Do You Ride Horses? V.4

[ShortyTheHobbitess]

@Enchanted - I assume you're is just a standard whip with the tail on it? Maybe try adding a plastic bag to the end of it or something that will make lots of noise? Or you could even try a cattle sorting stick with a flag on the end? All it is is a flexible stick like a whip, but with a flag instead of a tail. Or if that's not an option try gently tapping her with the whip & when she starts moving away $ getting the right idea give her a little treat perhaps? Hope this helps a little


Ugh, my round bale slow feeding bag got frozen to the ground (couldn't fit the huge bale onto the platform feeder last time) cause of all the wacky weather & whilst trying to get it unstuck it got even more rips in it. So now I have to feed hay out of the two little hay bags until the new bag comes in, which could be over a week. -.-

[Hime]

@Scarlet: We have the saying pony *insert gait here*, when a horse/pony has very short quick stride, be it canter or trot. So that's probably what you have problem with, you've more used to, hence comfortable with, horse strides that are generally bigger(sometimes slower) than pony strides, hence easier to sit. Ponies tend to be fast on their moves and 'slippery' since they are smaller, and if you feel very out of saddle due your height, then that might add on to the issue. I might try out longer stirrups(it's no crime to have your leg go under the belly line), as personally with shorter ones, while yes they offer more support, they also make me easily loose the contact to the saddle. Basically all else I can think off is just that you need to ride more ponies/short strided horses, to get used to it. If you feel really badly out of rythm, I find it usefull to two point for little bit to kinda let the horse do it's thing as well in peace while you figure things out, and after bit sit back down and see if it's any better. With Heta though if there's no improvement, I just do new transitions, as most of the time I'm not even sure she has clean canter when I feel off... : P

@Measuring blankets: The other way to get measure for correct size, is from withers along the back to the top of the tail. But I think that's more common way to measure in Europe, and even then more common when used centimeters to tell the rug sizes.

@Small horses/ponies vs. tall people: *snickers* Exactly why I ride Icelandics(though I'm not particularry tall nor heavy). XD Can't really out grow them(which is pretty sweet for younger people who are into showing), unless you get really obease. Then it's not really fair for the horse, especially if you additionally have poor riding skills... But othervise it's mainly preferance, so just don't like riding pony sized horses. Though among people riding Icelandics, I've noticed that taller people do favor larger horses. Plus the general average size of the breed has gone up, in past 10-20 years I think. Like when I started out, horse over 140cm was rarer sight and considered large, but these days most of the breeding stallions that we have over here are over 140cm, many go over 145cm too.

@Mustangs: Probably easiest if you google out if there's Haflinger assosiation or something in Canada, since they most likely have list of breeders and possibly horses that are for sale. I'd imagine it's not common breed in Canada how ever, so there probably ain't that many...

@Enchanted: I think Heta has more fluffier white hairs on her head than brown ones. XD Othervise she's only light/meadium fluffy, for an Icelandic that is. lol
I haven't really heard any recent news of Tý lately... So I suppose he's doing good, at least hasn't injured himself lately. Last time I heard of him, he was in the same group with the new arrivals. The 'needs fattening up'-group. XD I'm kinda hoping for some snowy pics soon, since one other person asked for pics of the boys earlier, but they said the horses are so muddy and wet it's no go(at least if you want them to look nice), and we have to wait until it snows/freezes to get nicer pics. And now that we got snow, so... lol Impatient horse owner here.

As for sensitizing Willow. With caution, as she is a baby(do too much and they loose interest and don't want to do anything=get lazy) and a donkey(which I heard don't exactly think like horses, and are known to be stubborn and can be forced to do even less than horses), you probably need to be bit more drastic and don't stop until you get her to react and then reward. I usually have to do that once with Heta to get her listening and then she starts listening the smaller cues as well. Though I rarely use whip as main tool... Just rope and body language most of the time. The times I do use a whip, she has over reacted to it in the past, but while back she had very little reaction to it and I might dare to say grow even duller to it towards the end of the session... So I find it bit useless, but sometimes I get extra umph to myself if I have in hand(like Heta takes me bit more serious), though using it rarely gets results if I don't match my body language to it...
Adding little plastic to the whip might not be such bad idea, if she's really not responding to the whip at all. And keeping in mind she's still a baby, does she really understand what the whips supposed to mean?


