Posts Tagged ‘painting horse
A New Addition
Minnow at the Ludwigs Corner Horse Show
Recently I have been training a new addition to the Trick Ponies of Chincoteague. And although he’s not really a pony, he likes to think he is. Ammo, my 11 month old Dachshund, has officially begun his training to be part of the trick pony gang. Last week you saw that I taught Minnow and him to give eachother kisses. This trick was in preparation to have Ammo attend the Ludwigs Corner Horse Show with Minnow and I.
I even made Ammo a shirt that said “Trick Pony Side-Kick”. And a side-kick was just what he was.
Ammo at the Ludwigs Corner Horse Show
I kept having to push the time that Minnow was going to paint back because the organizers of the show wanted him to paint after a specific demonstration (which of course was running really late). So in order to please the crowd that was growing around my small coral I decided to have Minnow do a few tricks. Not his skit, just some fun tricks. So I brought Minnow out and had him up on his pedestal, shaking hands, kissing me, playing fetch. And then I remembered Ammo.
Ammo trotted into the arena and did some of his tricks. The crowd favorite is “Bang Bang” – where I pretend to shoot Ammo with a fake gun and he staggers to the ground and “dies”. It makes me laugh everytime, mostly because Ammo exaggerates it so much. I then had Minnow and Ammo kiss eachother, everyone loved this trick, as do I. Its quite adorable.
I’d love to come up with an act to showcase Ammo’s and Minnow’s tricks someday. I think they would be such a funny pair together. The hard part is that Chincoteague is not the most dog-friendly island. Most of the hotels don’t allow dogs, and you can’t take them into the fairgrounds and many of the parks. It seems to be the one place where horses take president over dogs!
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
Pony Artist
On Saturday Minnow and I attended the Ludwigs Corner Horse Show. Minnow performed some of his tricks and then painted a few paintings for onlookers. This year’s event drew a much bigger crowd for Minnow than last year. Many people had even heard of Minnow and we’re excited to see him. This week I plan to share with you some photos and videos from the event (as soon as I am able to snag them from my dad).
"Adeline's Pinky"
So today I thought I would share with you the two new paintings that Minnow created while at Ludwigs. This was the first time Minnow painted since our trip about a month ago to Chincoteague Island. His first painting was titled “Adeline’s Pinky” aptly named by the 4 year old girl who it was purchased for. She dawned a little pink cowboy hat and was in love with everything pink. So her wonderful grandmother decided to purchase the painting for her. It was evident after Saturday that Minnow needs to get more in touch with his feminine side. All of the little girls were wanting their parents to purchase them the pink painting. Sadly I only had one, but I told them not to worry – Minnow’s always up for custom work.
"Feathers in the Wind"
The next painting was meant for the boys (or girls) – with its bright blue background. This painting I titled “Feathers in the Wind” because the light airy brushstrokes reminded me of floating feathers. This painting is still available for purchase and would make some lucky child (or adult) very happy. So if you are in love with this one you better snatch it up fast. Minnow’s paintings have been flying off the shelf this year and I’m not sure when we will have time again to paint more.
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
Will a fat pony resist lush grass?
So after a mini-vacation for Minnow and myself after our trip to Chincoteague I finally got a chance to do some trick training yesterday. We basically took the whole month of August off (aside from our mounted games competition in NJ) and it was high time I got back to some training.
On Saturday Minnow and I will be attending the Ludwigs Corner Horse Show as part of the entertainment on Family Day. We’ll have a small fenced in coral near the booths and tents to perform in – with a 1pm and 3:30pm show. The key is that this coral will be placed on a bed of lush grass. Very tempting for a fat pony that spends most of his day with a muzzle on due to his arthritis and inability to be exercised.
So in order to not embarrass myself I decided it was probably best if I practiced performing with Minnow on grass. And what better place than the pasture that Minnow is turned out in! So I lugged all of Minnow’s equipment out to the pasture and set up my camera (of course I thought of all of you who read my blog – how kind of me to make a video for you!)
