We took on a 3 yr old 13h rescue cob in March we took her on because I felt so sorry for her she had been left to starve and was very under weight, since we've had her we've just let her fill out and gain our trust we have done ground work with her leading and spook busting exercise which she has taken completely in her stride and is now a very calm sweet natured pony, she has now filled out a little too much so we need to start exercising her more but I am in no hurry to jump on her back (she is broken and has been lightly backed). I get the impression from others at our yard because we are not competion /pony club people just happy hackers really that our youngster Lola is wasted with us and have had comments like what are going to do with her ect which has made me wonder perhaps we are being selfish keeping her when she will just probably bimble about with us we may branch out into other things later but shows and things really don't interest me it's just made me think maybe she should be with someone who will do more with her as she has bags of potential ?
Just wondered what everyone on here thinks
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What I say to my friends who don’t understand why I’m doing this
Is our 3 yr old wasted with us
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Wendy I think she is so lucky to have found you and if you love her, care for her and exercise her as often as you can then she has found the best home. As time passes and you continue too build up your relationship then you may find that you do more with her. Relax and enjoy her - I don't think she can do better.
Hi Wendy. Do these people treat their horses completely without violence? My guess is mostly but not entirely, especially when they are competing. Of course your 3 year old is not being wasted. For a start, as the owner of a rescued cob I can tell you that she will continue to develop until she is 6. Happy hacking will suit her very well. Also, you have the option to drive her - I recently bought a brand new cart & leather harness, with spare shafts so both Max ( welsh A ) & Humphrey ( good old fashioned short coupled cob & father of my yearling & filly foal ) could both drive, as singles of course. The cart has brakes - it's hilly round here. So it's not their cheapest option. Newlinecarriages filled my order & delivered to my door for £800. I've had the equipment checked as driving is new for me & I've been congratulated on my purchases which are well designed & constructed. The leather harness is beautifully oiled. Pay no attention to these people. You 'paddle your own canoe'. It's my belief these people are jealous - perhaps, like me, your rescue has matured into something spectacular.
Fattys should be kept off the grass in daylight, bright sunshine is worst as grass has more sugar then. The sugars flow back to the roots in the dark. Feed hay during the day & used a smaller paddock that's been well grazed off so only really short grass is available at night. That, and a little exercise, may solve the problem without resorting to muzzles etc. cheers, Jo
Hi Wendy, let's just throw this out to all on the uni , do we really think that horses realise that there is more to life than being loved, cared for, safe and happy?? Or do they want to go out and win ribbons? I compete mine, but that's my choice, if you're happy hacking then that's your choice, I don't think horses really care either way. Like I said if they're well cared for without violence they are usually content. Ignore these people she's YOUR HORSE not theirs!
I'm coming back to this because it bothers me. If these folk said you had the wrong car or the wrong breed of dog would you pay any attention? No. It's only because you feel less valuable because you do not compete. Well competition is wonderful but it's not everything. I think you have achieved what I have achieved, you've rescued something that looks awful & ended up with a really great looking equine - coz you have a good eye for one in the rough! Tough you guys, you can't bully this owner to part with their beloved partner ( nor me neither ). Enjoy your pets. Work them as YOU choose. If they are content & you are happy then no one has the right to offer alternative advice. If they do then it is to make themselves feel better, not you! Have a happy time. Jo
Absolutely, she's your horse, not theirs, who are they to say what you can & can't do with her????
You say she's put on too much weight, that is the thing you must be concerned about as you do not want her to get laminitis - i have 2 laminitics! You must restrict her grass severely & feed her SOAKED HAY, soaked for up to 12 hours to get as much of the soluble carbs (sugars) out of it as possible, you also need to make sure she has a good vitamin & mineral supplement.
She's only a baby, so exercise must be fairly light, but hacking is fine - not all horses are competition horses & not all riders are competition riders. When she's older, you may want to take her to the odd show or do something else, but it is not essential!
as Jo says, you enjoy YOUR horse, she's yours!!
I bet she's got better manners than theirs already!!!
