From foal to driving pony part 2.

So the first text of the theme "from foal to driving pony" seemed popular, best to write this part 2. as long as remember what I intended to write about. The first year I'm quite consequent with doing everything in time but the teaching to harness and driving I might be more flexible with. First of all I'm not in such hurry as with trotters as I wouldn't race my Shetlands at the age of three (and trotters often do their first tests and even races at 2 yrs, which leads to that they are often broken to harness at 1,5 yrs) and secondly Shetlands are so small that they wouldn't even fit nicely my harnesses if driven very young.

Dunedain with harness for the first times ever, looking back and wondering what that is?

When they turn yearling we introduce bits and learn them to go away from the herd, grooming in stable and walks with bits and some training for the shows. I might even put the harness on and have someone lead as I drive from behind long reins. These trainings are short (totally with grooming like 20 minutes) and happens when I have the time, might be twice one week and then again after few weeks. It might be better to take it several days in a row as it usually is done, but this is just a play so it doesn't matter though the pause becomes weeks. In the summer as yearling they are just on pasture and might go to shows. As yearling near turning two and the winter/spring as two years I do some long reining again now and then and add things as making noises behind them, drive long reins with and without blikers etc. - just introducing different things and always with a helping hand with me leading. 

Thorin doing loose jumps, there is a lot you can teach a foal to get them familiar with different things...

... which might include anything (I had some minerals in a bucket which we used to catch them after loose jumping inside the tires, of course the boys found the bucket, fell the tires and where happy to get some goodies :D ) - let them be curious!

In spring as two - or autumn at two, depending just on the pony, my time and how we get someone to help we would then put the carriage after a more tight period of long reining (I long rein them in a pair with a experienced pony also so that they are familiar to as much as possible even though we wouldn't actually drive them in pair with a carriage until they are three) and after one is sure they don't mind stearing, noises behind them, shafts or anything else related to having a carriage, we drive with two people leading and only again in short successful (hopefully) passes. Now we have two three year old colts which haven't been driven as we had no suitable carriage until now, so these learn their job a bit later as I would usually do. 

Long reining in pair with an experienced pony is a great way of introducing things to youngsters, Thorin and Dunedain are here 2,5 yrs old. We did this just a few times and they learned quickly. Probably the oldest way to teach horses to driving, as an companion with an adult horse.

One of the most important things is to know when one can take the next step and not to do plans for the following day in advance, that might lead to stubborness of the owner if oyou decide you WILL drive today not noticing that the pony has a more energetic day that day or something else is going on that might effect negatively. If I notice the pony is too energetic or it is very windy, I happily postpone the first time with the carriage to another day, you should never be in a hurry, let it take its time and minimize all trouble in beforehand!

The criticism often comes of doing things with a foal and "too early". My opinion is that ponies learn easier when they are younger, they don't question so much what you do as they don't have so much own opinions as older ponies might have, they also don't have bad experiences (if you don't make them), of older ponies you never know for sure their history, secondly I definitely think they are more keen to learn as youngsters also (as kids learns languages easier than adults ;) ) and curious of doing anything with you :) and thirdly - we are talking about animals who run and move all the time 24/7, their physics definitely will not be spoiled of 10-20 minutes of walks and few steps of trot. Then, it is also proven that in fact their skeleton and legs develop more hardy when they move and get the impulse when walking and moving, of course so also when we have them in a herd and they run and play all the time. In summer as they are three I would then drive them 2-3 times a week lightely until winter, if they are good enought taught they can paricipate in easy level long rein classes in Finland at the age of three and in driving classes in the age of four - that is still very light work. More training autumn to spring from four to five years and easy level combine driving classess for youngsters at five. 

You often hear said that Shetlands develop until they are five (growing plates), well all horses do, so it is not about having them standing in a small paddock and getting fat until they are five, but in common sense pace gradually learn them to be working ponies! Then it is proven also, the horses body adapt to the work (for example riding horses backs develop harder bones to take the weight of a saddle and rider when introduced gradually - and again, not meaning riding six days a week, two hours a day from the age of three of something else as hard...). It would be totally unfair to the pony suddenly at five to take them and start working with them then both physically as mentally. Research show, horses who has been working gradually since youngsters are in fact the once who later can take harder training without problems (it does not in fact differ from kids, sporty kids make healthy adults...). 

My point is - training with common sense gradually, not too much too early, develop the pony to be a working pony and my goal is a working pony, not just a fat showstar. All the time it is also supposed to be fun and with periods of rest and relax and playing with friends, then the development is at its best. Doing things only guarantee you a wonderful friend to work with in the future who can rely on you in any situation - and vice versa.

