What beautiful photos! I love seeing snow.
Driving Discussion 2024
- Thread starter MajorClementine
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I see Phillippe is wearing a blanket. You spoil that sweet guy!
Oh, Canadian winters are no place for wee donkeys. They need serious shelter and/or blanketing. They are just not designed for the weather we get. And yes, he's spoiled...
Dreams of Ashes
Member
a legit excuse to spoil him and try fun blankets.Oh, Canadian winters are no place for wee donkeys. They need serious shelter and/or blanketing. They are just not designed for the weather we get. And yes, he's spoiled...
@Dreams of Ashes are you becoming one of my enablers??? I mean, welcome to the club!!!
Ok crew, where would you go for an instructional driving vacation?
HersheyMint
HersheyMint
@HersheyMint you're more than welcome to come up and visit my motley crew, but I would strongly encourage you to not come in February...
Just a few days shy of a full month since his last drive and Mr. Falcor was just lovely today!!
I put the skis on his cart and out we went. Like @Edelweiss says, hackneys seem to get a bit feral, Falcor wasn’t sure he should be caught when I went in, but it didn’t take him long to come around. I have cookies after all!
We had a good walk in the field but there’s no path broke for us, so we went up to the road instead. Some rocks through the snow made noise on our skis but he handled it just fine. And this time he was happy to trot along. We trotted to both of our closest neighbours’ driveways, further on the road than we’d ever been before!! Such a good and brave, happy pony!!
I put the skis on his cart and out we went. Like @Edelweiss says, hackneys seem to get a bit feral, Falcor wasn’t sure he should be caught when I went in, but it didn’t take him long to come around. I have cookies after all!
We had a good walk in the field but there’s no path broke for us, so we went up to the road instead. Some rocks through the snow made noise on our skis but he handled it just fine. And this time he was happy to trot along. We trotted to both of our closest neighbours’ driveways, further on the road than we’d ever been before!! Such a good and brave, happy pony!!
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HersheyMint
HersheyMint
Your area looks pretty, also cold.
Good for Falcor
@HersheyMint it truly is the great white north! It's cold today but will warm up to right around the freezing mark for Christmas.
That is good to hear! Glad I am not alone with the feral tendency. I'm hoping mine will be the same way once we finally get to start driving again! I did find out that he is a sucker for apples though. Normally he won't let me catch him until every other horse has been brought into the barn, unless I have an apple. Then the other horses better wait their turn!
I have started to wish I had a sleigh, but it would hardly get any use here, even though it is much more snow than farther south! Do you do anything special for their hooves in the winter? I am not bothered by the cold here because it is not humid but I keep the horses in when it snows. Not that they aren't used to snow, but the steep hills can be very slick and I worry about the footing, especially with how much they love to run.
(Not one of the heavier snows)
@Edelweiss I don't do anything different with their hooves, no. There's boots with ice cleats one can use if they're working somewhere more icy. So far it's not warranted for us. On the road can be slick, but there's also enough gravel up there that it wouldn't be ideal for skis anyways. The field is great now that I've plowed the track on it. Sometimes they get snow/ice balls in their feet. Need a hammer to break that out. WD-40 or cooking spray works just fine for keeping snow from recollecting.
Once again, Falcor has remembered that it's fun when I catch him. We went for a drive yesterday. I didn't even lunge him this time, just hand walked him a bit between harnessing pieces. My mom headed him while I got seated. He was eager to go, but just walked to the top of the driveway before turning into the field on the plowed track and asked to pick up trot. After rounding the first corner he offered canter and I went with him for several strides before asking him to come back. I'd been wanting to encourage him to canter in harness, but often when he canters on the lunge, he'll buck so I was a little wary. Especially since I'd neglected to do up his left bucking strap around the shaft!!! But he didn't offer any nonsense and came back to trot without issue. By the end of the field loop, he was walking happily. We turned around and went back out the opposite direction. In another long stretch I asked him if he wanted to canter and yes, yes, he certainly did! I allowed him to canter for longer there and I can only describe his pace as pure joy! It was forward, but not running away, no tail over the back, no snorting, just freely moving and feeling great!
I do think he's feeling so good in his body now that he can explore moving out in different ways. I didn't feel at all like he was a fire-breathing dragon ready to leave. I didn't feel at any time that I didn't have a say in what was happening, I felt I could trust him and go with him and enjoy the experience. 14 months ago, heck 10 months ago, that was not the case! But we've kept at it. What an absolutely rewarding experience he's been!
Once again, Falcor has remembered that it's fun when I catch him. We went for a drive yesterday. I didn't even lunge him this time, just hand walked him a bit between harnessing pieces. My mom headed him while I got seated. He was eager to go, but just walked to the top of the driveway before turning into the field on the plowed track and asked to pick up trot. After rounding the first corner he offered canter and I went with him for several strides before asking him to come back. I'd been wanting to encourage him to canter in harness, but often when he canters on the lunge, he'll buck so I was a little wary. Especially since I'd neglected to do up his left bucking strap around the shaft!!! But he didn't offer any nonsense and came back to trot without issue. By the end of the field loop, he was walking happily. We turned around and went back out the opposite direction. In another long stretch I asked him if he wanted to canter and yes, yes, he certainly did! I allowed him to canter for longer there and I can only describe his pace as pure joy! It was forward, but not running away, no tail over the back, no snorting, just freely moving and feeling great!
I do think he's feeling so good in his body now that he can explore moving out in different ways. I didn't feel at all like he was a fire-breathing dragon ready to leave. I didn't feel at any time that I didn't have a say in what was happening, I felt I could trust him and go with him and enjoy the experience. 14 months ago, heck 10 months ago, that was not the case! But we've kept at it. What an absolutely rewarding experience he's been!
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