My new pony!

[Lucara]

I just purchased her last night and she should be coming home either this weekend or next.

Shes a 10yr 16h paint mare. She is not registered but she can be under the name Lady Queen Duchess.

She needs a bit of work on the ground and she'll need to be re-trained to English but shes very gentle, patient and has excellent manners.

This is the video I took while I was there. Its been 3 months since shes been ridden so she was kinda fresh. The guy rides REALLY rough with her but she responds just as well to gentle hands so that's nice. I don't ride very well yet but shes a good beginners horse.
I'm not sure what it was but when I tried to get her to trot, I was also somehow giving her a cue to stop? Gotta work that out but I think we'll be a good match for each other.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3twvhkyWXo

 

[bliss]

congrats on the horse sara, you've been wanting one for a while

let us know how the training goes!

-dan

 

[Lucara]

Hehe thanks! Yeah I'm really excited!

I'll keep posting as she progresses. Once I get her in an english saddle I'll get a few pics. =D I'll try and get her cleaned up too. She needed a bath.

 

[Crounchaholic]

Well aren't you the lucky one!!

I've done horseback riding for 12 years and had to quit because of bad knees and lack of funds... My dream is to own stables and a few horses... Enjoy her!

She's got a bulky neck! I love it

 

[Lucara]

Well aren't you the lucky one!!

I've done horseback riding for 12 years and had to quit because of bad knees and lack of funds... My dream is to own stables and a few horses... Enjoy her!

She's got a bulky neck! I love it

Yes she does. I have a thing for drafts but shes thick enough she almost looks drafty in her last 2 pics. =D I HATE scrawny ewe necks so I'm in love with hers!

Because she has such a thick neck I'm getting the twitch to roach her mane...

 

[whitewolf]

She is defiantly a looker. Very pretty girl and agree she is thick. Hope training goes well. I miss the barrels but had an appeal for English and hunter. I still haven't replaced my boy after he tried to kill me (7 years ago). Watched his new owner ride the other day and he did really good on roping and barrels. Miss him but he is by no means a woman's horse. Great with kids and men. He was abused by a woman trainer and never lived it down.

 

[Laceface]

Awesome looking horse!! I've been on a few where if you didn't say "go" with every part of your body, they stopped. Legs, position, hands, EVERYTHING had to say go, or stop, or whatever you wanted it to do, or she would take the one command that meant what she wanted.

Looking at the video, he is a pretty rough rider! Depends a lot on reins, not muh on seat/legs it looks like. I bet when you get her used to a softer hand she'll be an absolute sweetheart! Good luck with her!

edit to add: If you watch when he is asking for a trot/canter, he loosens WAY up on the reins, where as you keep them at the set slack level, maybe she's accustomed to having her head more for the transitions? I haven't ridden in a few years, and watching that makes me want to...badly, lol.

 

[Lucara]

Yeah were going to work her on the ground a bit and get her to relax, start moving to voice commands. I'm going to swap bits to something softer and then we'll work in the round pen on leg cues and see how she goes from there.

She comes home tomorrow afternoon!!!!

 

[ErinKelley]

She is very pretty, love her stockiness! Watched the whole thing, looks like you're gonna have a blast!

Erin

 

[Crounchaholic]

When asking her to trot it's not a one time kind of command. Once she's in you gotta keep her in there, pushing her to let her know you won't let her be a lazybum. If you only ask without insisting, she'll always go back to a lazy walk. Some horses are eager to go faster, and they don't need pushing, they need holding back. But she seems like the kind you would need to push a little bit more. You're gonna have muscular legs girl! Also, a cue for a horse to stop is when you block your seat. It blocks their natural back movement and makes it harder for them to go forward. You could make her stop with no reins with that technique, and that from a good pace canter. As you probably know, the top of your body never moves, except forward when going up a hill, and backwards when going down a hill (of the obvious lifting your seat for jumps and certain kinds of trot), but the lower part, starting at the hips, has to follow the horses natural movement. Hope this helps

 

[moose35]

since i have no pony experience.
my question might be dumb...but in the later pics where her coat has the dark patches...Is that sweat?

just really curious

moose

 

[Crounchaholic]

It does look like sweat marks
A good 10 min walk and she'd be all cooled off!

 

[Amelia]

A bay with a big blaze... I like. I hope she does well for you.

 

[Laceface]

since i have no pony experience.
my question might be dumb...but in the later pics where her coat has the dark patches...Is that sweat?

Yep! Sweat marks from the saddle pad and such.

She is definitely a cutie! Going back to ground work first is definitely a good idea, Keep us updated on how she does! I bet she'll be an entirely different girl for you!

 

[Lucara]

Duchess' first bath and her first time in an English saddle. Shes a bit bulky but I think once she firms up she'll fit it a bit better =D.

 

[Laceface]

What a cutie! How does she like bath time?