20th December 2009

The fat boy had his rug put on because it is snowing. What was a rug that fitted very well last year is now rather a snug fit with a large expanse of belly showing now.

Yesterday we put the rug on and he was reasonable, letting me catch him and put the rug on, fiddling about with straps between his legs and under his belly. Today, he was wild and free! He kept looking at Ljosfaxi for inspiration. I managed to grab him as he went wittering past and rearranged his rug to be a bit more central on him. A strap is twisted under his belly but he wouldn't stay still long enough for me to correct it. He was being a pain.

On retrospect, I should've put a headcollar on him rather than expected manners. He was warm and happy so I gave up my idea of a cooperative pony.

26th November 2009

Charlot and his friends were moved to another winter paddock having eaten that one down. They usually spend a month in each paddock until Spring. These fields have been left all spring and summer to grow so no one goes hungry. They will only be fed if it snows. There is running water in each field too.

We caught the ring-leader, Fakur, and the others all dutifully followed him into the new field with absolutely no deviation. This sort of thing lulls us into a sense of false security!

Charlot is rotund. He has not got a rug on yet, but it has not been cold, just very wet and he is keeping the weight on so far! He is definitely one of the boys and is looking well. We didn't do anything, just walked through with 5 dogs and no one batted an eyelid or chased the dogs. A nice relaxed time.

6th October 2009

Haakon came in to be shod, so I caught Charlot to work with.

I put his bridle on and we started with some lungeing so he trotted happily over 4 poles, picking his little feet up. I am not sure about lungeing as I don't like to lug on Charlot's mouth trying to pull him in the direction I want, so I asked and released, asked and released giving him room to make decisions based on my requests. He was a good boy and got used to the bridle again and dropped his head beautifully to look at the poles to pop over.

After that I harnessed Charlot up and attached the reins to his bit so we could do a spot of long-reining. He liked that and was far more attentive, listening to my voice commands rather than me hauling again on his mouth to get what I wanted. He appreciated the ask/release method and it got to the point where I would just say "Charlot, and st...." and he would instantly halt! "Charlot, walk on" and off we went again. He is not keen on turning and tries to evade that option but we succeeded and I even managed to take some photos. When he stands though, he gets bored easily and starts pawing the ground (see photo below).


While Jo was finishing up, I sat on the physio ball with some pony-nuts and Charlot came to stand in front of me, nibbling the odd nut and generally chilling with me! It was lovely. What a different pony from this time last year. I felt totally safe.

On a roll, Jo trimmed Charlot's front feet with absolutely no bother at all. He even put them up on the stand to be rasped! The backs were the usual fight so we tried a couple of times and then twitched him before he got more and more in a state and he let us do them with no fuss at all.

I am pleased with him. We are getting there. I know we are now.

1st Oct 2009

Easy to catch, easy to lead and very easy to handle, so we tacked Charlot up, in full harness but with an open bridle (no blinkers). I did some long-reining with him while Jo harnessed up the Muppets. When she had finished, I handed over the reins to her to take some photos. She is so much better at long-reining than me!

Anyway, Charlot went very well. Happy listening, getting used to the feel of the bit and the harness around him, with no issues at all. He went easily on both reins with a rogue chicken in the school and remained calm and happy.

On a roll, we added the wood to drag. I pulled it around with Charlot first so he could get used to the noise and we soon realised that he really was not bothered at all. The time came to hitch him up, running his traces through the breeching straps. He pulled it. He didn't flicker. He changed the rein and you could see, in his ancestry, that there is definitely a draught horse in his genetics.


A change of rein, and off he went, as calm as you like. When we unharnessed, we were perhaps more unrefined and careful than usual, making sure all he straps made a huge noise, as they landed on his back and he got used to the feel of the unpredictable.

We left him tied up while the Muppets were driven in pairs. Charlot watched and was bored so pulled the cart down around him, clattered the buckets and talked to the chicken. He wasn't scared at all with the all noise he made around himself!


Jo tried to pick up his back feet and felt a piece of lumpy scar tissue on his off-back which might explain a great deal. There were white hairs too so obvious evidence of some trauma, and we will never know what but it has left a huge scar in Charlot's head as well. He kicked out, almost like a reflex, and then let us pick his back foot up without the usual fight.


I am so proud of Charlot - 3 years old, we think and now 18 months from arriving, he is pulling the wood about, in full harness, like a trooper.

Dear boy!

27 Sept 2009

Charlot was first up to the gateand easy to catch and interested to do something. We had the Muppets too so he had company and while Jo was harnessing them up (pairs), I put a bridle, with bit, on Charlot. He was rather shocked but relaxed with it in and we did a spot of lungeing, over a large material dust sheet, picked up feet (a mild whack from his backs) and I did some in hand work with him, all with the bit in.

