one more step along the road I go

This week Sheltie has excelled himself again. I have not been off the land lately as he was so nappy and I have been quite insistent with lunge work at different paces on the land. I also used the small birch trees as bending poles and have done a lot of stop start etc.
This week I made the decision to hit the road seriously. We left the gate and set off. Sheltie skittered once in the first few minutes as a car came from behind us and then seemed to settle. He never napped at all ! we took a circular route which is 7/10 of a mile..I know cos I drove it later..sad I know but it is a measurable achievement. He had a steady stream of traffic up his bottom plus we walked on the road towards oncoming traffic part of the way. On a quiet bit a few little girls came to see him and they stayed on their garden wall at his head height to pet him. I explained that if they did not offer titbits he would not learn to eat their fingers. I carried the lunge whip and tipped it out towards the road, as a bit of a signal to cars not to come too close. The walk went so smoothly, he had his ears pricked and had a nice steady pace, I felt as if I was leading a really sensible pony. A few nights later I repeated the walk. No issues at all. I actually tied a bit of rag to the end of my whip so that cars would really think "what the heck is that up ahead" well the drivers, not the cars.. it also served as a brake if I tipped it in front of Sheltie when he wanted to walk faster than I asked. He was not bothered by our flag swishing about over my shoulder. I probably look absolutely barmy walking along with a white flag above me and 8hands of apparently docile sweetie pony behind me, but I know the dangers of traffic and the potential for sweet looking ponies to be naughty. Having said that however, I feel Sheltie has made another leap of faith with me and accepts my leadership and trusts me in the new situations he is meeting. If he coped with the traffic each time he is not suddenly going to revert to being scared. I just need to keep up with the bigger walks now.
He also gave two small children a few laps on each rein in the barn this morning without any fuss, even standing and then changing direction when I commanded from the centre, he was on the long line but has done the same off line with a five year old last week!!
If he was my child I would be embarrassed to gush on about him but cos he is God's own creature I feel nothing but pride in his development. Creation is wonderfulxx
by the way, my daughter Laura was 21 on the 21st July and my second daughter Hannah married Kieran on Saturday 24th so they were pretty good days too. SORRY GIRLS, you know I love you really xxxx

If you read back to the March blog you will see that I began lunge work in the barn and hoped to progress to outdoor work when the land dried out. All going as planned there. This week Sheltie has taken his skills to a new level. He worked on line in the barn and then with the rope wrapped round his neck. He walked and trotted on request, plus changed direction without the line on. He also did the same with all his tack off. This was pretty good I thought and all the more so as the barn door was wide open and he was free to leave at any time. However, I then took him outdoors and repeated his lunge work. On line both directions, then with rope around neck and finally totally free, no tack at all. We were on land open to the main field with gates open and the other two horses grazing nearby. Sheltie was amazing. He stretched his circle out which meant he had to go around a couple of trees to complete the circuit, but he did continue until I said stand. He changed direction though he threw in a rear for good measure on setting off, and he trotted his new lap, again weaving about the trees to make the larger circle, As soon as I called stand he stopped and faced into me. When I pulled an imaginary line through my hands he came up for his reward. Is this not amazing when you think he could not lunge at all at Christmas, and now he understands and obeys in open acres of land! with no ropes on him at all...wow!

birthday boy soon

Sheltie is four years old on the 27th or 28th of this month. Today I put his bridle and bit on and did all his work with him tacked. He clattered the bit about a lot at first, but never rubbed his head or stressed. I led him around and it seemed to me that he followed more willingly, I was not using the bit for steering but I think he was so baffled by it that he felt he ought to stick close! I was able to lead him in lots of figures on the field, towards and way from the other two quietly grazing. Sheltie didn't try to force the direction at all and when I wanted him to turn away from me I used the inside rein and just gently tweaked it so that he could feel something. I kept the walk up for a lot longer than usual, trying to set him up a bit to tell me he had had enough, but he never. He was extremely biddable and when I finally stopped I had quite a bit of unbuckling and stuff to do. He never moved a foot whilst waiting for me to remove all his equipment. I think he is a little treasure. xx He shakes front legs well. Now I can pick up hind legs and do same, I just pull one out and say "and shake" as I wriggle him about! He is very trusting,the point of all my messing is to make him trustworthy for handling not just party tricks for the sake of.

A view over Mossley and me giving the wee man a pep talk.

happy in his work?

