The Ludo Logbook

ycbm

ycbm

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I thought I'd start one thread that I can keep updating with Ludo's progress instead of new threads each time. I hope you approve.

Last time I rode him, he had his first real panic, about a bit of fluff caught on the wire around the arena. Puffing and snorting like he'd seen a dragon, not a bit of sheep fleece, he tried to spin away. I held him looking at it while he tried a spin one way, t'other way, then back the first way again. You never know what a baby will do in this situation, if held in place. Some will rear, some will buck, some will stand all day frozen to the spot. If he'd frozen, I would have circled him away and back round to it again. But he backed up, so I urged him forward. And when he stopped snorting, he went right up to it, very anxious but agreeing to do what I asked him to.

Then we went off round the arena, and when he came past it again he all but ignored it completely. People have told me that is typical Appy behaviour, to get over themselves once they are allowed to check that it's safe. It was very good, wherever it comes from!

The rest of the session was great. More relaxed, more accepting of the bit and the bend, more controllable, more balanced. Very, very happy with him!

And today I found myself a new trainer, when I've been looking for aaaages for someone on my wavelength. The work my Clydex Henry did towards the end was brilliant and I'm impatient now to get Ludo there next year. I must order a new delivery of patience tablets :)

I should have some Henry video later.
 
Yes thats typical appy reaction.
Snort, spook, figure out its fine then ignore as its not important anymore.

Will look forward to more updates
 
Slightlyconfused said:
Yes thats typical appy reaction.
Snort, spook, figure out its fine then ignore as its not important anymore.

Will look forward to more updates
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It's very marked, isn't it? Every other horse I've had would still react, just less every time until it faded out. Him? Been there. Seen that. No problem.

Remind me why they also have a reputation for stubbornness? Am I going to find that out next week, because a less stubborn horse I've yet to train?!
 
He sounds so cool. Excited to see him progress!

Think I might have a new favourite thread; hope you'll keep it updated regularly for all Ludo's (multitudinous) fans. ;)
 
The spotty botty itself. Coming together nicely on the hills :)

20180803_184737.jpg


Be doesn't have a turned out foot, he just won't stand straight for a photo!
 
ycbm said:
It's very marked, isn't it? Every other horse I've had would still react, just less every time until it faded out. Him? Been there. Seen that. No problem.

Remind me why they also have a reputation for stubbornness? Am I going to find that out next week, because a less stubborn horse I've yet to train?!
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One of the things i love about them. There is something to be said for appys tendancy to not be bothered about life.


Yes they are very stubborn but in a different way for each horse.

One of mine is stubborn in the fact once he knows something he likes to 'help' and do it all the time. So you need to mix it up all the time other wise he just predicts what you want and then gets slightly stubborn and argumentative ( stamps feet really hard ) for a while if you want to do something different then gives in.
So my warm up is never the same.


The other isnt so much as stubborn and just likes his routine and tells you your lifes worth if its not kept to. Again nothing bad, bit of door bashing or if in yhe feild just yells at anyone who walka past.
 
Sam_J said:
Love the updates, keep them coming! And who is the new trainer? Always interested in recommendations.
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Alex Hua Tian's (Olympic eventer) OH Sarah, at Pinfold. I chose her because her Facebook photo isn't of her riding a smart dressage horse, it's of three people spraying each other with champagne standing on a medal podium! We are such a good fit. I said I preferred eleven to ten because then we could have Maccy D for breakfast and Flora's cafe for lunch, and she though that was a great idea :)
 
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Really pleased to hear that! My pony is distracted for the entire ride by something spooky. We were really getting into her ride, I had finally coiled her all together and up again, b n bvb cb vv bv and she was working lovely in canter (she's a showjumping pony moving into eventing so it was a big achievment) and then the big spooky plank that she's forgotten about had moved, like, 2 inches in the wind and we lost it all haha!

Keep the updates coming, even from the back he looks super cute!
 
Looking forward to following the Spotty Botty. He is very lovely. I wish Dave would remember when things aren't scary, he can walk past the same ting day in & out but one day it's horrific!
 
