Posts Tagged ‘horse
Spanish Walk Progress
A short video of Minnow practicing his spanish walk on January 18th.
This video makes me laugh because Minnow looks even shorter and fatter than I know him to be in real life. His body is MASSIVE. He’s got a horse sized body and head with legs and a neck the size of a miniature horse. Poor Minnow, I think he dreamed of being 14 hands, sadly he topped out at 13.1. Perhaps that is why he loves his pedestal so much – he gains a few inches in height.
I also notice how Minnow really tries to avoid lifting his right front leg. I know this is because of his arthritis in his left front. If he lifts the right then most of his weight is put onto his left. He tires so hard to work through the pain and do what I’m asking of him. I might start trying to look into some supplements that I can give him, perhaps it will help him to be a little more comfortable.
Training my Horse like a Dog
I finally was able to capture some video footage of Minnow working on his rear yesterday. I’m so proud of him. He has really been able to tune into my body language and just figure out what I wanted.
Here are some shots from yesterday morning:
And here are some videos from yesterday night:
Yesterday morning I started off working in the ring, and my original plan was to back him into the corner of the fence in order to get him to get his hind end under him some more. But (as I already knew) Minnow has confinement issues, and I had a feeling he wouldn’t like feeling trapped. I tried it once and after he casually wriggled his way around me I decided this wasn’t the best method for him. So instead we worked out in the open like before. If you notice my method was to just basically rev him up with excitement – sort of like you would to a dog if you wanted them to play fetch or something like that. I danced around a bit, called his name, and got myself really enthusiastic. My energy transferred over to Minnow and he offered several nice steps of the rear. I also used the end of my target stick to get him to push his weight back on his rear instead of resting on his front end.
Later that day I was showing my mom and sister Minnow’s progress and I just happened to place him on a slight slope outside the barn. This seemed to really help Minnow rock back on his hindend and he got much higher. I think this spot might be good to keep trying to help build his hind quarters up so that he can get even higher off the ground in the future.
I think Minnow is really enjoying the rearing and Spanish Walk training. When I turn him out in the pasture after our sessions he goes bucking and carrying on with excitement. I think the other ponies are really jealous. I’m definitely going to have to get back to their training soon!
With my mom and sister still recovering from their knee injuries and surgeries I have 3 rideable ponies to choose from (Jet, Blitz and Boomer). Yet I haven’t ridden since mid-December, because I would much rather teach Chincoteague Minnow new tricks! I’m really going to have to start kicking myself into gear if I want to reach some more of my 2010 goals like taking Blitz to a Dressage competition and moving Boomer up to the Masters division in mounted games. I also wanted to buy an equestrian lifestyle subscription box. There is still so much more to accomplish this year!
Why Chincoteague Ponies?
Stuffed Misty of Chincoteague
True, as a child I read the book, Misty of Chincoteague, but I did not “want” a Chincoteague Pony. I don’t think I ever really thought to be that specific – other than just wanting a pony. In fact, I really didn’t know much about the breed until 2008. So you may be wondering then, why do I now own 3 Chincoteague Ponies?
Chincoteague Minnow is why. He appeared into my life (sort of by chance) one Summer day in 2003. I didn’t know then, but I would soon fall in love with him and his breed – if only because I am constantly seeking his “mythical” clone.
In 2008 when I learned that my beloved Minnow would have to be retired from all strenuous activity (mainly riding) I suddenly had the desire to know all there was to know about Chincoteague Ponies. I began combing online horse ads, articles, and stories – anything related to the Chincoteague Ponies. I think in a way it was how I grieved about losing something I shared with Minnow. Maybe I thought in finding a replacement just like him that I wouldn’t have to ride “just another pony” – it would be special again, like it was with Minnow. I knew deep down that there would never be another Minnow and probably I would spend the rest of my life searching for a connection like he and I share…but I searched anyway.
I attended my first Chincoteague Pony Penning in 2008 and by then I was utterly hooked on the breed. There is just something magical about the Chincoteague Ponies. I watched little girls beam as their parents placed bids on foals for them. I watched as the Saltwater Cowboys mingled safely among a docile herd of “wild” ponies AND Stallions. I watched as young foals instantly bonded with their new “people”, ready to start a new journey in life.
Blitz and Boomer watch as Minnow paints
That summer I brought home 2 Chincoteague Ponies, Chesapeake Lightning aka Blitz and Chesapeake Boomerang aka Boomer. They paled in comparison to my Minnow – but they were Chincoteague Ponies, and there was something special about them too. They have the same look in their eyes, the wanting to learn, the wanting to please, but no matter how hard they try to be truly connected to me, my pony will always be Minnow. Its because of him that I will now always hold a connection to the Chincoteague Ponies.
Every few weeks I plug “Chincoteague Pony” into the online horse classifieds. I really don’t know what I hope to find, I just have to look. I don’t need or want another Chincoteague Pony right now, but I search anyway. Maybe I’m hoping Minnow’s long lost twin brother is on there – his brother that I can ride. I miss galloping the fields with Minnow, I miss competing infront of thousands of spectators, I miss taking him to clinics – I just miss riding him. Minnow is still very much a part of my life but each of us is just missing a little piece. Ok, well maybe I can’t speak for him – he probably enjoys being “parked”, but I miss it.
