Posts Tagged ‘horse
Hippo….what?
As promised I have plenty of new and exciting things going on with the trick ponies! I stayed at Iron Horse Farm until 10pm last night working with the horses. I missed them so much after my week-long beach vacation. After spending the week reading my new book “The Click that Teaches: Riding with the Clicker” by Alexandra Kurland I had lots of ideas spinning in my head that I wanted to try with my own horses. So when I arrived at the barn around 6pm last night, the first thing I did was drag out an old bareback pad that I had. I attached stirrups to it as well as some extra thick pads underneath for added cusioning. I “saddled” up Minnow and threw a bitless bridle on him. I think Minnow was a bit concerned because he hasn’t had any type of girth on in well over a year – due to his diagnosis of ringbone (equine arthritis) in March of 2008. (don’t worry all we did was walk)
My plan was to attempt the hippodrome stand. Now if you are hearing this word for the first time you are probably thinking – what the heck? Basically the hippodrome is a trick riding term which pertains to standing on the top of your horse while he usually gallops around the arena. Many trick riders use this in their performances and some even perform the hippodrome roman style – meaning having 2 horses in tandem that they stand on. I’ve never had any trick riding training, and honestly I’ve only ever seen it performed in demos/exhibitions. I secretly wish I could attend a trick riding school because it looks so cool.
So that being said – here is an example of a young girl doing the hippodrome stand on her pony Puddles.
I have noticed that most trick riders perform the hippodrome with a special trick riding saddle that in addition to having lots of extra straps and handles to hold onto, it has 2 foot loops near the front to put your feet into in order to perform the hippodrome. But since I don’t own a trick saddle I figured I’d try to do it bareback (hence the bareback pad). I have seen bareback roman riding – but I haven’t been able to locate any hippodrome stands with a single horse and bareback. Maybe its not possible? Its definitely hard! Lucky for me Minnow is so fat and wide that I had a little extra room to spread my legs for balance. But before I say much more….watch my attempt below:
As you can see when Minnow starts and stops suddenly it is very hard to keep my balance (hence why I fell off at the end). I was trying to experiment with different ways to position my feet for balance. I think I’m going to have to do a bit more research – especially to find out if anyone performs the hippodrome without straps to straddle the horse. This idea would be very similar to the way a jockey rides. Their stirrups are so short that when a jockey straightens his legs he’s almost standing.
So anyway I hope you enjoyed my failed attempt at the hippodrome stand. If there is any trick riders out there I welcome as much help as I can get! Check back on tuesday – because I not only worked on the hippodrome stand with Minnow, but I also taught him a brand new trick. But for suspense you will have to wait till after the weekend to hear about it!
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
Clicker Training Interview
This is going to be my last blog post for a few days…….because I’m going on Vacation! I’m ready for a little break. I have a tendency to go, go, go all the time and don’t take much time for myself. So my short trip to the beach is coming at a very good time. Although I will miss the trick ponies greatly! And my Dachshund, Ammo too!
Now back to the post for today….
I wanted to share with you a neat interview with Sharon Foley about clicker training. You can listen to it here. I have to admit that I haven’t gotten to listen to the whole thing yet (everytime I sit down to listen to it I get interrupted). But I will do so shortly! And if not you can all tell me what you learned!
Anyway hope you are able to enjoy the 4th of July weekend with friends and family (and ponies too). See you when I return!
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
My Little Pony
Minnow’s newest painting, created June 29th, is now up on the website and available for purchase. I titled this painting “My Little Pony” because the bright/fun colors reminded me of the My Little Ponies of my youth. I love the way this painting turned out and I can just picture it hanging in some lucky little girl’s bedroom! So if you are that little girl, or know that little girl, you better snatch this painting up before someone else does!
"My Little Pony" by Chincoteague Minnow
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
Camper for a Day
Yesterday Minnow entertained a group of campers from Fox Meadow Farm as well as a neighboring camp. There was a big turnout (bigger than I expected) and everyone seemed very interested to learn about the amazing Minnow. Minnow performed (for the first time I might add) his skit that he will be performing at Pony Penning 2009, he then demonstrated the basics of clicker training (such as targeting and building onto things to learn a specific skill), we then answered questions by the campers. Later Minnow demonstrated how he has learned to paint – I will have his latest creation up shortly – and to wrap up Minnow painted t-shirts for all the campers. If you are looking for a camper, Casita found on shoppok.com it is perfect for you! You will find the Best Class B RVs for Winter Traveling. Winter camping comes with some obvious challenges. Whether pursuing a good environment for winter sports or simply seeking the peaceful solitude of a snowy landscape, winter campers looking for the right RV might wonder where to start.
Minnow with the campers
I let everyone choose the colors they wanted and Minnow set about painting 15 t-shirts. Everyone was amazed at his focus and the fact that he waited and stood at his easle the entire time. I think Minnow found it relaxing because as the day went on I noticed his eyes starting to droop to the point that he was actually painting with his eyes closed. When we were finally done with the t-shirts I had a hard time getting Minnow to go back to his stall, he wanted to paint more!
Everytime I see Minnow perform it puts a smile on my face. I see how it lights him up and how he loves the attention given to him by the audience. He was born to be a performer – and even better he has become an ambassador for his breed, the Chincoteague Pony. I’m looking forward to our trip to Chincoteague with Minnow, as I’m sure he is too.
Left, Boomer & Right, Blitz
After the campers left I felt a little guilty that Boomer and Blitz didn’t get to participate in the day’s fun (although they did get lots of pets by little hands). So I pulled each of them out of their stalls and let them create their first “signature”. I painted their right hoof and had them stamp it on a piece of paper. Later I will use this image to create a stamp of their hoof prints which then will be used to stamp the back of any canvases they paint (essentially creating their unique signature). I already have one that I did for Minnow a couple years back and all of his paintings come with his unique signature stamped on the back.
Overall it was a great day, I even got time to hop on Boomer later for a short trail ride (in which he took off through the woods because he was so excited to be out – good thing I’m training him to be a racing pony.
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
Farm Life
Today I simply have some photos to share that I took over the weekend at Iron Horse Farm. I hope they are able to brighten your day – a good pony photo always makes you smile! Enjoy the nice weather, and give your horse a hug today!
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
Boomerang taking a roll
Boomer playing with the tuff ball
Ammo wanting to be a trick pony too
My 3 favorite Chincoteague Ponies
