Tool Time Ponies bring their own tools to the job site….

Silly ponies… we were fixing the courtyard fence gate and they decided that they wanted to help by mowing the grass in the courtyard for us. They are super thoughtful like that, sweet little ponies that they are.

Haha… yeah. Right. Pretty much they saw an opening and took advantage of it! I don’t mind, between them and the sheepies, our grass in the middle looks like a manicured golf course! We’ll never have to mow with them around! I just need to get our front yard fenced and I’ll never have to start up a mower again! Yah!

Cody and Domingo are so happy together. They are usually not more than 15 feet apart all day long. Every so often one will trot about, just being silly but within a few minutes, they are back in their little herd of two. I’m so happy…. they are both so happy.

It’s the Ronco Pony-Groom-O-Matic!
Got a nippy pony?
No need to be in the range of those little pony toothies! Yes, the Ronco Pony-Groom-O-Matic will help you to reach those sensitive spots on your pony with the safety of a ten foot pole!!!

 

Maggie found this little carpet rake thing we bought forever ago that has these little rubber soft fingers on it that are supposed to grab pet hair from carpet. Well, it never really worked well, but it sure works as a long distance curry comb! And the funniest part? Domingo likes it WAY better than you being next to him… and it WORKS on horse hair!!! Both the ponies are shedding out their winter coats like nuts, so there is hair everywhere… Domingo is not comfortable with standing for any grooming, so Maggie was following him around as he grazed… it was so silly!

Gideon approves as well! It works well on all critters!
If you had allergies, this would be a great way to stay clear of pet dander and still give your animals the grooming attention they need!!!

Mr. Cody Pony is looking very dapper finally. He’s shed most of his winter coat, and with our fairly regularly scheduled grooming sessions, he is looking mighty fine. He’s super tolerant of grooming and in fact rather enjoys it. If you catch him at the right time, he will fall asleep if you’re using the little nubby brush or the curry comb on him. He’s not as thrilled with the shedding blade, I guess that just isn’t as nice. I would love to give him a bath, but it’s still been pretty cold, so I think that will wait another week or two. He is NOT fond of baths, so that has to be done a little on the calm and easy side. A nice really warm sunny afternoon.

And now, the Domingo Report…
This little spirited pony’s first week at Windhaven was a good one. He totally filled up on fresh green grass and has lost a little of that winter scrawny look. You can tell that he is happy and fleshed out nicely, just starting to glow in his pony happy dance all over the yard. He’s letting us do little bits of grooming time… he’s not angry or fearful, just not ready to stand still for too long. We are not pushing it, just 10 or 15 minutes a day, just a little gentle brushing and such. I want him to get nice and comfortable with us and enjoy our interaction with him.

I tried once to cross tie him and groom, and it was nearly a disaster. He did not like that, and was very uneasy being tied. Going back to the start on that learned behavior and will build on it. I like a pony to be able to deal with that for a wee bit because if he needs medication, or first aid, or even to have his feet done, etc., he needs to be calm in a safe hold so that people dealing with him don’t get hurt. (If you’re not sure what cross-tying is, it’s having two lead ropes, or ropes, in two different hitching points. You then attach them to the pony’s halter. It keeps his head in a stationary area, with a little give. It’s safer than just tying to one hitch point especially for the handler, because it is harder for the pony to move around as much and push his weight around. You should never leave a horse or pony cross-tyed and alone. At least is what I was always taught.)

Cody is fairly comfortable with cross-tying, he stands there but isn’t super thrilled. However, he isn’t a fidgety mess either. He knows that good boys get a treat for stuff like this and is eager to wait for it. Domingo? Ah, no way. He was not going to wait for anything. I dislike giving an animal the decision making process, as in, he fusses, he gets let out, so we gave him a few minutes to fuss, with lots of praise and calming pats and such, then told him, Okay, and released him. He then got his treat and liked that, but was sure not happy about the process. That’s okay, we’ll work on it.

I’ll have Maggie hold him on a single lead, whenever we work with Cody on it. And he can see Cody being calm and resigned, get a little foot work or a groom session and then get his treat and released. Cody is proving to be an excellent teacher for Domingo. He’s calm and reserved as an older pony, and he knows the ropes and is pretty comfortable with our very minimum requests for him. I know that I could just have them as pasture pets, but I don’t think that helps them or us. So we do little exercises, like walking on a lead, or playing with feet and ears, working with the saddle blanket and scary things like plastic bags and noisy things.

