Posts Tagged ‘assateague
Out of the Sea
So since I just finished reading A Pictorial Life Story of Misty, I had a new book on my summer reading list. “Out of the Sea: Today’s Chincoteague Pony” is a book written by Lois Szymaski, and is a great resource for information on the Chincoteague Pony.
I didn’t know much about his book, but had been planning to purchase and read it for a while now. I was familiar with the author, Lois Szymaski, and knew that she was a founding member of The Feather Fund, an organization that helps children purchase Chincoteague Ponies.
This book started out wonderfully as it explained how the ponies ended up on the island, what is done to care for them, and even how their breeding has evolved over the years. I actually found myself learning a lot!
For example in 1939 the fire company purchased twenty wild mustangs from the Bureau of Land Management and set them free on Assateague Island to help the Chincoteague Pony breed evolve, and keep from inbreeding. Over the years Arabian blood was also introduced into the herd, and a popular Arabian Stallion named Premiere was also introduced, but went missing – never to be seen again – the next day.
I also learned that Chincoteague is an American Indian word that means “beautiful land across the waters” and George Washington owned a Chincoteague pony named Chinky.
Boomer's photograph published in the book "Out of the Sea"
And then I got about halfway into the book and I saw it. A picture of Chesapeake Boomerang, as in “Boomer” MY CHINCOTEAGUE PONY! I had no idea that Boomer’s photo was in a book! Not only that, but there was even an excerpt on him about his days living in North Carolina.
Burta Boysen of 1000 Welcomes Farm in NC (my Blitz and Boomer’s birthplace) had written a wonderful account of the process she goes through when breaking and training their young Chincoteague Ponies. Burta stated that most ponies are started under saddle at the age of two, but then goes on to say that sometimes its best to wait as sometimes ponies take longer to mature.
Blitz & Boomer's father in the book Out of the Sea
“Boysen said their pony Boomer is a prime example of a pony that should have waited. “He was just too immature and not ready,” she said, “so we put him up for awhile and now he’s doing great.” These days, you can find Boomer in the show ring.”
The text then goes on to detail the training technique they use for starting their ponies under saddle. Basically roundpen work, with roping of the ponies – including their feet, and introduction to “whoa” as well as plastic bags, lariats, and old shirts.
Later on in the book there are photos of the Boysen’s stallion, Chesapeake Powhattan’s Promise (blitz and boomer’s father), and a story about how “Squat” got his name.
I was totally surprised to find that Boomer was in this book – but I also found it even more interesting to hear about his immaturity level and the process he undoubtedly went through to be readied to ride. From the day Boomer came to live with me in 2008 I knew he had a lot of growing up to do. He could barely carry himself (let alone a rider) down a hill, and had trouble finding his footing on the trail. He was wiggly and was easily toppled to the ground with a rider’s weight shift. Within the two years I have had him he’s come a long way, he now has solid steps on the trail, and he’s even grown into his body more. I think he’ll just always be one of those ponies that take a long time to “act his age”.
Learning about the methods used on Boomer to start him under saddle were eye opening. They probably attribute a lot to the fact that Boomer is pretty much unflappable. He doesn’t spook, and rarely have I found anything (or any situation) that rattles him. He’ll touch anything and try anything, and is a very trusting pony. I just might have to practicing roping each of his feet to see just what he knows!
Anyway this book definitely gets my vote as another must read – and not just because one of my ponies is in it!
Photos are reproduced from the book “Out of the Sea” by Lois Szymaski
A Pictorial Life Story of Misty
Recently I just finished reading the book, “A Pictorial Life Story of Misty” by Marguerite Henry, which is a must read for anyone who is a fan of Misty or Chincoteague for that matter. I had a lot of fun learning about Misty’s true life – in fact a lot of things I didn’t even know about her! Along with the wonderful photos of Misty and her friends, it also detailed Misty’s life from the day she met Marguerite Henry, author to the famous children’s book, Misty of Chincoteague.
I thought I’d share with you some of my favorite facts from the book.
– Misty was not born wild on the island of Assateague (as I’m sure many think), her parents (Phantom and Pied Piper) were island bred ponies.
-Misty was purchased from the Beebe’s by Marguerite Henry when she was just a few days old. Since she was too young to leave her mother at the time, the Beebe’s had Misty shipped in a wooden crate no bigger than a dog kennel to Illinois to live with Marguerite.
Misty in her shipping crate
-Misty’s most famous trick was standing on her stool and shaking hands (just like Chincoteague Minnow)
-Misty shared her home at Mole Meadow in Illinois with Friday, a morgan horse, Brighty, a donkey, Alex, a Dachshund, and Mom-cat, the farm cat.
-Alex the Dachshund entertained children with his ability to jump through a hoop, he also enjoyed pony rides on Misty, and had great fun with Mom-cat. (just like Ammo the Dachshund and his cat Cricket)
– Misty attended the American Library Association Convention in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She was allowed to sit in on meetings and even rode the elevator to attend a party in her honor. Misty was the only four footed member of the American Library Association.
