Our major breakthrough for the month was figuring out what bit to use. I've already talked about it, but I'm still so surprised how different he is in the pelham vs other bits. Would I like to not have to deal with two reins, yes. But I'd rather have a happy pony while juggling a handful of leather than a pissed off pony.
He's ear shy, and so far is not at all interested in having his ears clipped. I'm playing around with getting an anatomic bridle but finding something that's legal in the hunter/eq ring is a bit of a challenge. Especially with a limited budget. He's also not a fan of bridleing. He wants to poke his nose out then nod his head up and down before he lets you put it on. It's more of an annoyance rather than anything, but it's still a pain. I'm hoping that getting his teeth done next week (also yay drugs for ear clipping!!) will help, and maybe the anatomic bridle would help too.
Lead changes freak him out. Someone has obviously rushed him through them, and probably gotten after him about them. Poor pony wants to drop his butt and scoot forward all nervous the couple times I've asked. You can tell it upsets him. But on the flip side, I'd say a good 90% of the time if I have him coming forward to the fence and ask he'll land on the correct lead. The plan for now is to just do simple changes and focus on getting him to land on the correct lead.
He's a gross, disgusting pig in his stall. Since I'm on self care at my barn, I clean my stall and know exactly how gross he is. He likes to poop and pee in the middle of his stall and lay down in it. Even blanketed he constantly has crusty pee spots on him and smells of poop. It hasn't been warm enough to bathe, but it's supposed to get warmer this week so pony boy is getting a bath. Unfortunately I don't think there's anything I can do to fix this one.
He sounds like a cool horse even if he is a pig in his stall and has a few quirks!
ReplyDeleteNot sure what your bridle budget is but I have both an HDR (lower budget) and an Aramas (higher budget) with the cut back around the ears on the headstall. I know there are even more anatomical options but these are both suitable for hunters/eq. I've now had the HDR for several years (P's bridle I use with a bit if you look around on my blog) and while the leather is not the best the headstall is very padded and soft and it cleans up nicely.
I'll have to look into those, thanks!
DeleteMy horse is REALLY hard to bridle and bribery has made my life a lot less annoying, though my bit is always super dirty.
ReplyDeleteI seriously can't get past his cute face and perfect blaze. He's perfect! The anatomic bridle thing is hard. I have a stubben one, but I think it's a newer thing for them and you're unlikely to find any good deals/nice used ones. I do have a regular HDR one and I'm very happy with the quality for the price!
ReplyDeletesounds like you guys are figuring each other out! the messy stall thing is... unfortunate... but by no means a deal breaker, esp with a face that sweet!
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