OK, reluctantly, here is the pointer to one of my videos from today training Henry. I love this horse, he has restored my faith in horses after four disasters. He is capable of beautiful, beautiful work, but this is the first lesson with a new trainer and you have to break eggs,to make an omelette. I think he's doing really well, and I hope you can see the potential between the not so good bits. No critique please,, nobody could be more critical than I am myself.


[video]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce8xRmw4YJ0[/video]
 
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ycbm said:
OK, reluctantly, here is the pointer to one of my videos from today training Henry. I love this horse, he has restored my faith in horses after four disasters. He is capable of beautiful, beautiful work, but this is the first lesson with a new trainer and you have to break eggs,to make an omelette. I think he's doing really well, and I hope you can see the potential between the not so good bits. No critique please,, nobody could be more critical than I am myself.


[video]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce8xRmw4YJ0[/video]
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I like him! There is something of the Alf about him.
 
Yayyy a Lushious Ludo thread 😁😁😁😁
Such a good boy, interesting to read about Appys as I've never had anything to fo with them.
But I'd take Henry off your hands ❤❤❤❤❤❤
 
SatansLittleHelper said:
Yayyy a Lushious Ludo thread 😁😁😁😁
Such a good boy, interesting to read about Appys as I've never had anything to fo with them.
But I'd take Henry off your hands ❤❤❤❤❤❤
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Defiantly not for sale :D

I bought him four years ago to break and sell and somehow he never left.
 
Oh my that was exciting!

We were cantering a big circle and I could feel his little brain start thinking about evading the bend, instead of focussing on his feet. And he tripped over thin air/a flat arena surface/his own legs - take your pick - and planted his snout in the dirt.

Just as I started to think 'I'm out the front door here', he scrabbled to his feet and carried on. Having put me well out of balance I thought he would buck. But no, he just let me get straight again, and off we went.

Got away with that one !!

His trot is so improved it's nearly ready to video. His canter is fantastic when he's not falling over. His walk is worst because he tends to come back at you if you keep him straight, so we are doing a lot either bent or counterbent, at my choice, not his.

Still on 20 minutes, he runs out of strength at 20.
 
I'd steal Henry! Liking these updates a lot. I have found introducing my Appy to hacking on the roads fascinating. Speedy cars / motorbikes = fine. Dustbin lorry = no issue. Plastic cow by the shop = ignore. Tyre tracks on our driveway? Complete meltdown.
 
SEL said:
I'd steal Henry! Liking these updates a lot. I have found introducing my Appy to hacking on the roads fascinating. Speedy cars / motorbikes = fine. Dustbin lorry = no issue. Plastic cow by the shop = ignore. Tyre tracks on our driveway? Complete meltdown.
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Lol this reminds me of the time our old appy freaked out at a bird having a bath in a puddle in the gate to the farm on the way back....he had just done a busy road hack with all of the above.
 
Ooo, Henry looks like a lovely ride!

Glad you're enjoying ludo so much :D I'll keep checking back in for a vid! I restarted my spotty critter a 3 weeks back - we're mainly spending our time at the moment in walk going sideways and in circles though as she is hot hot hot. Having become a bit too used to Dabs who is melodramatic but ultimately a steady Eddie, it's a bit of a shock to the system now having bold as brass but hot to trot Arty to ride :D
 
Slightlyconfused said:
Lol this reminds me of the time our old appy freaked out at a bird having a bath in a puddle in the gate to the farm on the way back....he had just done a busy road hack with all of the above.
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LOL this is so relateble!
Diva won't walk over PLAIN wooden poles so I'm using florescent road cones laid out on their sides instead. Appy logic is weird.
 
Well I'm sorry guys. I had the OH all set up to video some nice trot work, but my heavens was he in an excitable mood today, or what :eek: ? He was pogoing around the arena like he had springs on the bottom of his feet, and a brain full of caffeine. The canter was particularly exciting !!!!

I did get him settled, but it took half an hour and OH had gone back to his trench by then :) I carried on for half an hour because he was feeling very strong in himself and certainly didn't lack for energy! I probably wouldn't want to do it in a twenty metre wide arena, thirty is so much easier for a young horse.