Anyway, I got a little off topic there…..Minnow is very much the main reason I have fallen in love with the Chincoteague Ponies, if he had been a Welsh pony – I probably would have fallen in love with that breed instead. But the more research I did on the breed, the deeper I fell in love. Not only are they hardy and practically live off of air, but they build bonds with their people like a Labrador Retriever would (even the wild-born ones), they are easy to train (as far as horses go), they are relatively rare, they are colorful, and they seem to adapt well to nearly every equestrian discipline. To me they have just encompassed the overall package in a horse. I have yet to meet a Chincoteague Pony that didn’t hold the “lap dog” type personality, they genuinely just love people. They certainly aren’t for everyone – if you want an Olympic Show Jumper, the Chincoteague Pony probably won’t cut it….but I bet they would try if you asked.
So in conclusion (after my very long and draw-out/slightly off topic post) these are some of the MANY MANY reasons why I have chosen Chincoteague Ponies as my breed of choice.
If you’re looking for more information on Chincoteague Ponies you can check out these websites:
Chincoteague Pony Association
Misty’s Heaven
Chincoteague Pony on Wikipedia
The Colorful Chincoteague
At Liberty
Here’s a neat video of trick horse trainer, Tommie Turvey, and his two horses Joker and Ace, performing a liberty act.
I don’t believe in everything Tommie Turvey does in his training, but I do think he generally cares about his horses and their well-being. I also think we can learn something from every type of horse trainer out there – adapting it to your views and ways of teaching.
Chincoteague Minnow
This video made me long to do a liberty act with the trick ponies. Alas, Chincoteague Minnow will probably never be able to do a truly noteworthy liberty performance due to his arthritis. Perhaps someday Blitz and Boomer will be advanced enough to perform at liberty with me – but we are a long way from that. Minnow certainly could do it now, but watching him limp around isn’t exactly beautiful – it mostly looks cruel. I always struggle with asking Minnow to perform (which he absolutely loves) and having him look uncomfortable as he limps even at the walk. But the fact is Minnow lives with this pain everyday, if I never asked him to move I would be faced with an even bigger blimp of a pony that would undoubtedly face even more health problems due to his weight. But to an onlooker it can look as if I am “forcing” (which if anyone knows me they know I would NEVER force my horses to do anything) this limping pony to perform. The truth is he performs because he wants to not because he has to.
By Golly, I think you have it
After much anticipation I finally have some videos to share of Chincoteague Minnow learning his Spanish Walk. I started teaching this by asking him target a knee to his target stick, I then asked him to alternate legs – eventually asking him to do the left leg, then the right all while moving forward slowly. I used a neck rope to gently ask him to walk forward. Sometimes I think Minnow can just read my mind. These videos are after two 10 minute sessions. I am in awe at how fast he’s catching on.
Chincoteague Minnow
The very best part about this is that after I was done working on his Spanish Walk I was explaining to my mom how it originally was started as an attempt to get him to rear. I was sort of goofing around and showed her that eventually I wanted to be able to lift my hands (and target stick) into the air and Minnow would rear. When I did this movement and took a step forward Minnow lifted a front let into the air. Immediately noticing what he had done I clicked him.
My mom walked back into the barn to mess with the horses (or perhaps I would have had a video of this as well) and curiosity began to get me. Minnow obviously had leg lifting on his mind because we were just working on it…but there was something I could use here. I remembered something my trainer always says to me. She’s always telling me that if you think of the action you want from the horse – your body will give off that energy even if you don’t know it. The trainer I use is very much into Parelli but she also loves working and learning with me about the clicker training.
Giving my best friend a kiss. By Photographer Kali Wallace
So I pondered this for a moment. I stood directly infront of Minnow with my hands at my sides. I imagined gathering up all of my energy into a big ball infront of me – and I took a powerful step forward and thrust my hands into the air – I thought rear. Instantly Minnow rocked back on his hindend – lifted one leg and then the other. Click! I gave him a huge reward – Minnow is big on rewarding, he knows that if I get really enthusiastic and energetic (like you would with a dog) that he’s really catching on.
Obviously I had discovered something here with him. I tried this a few more times with the same result, then suddenly it happened. On about the fourth try Minnow lifted both legs off the ground at the same time. It wasn’t very high – but it was a AIR! I was so excited. I thrust my arms around his fuzzy neck, gave him several “jack-pot” treats and scratched his favorite spot.
I stopped right after that one because I knew I had to be careful how far I went with this. See Minnow has Ringbone (equine arthritis) in his front left ankle and if I work him too much he tends to get sore – especially in the winter. Its good for him to use his ankle but to much and I’m afraid he will start to resent the tricks due to pain. He wouldn’t do it if he didn’t want to (and I would never make him) but I know his signs of its time to call it quits for the day.
So his next Rearing/Spanish Walk session will have to wait for another day. I think the next time I attempt this rear method I might have Minnow positioned with his butt to the corner of the fence, that way it will guide him to rock back on his hind end more.
So that’s my exciting tale that I’ve been dying to post about. Has anyone else ever tried this method of teaching the rear? Or has anyone else used energy and mental envisioning to help succeed in teaching an animal a skill? I’d love to hear of any other experiences that are related. Or maybe you just think I’m a total nut! 🙂
