I’ll take the Apple Flavor today
One of the clicker training blogs I read (I Feel Good, My Horse Feels Good) just did a post about a new bit that is available that is perfect for clicker trained horses! Its called the Nutri Bit, and basically it delivers a flavorful liquid into your horse’s mouth through the bit. You dispense it by pushing a button on your reins.
If you check out the post by a fellow clicker trainer about the Nutri Bit you can easily see why she’s so excited to try it. Its essentially the same reason why I just HAD to do a post about it too.
Myself, I’m imagining being mid-spin around a mounted games obstacle and “dispensing” the “treat” to my horse for an awesome spin without ever breaking stride.
I’m also picturing getting Boomerang over his extreme distaste of the bit – he’s the reason I now ride my ponies in a Bitless Bridle. As much as I love the Bitless bridle I still have a few control issues with Boomerang, and I don’t like the fact that he’s figured out that by bucking and rearing he never has to endure a bit in his mouth again.
Anyway that being said, I’m anxiously awaiting the “Clicker Training Review” on the Nutri Bit, and if it passes the test I just might have to invest. My only concern is that for my sport I really need to knot my reins or I risk tangling myself in looping reins with all the on/off work I do. So I’m not sure the bit would still dispense properly if I did this. I’ll just have to wait and see.
My Oreo Cookie
Me and Oreo Cookie
So I’ve been thinking a lot about how my life in horses began – maybe its because we are at the threshold of a new year. Its been 5 years since I taught Minnow his very first trick, its been 7 years since he came to live with me. Minnow will turn 17 this year (*tear*). But my life with horses started way before then. If you want to be technical it started before I was even born. I was taking trips to the barn while I was still in the womb. The very first horse I ever came in contact with was my mom’s 16 hand Thoroughbred cross, J.G. Pippin. I took pony rides and brushed below his knees probably before I could even walk. But it wasn’t until 1989 that I really fell in love with horses.
I was 5 and it was just before Christmas – I knew something was up because we were headed out to the barn after dark. I arrived to a crowd of my relatives and a small black figure in the shadows. As I got closer I was plopped on top of a small black Shetland Pony with a big red bow on her head. I named her Oreo Cookie. My mom had rescued her from a farm that was going out of business, she had been a victim of founder, and we suspected a few other forms of cruelty. I loved her from the moment I met her.
Oreo Cookie
My favorite thing about her was that she had just as big a sweet tooth as I did. Her favorite was Chocolate Chip Cookies. My mom’s favorite thing was that she took care of me. Never once did she buck, take off or bite me – no matter how many times I waved sweets in her face. She’d even stop and wait for me when I’d take a spill off her back.
She went with me to summer camp and took me to my first horse show. I learned how to braid her mane and clean her stall. She taught me to be responsible and to care for another creature. She taught me how to love horses.
Oreo at a horse show
I was 10 years old when she was put to sleep. At that point in her life she could barely walk and her hair had become grayed and curled (due to foundering earlier in life). I kissed her goodbye and whispered in her ear that I would always love her. I knew then that I would spend a lifetime loving horses.
Oh and, yes, we used to drive Oreo to horse shows in the back of a pick-up truck that my dad made adaptable for the pony. She used to press her face to the wind and knicker into the air as we drove down the highway. I’m sure people talked about us for years.
Oreo in the "horse trailer"
Trick Pony Goals
So I thought if I wrote down some of my goals for the Trick Ponies in 2010 it might actually help me to accomplish them. Hopefully our cold winter doesn’t last too long and I can get to training them soon! So here’s my list (in no particular order):
1. Teach Minnow to rear
2. Teach Blitz and Boomer to lay down on command
3. Finish teaching Ammo and Boomer to paint
4. Come up with a new skit for Minnow to perform
5. Make a new video of all of the trick ponies (and the Dachshund) performing
6. Move Boomer up to compete in the Masters Division in Mounted Games
7. Take Blitz to a bombproofing clinic/and or some Dressage events
8. Teach Ammo and Minnow some tricks together
9. Find more venues/performances for Minnow to do – events that raise money for charities would be great.
10. Spend more time doing “nothing” with the boys
Blitz is the first of the Chincoteagues to learn to lay down
So what do you think? Anything I should add? Suggestions on new tricks to teach the boys? I’d love to hear your goals – maybe you want to learn more about clicker training – maybe you just want to teach your horse one trick? Whatever it is, I wish you much success in the new year! Click on!
