Photography Fun
So I was “tagged” in this little photo exercise and here’s what I have to do:
1) Go to your photo files
2) Pick the sixth folder (open)
3) Pick the 6th photo
4) Write a story about the photo
6) Tag six people
So here’s my photo:
And here’s the story:
I took this photograph of the Breyer Model I painted to look like my pony, Chincoteague Minnow I know you can Hire a professional Headshot Photographer for your Linkedin account and get better photos but I am trying myself for a while. The model came completely white with no color on it what-so-ever, and it was intended to be a model of Misty of Chincoteague. I think I painted a fairly good representation of Minnow considering this was my first attempt at it. I later completed another model to look like my pony, Chesapeake Lightning and I’m in the works to complete one of Chesapeake Boomerang.
You can see my original posts on Minnow and Blitz’s models by clicking the links.
So there’s my story but as far as tagging 6 people I have only one person to tag (sadly I have no blogging friends except for the person who tagged me).
So my one tag goes to my husband Mike at MikeDiLuigi.com. And my guess is when I tell him he has to do this little “project” is that he definitely won’t do it – because he’s no fun…and I’m saying this because I know he will read this and I’m trying to entice him into doing it – likely this feeble attempt won’t work either. So I guess you’ll just have to keep checking his blog to see if he will do it. 🙂
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
Good Boy Blitz
The character that is Blitz
The majority of my posts always involve my two Chincoteagues, Boomerang and Minnow, because they are the two that I actually own. But my farm is also home to one more Chincoteague that I consider one of my own, Chesapeake Lightning or Blitz. I actually used to own Blitz, until I sold him to my mom recently. I bought Blitz last May in the hopes that he would be my next mounted games pony after I retired Minnow. I tried Blitz in Maryland one rainy day and he seemed like he might fit the job. He seemed to have some speed, was unaffected by the equipment and was defintely a food oriented pony…perfect for trick training. Not to mention his stunning good looks won me over instantly. I bought him right then and there – well I guess actually I agreed to take him on trial for a few days back home before it was official. During my trial period with him I began to notice that he didn’t seem as speedy. He became a lot more sluggish and slow to move off my leg and I began to have doubts that he’d be the speedy mounted games pony I desired. I contemplated sending him back (even though I had already fallen in love) but my mom convinced me to keep him – thinking the speed would come later. 
After several months of working with him it was evident that he just wasn’t cut out to be speed demon games pony – although I was successful in getting him more forward than he was. I decided it was best to sell Blitz, and I was in luck because my mom wanted to keep him for herself. Blitz is still in training to be a games pony, but at a speed better suitable for him and my mom. So in the end things have worked out – Blitz gets to stay with us and his Chincoteague brothers, and I still get to work with him.
I took a short video the other day of the tricks Blitz has learned so far. Unfortunately there isn’t many – mainly because once I bought Boomerang I didn’t have as much time to spend working with Blitz. But luckily Blitz is a very fast learner, he almost has a dog like personality – I’ve never met a horse quite like him for sure. I think he’d crawl in my lap if he could. He has a quirky attitude that commands everyone’s attention – I think thats why he was so easy to call in love with. I definitely have plans to keep training Blitz to perform, and I have been grooming my mom to teach him new skills as well.
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
Minnow of Chincoteague
Most of us grew up with the story “Misty of Chincoteague” by Marguerite Henry – myself included. Last year I took my first trip to Chincoteague (and pony penning) where I got my first inside look at the legacy that is Misty. Some have told me that my very own Minnow bears striking resemblance to Misty, not so much in appearance (well they do have some similar markings), but in personality. Perhaps Minnow is destined to continue Misty’s legacy. An interesting fact is Stormy, Misty’s last foal and most famous, passed away in 1993 – the same year that Minnow was born on Assateague Island.
Misty shakes hands with Marguerite Henry
Minnow shakes hands with Me
I’ve also learned that Marguerite Henry owned a Dachshund named Alex, that loved Misty and the donkey that lived with her, Brighty. So that being said, check out these videos of Minnow and my Dachshund, Ammo.
Chincoteague Minnow will be returing to Chincoteague Island this year to perform at the Chincoteague Pony Centre. Be sure to catch his performances nightly during Pony Penning!
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
Boomerang the Wonder Pony
Boomer 2009
I had a busy weekend with the boys, full of trick training, riding, working on the farm and polocrosse. Rather than to go through everything in one day – I think I’ll split it up over the next few days, it will give you something to look forward to! So be sure to check back each day.
So today I’m going to talk about Boomerang (Chesapeake Boomerang to be exact). He’s the newly turned 6 year old that I have been training since the end of last summer. I took a short video from over the weekend of the progress he’s made with his back up. Now I can get him to back up using voice commands and weight shifting – the hope is that in the future he will respond to my voice and a slight weight shift rather than the exaggerated movement you will see in this video.
