5th November 2008

Clicker training again.... and again..... and again...!

Got the herd up, caught Charlot and tied him up in the school with a few Shetlands for company.

With me on the front end with the clicker and a pocketful of pony nuts and Jo with the four potential missiles (ie legs), I clicked and fed merrily away for good results while Jo picked up all four feet and did a tiny bit more.

This time, she ran her hand down each leg about 6 inches at a time, said "click", I would click and feed Charlot 2 pony nuts, then she would keep going downwards, 6" at a time, with the appropriate click and feed 2 nuts if he stood still. Then, when Jo had got the whole hoof up in the air, I clicked repetitively and fed Charlot a whole handful of nuts. Jo handled the foot for as long as he would let her and then she put it down for him, not letting him grab it away, kick out or plant it down again. We were in control. It was a quiet, efficient working environment and Charlot behaved allowing us to pick up each foot in this way.

Success, big kiss and another handful of nuts, I led him outside, took off the head-collar, kissed a few more hairy noses and went back to working with the Muppets! (little dun 37" geldings who we have had since foals!).

Mission achieved.

We started the day by calling everyone out of their grass-filled field and the whole world and his wife arrived except for Charlot and two mares. So I walked down and caught him very easily (by giving the food to the mares!) and then Charlot refused to walk up to the school from the field, where all his friends were milling about. Jo had to come down and walk behind him. We then took off his rug so he could roll and get some sun on his back as it was a nice day for a change.

So......here we are outside, like Jo's son recommended (see previous blog). You can guess how well we got on! We didn't!

To be honest, we were not holding our breath (Charlot was starting to hyperventilate) and he was at least consistent in his complete lack of co-operation. I actually think he has no balance on three legs, he just falls over when you pick up one of his front legs.

We tied him up outside and tried Robert's suggestion of "going near Charlot's back legs when he was outside - apparently he doesn't mind that in the slightest!!". He minded more than in the slightest.

So, new idea - CLICKER TRAINING!!! I had previously found the clicker and put it in a safe place (so spent 5 minutes trying to locate my safe place), filled my pockets with pony nuts and off we went. Jo placed her hands gently on each leg, told me when to click, I clicked and gave Charlot food. We did each foot with quite minimal violence from Charlot and left it at that. Perhaps clicker training is the way forwards. Charlot is not stupid and very quick to learn. He worked out the relationship between the required deed, the click and the food fairly swiftly so we will persevere with this method and see where it leads us.

NB - it is not easy to take photos, click and feed at the same time. But believe me, there was far less target practice from himself!

1st November 2008

Well, they've managed to finish the grass in the hill park - a clean plate has been made and it is time to move them down to the other half of this field - the lower field.

Firstly, though, we noticed that Charlot's rug was squint. So Jo went up to him, put on a headcollar, which I held, while she put everything right. He just stood there, in the middle of the herd (with others offering to "help") while we tugged and pulled and shoved his rug back around his fat big tum-tum so that it was symmetrical again. Didn't mind in the slightest, wasn't bothered at all.

Then we went an opened the gate into 25 acres of ungrazed pasture. This field has been left all summer and autumn, the grass is fantastic and it is all theirs (13 ponies + 2 goats in total). The whole herd was very enthusiastic and galloped through the gate and stopped dead, with heads down to eat - not that anyone is looking thin or peaky.

So, Charlot, the only one with a rug on, seems to have re-integrated himself with his chums. The spring/summer girlie rivalries are forgotten and everyone is acting as one in this herd. Today was Charlot's turn to guard against the potential tigers while the rest had a snooze. So he ate, and they snoozed, either standing up or lying (blob on bottom right of photo is someone lying down). You can see the length of the grass too. Oh they are in for a nice winter. You can also see that Charlot is the with the Shetland pony contingency rather than the big 'uns that are the other side of the stream.

5th October 2008

Well, I'll be ...........totally gobsmacked!

Sorry no ponio photos.

Yesterday was a day of shite, as we say - it rained, sleeted, snowed and blew a northerly gale (constant 8, gusting 10), wind chill factor minus several somethings. So it was very cold with blizzards all day. The snow couldn't settle much because of the rain and wet ground but it was disgustingly cold.

I felt so sorry for the ponies - they all live out and all I could do was hope that Charlot copied the others and used the available shelter - 5 foot high dry stone walls. I also remembered that he is quite fat so there are some reserves in there he could shiver off!

Today is much better. The wind has changed direction. It is warmer and everything has calmed down too (about a Force 5). Jo, the dogs and I went into the field to call the horses home as we wanted to put a medium-weight rug on Charlot. Of course when you want them, they just stand there and look at you refusing to budge. So we walked up the field (I slowly limped unable to keep up). Jo then announced that she actually hadn't got a head-collar with her, just a piece of rope. So, she went up to Charlot, put the rope round his neck and he followed her for about 1/4 mile home where we put him in the shed, found a "real" headcollar and put it on him.

