Finally tandem!

We have driven Ivanhoe and Paulette long reins in tandem before (you'll find a video somewhere in the blog) but finally we put them in cart too. Was really fun but we need some more practice in the turns... :D

From foal to driving pony part 1.

So there was discussion of breaking a Shetland to harness a time a go in Shetland Pony Driving group in Fb so lets see how I and probably most of Finns do it.

Foal to yearling

The best way to get a driving pony suitable for yourself is to breed one! :D This is something I've noticed through the years, then you have the trust all the way and you know who the pony is - unless you spoil the trust with your actions. Here comes the advantage of having experience, then you know when to push more and especially - when to leave it. I don't use goodies or special technics like natural horsemanship, I just build the trust with the pony from the start and always try not to loose it, I think it is called common sense ;) It is always, in my opinion, so much easier to start doing things with a foal than have an adult pony who is not used to work with people and tend to already have its own opinions of doing or not doing things you ask for, so we start "working" with ponies in a normal calm pace to reach a driving pony who can basics in 3-3,5 years. Then to talk about training a pony forwards from that, is another story.

Our two year old colt Thorin Ax showing off for mares and foals. Your ponies moves a lot naturally if you pay attention to how you draw your fences, here safely colts and a gelding besides mares as there is a dtich between but you still get the effect of  ponies moving in stead of just eating all day long, you know how Thelwell's these are...

So the summerfoal Shetlands have a few hectars pasture and lives in a herd or mares and youngsters, that makes them move and play all day long - never forget that a horse is born to move, so as we live on a farm, tiny paddocks is not an option, our ponies have lots of space. Summerfoals have their collars when their hooves are done and they get their medicines for worms from the age of 7 weeks and vaccines from the age of 6 months. I walk around in the pasture in summer (or I should say all year long) just to make a good connection with the foals and the best way to do it is to scratch them a lot, they love it and thinks only positively of you from the start! When they come to the stables in the summer for different reasons (their dam being washed, hooves etc...) we start leading them at the same time, following the dam makes it natural for them.

Jenniefer (the broodmare), Elenya Ax and Mithrim Ax happy of getting a new friend to play with.

First time their hooves are done we have them in the box with their dam but then often on the stable corridor with the dam waiting in the box, I keep the foal and Marko works and I give them a lot of scratching all the time which they enjoy. Here they learn to stand in the corridor and it is just as natural as being free, it just is a thing you do as a pony and the don't question it as it is okey to be there and be scratched ;) Often you hear questions when to learn a horse to stand on the corridor for example, well we don't learn them in a certain point, it is just something that follows in the process and you just know when you can for example start to have them attached from the collar, usually I don't do it before they are yearlings and always first attached from just one side and keeping the rope yourself from the other side. You don't want to frighten them by attached them at once, they must first learn safely that if they move there comes a pressure and then they just have to move back to loosen, usually they do learn quickly when you can add a bit of flexibility keeping the other side to yourself at the beginning and as they are used to the same logic when being lead! It is so important to learn horses to adjust to pressure from they are foals, if you don't they will get the panic the first time it happens and if they are adult, it is much more dangerous! Two weeks ago our three summerfoals were microchipped and the registrator did not stop wondering how well beahaved our three foals were when chipped and taken blood tests to verify their parents, though it snaps them a bit, they trust you.

Being in a horse transport comes naturally if we take them to breed shows with their dam as summerfoals, if not, then they usually do it with a friend or and older pony when they are yearlings and we have never had a problem with them loading or when driving the trailer, they just trust it is okey as it is you who present the new thing and they have a friend with them. Usually we taken a short drive or two the days before the trip to show them it is okey. They don't usually question walking to the trailer either as ponies are curious if you let them be - and again - they trust you. Let them look at the trailer and smell the floor and take their time and soon enought they walk in.

Foals are naturally curious and  open-minded, just as kids...

When they become yearling in the spring/summer we put the bits on when we take them on a walk around the farm and they get used to have something in the mouth. At the same time they get used to follow the human away from the herd, which they also have to do at the shows. It's usually no problem. Then we also teach them to trot and here I might have Marko behind the pony also asking the pony with voice commands to trot along if they don't start trotting with just me besides them. It is much easier if you be consist and in a friendly manner, demand them to do what you want (and I DON'T mean hitting!), because after a few tries they'll do it naturally the rest of their lives. Just be determind and still friendly and remember to praise them A LOT!

 

Colt Dunedain Ax at official breeding evaluation for foals as yearling

Well that's about what we do till they turn 1 year :) I would never ever recommend someone to just leave the ponies until they are five, it is not fair to start demanding them then, if you don't have shown any interest before. You must give their minds and bodies time to adjust to work gradually as they grow and not take for granted that they will serve you perfectly at once when they are "grown up".  You also very much must take their personalities in consideration, if one pony learns quickly it doesn't mean every one does. The most irritateing thing to do is not doing the basics properly and for examle hitch the to the carrige before they can handle it, so make it a fair experience for the pony, do your homework and make a connection with the ponies from the start, life is so much more simple after that!

Autumn drive with Shetland pair

Writing...

Might start blogging again after a long pause... If someone wants to read my texts ;)

Lots have happened since last writing, we have for example participated in combine driving competitions and in breed show performance classes this year. Here som photos!

