Indy Pic & Attention-keeping Advice please...

domane

domane

Retired cob mum
Jul 31, 2005
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First the pic....
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Oh, and if you missed this one the other week....
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This is to show you how much progress we have made in 7 weeks. This is not bad considering I work full time, have no school and therefore my time is limited at the moment. I'm very conscious that she will be 4 in February and with Christmas fast approaching I feel that I am not cracking on as quickly as I wanted to... with the awful windy, rainy weather we have had intermittently over the past two-three weeks, the limited access to soft ground that I have is just waterlogged :(

Indy is a real sweetie but having had Cherry's placid, laid-back attitude, it's hard to tell whether Indy is (a) just a youngester, (b) highly-strung (c) chestnut mare (d) normal or (e) ALL of the above (I suspect "E" :p ) She is great with all the tack issues, has accepted all sorts of gadgetry and as you can see, is not really bothered by the appearance of a saddle or bridle. She is great in the yard, easy to manoevre etc, great to handle, groom, feet etc and she seems to love fuss and cuddles....

Today I tacked her up and led her along the lane (about the 5th time I have done this) - it's quiet with a dead end but surrounded by loads of fields of ponies. Indy, not surprisingly takes a major interest in everything and gets excited, calling all the animals she sees and then she starts plunging, barging me across the road diagonally and generally ignoring me. Because it's pitch black in the week, I can only do this at weekends so I feel her progress is slow because of it. At the moment I deal with her by turning her in a circle every time she pushes me over and when she walks calmly I stroke her neck and call her a good girl. I don't reprimand "bad" behaviour as I realise that it's all just too exciting for her and I don't believe in negative attention, but can anyone advise just how much attention/respect I should be expecting from her at this stage. On the one hand I could just hope that she calms down as we walk out more, on the other, I don't want to feel I am losing control and for her to get worse and worse each time so that it turns into a battle of wills.

I can't afford a dually at the moment (with the "C" word approaching :eek: ) I would LOVE to be able to have an RA out to gain some respect from Indy but advice from you lot is a cheaper option in the interim... :D

Suggestions please??? :)
 
Hi Domane,
I have an Indi too. And he's 4 in June.
I would go with option "e" too!
I backed mine in the summer and only really walked (in an enclosed area). We just practiced stopping, walking on and steering. I found that his attention spam was only 15 minutes max, so this is all we did about twice a week. Then in October, I turned him away for the winter. He is stabled at night, so he is still handled every day. We havn't really been walking him out in hand either because this time of the year (not being out all day), he's too much of a handful. He just gets too carried away, and starts rearing:eek: .

I think it sounds like you are doing really well with your Indy. I wouldn't worry about not doing more. Better to do a little, than to do too much. They still have a lot more maturing to do yet, physically and mentally.

I don't have a dually either. May put it on my Xmas list. I lead mine around in his bridle;) . Better safe than sorry
 
As i'm in the flow of your inspiring threads I shall pop in a reply here too :p

Indy looks & sounds wonderful! I think that even though you're only able to do that at weekends, she's coming along brilliantly and if she was to be doing this on a more regular occasion i think maybe the excitement of it would wear off and she'll become a bit of a pain :rolleyes:

I wouldn't worry too much about her approaching four etc, as if you are thinking about a deadline she will pick up on that, go with the flow and you'll have your perfect pony this time next year :D
 
Domane,
Yes that is my boy...thank you:) . That was the last time I rode him in October : (. Can't wait to get back on!
We should compare notes, as they are the same age:) . Its nice to know how others are getting on x
 
Don't know nuffin bout what she should be doing or how fast she should be progressing Jane, as youngsters just aren't my thing, but I do have a Dually halter that is redundant for the winter just waiting to be put to good use.... it's a red one, which I think is pony size, it fits Dolly, and fitted my previous YO's little dales-type, so I'm sure it'd fit Indy... You wanna borrow it mate?! x
 
HairyCob said:
Don't know nuffin bout what she should be doing or how fast she should be progressing Jane, as youngsters just aren't my thing, but I do have a Dually halter that is redundant for the winter just waiting to be put to good use.... it's a red one, which I think is pony size, it fits Dolly, and fitted my previous YO's little dales-type, so I'm sure it'd fit Indy... You wanna borrow it mate?! x
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YIPPPEEEEEEE!!!!! My Fairy Godmother is here.... :D :D :D

Erm....yes please!!!!!! Swap it for your book back??? ;)
 
What I have been concentrating on is Captain's respect for my space. I was advised to create a mental image of a protective bubble around myself. Then do not under any circumstances allow Indy to come into that space. You may go into her space but you must not allow her into yours. Give the lead rope a jigle and ask her BACK. Even if she walks half a step back then release the pressure. Once you have her respect here you can move yourself onto miving her over. Many others will tell you that Lateral Movements are much harder. :eek: I was advised to look at her bottom and say OVER. Captain to my amazement moved his bottom over. :eek: When I gave him a longer lead I look infront of him and ask him to walk on. Where my eyes look is where he will walk. :eek: Magic!!!! Not really as easy as it sounds but I think the NH forum maybe good for advise on this Jane.

Indy looks bloomin lovely in her tack. You are doing a great job. :)
 
Horses always take a massive interest in other horses, especially the young ones. The first time we hacked one of the youngsters at my old yard, Charity ended up with me hanging around her neck trying to stay on, as I'd refused to let her stop near a field of horses, so she just bucked and tanked off back with me!

