Brand new here

[romewhip]

Hi-

I'm brand new here, and new to the world of Shetlands. I've had horses much of my life, and in my quest for a driving pony have just added Jake to the family. Jake is still a youngster, and not broke so we'll be doing lots of training and learning. I'm waiting on his registration so don't know his pedigree yet. Right now he's getting caught up on some basic care that needed to be done, and then we'll get to work. I think we'll start with a bath first tho...

 

[Minimor]

Nice pony. How old is he? You will have a blast with him!

 

[romewhip]

Thank you!

Jake is just 2, and will be gelded next week. We're starting from scratch. I wasn't really looking for a Shetland, just a driving pony, but he has such lovely movement and a floaty big horse trot. I'm looking forward to working with him and I hope he adjusts to his new life well.

 

[paintponylvr]

What a pretty boy!! Sounds like you will have a blast.

What state are you in? How big is your boy? What kind of big horses did/do you have?

 

[romewhip]

We're in WA state, near Olympia. As a youngster I was show groom for an eventing and dressage barn in CA, and rode everything that held still long enough. I've always had a thing for driving, but I wasn't in a location where it was feasible. I wanted to drive with my fjord mare when I had her, but I never got to it. I was lucky enough to have a great foundation in dressage thanks to being a groom, and have done a bit of training and working with everything from smaller shetlands to an 18.2hh irish warmblood. We'll see if the skills are still there!

I haven't gotten a good measure on Jake yet, just a guess puts him at 10hh. He's my only horse right now, I'm also owned by a pack of dogs and still participate in performance events and shows with them.

 

[lucky seven]

Congrats on your boy, I love his coloring. Have loads of fun with him.

 

[Debby - LB]

Congratulations! I Love his color! Welcome to the forums!!!

 

[catnipmouse]

Hi! Pretty pony you have there. I just adopted two rescues a week ago. Both need a lot of handling.

 

[romewhip]

Jake has continued to make incredible strides in his training- in a week he's wearing a bit and surcingle, longing both ways walk and trot on command, ground manners have come so far! He's cross tying and behaving better for baths. I can't believe how smart and trainable he is. And when it rains it pours- we've got another training project, a VERY spoiled brat Shetland who needs some remedial work and reminders on how to be a civilized horse.

Here's a picture of Jake yesterday

 

[paintponylvr]

He's looking awesome! Glad that his training is going so well.

So, do tell more about the new one, you simply can't leave us hanging like that! That's 'turrible"!!! Mare, gelding, age, color...

and where are you planning on going with them? Driving (and type)? Showing in hand, liberty, jumping?

 

[romewhip]

LOL!

The new guy is not mine, I'm just working with him to see if he's salvageable and can be a driving pony. My goal with Jake is pleasure driving, maybe some show driving, and CDE. He might appear in a halter class or two as well, but that remains to be seen.

The new guy is 10hh, smoky black pinto, gelding, and I don't yet know his details like how old he is. He has had training in the past, and I guess was intended to be a kids pony, but he's a monster. Horrible attitude, no respect for his handler, and I suspect he's been abused pretty badly. I'm not sure if he can be turned around or not, but I'm going to give it a shot. He makes me appreciate Jake who is a blank slate. Jake wasn't living in the best of conditions, but his former owner is in some bad times and she did the best she could. The new guy (who has been renamed Paxton) is grossly overweight on top of everything else, and acts like a stud even though he's gelded. It was so sad to reach down between his front legs and have him freak out, shaking in terror, pulling his legs away. I have a long weekend and much of it will be devoted to seeing if I can decode Paxton.