Blueberry Splash
"Blueberry Splash"
Minnow’s newest painting is now available for purchase! He created this 9″x12″ painting on July 13th while a group of campers came to visit.
Don’t forget that all of Minnow’s paintings are available at my retail location in Downingtown, PA. Or you can purchase paintings from the website and have them shipped to you.
All of the paintings are original works of art created soley by the Trick Ponies of Chincoteague. No two are ever the same!
Minnow is currently the World’s only Painting Chincoteague Pony, so don’t miss this oppertunity to own a one-of-a-kind work of art by this talented horse!
A Look at the Horse’s Mind
photo by kiekje.be
Here are several great articles in a series about the Horse’s mind and learning abilities. They discuss positive reinforcement (like clicker training) and how beneficial it can be to horses.
Equine Learning Ability
Horse Learning
Equine Attention Span
Equine Long-term Memory
What does Licking/Chewing Mean?
Horse Training
I thought the article on long term memory was interesting – stating that horses that were asked to identify (or touch) an image they had seen years earlier remembered the specific skill and all were able to touch the image. Basically stating that horses have a very good long-term memory. Makes you sad for all the poor/abused horses out there that can never forget their past. (My Minnow is one of those)
I also liked the article on Attention Span, stating that horses have a very short attention span and will learn better if new skills are broken up into short maybe 5 minute sessions. I typically train this way anyway – but it can sometimes be hard if your horse is sooo close to learning a new skill and you don’t want to give up until they get it. Knowing now that its pretty certain they have a short attention span and that any longer than maybe 5 minutes will just set your training back – I will defnitely try to keep my training sessions short.
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
Picnic with my Pony
Minnow paints a t-shirt for a camper
On Monday I again had a group of campers from Fox Meadow Farm come out to Iron Horse Farm to visit the Trick Ponies and watch Minnow perform and paint. This has been a great way to get Minnow geared up for Pony Penning 2009 as it gives us a way to practice in front of an audience. Minnow can sometimes have a mind of his own (don’t all ponies) so I’m having to train myself to work through his little “miss steps”. I can never be quite sure what he will do (or I guess not do) with any given situation so I have to be quick on my toes to ad-lib sometimes. Sometimes I find this difficult because I’m a very quiet and reserved person and I definitely don’t have acting in my blood! I’d much rather prefer to be on the sidelines and watch Minnow perform all the tricks I have taught him, but the fact is that I’m his trainer and just as much a part of his performing as he is. I think this is why I love painting with Minnow so much, its sort of a quiet time we can share even if its performed infront of a crowd. I don’t have to talk and Minnow becomes the focus as I sort of blend into the background as his “helper”.
Anyway, below is a video of “part” of our beach picnic skit – if you want to see all of it you will just have to attend Pony Penning 2009 and visit Minnow at the Chincoteague Pony Centre!
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
P.S. I’m in the works of developing some very special contests on the Trick Ponies of Chincoteague Blog. So keep reading daily to learn how you can win some fabulous prizes!!
Minnow gets ready for the Beach
After my week-long beach vacation I picked up a few things for Minnow. One of my purchases was a beach bucket and shovel. I really wasn’t sure what I would teach Minnow with this “prop” but I figured it couldn’t hurt to try something. So I started off with the obvious – teaching Minnow to carry around the bucket. Then I decided this was just too boring. So I then proceeded to teach him to pick up the shovel – which evolved into asking him to “scoop” sand. Below you can see the video of our near-final result. Took him about 5 minutes to master this skill. He’s amazingly fast at learning new skills – he continues to impress me with each new task.
Minnow even performed this latest trick during our newest skit for a group of campers yesterday (and a newspaper photographer!). But you will just have to wait until to tomorrow to watch that video! And within the next few days I hope to be posting up a new newspaper article written about the famous Minnow of Chincoteague! So be sure to check back everyday – or else you might miss something exciting!
Accepting Boarders
Iron Horse Farm
Iron Horse Farm, where the Trick Ponies of Chincoteague live and site of my family’s new horse farm, is now accepting full boarders!
Our Facility
8 12’x12’ matted stalls with dutch doors
1 12’ x 16’ matted foaling stall
4 pastures with 2 bay sheds
1 small paddock with screenings
Hot/Cold Water Wash Stall
Tackroom with boarder lockers (lockers to be constructed soon)
Bathroom
150’ x 290’ riding ring with screenings and lights (footing and lights to be added soon)
Access to stadium jumps
Access to miles of trails including the Laurels
For more information please visit our website!
