Princess Lil's progress

(Princess Lil is on the right).

I have now started working with Princess Lil. I find her a fantastic horse to work with - really quick to learn and very easy going. However, I would like to caveat this with the fact that Gally had taught me some serious lessons. If I didn't have this knowledge I think Princess Lil would be proving to be a bossy challenge.

So far I have used the friendly game to get her used to being touched all over her body. I do a little bit of mane pulling in every session as well. I have lounged her - all good there. She went swimmingly in both directions. I did manage to get her a little bit stressed out, and all she did was three strides of a panicked canter, before settling down to a canter and then a trot.

I like to see a horse get uptight on the lounge - it allows me to see what they do in a stressful situation. Do they buck? Pigroot? Rear? Run away madly? It also allows me to see how much energy is required to get them to stress out. Is it a careless hand movement? Or do I need to crack the whip?

I have also played some games with her on the ground. This allows me to assess her level of respect for me. In Princess Lil's case I need to do a bit more work in this space.

Finally, I have saddled and bridled her. I have played around with the bit and got her to flex - all on the ground still. I have thumped the stirrups and the saddle, and I have swung myself across the saddle. She barely blinked an eyelid.

Show Pony

Different horses have different characters. I love finding out each horse's character and what they are all about.

Today the farrier was coming to put some shoes on Dingo. It was a cold and windy, and potentially rainy, day. When I brought Dingo in he was shivering. I went to the back of the shed, and started pulling out old horse blankets. I found a couple of rugs that Tosca used to wear when she was a yearling, or a 2 year old. They fitted Dingo like a glove.

I put the doona on him, and I had never seen a happier pony in my life. Now some horses love wearing rugs, and others hate it. Tosca and Gally hated rugs. They would rather be on the cold side, with just their fur, than run the risk of sweating under a rug. But Dingo, is a typical show pony. He would easily be happy with a cotton rug, cotton hood, and a couple of doonas on top.

Two ponies

Today we took Tornado and Dingo to pony club. At pony club there are rules. One of them is that adults are not allowed to ride while the kids are riding. Makes perfect sense.

So I rode Dingo as soon as we got there, then I helped Sabina saddle up. Once she was in her lesson I looked for a good excuse to make myself scarce. I hate being the mum on the sidelines, who constantly gives her daughter advice over the fence. That's the instructor's job. But when I sit there at that fence, I must admit, I just can't help myself.

Thank goodness that a friend's daughter tugged at my sleeve - can she ride Dingo? She's been having a few rides on him already, and I knew that he should be fine in the beginner's group.

So, I helped her with Dingo in the beginner's group, every now and then sneaking a peek at Sabina in her lesson. She looked like she was having a ball!