Rode some useful exercises for really improving an honest and prompt response to the aids which helped the basic quality of the paces hugely, another lightbulb about not protecting her from doing the wrong thing but let her make a mistake and correct it.
Chuffed to bits, and on course for our test ride in a fortnight...
Frankel got on the lorry yesterday afternoon, he's not brave like Hera at all, and was visibly nervous but he has made a start and it's something to build on. it was nice having a project to work on with him, i think he just needs to learn how to try to get things right rather than get befuddled by the question, and he will like that feeling then
Anyway this morning's lesson was accompanied by the sound of multiple lightbulbs buzzing into life. It doesn't matter what the left piri is like, I just need to concentrate on making the right one good, whatever that requires, and not get distracted by the comparison.
additionally, i should ride the line towards that right piri in a way that enhances it, not sabotage ourselves knowingly. the I1 piris are both on short diagonals, left one first,H-B, then flying change and turn back off the track B-K to do the right one. i've been riding the turn like a V shape as you would draw it but I KNOW that kills the canter and then there's only a stride to try and create it before the piri. So why don't i round it off, risk losing 0.5 for doing that but getting an extra 1.0 for making the piri better. Duhhh!
Rode some useful exercises for really improving an honest and prompt response to the aids which helped the basic quality of the paces hugely, another lightbulb about not protecting her from doing the wrong thing but let her make a mistake and correct it.
Chuffed to bits, and on course for our test ride in a fortnight...
Frankel got on the lorry yesterday afternoon, he's not brave like Hera at all, and was visibly nervous but he has made a start and it's something to build on. it was nice having a project to work on with him, i think he just needs to learn how to try to get things right rather than get befuddled by the question, and he will like that feeling then
J_sarahd
Well-Known Member
We had a last minute school at a nearby arena hire with show jumps and cross country jumps. He popped every single cross country jump I asked of him, down the steps (the last one is pretty big), over the ditch first time, through the water first time, over the corner for the first time (he’s not really seen many corners before).
But he refused a tiny cross pole and 2 other show jumps. We seem to have lost a bit of our confidence (both of us) with show jumps. Once we were stringing fences together, he popped everything confidently even fences he hadn’t jumped yet.
Feeling a bit deflated because I am having to take a step down with our show jumping but also very happy with how he’s feeling with cross country.
CanteringCarrot
Well-Known Member
I had a lesson yesterday and I am once again questioning my entire existence ? it's not that it was "bad" per say, but I am too much of a perfectionist and will beat myself up in my head about everything. Even when RI says it's good, I can still feel it could be better and get in my own head. I was being picky over the collected canter but was told "it's not as bad as you imagine it" so...I'm going to attempt to get OH (busy guy) to the yard to video a ride.
Felt better toward the end of the lesson though.
I just don't get how everyone stays so positive and thinks that their horse is the best thing since sliced bread, I am so negative and only see the things that are wrong. I seem to forget how far we've come and just think it isn't far enough. Bizarre the pressure that is put on me...by myself ?
Felt better toward the end of the lesson though.
I just don't get how everyone stays so positive and thinks that their horse is the best thing since sliced bread, I am so negative and only see the things that are wrong. I seem to forget how far we've come and just think it isn't far enough. Bizarre the pressure that is put on me...by myself ?
milliepops
Wears headscarf aggressively
I write up almost every ride, just jottings on FB. it does 2 things for me - makes me consider what we covered each session in a way that is not just based on emotion(I try to leave the emotions behind on the walk back to the yard) and also gives me historical context daily through FB memories.
My horse is a nightmare, she's awkward, temperamental, un-generous, marish, too clever for me, stubborn and physically not suited to sport. she's not the best thing since sliced bread. but doing daily write ups helps me see all the ways we are both improving - not always within a week, but always within a month, certainly within a year. even this spring coming back from her being poorly where her behaviour deteriorated to an unmanageable level, I can see that MY understanding of this thing called dressage is better, so I can help her get better too.
I rode one piri in my piris lesson today, trainer said "woahh that was active", i countered it with "but she was hollow" and we both had a chuckle about well yes of course it was, you were aiming for active and hadn't told her to be round *as well*, you'd told her to be more active which she delivered successfully.
she will only do what she's asked. it helped me to see it like that.
My horse is a nightmare, she's awkward, temperamental, un-generous, marish, too clever for me, stubborn and physically not suited to sport. she's not the best thing since sliced bread. but doing daily write ups helps me see all the ways we are both improving - not always within a week, but always within a month, certainly within a year. even this spring coming back from her being poorly where her behaviour deteriorated to an unmanageable level, I can see that MY understanding of this thing called dressage is better, so I can help her get better too.
I rode one piri in my piris lesson today, trainer said "woahh that was active", i countered it with "but she was hollow" and we both had a chuckle about well yes of course it was, you were aiming for active and hadn't told her to be round *as well*, you'd told her to be more active which she delivered successfully.
she will only do what she's asked. it helped me to see it like that.
Roxylola
Well-Known Member
CC, I don't think its believing we are the best thing ever, or even that we are always positive, but I am very mindful of how far we have come as well as seeing how far we have to go.
Sarah thats still largely positive, hes gaining confidence with xc fences, his SJ will come back, its not lost forever, just take your time building again and he'll get there
Sarah thats still largely positive, hes gaining confidence with xc fences, his SJ will come back, its not lost forever, just take your time building again and he'll get there
Chippers1
Well-Known Member
Sarah I wouldn't be disheartened by that, sounds like a great session. I have plenty of times where Buzz has refused cross poles then built it back up again! I would just do a load of arena hires/SJ hires and start with keeping it small then build it up.
J_sarahd
Well-Known Member
Thanks RL! True, it was probably 75% positive last night. I just dwell on the negatives. Im going to try and focus on the positives and get him out show jumping as much as possible, even if it’s just arena hire.
Bernster
Well-Known Member
I tend to be quite self critical and too aware of what doesn’t go well. My ins is great at reminding me how far we’ve come and I occasionally remind myself that too through fb memories or looking over past videos. I also think watching videos is useful as it often looks better than it feels, even though I hate seeing myself on screen.