I would like these ponies someday to be photography ponies for Jessy and children, and I would like to be helpmates on the farm for light duty stuff like hauling feed or hay, or mowing or dragging the occasional big limb or little logs. I would LOVE to have one or both comfortable with a little pony cart to pull… those are some goals. I believe that horses like to do work, it’s interesting for them, gives them something to think about and experience, exercises their muscles and such. And it helps them to help us. Considering how cushy their lives are, I would like to think that they wouldn’t mind a little helping out now and then to help secure their spots in the farm’s routines.

Domingo is still a bit of a wildcard. We have been working all week on the nipping thing. And I’d like to say we are reaching about 50/50 in that category. The weird noise/flappy arm thing really does seem to be reaching him. He’s very hesitant to nip at me, for example, since I’ve done it to him far more than anyone else. And he’s beginning to get it that I’m not going to put up with it and that I am the boss for the most part, when dealing with the equines.

I had one time that I lost my cool with him, and it was over food and rearing. We were in the middle of a sheep escape, trying to get them back into the middle yard, and I had a bucket of sweet feed to lure them. Well, Domingo rushed me and grabbed my jacket, trying to bully his way into getting the bucket. When I shouted at him NO, he started to rear and kick and I just was not happy with him at all. He got a huge noisy slap in the jaw and me screaming at him short and sweet and he backed down very fast. The sheep were in, thank goodness, and I got ahold of Domingo’s halter and led him straight away to the barn for a little time out.

I just HATE to hit an animal, and loose my cool, I really really hate it. But he was being extremely dangerous and his actions warranted some sort of extreme reaction. He spent some time in his barn and he was very upset about it. Cody was upset as well, and they called to each other and Cody would trot over to me as if he was intervening for his buddy with the warden. I needed a few minutes to cool off and recover from the sheep escape and Domingo needed a few minutes to consider his actions. When I went back to let him out, I’ll be darned if he wasn’t all love and kisses. And I was nothing but happy tones and pats, no treats, but good praise for him calming down. Cody was so relieved as well, and hopefully he gave the youngster a good talking to about how not to tick off the boss lady. I hope I never have to do that again. That is my goal with him.

I’m not expert at all, but I’ve just read and read and read about horses and their behaviors for years. Pretty much my whole life. Animal behavior is something that I’m so keen about and just really enjoy. I think I have a pretty good understanding of a lot of animals, mostly domestic ones. And having these ponies with their little life issues has been a challenge that I am enjoying. Cody came to us with a few little issues, he was basically just kind of ignored and had learned to not be that friendly with people. I gave him tons of time to just relax, enjoy the place, learn the routines and the various people, critters and such. It was golden. Then we just started in on love and treats and good praise, not asking too much, but asking for at least polite manners. They say it can take months to gain a horse’s love and attachment and minutes to loose it.

It’s not to say that Cody is perfect, because he can have his moments. He’s a little stallion and every so often he likes to throw his weight around. He really doesn’t like his ears being touched. And his okay with his front feet, but not so with his back feet. So we keep working on those things.

My buddy Bill is coming out this week to do their feet and I sure as heck don’t want him getting hurt because of my little guys being bad. Bill’s worked with horses his whole life and he’s comfortable around the nice and the naughty, but still, I want my boys to behave and act like gentlemen. Cody’s about half the way there, but I suspect Domingo is going to be a little bit of a pistol. Given that it’s only week two for Domingo, if we can even get two feet done and have to reschedule for a week or two later, that will be a good thing. He needs a little trim as does Cody and Domingo has a hind hoof crack that I hope is not too bad, that Bill can’t correct up. It’s not bad, but he has a little ragged section that I really would like Bill’s opinion on. Bill will know what to do. We’ll probably start with that foot first!

I’ve come to understand a couple things about Domingo.

He’s spirited.
When he gets a mind to it, he prances like the wind with his tail all up like a flag and he just knows he’s beautiful. He’ll be happily grazing and then get a bug up his rear and trot over to goad Cody into a game of Thunder Ponies! And they will rear and whinny and buck and run around like total wild horse goofs. Cody really likes Thunder Pony games and I’ve even seen him start them the last day or two. Domingo loves to keep an eye on what is going on and about 50% of the time, if you call him, he will come trotting over toot sweet. Of course, that spirit gets him in trouble a bit, like when he chases the sheep a bit, or ties to grab a chicken or two. But I’ve noticed that he gives his “victims” amble warning, with a little snort and a head start. Everything has learned to stay clear of Domingo when he’s being ornery.

