Your Drive Day

[MindySchroder]

Sounds like an eventful drive with Midnight for sure! Those mares certainly keep us on our toes!

Zorro is also a Shetland so I am familiar with the bigger movement for sure!

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Sounds like an eventful drive with Midnight for sure! Those mares certainly keep us on our toes!

Zorro is also a Shetland so I am familiar with the bigger movement for sure!
[/QUOTE
Now I think I remember you said he was a Shetland. Some people think their temperament is quite different than Miniatures. I've only owned one Shetland, so I can't say. What do you think? I am wondering if Midnight may be Shetland; looking at Oliver's picture I remember the way the mare I had before stood, and Midnight seems similar.

 

[Cayuse]

Marsha, that sounds like a great drive with Midnight. She is proving to be sensible. You should be proud of all you have accomplished with her since she came to you.

Mindy, your little guy is a leggy one, bet he'll grow big, which if he was mine, would make me happy. He sure is his Daddy's son . He makes me wish I had the ability to get a youngster to start, but I'm past that! I do better with the old-timers at this point, lol.

 

[MindySchroder]

It's probably not fair to compare Zorro to other miniatures. His Shetland is 100% Arenosa. If you have followed the Shetland trend you may recognize this bloodline as being VERY flashy and firey in the halter ring. And you rarely see them driving. If you do it's briefly in the show ring. Definitely NOT doing what Zorro and I do! I put many many hours into Zorro, preparing him 100% in all ways before every attaching him to anything. During his 2-3 year old year I wasn't sure he would even be a driving pony. He was very reactive and snorty all the time. He instinct was to run and hide. He was explosive. So in that way I would say he was definitely harder than a mini. LOL! But again his pedigree makes that a little different.

Oliver is a completely different blood line and one that is proven in the driving ring. So his temperament is already so different than Zorro's was at his age. I'm super excited to bring him along! And now that Zorro is such a solid citizen he can really help Oliver tackle hard things with a quiet mind. This is the right time to bring in a baby that's for sure!

And @Cayuse I too love my minis big and my ponies small! LOL! 40-42" is my favorite height for driving. I just do too many very difficult drives for the tiny minis. My friend Molly's little 32" mare is a rock star but she does have to pick and choose which drives to bring Goldie on because sometimes she just won't physically be able to do them. But she will NEVER stop and will always give it her all!!

 

[Willow Flats]

Our sky cleared finally so my little friend came over to drive this morning. Thank goodness my husband was home working in the shop. Autumn was driving Rocko and I was driving Annie. We were having such a good time. Autumn was cantering Rocko. And my husband had come out and asked if he could take a turn driving Annie, so he was heading her up while I got out of the cart when all of a sudden we were buzzed by a low flying helicopter that was so loud. Annie spooked and I was out of the cart but had the reins in hand and asked my husband to hang on to her head. All was good until I heard him say Uh Oh! I looked up and Autumn was on the ground and Rocko was flying off with the cart behind him! I was able to give Annie over to my husband. It all happened so fast I didn't see it. I had left our front gate open because we have been driving down our road and turning around at the main street and he was headed that way but by the grace of God he turned at the barn and around and around the barn and the first pasture he went. The cart did get on it's side once but popped back up.

She has a very slight build, I don't even think she weighs 100 lbs, plus the fact that she was cantering at the time when he spooked is what I think led to her flying out. Had they been at a walk I doubt it would have went that way. She rides and knows how to control a horse. When I got to him and got him to stop I just stood there with him until he calmed down. The reins were wrapped around a wheel, but luckily there was slack in them and were easy to remove. I told her I would drive him back, but she wanted to get back in the cart and so she drove him around for about another 10 minutes and he was fine. She scraped her elbow and Rocko scraped the back of his leg, so I had two to doctor but everyone is going to be just fine. She was wearing her helmet and the flange popped off of it so I am glad she was wearing it. No idea why that person dipped so low with that helicopter! It was really loud. No wonder they use them to herd cattle and wild mustangs!!!

