tell me your success stories....challenging 4.5 year old

[Pocket_Pony]

@exploding pony

The one red flag I see is the lunging every day in the same arena that you ride in. IMHO that is a very, very bad idea. I would be using a round pen for dealing with both the extra energy and the focus issue. I don’t ever let horses be idiots in the arena that I ride in, I just think it’s a bad idea.

Give them a safe place to express energy, but not in the location they are ridden every day. When their little feet enter an arena, it is my expectation that they are working, not leaping around like an idiot. I just don’t ever want that behavior associated with the riding arena if I can prevent it.

I was talking with my cowboy friend about this after a lesson. My arena does not have a fence around it, but I always enter and exit in the same place because I don’t want Pony thinking that when we’re working in the arena that she can just exit stage left whenever she might feel like it.

His response was that it doesn’t matter. Get the horse right in the head and with you and it doesn’t matter what you do because there won’t be the outside distraction or idea of wanting to leave you or what you are doing.

[AltersAreUs]

@Pocket Pony

I’ve done this with fun/funny results. I’ve used various things . . . dragging a tarp on the ground, umbrella, all sorts of random “stuff,” following my dog or barn cat… It definitely helps in making a braver pony. It seems like her reaction now is to “follow (the thing)!” Deer bedding down in the grass? Go git ‘em! Cows grazing at the neighbors’ property? Make them moooooove! Birds in the arena? Chase them until they fly away! It is pretty fun and funny. With the cows, I swear my pony wants to just bust through the fence to go to them and move them around!

Yep, I spent a number of weekends doing this with umbrellas & balloons. Now my girl just runs up and aggressively jams her nose on an open umbrella because Hey! That Gets Me Treats!. First time we show during the rain is going to be an experience for both her and the spectators!

[jonem004]

Have you thought about magnesium? A deficiency could explain most of this behavior, and might not show up until she started doing harder work and the stores in her muscles got depleted. Low mag levels in farm land is a real problem across the US, and optimal soil health isn’t usually top priority in land used to grow hay. You could have your hay tested, but it’d probably be cheaper to just dose her for a month and see if you notice any benefit. Research what form of magnesium is best absorbed by horses. Mag oxide is the cheapest form, and the ingredient in a lot of supplements, but it is literally a laxative and runs through humans too quickly to really be absorbed. Horse might be a different story, but I doubt it. I take magnesium taurate and blah blah blah amino acid… It’s much easier on my digestion and I feel great on it.

I mean, it’s probably just her being a baby, but what if $20 worth of magnesium gives you back her attention? Might be worth a check!