I promise not to keep boring you with lots of foal pictures, but I just couldn't help myself today!
He's strong and inquisitive, although quite small. Marlene has finally taken him into the next paddock to show him to Sandpiper and Bethan. (She hid him away for the first week, despite Sandpiper's desperate calling, demanding to know what had happened, and wanting to see.)
We seem to have finally got on top of the sweetitch with Bethan, and she is looking great. No rubbing, shiny coat, relaxed face with no pinched worry lines, - I think she is healthy and well, and happy at last. It is not all good news though - there are some major riding problems :(
She bucks when asked to canter - a big buck, not just a little excited ping. She has done it twice with my daughter, who is a novice, and dumped her, which has understandably frightened her. Since then, I have let a competent child ride her a couple of times, who didn't mind sitting the initial bucks, rode her on through, and then she was fine. In every other way she is beautifully behaved, but the buck is a major issue. It makes her unsafe for a small child. I managed to track down her previous owners, and as far as I can see she has only ever been ridden by a competent rider since she was broken in at 11. So, though she has apparently been a fantastic competition pony - 13th at the NPS dressage championships last year, and jumping 80 cm tracks ( which I didn't know when I bought her) I am reluctantly coming to the conclusion that she is not a first pony. My feeling is that without a confident rider, giving her clear instructions, and effectively taking responsibility, that she loses all confidence and has a panic.
We have of course eliminated all possible physical reasons for the bucking. So I'm having rather a gloomy five minutes about it all:(
She quite happily stood tied up in the yard for three hours to be bathed, trimmed, plaited and generally primped and preened. This is why I love her so much - she is SO kind and good. It's just that d****d bucking. I just can't expect a nervous child to want to ride her.
16 comments:
Oh dear, that sounds like a NF pony I had once. He threw all the kids off in his previous home. We turned a corner when he was treated by the equine chiropractor, but I guess you've thought if that. I love the foal pics, maybe you might get what my American friend calls a "Grannys boasting book" which is full of "baby" photos, to be whipped out when anyone shows the remotest interest :D
What a lovely foal and I don't blame you for taking loads of photos I would be doing exactly the same thing! More please!
My daughter has totally lost confidence with her pony, but has agreed to learn some Parelli with him. This is mostly groundwork and works on building both pony and rider confidence. It's a jolly expensive course, but, to me, worth every penny. There are other similar and less expensive methods worth looking at, but this one is almost foolproof. Don't lose heart just yet.x
Love the foal, utterly :)
I am delighted to hear the itch has healed up so well but wonder if this bucking may be related somehow to the memory of having a saddle on previously when itchy. Perhaps the bucking has become a habit that as soon as she is mounted she lets fly and is still trying it on. She is such a lucky pony having such a loving new family and perhaps she is still unsure and testing you out a bit. I hope that a little more time will sort her out before your little girl loses her confidence. Fingers crossed. Love and Healing to you and Bethan.
Aisling
What a pity - I do hope you can get this sorted.
Lovely foal fotos.
Beautiful photos, you're so lucky to be close to such lovely creatures :) xx
Please don`t apologise for the foal photos.They are delightful.
So sorry to hear about the bucking into canter. My first thought is that it may be pain related, or memory of pain. I`m sure you will have been down the saddle/girth checking and physio route. So demoralising for a child and not safe either. Maybe life as a first, purely leading rein pony would be a possibility? I hope you find a solution.
What a beautiful baby!
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Congratulation. Nice.
Those are beautiful, beautiful horses.
Wow! A fellow Devonian on Blogspot, I'm feeling homesick already. Love the pony shots....
Wow. That's amazing. The foal is so beautiful.
You could post thousands of pictures of your foal and horses and I would never complain! Such beauty in so magnificent an animal! You are so blessed!
Re: previous post, I correct myself, ponies. Please, feel free to add more photos.
SUCH a sweetie-pie of a foal. I am envious.
As for Bethan and her buck. Hmmm - I don't reckon she's doing it to be horrid, but possibly memory of pain or a pinch from a saddle (though I'm sure all those avenues have been checked). I would be inclined to lunge her first, just in case there is any "edge" to get off. Then see if it happens. If she's not sharp in any other way, I would be inclined to persist in trying to get to the bottom of the problem.
Does she do it on both reins, or only one? I wonder if a daisy rein (from the headpiece to the front D's of the saddle), like the ones used to stop a pony getting its head down to graze, might do the trick as a pony cannot buck without lowering its head?
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