 

[Cayuse]

Wow,Willow! Sorry to hear about the helicopter, I sure hope the pilot didn't do it intentonally. We have alot of small planes here and sometimes they fly low over our paddock but no dive bombing. Glad Rocko and Autumn were able to get back on track for a few minutes afterwards, the fact that he settled down quick is a good thing.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Yikes! And double yikes! Any damage to the harness or cart? I bet Autumn will be a little sore tomorrow.
Crazy aircraft! Pilot was probably saying, "O look at those cute horses; let's fly down and get a closer look."
Thank goodness it turned out okay. At least Rocko didn't wreck. Something similar happened to Dapper Dan and me many years ago and he acted like he forgot all about it the next day. Hope Rocko does the same.

 

[Willow Flats]

We were really lucky he didn't wreck. It is such a wierd feeling to be calmly making your way to your horse under those terrifying circumstances without running!

Just the day before we went for a walk down the main road and cars were buzzing by and a bike zipped right by his nose and no reaction.

 

[Willow Flats]

No damage to harness or cart.

 

[MindySchroder]

Wowza!! You guys are so lucky that it all ended well for sure! What a relief!

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I took Dapper Dan out this morning. We had rain in the night so had to stick to paved roads. Ponied Midnight. It was already getting muggy; ugg. You can see the haze in the distance. He was a little sweaty when we got home so I decided to clip him. Didn't work, as blades are dull. I'm sending mine off to be sharpened and decided to order some new 10's and some 7's. Andis site says they are out of stock. Chewy site says it has blades.

 

[Willow Flats]

Now I am not sure what to think about Rocko! When my husband came home I told him about Rocko not wanting to lift his back feet and he said he was like that with him that morning. BEFORE the helicopter incident.

I exercised him today and he seemed completely fine. Afterwards, I picked up his front feet no problem. When I went for the backs he threw his behind into me to push me away and wanted to fight about it. I took a rope and wrapped it around his back leg, which before I could do anything he rested that foot, and was standing there resting with all his weight on the supposedly bad leg, licking and chewing. He hasn't been one to lift his back feet right away willingly, so now I am not 100% sure if this due to pain or a new testing he is trying out. I lifted both back hinds with the rope, just held it for a few seconds on each side, and he seemed ok with it. I am going to still assume he has a pain issue for now to be safe, but I am looking forward to Saturday where he will get a full assessment.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Now I am not sure what to think about Rocko! When my husband came home I told him about Rocko not wanting to lift his back feet and he said he was like that with him that morning. BEFORE the helicopter incident.

I exercised him today and he seemed completely fine. Afterwards, I picked up his front feet no problem. When I went for the backs he threw his behind into me to push me away and wanted to fight about it. I took a rope and wrapped it around his back leg, which before I could do anything he rested that foot, and was standing there resting with all his weight on the supposedly bad leg, licking and chewing. He hasn't been one to lift his back feet right away willingly, so now I am not 100% sure if this due to pain or a new testing he is trying out. I lifted both back hinds with the rope, just held it for a few seconds on each side, and he seemed ok with it. I am going to still assume he has a pain issue for now to be safe, but I am looking forward to Saturday where he will get a full assessment.

Definitely sounds like he needs to be looked at. Let us know what you find out. It's the way to know if he is testing you or asking for help.

 

[Cayuse]

I agree with Marsha, it won't hurt to have someone take a peak at him just to be on the safe side.

I ground drove Cappy today and he was just awful. It's days like this when I wonder why I bother, lol. He reverted back to spooking and being super "hot", spinning and jumping and doing whatever else fell into his head. The one thing that concerns me is Sunday when we were done driving, I went to fix his harness and he snapped at me. Today he did the same, only it was not a nip but more agressive. Something to keep an eye on as he's usually not like that, so I wonder if he is uncomfortable. My hunch is he isn't, rather he's feeling TOO good with the cool weather. He's been known to be pushy and rude so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that this part of his personality has reappeared for whatever reason. I'll just have to cope until he rearranges himself back into "Happy Cappy". Good thing he's cute and I love him.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I agree with Marsha, it won't hurt to have someone take a peak at him just to be on the safe side.

