Lunatic Vuitton - What Way Forward....

... Well - he's  not really a lunatic perse, just terrified...

For now, he's in the roundyard, as that's the only safe place he can be contained (having shown him contempt for the cattleyards, leaping gloriously off the cattle ramp and racing off into the wide blue yonder just last weekend) ...

Sooooo today I sat with him, while his hay was infront of me.... On his own, Luis wont come up to me to eat, as he's got noone else to follow... After half an hour of him dashing mad circles, I retreated and left him in peace to eat his hay..... I am thinking I will send Luis to a friend to get started, as I am just not going to have the time needed to get this little fella started right... No daylight savings, and 1.2 hour commute each way to and from work, and weekends go by SO fast with so many things to do, it might be better for us both to go that way, and take over from there .... We shall see! But for now, enjoy today's piccies ....The middle one, is the closest he got to me ;o)

Tommy had his first catch and lead lesson today- took me probably 5 mins to catch him, and he had to be run into the yard chute for that... But I clipped on a long lead and we practised yeilding to some pressure ... He decided it would be fun to bolt out of the chute, and I gave him enough room to get out safely, but held the rope... He was surprised to reach the end of it, and even more surprised that the person on the end wasn't going to let go .... He went straight up, and when that didn't work, he flopped onto the ground .... He only did that once, lol, guess it hurt ;o) .... After that, it was just pressure and release... By the end, I could pat his head with the leadrope loose... When I could do that, I unclipped the leadrope and let him have his hay .... Same again tomorrow!

Miki also has the same lesson, but she was a little better ... I was able to catch her in the yard with by slow approach and a handful of hay .... She was nervous, but she allowed me to clip the lead on while she took a mouthful .... She had a bit of a burst away from me, but again we just worked on pressure and release, and I was able to pat her head, and clean out her goopy eyes again .... Have ordered her a flymask from the UK, with ear and nose cover, so that will help her fair skin .... I gave her a brush and a curry, as she's a muddy beast right now after all this rain and unclipped her lead.... I was a little surprised (and happy) that she stood for me to open the gate, stand infront of her and pat her again, before releasing her back into the yard with Tommy ....

Yay for progress!!

On The Road Again....

.... We're back on the road to becoming social ponies ;o)

Miki has had terrible, goopy eyes since the day I picked her up .... The crusty goodness just kept building up as the days went by. It looked terrible, and I am more than certain it felt terrible too!

So I made a bit of an excutive decision, and decided her handling had to be rushed along in the first instance, so that I could bath her eyes... Ran her into the cattle chute, and spent an hour just talking to her, patting, brushing etc .... Introducing her to the halter, letting her sniff it, letting the rope drape over her - until she was calm enough to let me slip it over her head and do it up....

Spent another 30minutes, very patiently trying to persude her to let me bath her crusty eyes ... Near side first, offside with a bit of a struggle at first, but once she realized what I was doing, she was acceptable.... Alot of reassurance, some good pats, and I even managed to give her a mane trim; snipping out the dreadlocks.... She looks very cute! Her coat is horrible!!!!! Long, dull, and very rough - more like a wired terrier than a pony! ... Can't wait till she can have a bath ...

Tommy's approach was pretty similar .... Did the exact same again for him. He's extremely reactive to his belly or legs being touched - so that's something we'll have to work on .... He was very much enjoying his head scratches by the end - so he should come along nicely .... His coat isn't anywhere near as hideous as Miki's - not as much time in neglect - but it's still dull and needs a good wash! All in good time!

Annnnnnd no update for Luis .... It seems Luis and I have a mutual dislike for each other right now ;o) .... I am not sure I am going to have to time to give this fellow what he needs to be honest .... I work a fulltime job, with an hour commute each way ....

Luis is extremely reactive... so reactive, he went UNDER the cattle crush and jumped off the chute, making a gleeful beeline for sweet sweet freedom .... I let him catch up with the herd, then I led them all into the yards hoping he'd follow .... But he's much too smart for that! hahaha ... Took me 24 hours to catch him again ;o) .... Little rascal ....