(has a feeling none of these replies were actually usefull)
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Snow, snow, snow, so much snow. <3 It really started to snow earlier this week already and today it snowed some more. So we indeed got white christmas. Which is awsome, buuuut once again I'm missing all the snowy horse fun this year. :c I accidentally moved my shoulder to wrong direction yesterday and geez it did not feel good. I'm not super sure if the bone is even at correct place next to my shoulder joint, as I can easily feel the end kinda stick out... >_< But when I got the staples out on Monday(feels sooooo much nicer now), the nurse didn't at least say the bone was wrong when I asked. Though she said nothing of it really, other than it still has some swelling which makes it hard to really feel it out right. : P Blah, means I still have to wait until 8th to get proper answers...
But enough about the whiny boring bone stuff, which is apparently my life these days. : P
Tý's place is having sort of one year anniversary party on the 6th(basically they offer cake+coffee there for certain hours), which I would reeeeaally like to go, not to mention I'd want to see Tý(can't remember when I saw him last ;_; ), but... I'm not sure if I can drive, and testing that out in winter with 2 hour drive doesn't sound super smart. >_> I mean techinically it doesn't feel like it would be super impossible, as I can kinda type already and the sling should come of the 8th anyway. Not to mention the road is pretty straight(it's boring to drive really), so the only need for two hands is minimal, but the snow/ice factor kinda makes it a 2 hand job. Meh, I think I have to whine to my mom, see if she's willing to drive me(or like combine visiting Heta and Tý the same day, since Heta's kinda on the way to Tý's place)... Or maybe if one of my friends would feel kind enough(doubt it).
Yes, I'm slowly starting to go crazy here, cooped up inside as putting on proper clothes is hard and annoying. Not to mention the shoulder still doesn't quite like it if I walk around too much.

[June Bug]

@Horse sizes
Granix is exactly the right size for me. He's tall enough that I don't feel like I could squish him, but not so tall that I feel like I need a ladder just to groom him. He's wide enough to be super comfy, but not so wide that he hurts my hips (I can't ride very wide horses or my hips seize up and I can't walk afterward. It makes me feel old. Dx) He's probably a bit too big for most young kids, but he's super sturdy so unless you're very large, you're probably not too big for him.
I love riding the occasional pony or monster draft, but Granix is exactly the size I'm most comfortable with.

@ Hime
So jealous of your snowy Christmas! It's freakishly warm here right now (mid 50s! so ~13c if I'm doing my math right), rainy, and SO foggy. I mean, technically we're having a white Christmas since whenever you look outside the white fog blocks out everything, but it's not exactly what I had in mind, lol.
Hopefully you can go see both your ponies, it's no fun being stuck inside and I'm sure they miss you too!

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So, I don't remember if I told you all about our barn decorating party? It was so fun! I finally had an excuse to string up some rope lights in Granix's stall (I can see in there now!) and I used part of our old paper chain we made from Christmas cards when I was a kid. It's like, 20 years old now and we never use if for anything anymore (plus it got so long after adding to it for almost 10 years that there's no way we can use it all anyway, haha) so I figured it didn't matter if he ended up destroying it a little bit.

I've been riding him a lot in just a haler and lead and finally gained the courage to canter him bareback the other day. I was hesitant because while his walk and trot are really lovely-paced, he has a tendency to run into the canter and his natural canter stride is very big and quick. It was pretty hard staying balanced on the up and down transitions, but the canter itself was wonderful and he really enjoyed himself.

[Mercury.Muses]

I'm 5"1 and 80 pounds yet I ride a 16.2 hand mare for barrel racing. LOL Such a duo . I actually prefer large horses,
What's the limit on ponies again in height? It passes my mind .
My teacher said all of her horses used to be 18 hands at smallest and now the 16.2 mare is her biggest xD

Merry christmas guys! We have a 62 degree high for tomorrow and it's a very, very sunny Christmas xD

[dipper.]

I'm very excited, as for Christmas I'm getting horseback riding lesson. <3
Is their any tips? I'm curious and want to make sure I do everything right, as this is
my first time...

[Mercury.Muses]

Just make sure to listen to your trainer, try not to be over confident but don't drown in nervousness. Make sure to wear pants and boots, I got an OK for sneakers my first time but all I did was walk for 20 minutes but some trainers might not be so slack. It'll be fine!

[Mustangs]

I ride with converses at times, but using boots will be better. Honestly though I ride bareback mostly so I don't wear shoes sometimes. I suggest getting riding boots ASAP. They are better for riding.

[.Scarlet.]

When I started, my instructor required at least a 1inch heeled boot and long pants/jeans. The helmets were provided. And my first lesson consisted of walking on my own, trotting on the luge line and learning to post and do two point.

