Do You Ride Horses? V.4

[MoonLesbian]

please make sure to wash your hands/change clothes after handling her/before interreacting with any other horses too! as someone else explained, killpens tend to have a lot of disease going through them, partially because often by the time a horse is visibly sick, its already been in contact with a bunch of others

if she's underweight, make sure not to accidentally cause refeeding syndrome by feeding her too much too fast <3 i know she's probably already there but keep in mind, theres a good chance she will have lost weight from the pictures you bought her from. that is a super stressful environment and many/most drop weight

Of course! I haven’t even interacted with other horses at all just to be on the safe side. She hadn’t dropped weight from the photos but I’m not the one feeding her; my boarding barn has rescued several horses before so they’re familiar with the protocol. She seems to be doing well! Eating and drinking a lot, looks sound, not very underweight. The vet is coming out Tuesday to check her out; I’m just worried about some swollen glands under her jaw but she hasn’t been coughing or having trouble breathing so I’m wondering if it may be the rub wounds on her face—I’ve been putting corona cream on them and they don’t look infected to me but I’m not a vet. She’s also having trouble with me picking up her feet, and I’m hoping it’s because she wasn’t trained properly and not because she’s in pain.

Worries aside, she’s such a sweet girl and I’m so happy I chose her! She loves attention and by day 2 she was already following me around without a halter :’) Loves to scratch her face on me too! I’ve decided on the name Penny for her <3

[June Bug]

Aw! Penny is such a cute name for her! (And I may be a bit partial to the name because I had an absolute gem of a dog named Penny, haha)
Glad to hear everything is going so well so far! Not picking up the feet may be a trust thing too. She definitely likes you already, but she may not trust you with her feet just yet.
If there's pain, you should be able to find heat or swelling in the painful area, whether it's in the feet or higher on the leg. If it's in the feet, you might also feel digital pulses. If she's not lame though, I wouldn't think she'd be painful enough to refuse to lift her feet! Sounds more like just a training or trust issue. You can always have your vet give her a quick check while they're out anyway, just to be sure
Glands swell for lots of reasons, so fingers crossed it's something simple!

[ellyenchanted]

any tips on how to get back into riding shape hehe

i had my second jumping lesson and it's a bit difficult for me after not consistently riding for years. my new trainer is great and understanding so i'm able to take a few breaks during the lesson and drink water. (after the first lesson i almost passed out oops) i feel a bit embarrassed because i used to do 30 mi endurance rides but now can barely handle 20 min. i just want to get in better ride shape so i can have more jump time ;;

[sunny*days*ahead]

^ I know it may sound silly, but jumping jacks are a great and simple way to get your lungs and legs (among other things) back in riding shape! Especially if you jump up from a half-seat "squat" position. Have fun with your jumping lessons! (:

[MoonLesbian]

The good news: Penny is healthy and definitely sound! The bad news: she is lacking in a lot of training and I’m strugglinggg. She’s bombproof which is really nice, but it also means I can’t get her to move her feet no matter what I do, and I’m trying to get her to understand that I’m her boss because she clearly was allowed to get away with whatever before. Tried so hard to lunge her today, whacked the living god out the ground behind her with the whip, shouted, chased after her, but she never did more than a walk! Has anyone experienced this before? I can probably pay for a trainer in a while, but for now I’m having sudden car problems so I can’t afford it lol. Would welcome any tips!

[Verdana]

The big thing with training horses is the release. As SOON as they go SLIGHTLY towards what you want them to do, take all pressure off. No more whip, no more chasing and shouting, if she stops dead that's fine. At first it will be staying in a walk, increasing pressure when she halts, not asking when she's walking. Then you increase pressure until she speeds up a little bit, then drop it entirely. Then drop it when she transitions to a trot, and don't get after her if she immediately goes back to walk/halt. Consistency and good timing is the key to her learning what you want!

You also need to be Quiet with your whole body. The message is MUCH clearer if she's just getting ONE signal. Which means being a bit more aware of what you're doing, where your feet and body are, etc.

I learnt this from learning straightness training and practicing a lot of groundwork with green horses. I think they're running a free masterclass right now? Might help. It's hard to say without being on the ground with her though.

[MoonLesbian]

The big thing with training horses is the release. As SOON as they go SLIGHTLY towards what you want them to do, take all pressure off. No more whip, no more chasing and shouting, if she stops dead that's fine. At first it will be staying in a walk, increasing pressure when she halts, not asking when she's walking. Then you increase pressure until she speeds up a little bit, then drop it entirely. Then drop it when she transitions to a trot, and don't get after her if she immediately goes back to walk/halt. Consistency and good timing is the key to her learning what you want!

You also need to be Quiet with your whole body. The message is MUCH clearer if she's just getting ONE signal. Which means being a bit more aware of what you're doing, where your feet and body are, etc.

I learnt this from learning straightness training and practicing a lot of groundwork with green horses. I think they're running a free masterclass right now? Might help. It's hard to say without being on the ground with her though.

Okay, good to know! This is what I was doing to begin with, but she saw the farrier the other day and after acting badly for him, both he and the barn owner told me I need to be lunging her hard every day and just get her to move until she’s exhausted, so that’s what I was trying to do. But obviously that isn’t going to work xD I’ll go back to baby steps!

[Verdana]

Yeah, lol, unfortunately gotta walk before you run. What's lunging hard gonna teach her, but that being far away from you is safe? You're trying to tell her where to put her feet, and how fast. Gotta do that slowly. Starting it right from the beginning is the best way to get a good horse who doesn't respond out of fear/desperation, but who tries to solve problems. Also, if she was acting up for the farrier, and reluctant for you, have you ruled out foot pain/tender-footedness?

[*Willow*]

Anyone know how to make a pony stop knocking over water bottles? Im rehabbing this pony and when she’s at the mounting block, there are usually bottles on the ledge next to her, so she decides to knock it down. Help.

[MoonLesbian]

Yeah, lol, unfortunately gotta walk before you run. What's lunging hard gonna teach her, but that being far away from you is safe? You're trying to tell her where to put her feet, and how fast. Gotta do that slowly. Starting it right from the beginning is the best way to get a good horse who doesn't respond out of fear/desperation, but who tries to solve problems. Also, if she was acting up for the farrier, and reluctant for you, have you ruled out foot pain/tender-footedness?

Yeah, both the vet and farrier told me she’s not in any pain. She was doing things that would have just hurt her worse if she had sore feet too, and it definitely seems like someone just didn’t correct her when she tried to avoid being handled. This girl put all her weight on the hoof stand to stand up on it and tip it over. /facepalm