Bentley’s Training

[Kelly]

Today was the first time I ponied Bentley off Breezy. I just laid the lead rope across my lap. I didn’t want to hard tie Bentley to the cart since Breezy is a bit of a wild child. We ended up going through the hood and they both did really good. Bentley spooked at the 3 Great Danes that always charge the fence, but Breezy kept his cool since he is use to them.

 

[Kelly]

Bentley has been tagging along with me and Breezy to all the parks. He was easily trained to follow behind the cart. I didn’t want him up next to or in front of the wheels, for me that Is a safety issue. He is very calm being ponied, not spooky for such a young horse. Bentley is now going through water puddles, walking over all kinds of different surfaces including painted road lines, speed bumps, red brick, and grates on bridges. He has seen large crowds, bikers, strollers, huge rocks and all sorts of different things. He takes everything in stride and not much fazes him nor excites him.

Besides being ponied, we have also been working on ground driving and more basics. Yesterday I introduced him to a little trick training, but that will take a few days to grasp. Overall I am very please and excited about his progress.





Oh and he had his first bath!

 

[HersheyMint]

He has come so far being with you. It's hard to believe he was a biter and a pacer. He has found his happy place with you. You have turned him into a lover boy

 

[Kelly]

Lover Boy for sure

 

[thathorsecrazychick]

Oh and he had his first bath!
View attachment 50026

How would you suggest training a horse to be calm about getting a bath? I’m trying to teach Rosie to just be calm a chill about baths.

 

[Kelly]

When giving a bath for the first time, I use the gentlest water flow setting, with minimal water pressure, I use a soft sponge and go slow. If rinse the horse off regularly they get desensitized faster. If I only give a bath or water rinse once a month or so, it takes longer for them to be desensitized.

Just like with fly spray. When I started spraying Bentley he would pop up and really object. I started spraying him everyday with fly spray, he has gotten a little better, but he does still dance around. He will get better with time.

 

[thathorsecrazychick]

Thanks... I did not even think about the water pressure.

 

[HersheyMint]

I started with buckets of water, one with soap and one for rinse water to get them use to the bath and being wet. You can think of using warm water. That may help. When I can use the hose I always start at there their feet.

 

[thathorsecrazychick]

I started with buckets of water, one with soap and one for rinse water to get them use to the bath and being wet. You can think of using warm water. That may help. When I can use the hose I always start at there their feet.

Warm water isn’t an option unfortunately.. yeh I think the combination of not liking being wet and the pressure makes her really sensitive and uncomfortable

 

[Kelly]

Weekly update

Bentley is doing AWESOME tagging along with Breezy to all the parks, that is mostly to keep Breezy calm and happy…. And to get Bentley use to be out and seeing scary things….. Because really I want Bentley to be able to go out ALONE, so that is exactly what we worked on today. Come winter, once I hook Bentley to the cart, I want him to be good to go…. I am hoping I wont really have to desensitize him to the outdoor world at that point.

These pics are of Bentley ground driving crossing over the paved river.






Bentley doesn’t realize he is the third wheel when it comes to his pasture-mates Stormy & Breezy. Stormy & Breezy are so bonded! And that is exactly how I want it.

We are continuing to work on tricks, he hasn’t mastered any yet We are also working on lunging calmly, voice commands, and standing. He is doing fabulous!!

Do you have any tips or tricks for your 2 yo?? Anything you do special with your 2 yo? Anything I need to add to his training at this point?

 

[MaryFlora]

I’ve got nothing! You are so thoughtful in how you expose your horses to all manner of things, and they seem very confident as a result.

By winter, Bentley will probably just harness himself!

 

[Kelly]

Haha! He might just harness himself, he really does enjoy going! He is my little busy body


Stormy is the laziest horse on the planet!
Breezy is my wild child. (Breezy is finally calming down some, so I’m not sure how much longer I can call him my wild child )
Bentley is my little busy body.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

So glad you have Bentley. What a change in his world--for the better.

I have a hot water set-up that I use. I found it made a huge difference even bathing seasoned Dapper Dan. The warm water seems to calm them. Even Billy is so much better and has allowed me to wash his forelock without protest now. Even in summer the water in our rural water line is chilly for bathing. I agree about the lower pressure. I use a garden-end sprayer on my hose and set it on "mist" instead of "shower" when around the head.
Here is my bathing set-up.

 

[Kelly]

What? Have you never seen a horse in Target before?
So apparently Target has changed their pet policy because we just got kicked out! but don’t y’all worry, I was able to grab some wine before we got booted






At least the turtles at PetCo welcomed us





Bentley did great today with all the exposure from our little outing. Not much else to report this week, life sometimes just gets in the way Ponies were happy to have a little staycation over the past week and today I’ve already informed them that vacay is officially over!

 

[Kelly]

Day one of harness and bit training went swimmingly! I put the bit in Bentley’s mouth, he fumbled with it a couple of times then accepted it nicely. He didn’t care about the harness or the thingy under his tail. He lounged a few times both ways with absolutely no issues. Off to a great start!! Oh my heart!









WTH! Why on earth would you dance around horses with an umbrella?? Crazy lady!!


Stay tuned!

 

[HersheyMint]

Nice going Bentley
Kelly, You are a true Mary Poppins

 

[Kelly]

OMG Y’all! I just got some really exciting news! My vet was out looking at Breezy’s eye (which is fine by the way) and I had her take a look at Bentley. She thinks he is older than what we were originally thinking and she has giving me the “all clear” to start driving him Watch out Fort Worth, here we come!!

 

[HersheyMint]

WooHoo!!

 

[Kelly]

I just can’t get over how trusting this little horse has become

We have been very busy lately and working very hard!
Things we have been working on, sometimes twice a day:

*Tire pulling - at first he didn’t know how to pull the tire and he felt like something was holding him back. I asked him to walk forward but he couldn’t figure out how and started pawing. That told me that he wanted to please but just couldn’t figure it, it was really cute. He finally got the hang of it after some encouraging. He now can trot while pulling the tire, he is a tire pulling fool

*Travios - that only took a NY minute. He is use to things hanging all over him and is quickly getting use to my wicked ways LOL

*The bike - since he has been going so much with me & Breezy he is already use to the bike. Today was the first day I hitched him, he did great! While hitched, he first walked on the halter, then i ground drove him in his bridle. He did get a little nervous when I asked him to trot with the bike attached but calmed down rather quickly. We walked over bumps so he can get the feel and hear the noises from that. Tonight or tomorrow we will be going over more bumps to get him even more desensitized to how the shafts move and feel. When tied up hitched he is figuring out he can’t move sideways very much, he tries to move his butt over to the fence but those darn shafts keep getting in the way I might be able to get IN the cart this weekend, we will see how his progress continues, he will let me know when he is ready, there is absolutely no rush. I will get my heavier cart out for our first drive together and I will have hubby helping me….or at least have hubby ready to call 911

*In addition to the above training, Bentley continues to go with me & Breezy on our daily neighborhood outings and our adventures away from home. He is much bigger than Breezy. When I am carting Breezy and ask for the canter, Bentley only has to trot to keep up. He is definitely a busy body and is not happy doing nothing, he gets bored rather easily. Surprisingly he is very good at standing still while I walk all around, but then again that isn’t doing nothing, that is standing still waiting for his next cue. He very much enjoys challenges and learning new things





Things are about to get real exciting!

 

[HersheyMint]

Yes, very exciting but I hope not that much for a 911 call