[Mustangs]

Same here! Except I sat the trot first. My sister is a "Instructor In Training" at my stable. Our head trainer is always beside her during lessons though.
She lunges the ponies at a walk for them to get the rhythm and be balanced. We don't let them use reins though when we lunge the ponies. The reins are attached to the saddle since certain beginners don't know how to hold them.

My sister does trust exercises with the rider and pony before a lesson. That helps them to not be scared with them.

[ξƞçɧαƞtєđ]

ShortyTheHobbitess: I will most certainly try the taping a plastic bag to the end of the whip- I hadn't thought of that. And I do have just a regular old lunging whip- though I can say it has seen better days. Thank you so much- I shall let you know how that works!

Hime: Your response was most certainly helpful. xD But that is the same reason I have put off taking Christmas pics of my two. I'll brush them off, turn around, and it'll look like they haven't been brushed in years. It's so muddy here- I just want it to go away. xD I think I shall invest in a giant glass bubble or a giant umbrella to put over my property...that doesn't sound like such a bad idea. xD And I shall take your advice into heart as well. I didn't know that I could end up making a lazy donkey by working with her too soon. But you are right- they do tend to be a tad more stubborn though Sky has had her beat more than once when it comes to balking. But once, she's plain just sat right down and refused to go forward. It took me a good half hour to move the little bugger into her stall for the night. lol. Luckily, with a month of training, she happily trots into her stall now as she knows there is hay to eat, water to drink, and plenty of shavings to play in.

And what happened to your shoulder? I believe I missed it. That sounds absolutely awful though...my heart goes out to you as I know what you're going through. I had a horse accident a few years back that broke my left arm right below the shoulder. It was at the beginning of summer and I was excited to come ride more than just twice a week but the very first day there after school let out, the TB mare I was breaking spooked at a speeding car and trampled & dragged me clear across the arena. I thought I was going to be without horses for a while but I was actually aloud to come back and still volunteer (but with more minor stuff) such as brushing the horses (couldn't pick their feet for obvious reasons, but I was able to hold a brush with one hand with the other arm in a sling). Perhaps if you could find a ride, you could start doing that so your fluffy ponies don't miss you too much? After a month or so, my arm was still in a sling but me and my trainer would sneak around my over protective mom and I'd ride western style and neck rein for a little bit. Where there's a will- there's a way. As for the icy roads, I can't help you there. I've only started driving about a year ago so I am far from a professional on tricks as how to get around the snow, but I come from a place that gets 100"+ inches of snow a year plus lake effect, so I know where you are coming from. Is there another road you could take that perhaps has been salted or snow blowed? That tends to help the ice factor some, though black ice still tends to sneak around it.

RunningRace: The height limit for ponies is 14.2hh and lower. Anything above that mark is considered a horse.

Dipper: Congratulations on the wonderful present!!! As for tips, don't be nervous and listen to what you instructor says. If they say don't walk behind the horse, just don't walk behind the horse. Your first time is no time to test what limits you can stretch. If you have questions, ask them and if you are a bit scared or don't feel comfortable, let your trainer be aware of that. Just have fun and enjoy being around our four-legged friends. They'll take care of you. Good luck!

June Bug: Oh...cantering bareback...I love it! I can understand what you mean about keeping your balance. I have a tendency to lean a bit forward or a bit backward and that tends to throw me off so I have to constantly check myself. If you want to start the cantering bareback a bit more smoothly, try using a bareback pad or even riding him with his winter blanket on? I used to do that with the horses up in NY and it helped me get used to the whole feel of the animal rather than just learning as a went.

I wish I could have decorated my babies stalls- our house looks so Grinchy this year. We only have a tree and some stockings, and they're probably coming down today or tomorrow. xD

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Pictures to come...I promise. xD

As of now, it's pretty warm-ish outside and there is no snow! Woot woot! I got my green Christmas after all (Even if it is a bit muddy). I haven't been working my boy or girl since the rain hit hard as I don't want them slipping in the mud and hurting themselves so they've been let out in a smaller pasture and have been being put in their stalls earlier. They're taking it in stride though and as long as they have food to snack on, they're happy. But yesterday, I went to my local Co-Op and with some money I got in a Christmas card from my grandfather, I was able to buy my two a Christmas present after all! It was a miracle in my own eyes. So after some debating with my dad, I walked out of the store fully equipped with a Jolly Ball. I introduced them to it yesterday and they both loved it...too much in fact. It made my day and it tickled me to no end. I shall post pictures of them with it...you will die of cuteness. xD