He was chucking his head around and backing off the leg so that he could evade going where he was told at the speed he was told. I just stayed completely consistent until he gave in, but there was a hint of a threat to rear or buck, which thankfully he decided against.

He finished really nicely, which I was pleased about. It's not good to end on a bad note.

I've decided not to leave it so long before I ride him next time. He wasn't naughty, just too full of himself, but it didn't feel totally safe up there today. If he does it again I'll get the physio to check him over in case he tweaked something shoving his nose into the dirt last time.


So, apologies again, video next time, promise!
 
lucky you to have 2 nice horses to ride, like both of them but think henry is especially nice...looks like he would do a nice dressage test in time....
 
splashgirl45 said:
lucky you to have 2 nice horses to ride, like both of them but think henry is especially nice...looks like he would do a nice dressage test in time....
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He can do a nice test now, except that I hate competing :) I rode him in my standard cack handed fashion when I know I'm being judged a few weeks ago and he still got 64% in an elementary. He has lovely flying changes, shoulder in, travers, renvers, etc. That was a first lesson with a new trainer and we were all feeling our way a bit. We were challenging him to balance himself and get more bounce into his canter. He's a great hack, jumper and hunter too. He is a lovely horse and a great buddy. I am very lucky to have them both :)
 
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ycbm said:
Well I'm sorry guys. I had the OH all set up to video some nice trot work, but my heavens was he in an excitable mood today, or what :eek: ? He was pogoing around the arena like he had springs on the bottom of his feet, and a brain full of caffeine. The canter was particularly exciting !!!!

I did get him settled, but it took half an hour and OH had gone back to his trench by then :) I carried on for half an hour because he was feeling very strong in himself and certainly didn't lack for energy! I probably wouldn't want to do it in a twenty metre wide arena, thirty is so much easier for a young horse.

He was chucking his head around and backing off the leg so that he could evade going where he was told at the speed he was told. I just stayed completely consistent until he gave in, but there was a hint of a threat to rear or buck, which thankfully he decided against.

He finished really nicely, which I was pleased about. It's not good to end on a bad note.

I've decided not to leave it so long before I ride him next time. He wasn't naughty, just too full of himself, but it didn't feel totally safe up there today. If he does it again I'll get the physio to check him over in case he tweaked something shoving his nose into the dirt last time.


So, apologies again, video next time, promise!
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Must be something in the air as my spotty came in this eveing wide eyed and a bit prancy. Totally unlike him.
He settled with some hay and i just turfed him back out after some munching. He was not going to have a nice ride in that mood.

He does the same, back comes up and a throw of the head and shoulders but he has never done anything. Just do what you did keep quiet and keep asking and he settles.
 
I already know that he is very sensitive to changes in the weather, but I think he's cereal intolerant. He's been acting really strange, nervy, jumpy, and the only thing I've changed is that I've added oats to his feed to keep the weight on him now the grass is dying. I wasn't going to get on the snorting dragon I tacked up this morning, so I lunged him. He's been fine with this before, but he went bananas when I turned him clockwise and he couldn't look at me with his left eye, the one they assess danger with.

I made him behave, and then rode and he was fine. He did some very nice work for a few minutes, and I stopped because he'd already done five minutes on the lunge. Still a snorting dragon when I led him in though. So tomorrow's food is linseed and bran and we'll see what that does. I had him on that last winter and he was fine, so fingers crossed it's just the oats.

Anyone know if cereal intolerance and alfalfa intolerance go hand in hand? He seemed very similar each time?

He's feeling very strong now, so I'm comfortable about increasing his workload to every other day if I feel like riding him. If I ride three times a week then at least one of those will be a hack.

It was reassuring how good he was to be ridden today after how he was on the ground. He really doesn't have an over reactive bone in his body when he's got a rider on board :)
 
I'm not updating if you guys aren't going to comment! It's like posting into a great big empty void. Got some fab video of Henry's lesson today which I'm going to keep to myself unless you beg :D
 
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