I was amazed. I expect that sort of conduct from the majority of our long-term boys but from a rescue pony owned for 6 months, that kind of behaviour is amazing. When you can do stuff like that out of the blue, who cares about the feet drama - it will come together eventually. So, well done that lad!

Anyway, we put the new rug on. There were no kicky moments around the back end when Jo did up the leg-straps even though she nearly clipped Charlot's manly bits by mistake! I told him he had my full permission to kick her if she did that again!

With the new rug on, we put Charlot back with his friends hoping they would not start ribbing him and tearing the rug up like last time. I am watching!

24th September 2008

Strike action at school so we had Robert (Jo's lad) to help today.

I caught Charlot, with no problem. Good start, I thought. He walked calmly into the indoor school and I then remembered that we had no "inspiration", ie food! Never mind, Jo said, he couldn't dine out on his fears forever.

So, front feet were done easily enough though Charlot does have a tendency to fall over if he has to stand on three legs. He just topples over!

Then "hello back feet" and off we went again. Round and round in circles with some fairly vicious kicks aimed at Jo. He really is vile about this issue (though, I am fairly sure there will be others but we only know about this one for the time being!)

Jo decided to use a Parelli method which involves touching the horse all over with a rustly bag on a stick. Being not up on Parelli and his methods, I am not very sure of the theory and benefits here but Charlot didn't seem to mind any of this, including when Jo touched his back legs with her weird "training aid".

So, we left it at that. Jo didn't go near Charlot's feet again with her hands and we put him out into his field again to rejoin his friends. Funnily enough, Robert announced that we should try going near Charlot's back legs when he was outside - apparently he doesn't mind that in the slightest!! Always open to suggestions, we will give it a go another day!

21 September 2008

Well..... as we have the girls around to help us (they are usually away at school off the island), I went an caught Charlot very easily. The trick is to show him a piece of apple and then to put on the headcollar around his nose, give him the apple, and to do the headcollar up. Works a treat!

Mission accomplished, Daisy held him and Jo went for the feet. Fronts, again, were fine. He even anticipated and offered to pick them up. Then for the back ones.

.... well Jo did it and it took half the time but there was still the usual lashing out with target practice. With Daisy on the front end with a pocket full of apple and carrot, Jo would run her hand down Charlot's back leg. If he lashed out, no apple. If, on the other hand, he allowed her to stroke/scratch his back leg, then he would get some apple. This time we won because he decided to have a poo!

With Charlot, it doesn't take long for him to work things out and, note to self, we really must find that clicker (I know it must be somewhere!) as I think he would make a prime candidate for clicker training.

This is a pony that needs constant work and reinforcement on a daily basis. At this moment, it is not the time. Funny little lad, though. I was stroking Charlot's head and he was doing his best not to fall asleep! His motto is never trust anyone coz they might be a tiger!

He is also looks like a little porker! Well, winter will be harsh and he needs it since he will be living out 24/7. You could make quite a few sausages out of him now! Perhaps someone ought to tell him and then he might behave!

20th September 2008

I bought Charlot a 4'9" heavy duty winter turnout rug. I know he will need it for the forthcoming winter or, failing that, we will have to put him in a stable. We don't have any spare stables at present. Jo's stables are already booked for this year's foals and Indie this winter and Charlot will not have a peaceful winter if he is stuck in a separate field gazing at them whilst waging war against Indie. Hence the rug purchase.

The last time we put a rug on Charlot (last spring), he nearly went into meltdown but this time, he was mellow and unphased by this, including having the fillet string passed through the back of his legs with straps done up underneath his belly. Charlot's behaviour cheered me up as we have done nothing with him this past month. He remained calm, interested in yet another mad scheme and co-operative. I am glad we tried it on him now rather than in an emergency situation (you know, Gale Force 10, rain lashing down and trying to get a rug onto him while he shook with cold, wet and misery).



Daisy calmly led him around the school (and btw, he was also fairly easy to catch too) and then, on a roll ,we decided to "do" feet, ie Jo picks up each hoof, cleans it out and puts it down with no fuss. Well, that is the theory anyway and the practice was actually completely different.

The front two hooves were no problem but the back two resulted in Charlot becoming more and more adept at target practice. He would not give in and lashed out the minute he felt Jo's hand on his back legs. Not good, not good at all.


Never one to give up, Jo persevered until Charlot became used to feeling her hand on his leg reaching as far down as his hoof. At times, he was dangerous and panicking. Jo said you could hear his heart beating very very fast. She kept going until she could run her hand down his back leg without him lashing out.

We know that we have to keep going but our luck has run out for the time being. I have wrecked my back and doctors orders are to rest with gentle mobilisation. Hanging onto a rope with nearly half a ton of horse trying to evade an issue is not "gentle mobilisation" in any language! We will do our best but it is probably more beneficial to let him learn to be in a herd environment rather than to try and train him occasionally without all our strength and concentration. We cannot help him if we are not firing on all cylinders.