Indy sounds like she's progressing nicely though, horses tend to play up a lot more when it's cold too, so that could be the problem, especially if she usually wears a rug. Some horses just faff about to keep warm, rather than for any particular reason. It could also be something she'll mature out of too, Dennis used to be awful to lead, but now he's six he's so much better.
 
Pickle is 4 in April
if you click the "Pickle at Holiday's" link in my sig, his 6 weeks with Holiday is a diary in picture format all dated :D
bare in mind that he had one day off a week, Holiday does this for a living, has a menage to work in and it was July / August.
its awfull to say :eek: but he hasnt done much work since :eek:
as you say, yukky weather, we are on clay soil and boy is it water logged! I really do worry about his skinny little legs bless him, he loves to do "emergency stops" right in front of me when I go to feed,
also I didnt want to take him out on the road without a companion, his companion at the time was foot sore and unshod, so we had to wait, also although I am supposed to have stopped working but with one thing and another :rolleyes: (oh so nice to be in demand, well at least someone wants me lol)
and I have been a lazy git :eek:
but I am now intending to get my act together, Pickle is a bright bunny but very placid in most areas.

one thing I wanted to ask, when you took her out on the road, did you lead from the off-side or near-side?

before he went off to Holiday's, when leading Pickle out on the road I like to be between him and the traffic incase of any spooks that are liable to knock me into the ditch. so I lead from the off-side, as he is used to being led from the near-side this caused him great confusion, major spinning, tried to sit on the bonnet off a BMW :eek: (that little senario I imagine looked like something from Thelwell),
all because I tried to lead from the "wrong" side,
I engaged the services of very unhorsey OH :eek: one of us each side, me leading from near-side, eventually swapped, OH on near-side, me leading from off-side, OH gradually dropped back, Pickle fine, problem solved. :D

ETA: do you actually need her "done" for a certain time?, I wouldnt worry too much, I think consistancy is more important than speed? some youngsters are backed at 2 or 3 and turned away for a year, some are not done till they are 6 or 7?
 
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She looks lovely, Domane. She's about a year younger than Fluke -- if she's anything like him, she's going to change shape massively over the next few months!

I agree with Nic -- backing is the thing that works best with Fluke, too. I tend to think with circling (though it's useful if they're trying to take off!) that they're still getting to choose the direction, so they don't really pick up that they're doing something you don't want. Whereas if you stop them (if you can!) and then ask them to back up, it brings their attention squarely back to you. Plus it's boring, not very comfortable, and pointless (in terms of getting anywhere) for them, so they won't want to cause it to happen too often!

I did loads of in hand transitions with Fluke in the early days, so that he knew that in hand work was work, and not just ambling about. He had to pay attention because he never knew when he might be asked to halt, or change direction, or trot. He really enjoyed it, and it's very handy that he knows all the voice commands when we're riding.

And once you're confident trotting her in hand, it's a great way to stop any silliness, because it's harder for them to mess about when they're trotting. You might get a bit puffed out (I cause great amusement huffing and puffing up the hill, face all red, alongside my gaily trotting pony) but she's only little, you should at least be able to keep up!

Oooh, Kate W would also encourage you to flex her. This is another one of Fluke's favourites. It makes everything okay again when we're in a muddle, because he knows how to do it and I think it's inherently relaxing for him.
 
I'll post it off to you my friend, just as soon as I'm off nights (again!)... should be with you early next week *HC shuffles off to write her dementing-fast self a note to remind herself to post said article to...* SH1T... not sure I have your address still... PM me honey!:rolleyes: :D
 
neen said:
Oooh, Kate W would also encourage you to flex her. This is another one of Fluke's favourites. It makes everything okay again when we're in a muddle, because he knows how to do it and I think it's inherently relaxing for him.
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Thanks Neen for loads of excellent ideas there... tell me more about this "flex" - do I sound thick if I ask "how"? Is there a technique??? :rolleyes:
 
There's a picture of Julia Gulia doing it here

Probably other people could explain it better, but I'll have a try. Have you ever done carrot stretches? It's a bit like that, but no carrot (swizz, according to Fluke!). You want to get your horse to stretch its head round till its nose is just about touching its side. You don't want to pull the head round -- the horse has to do the stretch itself. I first learnt to do it in the saddle, when I had reins to help, but it's quite easy to do from the ground in just a headcollar, too. With reins, I do a tiny pulsing with my little finger on the side I want him to flex. And I say "Flex, Fluke" -- and after a couple of pulses he normally turns his head half way. Then I pulse again, and say "Flex" again, and then he comes all the way and rests his nose on my boot (ahhh moment!) if I'm riding him. Otherwise he often thinks "oh yes, that reminds me, I have an itch" and itches his flank :rolleyes: . Doing it from the ground, I stand behind his shoulder, in the saddle area, so he's flexing towards me. He'll hold it for quite a while, and it's a nice, warm sort of feeling, the two of us stood there together. Oh dear, I'm not explaining it very well, am I?! :eek:

He really likes doing it, so once he'd learned to do it (with his bridle on) it was easy to ask him to do it with just a headcollar, by standing in the same position and doing the same "pulsing" thing with the leadrope. Thinking back, when I was first learning to do it, I probably used a more even pressure to gently draw his head towards where I wanted it to be -- but even then, he cottoned on really fast and always did the last bit by himself.

Here's hoping someone else will come along to explain it better! :eek:
 
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