First I will let you watch the video, then I’ll explain further:
As you can see Minnow stayed with me the entire time. Even though his trick pony partner, Boomerang, is in the background grazing. I think Minnow displayed great self control, and demonstrated just how clicker training can help create a language and a bond between horse and trainer. I can guarantee you that if I was training Minnow with force or pressure (as many trainers do) he would definitely not stay with me. Clicker Training has created a positive experience for Minnow, and even though I know he’d much rather eat grass and not have to work at all, he has chosen that being with me and working for a reward is something that he would like to do. Did I mention I love this pony?
Tomorrow I will share with a video of a new trick that I taught Minnow yesterday. Its quite different in that this time I have decided to work with two animals at once. You’ll just have to check the blog tomorrow in order to see the debut of this amazing new trick!
-KD
http://www.ponypaintings.com
Fan Mail
Chincoteague Minnow recieved his first fan mail letter today. I have to say it put a big smile on my face to know that people are really enjoying Minnow’s artwork.
I bought a picture your pony, Minnow, painted at the pony show on Tuesday, July 28th at the 8pm show! The painting is great! I ended up giving it to my nieces because I couldn’t buy them their own pony, so I got them the next best thing! (haha) They really love it!
It was then requested that I kindly sign a newspaper cliping of an article that Minnow and I had published in the Chincoteague, VA paper 2 weeks ago, and mail it back. Of course I was happy to ablige!
This simple little letter really has brightened my day, because I know that Minnow’s paintings are out there, scattered all over the country, putting smiles on people’s faces. I was asked in a newspaper interview last month, if Minnow were to leave behind a legacy, what would it be? I’d like to change my original answer now. I’d hope that Minnow’s legacy would be that he was able to touch each and every person that either owns one of his paintings or has seen Minnow paint/perform. I hope that he’s able to put the sparkle of a life-long love of horses and Chincoteague Ponies in a child’s eyes.
Big kisses to my Chincoteague Minnow today!
Trick Pony Friends
I’ve discussed most of the happenings at Pony Penning 2009, and as the week of re-caps is now coming to an end, I figured I’d go over the last few things about our trip to Chincoteague Island. Minnow attended the Pony Center shows as a guest Trick Pony, but did you know that the Chincoteague Pony Center is already home to another talented trick pony? Thats right, Teaguer, official mascot of the Chincoteague Pony Center, had to take a week long vacation from his tricks while Minnow was visiting. But, I was lucky enough to be able to watch his adorable skit, even if he didn’t perform it during the shows that week. Watch our special viewing below.
Talented Bowing foals at the Pony Center
Not only is the Chincoteague Pony Center a place to go to watch performances of what the amazing Chincoteague Pony breed can do, but its also a place to buy foals. Now these foals aren’t wild born like the Assateague Ponies, they are instead bred in captivity, many of which have parents that started off life on the island as a wild pony. There can be great benefits to buying a foal that has already been handled since birth – it can be a lot easier to train. Anyway, I was able to get some photos of some of the foals at the Center, many of which have already sold and will go to new homes as soon as they are able to be weaned from their moms.
Once of the foals, Calypso Blue, is actually a half brother to my own Boomerang and Blitz. All 3 ponies share the same father, Chesapeake Powhattan’s Promise. In getting to watch this foal, I can tell he’s related to my boys – he’s got the same quirky personality and facial expressions. This foal has already been sold, and I’m sure whoever bought him will be taking home a very special baby.
Calypso Blue, half brother to Boomer and Blitz
And finally, who can forget the imfamous Misty of Chincoteague. Thats right, I even got to visit with Misty (and her last foal, Stormy). The stuffed versions of them that is. Now I know a lot of people are thrilled that they can still visit with the horse that made the book “Misty of Chincoteague” so famous, but is it just me, or are they just totally creepy? I don’t know about you, but as much as I LOVE Minnow, I definitely don’t think I would ever want to have him stuffed and displayed in my living room. Talk about nightmares! But either way, Misty and Stormy are on display at the Beebe Ranch for all to see.
Stuffed Misty of Chincoteague
Stuffed Stormy
So thus completes my trip to Chincoteague with Minnow. We had a wonderful time, and we’re very hopeful to return next year for Pony Penning 2010.
For more photos from the week please visit www.greenhorsestudios.com