Alex the Dachshund and Mom-cat
– Misty had wonderful Birthday parties every year to celebrate her Birthday, July 20th. The children would get out of school, and the whole town would congregate to see Misty.
– Marguerite sadly returned Misty to Chincoteague (and the Beebe ranch) to have her foal, a promise she had made to Grandpa Beebe when she purchased Misty as a foal.
– Misty’s first foal was dubbed Wisp O’ Mist when the winning name was picked out of the many children that entered the contest to name Misty’s foal.
Misty shakes hands with Marguerite Henry
– When Misty was in foal to her third baby, a terrible storm swept over Chincoteague. Misty was pulled inside the Beebe’s house to help her weather the storm, as everyone evacuated the island. Homes were destroyed the the town was left in rubble. Misty survived the storm and soon after had her third and final foal, Stormy.
-As Chincoteague Island tried to recover from the storm Misty became a source of hope. She made appearances with her new colt to raise money so that the island could thrive again. Its because of Misty that the tradition of Pony Penning
All photos are from “A pictorial life story of misty”
Baby Boomer
A newly born Boomerang, March 21, 2003
I’m so excited to share these!! Last week I got a package of Boomer baby photos in the mail from Boomer and Blitz’s breeder. Both Blitz and Boomer were born at 1000 Welcomes Farm in Chapel Hill, NC. The pair share the same stud, Chesapeake Powhattan’s Promise, but different dams. Boomer is out of Tidewater Sufer Chique (a Sufer Dude daughter) and Blitz is out of Tidewater Fable.
As I’m sure you can tell I LOVE both Blitz (originally “Lucky”) and Boomer, so I’m a big fan of the foals that their stud “Squat” produces. If you are in the market for a pony be sure to check out their sales list, one of their foals, John Henry, is already competing under saddle…and he’s gorgeous! John Henry would make an awesome mounted games pony as he looks to be pretty unflappable (I saw a video!) just like my two boys. I’d take them all home if I could!
Anyway, enjoy a trip down memory lane – way back in 2003 when Boomerang was first born.
A yearling Blitz looks out for little brother Boomer. How cute!!
Capturing Lay Down & More Bow Work
Yesterday I again brought Boomerang out to work on his bow work. Day #2 proved to have much progress for him. He is now consistently lifting his leg when I tap and holding it up with not as much guidance from me. He is also offering knee to the ground almost every time. He still has to get the hang of making sure his back legs are far enough back to compensate for the lowering of the front half of his body, but he’ll get there. With a few more sessions he should have this trick mastered, which is when I will put the final verbal cue onto it. The cool part will hopefully be transferring it over to saddle. I never got to do that with Minnow because I had to retire him from ridden work before we mastered this. I could probably still get him to do it, but I feel mean asking since I know how painful putting his weight on just one leg is – add the weight of a rider to that and it would be even worse. Perhaps if he could loose some weight first I’d be able to try – but since he can’t be exercised that proves even harder.
Here’s a clip of Boomer’s bow progress:
During our bow session I noticed Boomer showing signs of wanting to lay down in the soft sand. I let him lay then clicked him and sat with him for 5 minutes just feeding and petting him. Then I asked him stand again and used my target stick to get his nose to the ground. I myself began pawing the ground to entice him to do the same to ready a spot for himself. A few minuted later and he was back on the ground again. I got him to repeat this about 5 times. The best part was he offered all this while my parent’s aussie mix was running around barking like crazy and my dad had started up the 4wheeler so he could water the arena. How’s that for a bombproof pony!
**I added music to this clip because all you can hear in the background is my parent’s dog barking like crazy. 🙂
I’m hoping with a few more sessions we’ll have the bow and lay down mastered so that we can debut them at MGAA Nationals!
Boomerang’s Bow
Last night I spent some time working with Boomerang on the ground. We worked on moving away from pressure, turn on the haunches, turn on the forehand, and sidepasses. I then thought it would be fun to see if I could get him to bow. Boomer really likes the soft screenings in our arena, and almost every time he sees it he tries to lay down in it. I knew working in a soft fluffy part of the arena would entice him to put his limbs on the ground.
I started off by just working on getting him to pick up and hold his leg up. Each time picked up a leg when I tapped it, he got clicked. Eventually I progressed to enticing his head to the ground with a treat, and pretty soon Boomer was putting his knee to the ground. This is the same method I used to teach Minnow to bow back in 2004. Minnow has a pretty nice bow when he wants to, but its tough for him to do now because of his ringbone. I think it hurts a little, so I try not to ask him to do it too often, and I’m quicker to let him offer less of an effort than I would expect from Boomer. I think with a few more sessions Boomer should have a pretty nice bow, perhaps nice enough to showcase at MGAA Nationals in a few weeks. We shall see!
