Rio and his toys and a new trick :)

StormyMoments

StormyMoments

Well-Known Member
Joined
18 March 2011
Messages
2,214
Visit site
Well here i am again with the antics of Mr R the dopey stallion :)

I sent my saddle away a couple weeks ago so he hasnt been ridden for a bit so i decided to start teaching him things... one of which is to carry things! For some reason he has taken to this one like a duck to water and has started to pick brushes up off the floor, lead ropes etc and give them to me... This then got me thinking. Rio is scared of whips to the point that i cant get within 20 yards of him without him taking off so this morning i layed my lunge whip on the floor got him to follow me up to it and asked him to pick it up. He did it! without a flinch.. probably doesnt realise what it is but oh well :)

anyway heres a video of the different things he has decided to pick up :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g78dlvstKfk

enjoy :)
 
Hmm well if his career as "being a stunning horse" doesn't work out he has a broad range of skills there to fall back on.

Assistance dog
Traffic control operative
Footballer (I'd go for this first Rio it's well paid!)
Lion tamer

:D
 
Oh isn't he a lovely boy! :D You know what, i bet he'd be really popular to use in adverts and photoshoots and films, if you teach him some more tricks he could be a movie star :D He's certainly got the looks for it! :D
 
A friend said it wouldnt work on her phone either :( i dont know how to get it to work :( i started to teach him to count but he gets really excited doing it and then looses consentration then ends up cantering off bucking :o taught him to do kisses which he does well. im not really sure what else to teach him as i cant think of anything oh he can bow as well be we are still working on it :) im not teaching him to rear as that could become dangerous i was thinking lay down but im not sure :) any ideas welcome :)
 
He already knows spanish walk, piaffe and passage from the ground he just gets frightened when i ask so i dont bother anymore :o he did parades in hand and ridden so he knows a few things but most of which he gets frightened when asked for it :(
 
hmm, I will probably get shot down in flames for this and may be getting the wrong end of the stick but...

are you giving him a specific cue to pick things up and let them go or is he just doing it when he wants? I didn't have the sound on so may have missed the commands. If he is just doing it as and when he wants i would worry about making him mouthy and prone to bite - obviously you know whether this is likely or not.

I also thought that with the large balance ball he looked like he was trying to pick it up but couldn't so was maybe getting frustrated. I am sure he could be taught to nose or kick it forwards which he may find easier and more fun.
 
He picks up and puts down when i ask he has yet to do it when i havent asked. He picks it up to me pointing to the object and saying pick up and once he has hold of it he drops it to "and drop it" while pointing at the floor :) i havent got the commands on the video as i hate how my voice sounds :o

The balance ball was given to him before he had been taught any commands. Everything he is doing he is doing himself and he is now not interested in the ball at all. I didnt ask him to play with the ball i just stuck it in the school with him to see if he was interested - he obviously was at the time and now he takes no notice :)
 
Aww, your video really made me smile. :)

I remember when I was younger seeing a horse that had been taught to fetch in PONY magazine. Maybe you should teach him to do that! I have no idea how you would go about it though!
 
My mare fetches. All it took was OH who had a dog toy and missed his dobies :rollseyes:
She also spends the first five mins every time she sees him launching into the air and sulking until he pretends to jump. Not sure who is more of a Muppet.
 
I've taught mine to push gates on command. V helpful BUT make sure it's on command or you get to a pull gate and they try to push it!
 
StormyMoments said:
A friend said it wouldnt work on her phone either :( i dont know how to get it to work :( i started to teach him to count but he gets really excited doing it and then looses consentration then ends up cantering off bucking :o taught him to do kisses which he does well. im not really sure what else to teach him as i cant think of anything oh he can bow as well be we are still working on it :) im not teaching him to rear as that could become dangerous i was thinking lay down but im not sure :) any ideas welcome :)
Click to expand...

how about teaching him to stick his toungue out or say yes and no by shaking head up and down and then sideways? teach him to hug you with his head :) if i think of something else i'll let you know :D
 
Gorgeous boy and I must say it's lovely to see him looking so relaxed. Sometimes occupying their brains can be very useful to getting a horse to concentrate and relax and I hope an improved relationship on the ground will translate ridden too :)
 
His old owner taught him to open gate and door latches so he has to have everything tied closed and he has a drop bolt on his stable as he would just let himself out :o he can also turn taps on and off which is fine unless your washing his legs off and he decides hes had enough and turns it off!
 
FfionWinnie said:
Depending on which iPad, if you touch the icon on the top left (three horizontal lines on mine), scroll down and select "desk top" this makes all videos which say can't be watched on a mobile device, work :). It doesn't work on my Dad's older iPad however.
Click to expand...

Ooh thank you, you learn something new every day! :D

OP the video is great, had me in stitches when he was playing with his ball!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top