Cover me in Feathers
Chincoteague Minnow
So for some reason our last hay delivery came with an extra surprise….feathers! Almost every bale is strewn with white feathers. These feathers are ending up scattered all over the barn, in the isle ways, in the pastures, and in the stalls. Most of these feathers are in Minnow’s stall. Everyday when I clean out his stall he has more feathers than the day before, piled up in his little corner. In fact, he has more than any other horse in the barn. This is partially because the Dachshund likes to gather up a little pile and give them to Minnow. I caught him a couple times dragging them into Minnow’s stall. Very cute.
These feathers have a little bit more meaning to me – mostly since I learned of the Feather Fund several years ago. The Feather Fund is a non-profit organization whose mission is to continue the work begun by Carollynn Suplee to assist deserving children with the purchase and attendant costs associated with the acquisition of Chincoteague ponies, with the goal of helping each child learn about responsibility, care, love, work ethic, as well as the concept of “giving back to others” through the care and training of his or her animal.
Feathers in Minnow's stall
Carollynn Suplee was a cancer patient who began to see feathers in mysterious places. She believed that God was sending these feathers to protect her. These feathers guided her to purchase a Chincoteague Pony for a little girl (a stranger) in 1995. The pony became known as Sea Feather. As Carollynn’s cancer went into remission, she continued to seek out and purchase Chincoteague Ponies for deserving young children. Carollynn eventually passed away in October 2006, but her legacy lives on with The Feather Fund.
Everytime I see these feathers floating around the farm I can’t help but think about the Feather Fund. It makes me smile when I think of all the deserving young children that have received Chincoteague Ponies throughout the years. I myself know how special these ponies are. I am thankful everyday that I was fortunate enough to be involved with horses since the day I was born.
Perhaps the feathers have come to the farm for a reason. Maybe they are watching over my Minnow. As each day gets colder and colder I watch as Minnow’s limp (from a diagnosis of Ringbone in 2008) becomes more pronounced. Maybe the feathers have been sent to ease his pain and watch over him. Either way, I find them very peaceful as they drift in and out of the wind.
For 2010 I will be donating some of the Pony Paintings Profits to the Feather Fund. And I will be watching at the auction next year as some very lucky children enter into the magical world of owning a Chincoteague Pony.
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
PSALM 91 vs. 4: “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.”
Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all. – Emily Dickinson
Blizzard of 2009
So as you can probably tell I haven’t been able to post in a while. Hopefully now that Christmas is over I will have a little more free time on my hands.
Boomer and Blitz
So anyway…as many of you know – a week ago (December 20th) we had a massive Blizzard here in Eastern PA. I’m no foreigner to snow, but it has been a while since we’ve received this much snow – especially in December. I measured about 14″ of snow where I live, but with the winds and snow drifting we could easily have received more than that.
Digging out was a bit of a process – but also came with the task of digging out the horses. Luckily I have a big SUV with 4-wheel drive and I was able to plow my way up to the farm in my truck.
Minnow
I was excited to see the horse’s reactions to the snow..I was certain they would run and frolic in the fluffy white stuff. Surprisingly though most of them were just interested in the piles of hay I had put in the pasture and the snow just seemed an inconvenience to them as they tried to trudge to it.
Iron Horse Farm
I found myself wishing the snow had come after Christmas, as I was so busy at my shop with Holiday orders that I barely had time to enjoy it. Had I not been so swamped I would have ridden the boys in the snow, or taught Minnow to pull a sled. I even contemplated the idea of somehow teaching Minnow how to throw snowballs. But alas my time with the snow was short and it has all melted away.
But even though I didn’t get much time to play in the snow (I take that back – I did unsuccessfully try to sled in it) – the dogs sure had fun messing around in the fluff. Especially my Dachshund, Ammo. Being 4″ off the ground comes at a major disadvantage when you get 14 inches of snow. But that didn’t keep Ammo from burrowing away – in fact I think he thoroughly enjoyed it, even if he did get a little chilly.
Below are some photos and videos of Ammo enjoying himself in the snow.
Trooper
Trooper
Anyway that was my snowday! Did anyone else get a ton of snow? Did you do anything fun with your horses/dogs/yourself?