He’s mouthy.
I think a lot of his “nipping” is him using his mouth and lips to explore. Problem is, it’s a mixed bag. I’ve let him be nippy a time or two, just to see how far he would go. And surprisingly, he doesn’t actually make teeth contact most of the time. He like the feel of cloth. I’ve noticed that when I wear a heavy coat or a hoodie, he wants to feel it. And he’s using his lips. Once he gets a moment of that, he backs right off. I try and let him smell and lip things I have in my hands, like a rake or a glove, stuff like that. And he sniffs it good and will lip it and then ignore it. I am hoping that he will stop that on a lot of things as he rounds out his library of new things in his head. I noticed today that he ignored my heavy coat. (It SNOWED today, well, flurries…. UGH!) So I’m cutting him a little slack on the gentle exploring of his lips.

I know that Cody will sometimes do that as well, and he loves to give me little lippy kisses on my arms and hands if I let him. That is how he greets Domingo as well, so I’m pretty sure that is Cody way of telling you, he likes you. He’s grooming me. If I let him, Cody loves to sniff my hair! haha… I guess he thinks that is my mane. Since he’s so short, you have to sort of be at his level for that amount of pony snuffles, but still, he’s cute when he does it. Domingo? I’m not sure I’m ready to give him that much of my trust yet!

Now, he can also nip. And there seems to be a totally different set of actions/reactions that cause that. One time, I had a carrot in my hoodie pocket and he had no problems reaching over and grabbing my jacket, trying to take the carrot for his own. He got reprimanded for that and Cody got the carrot. No carrot for you!!! And a couple times, out of frustration, he would lash out and try and bit. We’ve had a couple issues with food, and if he doesn’t get his way immediately, out come the teeth. Well, that’s going to be acceptable. So I’m working on not giving him those situations to be bad in. No more buckets of grain walking through the yard. No more treats in pockets. And we try hard not to stand right in front of him. That seems to generate much more nipping. If you’re on the side, he rarely does. So, we keep at it. Setting him up in good situations, avoiding the trigger times as much as possible and then stern words and actions for bad behavior. He’s a smart boy, I hope he starts to really get it. I think he’s getting there.

He’s a bit of a thug.
I call him a thug because he can be very pushy at times. Heavy handed. He’s all love and kisses until he is ticked and he wants his way. It’s almost like he is given to tantrums. Thank goodness Cody is there to sort of set him straight. Sometimes when I let them out, Cody is ALWAYS ready for some loving and welcomes me straight away. He will come right to me, want his chin scratches and to snuffle me, and of course, he loves his morning treat. It’s our ritual. Well, Domingo is not quite sure where he fits in with the morning ritual. Usually, he is so ready to be out, he just dashes out and is ready for a little run and such. So it was fine. Domingo will rush out, Cody comes over for love.

Well, this morning, Domingo decided, HE wanted to be first in line for love and a cookie. And he reached over with a sharp nip and a body slam to get Cody outta the way. 900 pounds of boy pony shoving can be a little scary, so I backed away. Cody turned right around and gave him heck. I’m going to have to rethink my morning greeting, I think. I think that once I let them out, open the pony barn door, I need to immediately walk a few steps out in the open more, so that the boys can greet me, but with a lot more room. Standing in the doorway causes a bit of a traffic jam. I am learning that SO MUCH of equine behavior is tailored and groomed by OUR behaviors! Trying to make sure that I am not the source of bad manners!

He’s inquisitive and smart.
He’s learning routines fast and is always watching and interested in what we are doing. I think he’s a smart boy, and once his settling in period is over and we start to do a little training and learning, he will be fast to pick up things. He’s got intelligent eyes. I’ve noticed that some horses just have this spark in their eyes, and a prick of their ears and just the way they watch and perceive things. They are thinkers. Cody can be that way, but sometimes, he just isn’t interested in stuff. But Domingo, he really likes to pay attention and watches you all the time. I think that will be a good thing. He wants a job, something to do. I really think that. He just seems to alert and fascinated by activity. He’s a big dog, just like Cody.

We’ve had to shoo him out of the poultry barn a few times when we leave the door open behind us. He will walk right in and begin checking stuff out. He’s a little skittish, out in the yard, if a sheep knocks over something or there is a loud horn honk, he will flinch and sometimes dance about. But he settles pretty quickly. And it’s only been a week, he’s still learning all the sights and sounds of the homestead. He’s very interested in the kitties, the sheep and the chickens. He and Gideon both, like to follow those other critters around and watch them intently. It’s cute to watch. So I think in a few weeks, we might start a little light training, maybe see if he’s up for a little long line work, just a little trot and walk and stop sort of stuff. And we will be working more on the grooming and manners on lead. I think he will do just fine with that.

Overall, things are working out nicely. We’ve had a few moments that were not too stellar, but then we’ve had so many more that were good and positive indicators of a good little pony in the making. Can’t expect to have 100% change in just a week. But there are good signs that he’s happy and will be willing to learn and love and behave with some decent pony manners. That’s all I hope for! Everything else is icing on the cake!!!

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