It is all about trust. The minute the bit and bridle was on, Charlot came to me for support and courage. I told him he could do this and guided him around his obstacles while he tried to decide what he hated most, the groundsheet, the bit or the new contact on it! He picked up his fronts so I could pick them out, anticipating what I wanted and picking them up on a vocal command.

Next, I taught Charlot to reverse. The bit was fine in his mouth - I found I could be much lighter and give clearer instruction to him. Long-reining him with it, I got him going backwards on command and body language though he only stopped and stood when you get him watching your body language when lungeing.

He tensed himself up, expecting the worse all the time. His little bottom and all his muscles were hard and in a state, his heart a-beating double time but nothing much happened and we are continuously desensitizing his skin to touch whilst not letting his fears become ours'.

Jo pushed the cart around him, let the shafts touch his sides and he looked at it in a bemused fashion, even sniffing it and thinking all the time. He watched the Muppets pull it later on, when he was tied up to the big door, frightening himself by pulling over all the buckets onto himself. He hates the horse football (physio ball) so I sat on it, while he talked to me. It was lovely and very calming gaining his trust every second.

We looked at his teeth and also decided he turned 3 this year. My baby boy! The other 3 year olds haven't even left their field let alone done half the things he has!

24th Sept 2009

Ok, totally mad day today.

We made Charlot wear a coat and a handbag off his ears! This was to prove a point to a friend who said she wanted him if he could live under her stairs to carry her coats and handbags, having seen his previous exploits!



Then..... Charot had to walk over trotting poles and my coat (of which he is not keen), plus a rustly polythene dust sheet. Well, first a hissy fit and after some encouragement, he did it!



So, then we picked up a front foot or two!

We were continuously working on Charlot's feet all the time. He now lifts his fronts up fine, anticipating what you want and the backs are getting there! He still thinks about kicking but he is far less violent. He happily stood on the rustly sheet or my coat!

Ok, so the mad day continues:-




After that, we draped the rustly dust sheet over Charlot. His eyes are on stalks but he took it, looking like an embarrassed bridesmaid!



We finished by putting all the toys away with Charlot following me around and then I made a huge fuss of him, touching him all over. He flinched for a while and then gave up. There was a very nasty smell about so Jo cleaned his sheath with some anticipation of getting her lights kicked out. A vile job at the best of times, but he just stood there for 15 minutes while she mucked his bits out! Not a flicker! Funny little pony.

So I tied him up in a rather enclosed place while he watched one of the Muppets being trained. He upset the buckets, jumped and watched everything with interest!

20th Sept 09

Well, today I decided to do some long-reining. Don't know why really, it truly is not my forte but who cares, I had a go.

I found one long-rein, the other is broken, so I substituted with a lunge line which is twice the length of the long-rein! I put an old moth-eaten roller on Charlot and clipped his reins to the sides of the head-collar. A bit of a bodge job, but it all worked, apart from the roller sliding around the rotund belly and Charlot managed to get so tied up in all the string, he looked like a parcel at one stage. But, he took it all in his stride and let me untangle him without a fuss!

So we long-reined about the school while I tried to keep control giving him commands. He did the most well controlled turn on the forehand, swivelling beautifully on one front foot! As I said, I am not the most expert at this, but we muddled along together fairly well!


Then I decided we would work on "things Charlot is scared of", ie the great unknown. I put my coat on the floor and asked him to walk over it. He wouldn't, walking round and round, sometimes a hoof would touch a corner and he even cat-leaped it so as not to touch it. So. having put out some trotting poles earlier, I took out one to make him trot onto it. He knew exactly what I wanted and jumped it the first time, so I made it wider and soon he could trot over it! Success!




So then mean horrible me, drapes all the coats over Charlot plus some ropes and headcollars for good measure - things trailing about his back legs, the unexpected as well as rustly noises! I have to clear up my other toys, so I lead Charlot about on his lunge rope doing my chores while Daisy rides her horse in the school. Charlot is very good and obediently follows taking it all in but taking great exception when I kick a physio ball under his back legs - he sent that into orbit! I let the string dangle about, the coats fall off and he didn't bat an eyelid! It is all good training, teaching him to read my body language, to trust me and to go backwards when asked out of tight turning areas.



Well you know me, ever the optimist! I picked up both Charlot's front feet in turn over and over again. Just him and me and a lunge line wearing coats with trailing ropes about! He did it! I even took the photos as well! He thought about minding, but I suppose he had too much to mind about so he just gave up and did it!

After all that, I gave him a hug, kissed his nosey, tickled his ears and put him back out with his friends. He had a rather bemused look about him!