Sheltie is so lovable. Today, because I was quite short of time I planned just to say hello and put suncream and fly spray on the ponies. I had a really long ride yesterday so Spice was in no rush to do anything anyway. The ponies were grazing so I took my bits and pieces to them and gave them a mane brush in the sunshine. Sheltie is accepting a serious groom now without backing up but today I just brushed his mane and tail. He stood really nicely and even let me put sun cream on his nose without a fuss. Spice had the same beauty treatment and then I kissed them goodbye and took the kit back to the barn. I walked back down the path intending to climb over the street gate and leave them to graze, but Sheltie suddenly came over to the fence and followed me to the open gate that comes onto the path.
It was as if he thought I should not be going as I had not actually made him do anything (for a change). He came out of the field to me and then stopped in front,hinting that I might have nice things in my pocket but not being pushy at all. I reckon he was confused because he had not done any of his usual tricks so there on the path I asked him to shake hands, lift his feet, back up, come forward, and shake his back feet which is my latest game for him. (When I pick up his back feet he always drops his sheath..boys bits..and I presume this is a sign that he is relaxed about the business) He went through his party pieces and accepted the one solitary pony nut in the bottom of my pocket and then he was happy for me to go. What a sweetie! He would be wasted as a "lawn mower", he is really sociable and funny and I love him xx

OUT 24/7 AGAIN!

Well, another month has whizzed by. The weather is picking up and the ponies are now out around the clock. The new land is not lush, quite hilly and well drained with a short turf in most places so although I keep an eye on the size of the ponies I am not too anxious about the dreaded fat pony disease Laminitis. As soon as the ground was dry I took the lunge work out of the barn and now Sheltie is coping with a full length rope and working at a walk and trot. When I say working I actually mean going round in a circle at the speed and be able to stand and come in as I request. When I bring him into the centre I make him shake hands and do all the touching all over stuff. He is so good at that he forgets he was broncing around a moment earlier and settles straight away..good stuff eh? I never thought the day would come! I have tried to encourage him into a canter, but this seems to make him a bit giddy at the moment so I am backpedalling a little, he is like the nursery rhyme character with the curl..when he is good he is very very good and when he is bad he is horrid... but I don't mean that really, I have to remember that he has a mind of his own and may not quite understand what I want, or, more than likely he is just being a stubborn little shetland monster and choosing to be awkward.
The farrier came on Tuesday, a trim for the both of them, £34 total. I can see how Sheltie has improved in his behaviour and Neil said that if Sheltie stands and behaves as well next time as he did this time then I can say he is "good for farrier" as in good to catch, clip etc!!! how is that for progress!! Little things do please me. Also this week I have walked Sheltie out into the street off the land. I have tried this a couple of times previously since moving here, but it is quite a busy road and Sheltie was quite jumpy and unsettled away from the other horses. I put that on hold for a while, but now he is so much more biddable generally I thought I would make a bigger effort. He has been out three times in three days and not disgraced himself at all. He stops to have a look at stuff but is leading really well and seems to be trusting me to look out for him, when a wagon did make him jump today he jumped and turned to me rather than starting off in a blind panic. I think it took him by surprise as he was investigating a litter bin we were passing and his mind was probably on his belly when the lorry bombed past us. Poor pony did jump. I had to laugh though after reassuring him and telling him he was brave,as I am having to sing hymns to calm my nerves as we walk along! It is the thought of him going beserk and having an accident that would worry me, but he has been pretty good so far and I do a bit at a time,trying to build his confidence.It is a lot like having a baby, once you start you have to finish and as I have opened the gate so I have to go forward etc. I do wonder sometimes how old is too old to be playing with ponies and will I realise when I get to that age?

Sheltie has a human friend now

It has been a while since last message, purely because life is so busy and so good with the ponies each morning that I only fly into the house to get clean for work and then off out again in the afternoon. I have had a young friend working the ponies for the last few weeks too. He is eleven and not in school at the moment so he has become my little helper. He has bonded with the Shetland so well that he can pick up feet and lead the pony around. Sheltie seems to recognise a kindred scallywag as he responds well to Conner's control. When I think back to how wild Sheltie was it is heartwarming to see a young boy leading him about confidently, this is the first time I have been able to trust Sheltie with a child entering his stable to feed and collar him, it shows how much the pony is developing.
I bought a cavesson head collar for the wee man so that when I attempt proper lunge work and long reins I will be organised. I am able to walk behind Sheltie quite confidently now, he shows no inclination to pick up the heels and when he does turn his back end towards you it is for a rub on his bottom rather than a life threatening gesture!
I also had a new stable door fitted as Sheltie had booted the bottom panel out of the old one in retaliation for Sophia the Arab mare chewing on the outside of the door while he was inside. I had a galvanised metal grid gate made so it is unchewable, small enough to not get nose or feet in, non rusting and he can see through it and not feel left out. I don't know if I am the first person to go metal, draughts are not an issue in the barn, but PREDOMINANT ENGINEERING MOSSLEY made it for me and although it cost around the £100 mark it will never (!) need replacing or painting so it could be a good thing.