Everyday I become more and more pleased with the progress Boomer is making. I was thinking back to when I first brought him home at the end of August. I had arranged to have his owners bring him to the Chincoteague Pony Centre from their home in North Carolina. I drove down there with my trailer to try him out to see if I would like him. I spent several hours testing him out, trying to make sure he had speed and was ok with the games equipment. As he passed all of my tests I offered to purchase him under the condition that he passed my vet when I got him back home. We all agreed and I was excited to get my new pony, and Blitz’s half brother home. Back home I had the vet come out to look Boomer over. Everything went well until it was time to flex test his joints (holding each leg tight against the body for several minutes than asking the horse to jog off when released). Boomer jogged off lame on his left front. I was heartbroken – according to my vet, she would never purchase a pony that didn’t pass the flex test.
I went home that day thinking I would have to send him back – what games pony would hold up that didn’t pass the flex test – afterall look what happened to Minnow at 15 as he was diagnoised with ringbone (he however was never flex tested). I told Boomer’s owners what happened and they agreed to arange a date where we could meet up again to return him. A few days passed and I couldn’t stop thinking about Boomer – I just couldn’t give up on him. I decided to have him xrayed and I started reading up on the flex test. Many vets seemed to agree that the flex test did not determine a future of lameness in a horse – afterall if you were asked to hold a leg up tightly and then run- would you be able to keep from limping slightly? (I tried it and I can’t). So when the xrays came back clean I decided to give Boomer a few weeks to rest and then I would flex him again with the vet. As the weeks passed I was fighting becoming attached to Boomer, I tried not to love him like I love Minnow and Blitz. I was trying to save myself the heartache if I ended up having to send him back. I think Boomer noticed this as I seemed distant from him.
But when it came time to flex him, Boomer trotted off perfectly sound. Despite my vet’s doubts in him I decided to keep him anyway (we will just have to wait and see if he ever develops lameness issues). I was thrilled to have Boomer, but I think its taken me a long time to build a connection with him. For a while he was “just the pony I rode” instead of “Boomer the pony who I have a special relationship with”. It was also extremely hard to replace Minnow with another riding mount. Minnow and I have a relationship that I have never had with another horse – we can read eachother like no one else – I also believe I will never have a connection like we share with any other pony. Minnow and I were destined to find eachother.
That being said its hard to give that same love and respect to Boomer when deep down I have felt as if I’m replacing Minnow. But with each day Boomer and I take one step closer to understanding eachother and creating our own unique connection.
I took Boomer to a Polocrosse scrimmage yesterday so that I could referee on him. As I warmed him up – performing his sliding stops, his spins and back up – I looked around at all the other horses. Boomer, at 6 and very inexperienced, was more controlled and responsive than any of the seasoned polocrosse/competition horses there (not to mention I performed these tasks bitless). He clearly shined above them all and yet he had never set foot on a polocrosse field or even witnessed a game. He rode up and down the field with me taking hits to the face with the ball, chasing the ball when it went into the tall grass, and standing clamly so that I could throw the ball in.
After yesterday I can honestly say that we took a huge leap forward in our respect and understanding for eachother. I don’t think Boomer will ever be able to replace Minnow, but I think in the years to come we will become an unstoppable pair. And I can say now, that Boomer and I were meant to find eachother as well.
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
Training on a Misty Day
Mist over the vineyard next to Iron Horse Farm
We had a downpour of rain yesterday just as I was getting ready to leave work and head out to Iron Horse Farm. But I was in luck because the clouds parted and the rain stopped to allow just enough time for me to ride Boomer. I worked on making him into a “western horse” (with english tack). We worked on spins, backing, neck reining and my sliding stop. Boomer is developing a killer stop with all the clicker training work I have been doing with him. I can now ask him into a flat out gallop and by shifting my weight back (and no rein pressue what so ever) he tucks his butt under himself and throws on the brakes. I even had my sister jump on him so she could see how much he has improved over the months. My sister has been away at the University of Delaware up until yesterday, so the last time she rode Boomer he was a kick ride, with no balance and no steering. She was amazed to find that since turning 6 this year Boomer has really “grown up” and he’s definitely no longer a kick ride – now he has speed and more speed (which is good because he wouldn’t turn out to be a good gaming pony if he didn’t know how to go).
I also helped my mom work with Blitz and asking him to move towards the barrels. He has developed a habit of scooting his butt away from the games equipment in order to face it, and we have determined that during some lessons when out instructor placed treats on all the barrels to get Blitz used to it – it completely confused him into thinking now he has to face all the barrels. He’s improved some but I’m hoping some targeting practice with his feet will help. I plan to have him target a mat by placing his front feet on it and eventually moving that mat to the exact spot that I want him to stand when approaching a barrel.
Anyway yesterday was a successful ride for all the ponies. Today I hope to work with Minnow as well and teaching him to stand on his pedestal with all 4 feet.
**hope you enjoy these photos I took yesterday when I left the farm. The neighboring vineyard looked beautiful with the mist that appeared after the rain.
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
