- Introduction of tack / a couple of times he wasn't sure of the girth however with a little reassurance he soon learnt that it wasn't that bad.....
- The Bit / we have found that this pony has a sweet tooth - we did not have an issue with introducing a bit to him however we soon discovered that he would have bitted himself if he knew there was some honey on it!!!!!
- Long Reining / Obviously this is an onging training aid that we will keep going with however again TC got the hang of what was expected of him very quickly (He is now being long reined in and outside of the school he just loves his work)
- Backing / we started trying to lean over him in the stable which he was fine with.....he wasn't too sure at first about walking with a weight on him & bucked a couple of times. We expected loads more protest than what we got!!! A friend of ours who is an up and coming jockey & very familiar with riding out young horses came to ride him for us a few times (You know who you are and thank you so much for your help).
I have probably left loads out however I have been meaning to get this Blogg up and running for a while now and am just catching up with things.......
TC is now hacking out all over the Ridgway in all sorts of traffic (Buses, Tractors etc.) as if he has been doing it all his life not just the for the few weeks that we have had him for. For about 5mins into the ride you can feel that he has his back up but I have never felt this has been for any other reason than exceitement about what we have on our agenda today so I just ignore it until he settles.
Last Tuesday we hacked through the Bishopstone Valley where we had to negotiate two gates, which were expected.....however the sheep and cattle were not. I don't think that TC had ever seen sheep or young stock with horns!!!!!! As soon as I saw them I felt that maybe I'd just given myself a near death sentence!!!!! Again this pony amazed me he did not bolt or blow his brains .....he was causious and suspicious but he trusted me enough to take him through them, much to my relief.....Two days later we returned to the same valley to find that the sheep and cows had gone.....again we negotiated the gates and then had our first canter outside in the open countryside. Both he and I loved it!!!!
This week we have overcome a puddle!!!! & are getting used to standing at a mounting block for me to get on.
We have also introduced him to the Trailer....of which he walked into and off like an old pro.!!!! Our next stage is to close all the ramps and doors whilst he is in there a few times before we take him on his first journey. Watch this space!!!!!