Close proximity in the yards is too much for him. Looking at him is too confrontational. He'll do laps at a bazillion miles and hour, and jump the bathtub, then go around and do it all again if he thinks you're looking at him ..... Right now, I've got him in the roundyard, and we'll see what I can do from there!! ... But limited time is going to be the deal breaker for he and I, I think :o( .....

Where'd The Bale Go?

Having just returned from 5 days away, I was greeted to this sight!

The ponies had been in a 15 acre paddock, with Curly and Flynn, 2 quiet STB geldings, as their babysitters .... That 'puddle' of yellow all over the ground? well 6 days ago that WAS a 7x3x3 bale of oaten hay .... They sure didn't waste any time!!

Ponies are now back in the yards, and will resume their handling training!

Who's Lookin' At You, Kid?

I've wanted to take an easy approach to these guys....

Not a few days before these guys were in the dogger pens; the day before that, they were standing all day on the truck headed for Camden .... Given they were 'surplus to requirement' I can't imagine they were given a leisurely weaning process; but that's just my own speculation...

They arrived home on Wednesday the 20th ... On Friday the 22nd, I took a book out to the yards, along with their morning meal.... Sitting myself down infront of the hay, back against the railings, I watched quietly between the pages as they tried to work out just what the hell I was doing.

Using a variation of the NILIF approach (Nothing In Life Is Free) - they had to work in order to eat .... 'Working' for it, consisted of coming within 1.5metres of me to reach the hay...

Mikimoto was first. She was eating in under 2 minutes - even taking some from my hand... Tommy second, following Miki's lead - also took some from my hand. He retreated and returned several times
...Luis took 30 minutes. Luis is my firecracker. Hyper-reactive - he'll just go straight over someone in fear... This has been my approach all week: to eat, they've gotta come say "hello" ...

Last night (27th July) it was evident they were feeling more confident. All 3 came straight over when I put the hay down and kneeled, fluffing about with it ... Even Luis! So that's a breakthrough in itself ...

... All 3 went into a 15 acre paddock today, with 2 of my uber-quiet STB geldings, so they can be shown the 'ropes' while I'm away for 5 days ... I'm sure they'll enjoy chilling out, before it's back into having work for din dins again (as opposed to the 8x3x3 oaten smorgesbord they have now! hehe) ...

This pic was taken of their first session - never taking their eyes off for a second! So cute ;o)

The Arrival

All 3 ponies travelled wonderfully and arrived home without incident. They unloaded quietly, and will spend the first couple of weeks in the cattle yards until they get accustomed to these scary beings, called people!

There is no goal for these guys - only to grow up and see where life takes us! ... They'll be brought up to handling stage, and turned out for a few months to just be babies... Wear a halter, pick up feet, some basic leading; that's all a baby should have to do ... The rest of the time, just concentrate on getting into trouble!

So far, they have been wormed with Equimax Elevation, and are being fed good quality pasture hay only for the time being... Vaccinations to come asap, as soon as they can be handled safely.

Formally introducing:

• Mikimoto - Cremello mare
• Luis Vuitton - Palamino colt (to be gelded)
• Tommy Hilfiger - Bay colt (to be gelded)

Piccy of Day 1 (20th July 11): We're Home!

It Started With A Facebook Group ....

... and rolled onwards from there!!

Word had gone out that several "welsh type ponies" were in the hands of a dogger, after being rounded up from their breeder for being "surplus to requirement" ... Mostly colts, but a few fillies and mares that obviously didn't make the desired grade.

A facebook page sprung up, and the troops began to rally - the first group of 6 ponies were quickly sold and accounted for, but another 11 were right behind them ... From the 11, I ended up with 3! (... Just wrap me in plastic and call me a sucker, please...) Though I can't take all the credit, my dear Mum caught wind of what everyone was trying to do, and ponied up the dough for 2 of them; Tommy and Mikimoto.

The day came to collect them, and the troops met up at an agreed time at the Camden Saleyards... The poor terrified ponies where muddy and sullen, but we're all drafted and loaded successfully with their respective new mums and dads.

I was going to create a scrapbook for each pony, and I may still do that in time, but right now Blogging is far more efficient! (Barely have time to scratch my bee-hind as it is!!)

This is what they looked like, on the day we picked them up! ... Their new life, starts now!!