Driving again

Oh, it has been a while since I last wrote. Have been driving now and then but we have had so many customers lately that I haven't been able to drive as much I would wish. We have riding lessons, pony clubs etc. for children at our stable and I normally don't have a pony working for more than two hours a day. Simply because it is still tireing for them to work with children although the "work" itself would be just riding with a five year old kid. So to maintain the good working moral of the ponies, two hours is maximum at our stable :)

Today Marko put new shoes to Paulette and Ivanhoe so that they are ready for next weekend challenge! That will be the training camp for drivers in Urjala in southern Finland! I'll now take both Ivanhoe and Paulette with me and will drive them there in pair, will be so fun and exciting to see what the coaches think of them in pair! And the most exciting thing for me will be the training competition in precision driving (cones) on Sunday. I will never ever remember a course of 14 or more conepairs but well, I probably have to try if I intend to compete in a full three event driving competition in the summer!

So today on the program was driving single with Paulette, Ivanhoe and even Verano. Verano took just a short pass walking but with Ivanhoe and Paulette we trotted a lot and trained a bit "marathon obsticle" that is driving around two suitable pine trees in the yard :) Just a bit of fun.

Too cold...

It has been quite cold here the last days so I have been lazy and comfortable and have not driven the ponies. Yesterday I thought it would be nice to take a few photos with me and my beautiful mares and so we did. Here some:

Jenniefer on the left, not driven and in foal, then Swinhill's Paulette in the middle, driven in single and pair, and on the right Humledals Izabelle, just long reined.

Jenniefer I will try to long rein later on, Izabelle was not at all comfortable with long reining, she works like a clock but sweats a lot = is stressed inwards, will take it slow with her and see if she is more suitable for just riding and being a pony club pony :)

It is very important to choose the right type of ponies for driving. We have had a few ponies who I have chosen to sell as I thought they would not be as suitable for driving as I would wish. It takes a lot of time to break to driving if the pony is too excited or stressed or afraid of things happening behind. When chooseing a driving pony I prefer absolutely one whos reaction type is not bucking. If you look at horses in flocks when they run and have fun, some of them typically bucks, others stands on their hindlegs and so on, they have a typical way of reacting. I prefer one that does not react on everything with kicking or bucking - of course all horses do it but, well it is hard to describe :D All horses don't so easily strech their feet backwards though they would bump their bump up for example. It is the ones who really easily kicks in general that I avoid. Others are just too excited or afraid and try to run off for any price, it is also not so good when you think that the carrige will follow. So ponies who are comfortable with most of things, relays on people and have realtively calm reactions in new situations and are quick to get back to the "I listen to people"-mode are the best ones.

Driving pair - again!

Okey, I like snow and winter but now I have to say I couldn't be happier of not having it still! Can't remember a winter when we would not have had snow in January but this year I don't mind as it makes it possible to continue driving my pair! Yesterday my friend Niina paid us a visit and we got a short action set on the only place (ca. 10 meters) on the road that was slippery - of course. Paulette and Ivanhoe both got scared of something in the wood, probably some noise as we didn't see anything and took a few faster steps forward but they calmed down fast though the carriges was slipping on the ice. They where also driven for the second time with blinkers so maybe it added some action as they could see only forwards. But it is nice that both ponies are so easily calmed down and listens to me and so we went on with the driving as planned. 

Sometimes sudden things happens and it is just to wait calmly for it to past and next time it will be again a less reaction. It is said a horse is not broken to driving until it has once been scared of something and runned off and that means of course that only then you will see how it reacts on the carrige sudden bumping behind and pressure of the harness in an exciting situation, so some horses may be driven for a long time before anything unexpected happens and until you see what their reaction is. In pair it is of course even more important that the ponies listen to the driver in any situation and has already seen things driven in single as well as in long reining in pair.

Today we drove together with Marko and he took a video, not a really good one though but you see how it looks :) Here we start trotting and drive around a suitable pair of trees on our yard that are perfect for training "marathon". A long way to go still but it is a start! And so FUN! In the beginning of the video I'm laughing because we had just driven pass the point were we harness the ponies and Paulette is showing her teeth towards Ivanhoe as she was unhappy as we contiuned to drive and did not stop at the harnessing place, it was Ivanhoes fault she seemed to think. She has not been driven or ridden so much in the last two years as she has ahd two foals so I see she has to get used to working still and not only eating and relaxing ;) But she is accepting the gelding very nicely now and they are a really good pair already.

And after driving you always see a happy face around two lovely ponies <3

No snow - driving my pair instead

We have still no snow here except of a few small snowflakes falling now and then, so it has been possible for me to drive my shetty pair Swinghill's Paulette and Ivanhoe av Friheten a few times since Christmas. Today we made a few changes, put Paulette on the left side and Ivanhoe on the right. It is important to change places to get the ponies used of beeing on both sides. I have also driven them without blinkers because Ivanhoe as a former trotter has been more excited with blinkers when driven single and he also wants to see what he hears. But I want them to get used to blinkers when driven in pair as I hope I can drive in weddings and happenings and then it will be safer if they don't stare at every balloon or child running etc. Paulette did not like the driving bit, butterfly I drove her yesterday with, so I also changed to normal straight bit to keep her comfortable in pair.

I had a assistant who took his job seriously :D That is Marko my husband of course...

 Concentrating, concentrating in driving...

And what a nice halt! If they only would always stay as straight!

Someone is having a happy face!

2011 in April a photo was taken at this same spot of me with my first pair Okana and Swinghill's Paulette. Okana we lost sadly in foaling 2012 so here Paulette on the left (from drivers view) is now with Ivanhoe av Friheten. I hope I will get a just as good pair of these as Paulette and Okana was.  I miss Okana very very much still, she was our first Shetland Pony and a very special one.