About health care

One of the most important things with youngster is health care. So ever since we bred standardbred trotters I have had a certain system with foals to youngsters, this is the period you make the adult horse you will be working with maybe 20 years so better do it properly! So as a breeder ones responsibility is to give the horse a good start. Shortly what I do:

1. All summerfoals pasture is always a clean one - with that I mean that there has not been horses the year before, it is a renewed field. If you just have one pasture and cannot do this, clean the pasture as often as you can to minimize the pressure of parasites from other/adult horses

2. Give the foals enough and often enough medicine against worms, that is by Finnish recommendations every 2 months from the age of 2 months until they are yearlings and even after this more often than adults until they are 3-4 yrs. Specifik information you get from your vet. If they are full of parasites it takes really it tall on the growth and developmend, start at 2 months by 4 months they are already full of them...

3. Check your hay with analyzis so that you know what you give and can plan how much, only the best quality food for foals (and mares) to ensure they get good protein, add proteins if your hay is of poor quality. Give minerals.

4. Take care of the hoofs at least once a month, foals hoofs grow fast, quite often good to check them even more often, like every 3 week in the beginning. This also ensures a healhty growth of their whole leg and straighten the legs. Often just a few strokes with a rasp is enough but it counts.

5. Vaccinate from the age of 6 month, in Finland that is agains horse influensa and tetanus. Vaccinate every horse against tetanus, it is a painful disease for a horse and almost always leads to death! We vaccinate all ponies by the FEI rules.

6. Keep your eyes open! I have always tried to teach equine students that "it is not enough to look at the horse, you have to see". If you see that the horse doesn't look good, for example doesn't fell wintercoat in time, looks as it doesn't quite have muscles and roundness (NOT fat) but looks dry and muscleless, is too fat etc. -> do something! If it doesn't look right, something is wrong and there is always something you can do to better the situation! But don't overdo! Very often one hear for example that the wintercoat doesn't fall off Shetlands, then you have to think why: check teeth, wormning and minerals and give good quality hay/pasture and I'm sure the coat will fall before midsummer, seen it and tried to do something to it and always been successful. Especially something to notice with foals (for example after their first winter), they really should get rid of the coat easy by midsummer, if not, check worms and minerals! Healthy Shetlands start to loose their wintercoat in January gradually, first the longer coat leaving a shorter but still thicker coat for the spring until April-May. and by end of June it should be gone.

This is a standardbred trotter we bred, Undying Lands at 4 months. If my foals doesn't look like this (well Shetlands might not, but you still see my standard) I'm not happy with my part of the job. I really think horses look sparkling and healthy if you take care of their feeding and health and do your best, simple as that, with no tricks. Accept nothing but your best effort in the caretaking of your horses!

 

It is the same with Shetland ponies in winter, their coat should be shiny and fluffy, then you know the feeding is correct. Long, tacky and dry coat is not normal, check minerals and especially if it is a foal, worms.

7. When starting to work with bits with youngsters, always check their teeth! We have now long-reined our now 3 yr old colts and Dunedain has been a bit annoyed of the bit so one can already guess he had wolfteeth. So yesterday we drove to a Equine clinic and had the wolfteeth removed both from Dunedain and Thorin. Thorin had also three milkteeth loose which the vet removed also.

 

Thorin still happily unaware of medication to come at the Equine Clinic at Nikula trotting racetrack in Kaustinen :)

 

Dunedain mediacated to be calm in the operation which is done here already 

 

Thorins teeth being fixed, he is also calmed done with medicines to make it safe for everyone, something vets always do when wolfteeth are taken

Now when we drive the first times with a carriage I'm sure at least that the bits and reins won't hurt them because of bad teeth and that makes it much more safe! And that may happen if there comes sudden moves when driving and you end up taking harder on the reins, then the youngster might be scared of the hurt in the mouth when the bit would hit the wolfteeth and run away and as you now got the carriage it can again lead to the youngster to be even more scared of the carriage also especially the first times. It is so unecessary to give bad experience of first drives if you haven't taken care of the mouth before. I would never drive a horse young or old the first times with a carriage before I knew the teeth are okey! Sadly quite often one hear that people don't care about Shetlands teeth and I've seen teeth with much problems because of that. I even know ponies with malformation in their proper teeth as milktooth had not fell off properly in time and no one had  ever checked the mouth. So with 2-4 year old ponies have the vet to check the teeth 1-2 times a year to make sure everything is okey as they change their teeth in that same age as you start to work with them and at least once a year adult ponies. And of course everytime you see that the pony is not eating properly or for example start to spit clumps of hay, that often indicates to peaks/spikes in teeth just as well as that the pony constantly starts being/hanging on one rein.

So always do your part of the cooperation with the pony as good as you can and you will get a happily working pony in return :) That was the basics we do and it has always been the same when we buy a new pony, worming, teeth, vaccination and hoofs checked.