My friend Korinne took this picture. Also a Nikon owner and user she wanted to try out my new lens. I made that costume for Savanah a year ago. It's always a big hit and the other store bought skeleton costumes just don't cut it when it comes to cute and good looking (or evil dirty looks in this photo's case) Note the appropreate spike collar and all. I think shes giving me the stink eye there.However Savanah loves camping. She assigns herself a chair to sit on. If she doesn't have to be on leash she will assign herself your chair when your butt leaves it.
Crackling campfires
Also a picture for failblog You'll have to come back tomorrow to see that one :P
So some more on my pony. First of all it was not right what that driver did. People are so ignorant these days and since it's not a vert densely populated horse area not many are educated about the rules of the road when it comes to horses in Ontario. We need some signs in our area warning drivers about horses. We need a better crack down on asshole drivers as well. In the past 6 months I have had four cars pass me that purposely made more noise or drove too close for my own comfort. Fortunately for me the first three times I had a pretty good minded horse. Which brings me to my next point.
However wrong it was of that guy to honk and rev his engine it was equally as wrong of my pony to handle the situation like he did. Bucking is just not acceptable. Never, ever when I am working him. He knows I do not put up with his bullshit. He has known from day one but every once and a while that moron gene (aka half the pony is he is Hackney pony) clicks in and he does something I would rather not, but never has he bucked like that before. I have decided I am going to drive him again this week now that I got a new back board for my cart then stone boat the piss out of him all fall and winter. He is gonna work hard, and long and get over whatever he has got in him.
Hes a pony that once he knows what you want he does it. Hes known as a "push button" pony but like I said, that ugly moron gene tries to take a glimpse of daylight and it just happened to slip past me that day. Totally unacceptable. I think I know where the bucking came from though.
See theres a little lady who line drives, grooms, etc etc with the pony. She said last Wednesday about longing him. She told me "I longe him and let him get all his piss and vinegar out. He bucks and gallops around first" then it clicked. I NEVER let him get away with this. When I did when I first started training him he would try and have a fit about the way the harness was on him or kick out when running around at me, but not near me. As soon as I nipped that in the bud he quit his crap and has always gone right to work. Well I found the missing piece of the puzzle. This lady, she likes to spoil horses and ponies and sometimes kill them with kindness. However nice her intentions are they create unruly equines which a) are much bigger than her and b) leave me with problems to clean up after. I didn't mention to her about the bucking thing relating to him on the longe I just gave her a lengthy lecture about NOT letting him fool around. I told her when she expects him to work for her make him. It's not play time when hes on the longe, he gets to do that in the paddock. She wouldn't like it if every time she went to line drive him he had to kick up his heels first. She would get hurt and the pony would get more and more unruly. She understood. I just hope she can follow through and not leave me with more of a mess to clean up.
By being around horses I understand they are unpredictable. They are larger than I and I may even meet my maker if not sustain (more) serious injuries. I have only owned/worked for any legnth of time one 99.9% trustworthy, quiet, steady eddie and that was Naigen. I never really rode her or worked her like I do my other horses. I understand what I take on, I hope others do too. After a fall you gotta re-evaluate and find out what went wrong. I wouldn't trade a day of my world for any other life. Not unless I could share that other life with my horses.
3 comments:
I don't celebrate halloween as it isn't biblical, but I do think that the costume for Savanna is cute. I pictured a pumpkin dog or something.
When I saw the chair picture of her I thought of when she fell of the chair in the kitchen. I lol'd.
I think that sometimes people unintentionally hurt our animals training and habits. I can only relate to cats/dogs ect. But I have had a few rimes when our dog spent a lot of time with visiting family and developed some cocky and messy behaviors. Like they taught him it was okey to bark at ANYTHING and then after they left he wouldn't stop... ever. They also let him have food from the table, and he would sometimes snap at us for trying to get it back.
Like you, my dad wouldn't put up with it. But I am a push over and most of the time the dog won.
I think your a great woman with horses and your bold enough to let people know when they are screwing over your training.
:D
The costume is great! I have been bucked off, taken off with when not in the saddle yet, and have lost my balance and fallen off! I have not given up owning horses but the fear is alive and I am working on that everyday with my horses. So, needless to say I will not give up!
I'm STILL re-evaluating my life with horses. After getting seriously hurt, it's daily struggle to deal with. But once horses get in your heart, it's difficult to give that up. For me, I've just found myself even more cautious, more reserved, less trusting around horses, especially my mare.
I think it's crazy that I didn't really recognize was a brat she was the year before I fell of of her. She was my first horse, and as a new rider, I took all of her faults on my shoulders....when she bolted, spun 360's, ran backwards, and gave me baby bucks, I just figured I was at fault and just needed to buck-up and hang tough. We were working on her barn-sourness and doing really well with my consistant riding and me working her whenever we came back off the trail. But her runnig sideways/teleportation trick did me in.
When I look back, I see that most of my time spent with my horse wasn't very fun or satisfying.
Some say, I just need a different horse, a steady-eddy, but how do I know the next horse won't have even worse habits to overcome?
At least I know Baby Doll's tricks and I know how far to push before she'll blow.
It's frustrating when a gal waits 30+ years to own her own horse and then when it happens, it ends up so horribly wrong. :P bah!
Anyway, I hear ya on the pony, when I work Baby Doll and she's wearing any tack at all, I expect her to behave. No bucking or going crazy. When I was riding, I'd usually chase her and make her run, gallop and buck before I put her to work. She likes that game, because on her own she's not motivated enough to run, buck and play. She's my lazy girl.
Halloween camping sounds fun! When do you all celebrate Halloween, though? Savanah looks adorable in her costume! I keep thinking I should make my Dobbie a hot dog costume, but it's such a common doxie costume. lol!
~Lisa
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