I ground drove Cappy today and he was just awful. It's days like this when I wonder why I bother, lol. He reverted back to spooking and being super "hot", spinning and jumping and doing whatever else fell into his head. The one thing that concerns me is Sunday when we were done driving, I went to fix his harness and he snapped at me. Today he did the same, only it was not a nip but more agressive. Something to keep an eye on as he's usually not like that, so I wonder if he is uncomfortable. My hunch is he isn't, rather he's feeling TOO good with the cool weather. He's been known to be pushy and rude so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that this part of his personality has reappeared for whatever reason. I'll just have to cope until he rearranges himself back into "Happy Cappy". Good thing he's cute and I love him.

Dapper Dan snapped at me one day recently when I was hitching. I figured maybe his arthritis was bothering him, but we went anyway and he was fine when we got home. And same here, good thing he is cute and mostly loveable! He'll always be my special horse, even when he is terrible. But I know the feeling of why am I trying to drive; why can't I just have a lawn ornament. Then, we have a good day and all's well.

 

[Cayuse]

Sometimes I would like a mini that I could hitch and drive by myself without needing assistance. I've posted about it before and worked on it with both of them but they each have their seperate issues that keep me from being independent. On the other hand, they have many positive qualities, so it all works out in the end.

 

[Willow Flats]

My trainer friend came over today and we had planned to drive Annie and ground drive Rocko, but her horse had a very serious colic yesterday and ended up in surgery and she wanted to go visit him today. The surgery was successful but the whole ordeal was pretty scary. So we just took Rocko and Annie for a walk out on our two lane road where cars fly and they both did really well. She was banging on the mailboxes along the way, drawing Annie between closely set mailboxes and running her up and down the ditch that runs along the roadway. She is really good at thinking of things to build the horses confidence.

Rocko seems a lot better. He was trotting around this morning and came running when I went out to feed. I still have the body worker coming on Saturday afternoon and will most likely start having her come once a month while we work on fitness. I need to work on building up Rocko's hind end. He has lost weight since he has been here and I can now feel some ribs when I apply pressure where I couldn't feel them at all before! He needs to build some muscle. He definitely is doing a little testing now that he has settled in here. He was balking on the lead when I went to bring him in from the pasture just now. Good try little guy. lol

 

[Willow Flats]

Rocko did good on the ground driving today. Even though he was actively looking for the rabbit that lives beneath the berries at my back pasture it still scared him when it shot out. lol After I ground drove him I hosed him off and tied him up to dry. He kept gnawing on the wooden post so I went and got some No Chew. I soaked the post with it and he just lapped it up like he was having an ice cream sunday! I've used dish soap and that seems to work better. When I got him his name was Chuey (pronounced Chewey) Now I think I know why.

I decided to take him out to the road on the lead while he continued drying. We got a few properties down and I met a person that was in town visiting and wanted to see Rocko, so we stood and chatted for a bit. Rocko was a lot more nervous about the traffic, rattling trucks and trailers when he was just standing there, not on the move so it was good for him. Plus he was in a halter and could see everything all at once. I plan to do more of that. The body worker comes later this afternoon so I'll let you know what she says.

 

[Willow Flats]

The body worker was here and she gave Rocko the works. She did not see any major reactions that would indicate a need for a chiropractor. She thinks it is just soft tissue that is sore. He was only resting his left foot and by the end of the session he rested his right foot. She works closely with the trainer that trained Annie where we go for the play days and thinks it would be a good idea to take him down there so he can have him pull the sled first before hitching and see how he does before hitching him again so that's my plan.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

The body worker was here and she gave Rocko the works. She did not see any major reactions that would indicate a need for a chiropractor. She thinks it is just soft tissue that is sore. He was only resting his left foot and by the end of the session he rested his right foot. She works closely with the trainer that trained Annie where we go for the play days and thinks it would be a good idea to take him down there so he can have him pull the sled first before hitching and see how he does before hitching him again so that's my plan.

Good news. Now you can move on together.
I take my horses on walks with me often. I pick up litter on the rural road as we walk and it's a good opportunity to kick cans around their feet, flick beer boxes along their backs and tummies, hang stuff off of them, and investigate culverts. I've drug 50 foot chains home fastened around their necks, balanced sofa cushions and all kinds of large debris on their backs. It's a good time to practice giving to pressure, our whoa and stand. One thing I am super glad I learned is never to let a horse graze while we are on a walk. I wish I had known that when I first got Dapper Dan!! He is terrible to take on a walk when I have to go down into a ditch for trash.