Hi Wendy, just to add my voice to all the reassurances above - your horse is fine as it is :-) You know what? I haven't met a horse yet who said "Gosh, I wish my owner would stop giving me a nice life, treating me kindly, letting me eat grass and letting me be what I am. I really wish she would take me out, make me work hard, shout at me, stress me out and muck up my eating habits!"
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Yes, some horses love "work" because they learn to enjoy it. But we must never forget what their natural state of being is, i.e. stood in a field eating - that's it! :-)
yep - vicci, how many horses actually WANT to be started???
AS Monty said at the first demo i saw, you can wait till the horse wants to put the bridle on itself, but you'll have a very long wait!
Hi
Thank you for all your comments I think as you say some jealousy is involved when I first got her the same people almost laughed because she was in such aa state I've never seen such a young horse look so tired with life her eyes were just shouting out help me she just stood with her head hung now she has blossomed with kindness into a bright eyed and trusting youngster full of herself at the moment I have her on night time turn out in a restricted paddock and hay during the day we still have a long way to go but I am in no hurry and wasn't even thinking about riding schooling till next year when she is 4 I wish I could post some pics of when we got her to now as I am proud of our achievements
Thanks for the re assurance I had a wobble lol
Hi jo
Thank you for your comments on driving Lola I like the idea of driving her but I don't know the first thing about driving how do you start off?
Hi Wendy. Driving ponies is something I'm new to too! I've looked into it & Alister, who lives about 20 miles away, knows more than I do but I have a book " Breaking a Horse to Harness " by Sallie Walrond. The 'Willing Partners' are ride & drive. Basically you need a pony that goes on long lines, that is comfortable with two wooden poles along its sides, joined together by a cross piece behind it & then gradually add some weight for it to pull. Willing partners have a person pulling the cart next to them so they can see it working & Monty has said there is no difference between being blinkered or not but Alister says blinkers help the pony stay straight. The book says it takes one month of training but Alister says his exmoor pony went from zero to pulling the cart round the field in about 8 days - and preferred to be driven than ridden! My Max is a very substantial welsh A & Seems to be taking to driving like a duck to water - he's 11 years old & unless he was taught when originally broken in has no history that I know of with driving. Monty has Willing Partners towing a tarp when ridden & if your pony can do that then you would be well on the way to starting in harness. Cheers, Jo.
Some great comments here. Wendy, I wish you well. Horses I'm sure live in the moment. Give your horse a good life, enjoy her, love her and spend time with her and remember that she does not switch off when you leave her. So please don't leave her all day alone in a stable (although keeping her off grass in the sun, especially the afternoon when it will make her fatter, is good advice). She needs to be with other horses and or people. She does not need to be in competitions, but she does need challenges. We all do! I wouldn't want to be bored and alone all day, would you?
You are doing a great job, keep doing it!
Hi Wendy, I need to clarify something. The book I'm using is full of traditional but gentle stuff. However I'm not single line lunging, using a cavasson & Max does back up & is older & is causing me no problems at all ( all against the authors advice ). There are lots of pictures & it is very clear about which order to introduce each step. That is the useful part. I suddenly had a horror moment when I realised it sounded like I advocated all the non Monty things - which of course is not the case! You've already introduced this filly to Montys methods so it would be a case of adapting the method to apply each step. Cheers, Jo
Thanks jo I think I might get this book and have a read I was thinking maybe I could have a try with my daughters(Chloe's) dartmoor pony first she is older about 14 and long reins beautifully this would also take the pressure of my daughter and riding my daughter chloe is 10yrs and has aspburgers and struggles with her confidence but this is something we could do together and would be a learning curve for both of us and be a good trial run for Lola our youngster for the future, the only draw back is I have limited funds at the moment so would have to try and do this myself so maybe lots of research is needed first but defiantly food for thought :)
I think you have a great mindset for this. We can learn from older stuff, if adapted. Just apply the Monty stuff to get the job done - think it through & then do it. Horses & ponies have been used for driving from a very long time. The Romans did it so, he'll, it can't be that hard but we need to go at it in a reasonable way. I do not believe blinkers are necessary. The old school is that they help the horse stay straight. Monty says there is nothing in this. My view is this, if the pony hacks out ok then it deserves to see everything. Once comfortable with that the blinkers are not needed. Good luck & have fun!. Jo