So decided to do this member diary thing! Not quite sure what I'm even going to post but figured I'd give it a go haha I'll mostly be posting about my pony Toffee but will probably end up chatting about all sorts of random rubbish in between!
So Toffee. Toffee is a 13hh mixed breed, native type pony who originally comes from Dartmoor. He's roughly about 8 years old now at a guess. He's a very dominant pony and despite being the smallest out of 6 in his field, he is the boss and isn't afraid to show it. He doesn't back down at all and will double barrel any horse that dares to argue with him. He doesn't want horsey friends, he doesn't like company, he just wants to be left alone. You will never see him mutually grooming anything. He's more likely to take a chunk out of their neck for getting too close lol But humans? He loves those. He's very much a people horse, not a horse horse and I do have to tell people when they walk their horses past his stable, not to come over as he doesn't play well with others!
Toffee is very fit at the minute and is going so well. This makes me so happy after the state he was in when I bought him. Currently my goal is that I'm trying to perfect his canter with a view to trying to get him to jump in the not so distant future. Jumping is something we have had huge issues with, on top of everything else from day one. I'll explain.....
When I got him, he was ridiculously green and unbalanced, terrified of whips, no manners, bolshy and uncontrollable on the ground with no dental work having being done and a huge ulcer in the back of his mouth, where a razor sharp tooth had ripped his gum to shreds. Poor baby. All this considered though, he was never nasty. He loved attention and never pinned his ears at any human. Something about him shouted out to me when I went to view him and I couldn't leave him. I took him that day.
When I first brought him home, I rode him to find out what he could do. He broke my finger the first time I got on him by spinning, taking off and throwing me off lol I persevered and then found out that when he doesn't want to work or he gets excited, he bucks. Thankfully it's not a nasty buck, it's just a cheeky one. His canter was horrific. I found out that basically he's had no correct schooling and cantering him was basically him flying round in a disorganised canter with no balance whatsoever. He was on the wrong leg 90% of the time and it was a panicked, run into canter. He hacked out yes but would freak at everything from white lines on the road to a cat. Thankfully he wasn't a bolter. I think if he was, I'd have sold him back then. Finally, I found out that jumping even a tiny X pole was a no go zone since it didn't matter what the hell you put in front of him, he'd crash through. solid, wooden, plastic, it was getting broken. He has no care for his legs, it doesn't hurt so I'm taking that jump down. It was at that point that I thought, he needs to start again, he literally doesn't have a clue what you are asking him.
I contacted a few people who knew him before I bought him and found out that *apparently* when the lady I bought him off, bought him, he was pulled off the wagon, tacked up and made to jump. On approaching the jump, he panicked and started weaving to get out of the jump at which point he was belted with a stick and made to jump. Ideal.
And so fast forward to this year: I have spent thousands (not an exaggeration) over the course of having him (just over 2 years now) on lessons, schooling sessions, groundwork sessions, saddle fitters, physios etc. The improvement is amazing. His manners on the ground are near fantastic, and his trot is excellent. He is great at hacking and really enjoys it but he is spooky. You have to be confident and ride him through the fear but he will go through it and he's never bolted yet. His canter is getting there. It's still a bit ropey and when he is in a new place, field for example and gets excited it can go a bit downhill but we are working on that. Unfortunately until it's sorted, no jumping. I need him to be confident in himself in the canter before I even start to introduce any jumps. I just hope that it's something I can fix and they haven't ruined him for life.
So yeah that's Toffee.
Toffee when I first bought him (2014)
Toffee now.
I also have two Staffordshire Bull Terriers - Kaiah and Harley, and a Pug called Bella Boo. Bella for short or Miss Boo for occasions. Yes I know, I'm a bit bonkers lol All the best people are. I have a husband (or man child as I prefer to call him) and 2 daughters - one of which is a teenager. Yay. My oldest used to ride but has now found out she has a social life. My youngest is horse obsessed and lives and breathes riding. The man child isn't horsey but he does a good job helping us bless him.
And that's my little gang!
Hope I've not bored you all senseless, I do tend to waffle.
So Toffee. Toffee is a 13hh mixed breed, native type pony who originally comes from Dartmoor. He's roughly about 8 years old now at a guess. He's a very dominant pony and despite being the smallest out of 6 in his field, he is the boss and isn't afraid to show it. He doesn't back down at all and will double barrel any horse that dares to argue with him. He doesn't want horsey friends, he doesn't like company, he just wants to be left alone. You will never see him mutually grooming anything. He's more likely to take a chunk out of their neck for getting too close lol But humans? He loves those. He's very much a people horse, not a horse horse and I do have to tell people when they walk their horses past his stable, not to come over as he doesn't play well with others!
Toffee is very fit at the minute and is going so well. This makes me so happy after the state he was in when I bought him. Currently my goal is that I'm trying to perfect his canter with a view to trying to get him to jump in the not so distant future. Jumping is something we have had huge issues with, on top of everything else from day one. I'll explain.....
When I got him, he was ridiculously green and unbalanced, terrified of whips, no manners, bolshy and uncontrollable on the ground with no dental work having being done and a huge ulcer in the back of his mouth, where a razor sharp tooth had ripped his gum to shreds. Poor baby. All this considered though, he was never nasty. He loved attention and never pinned his ears at any human. Something about him shouted out to me when I went to view him and I couldn't leave him. I took him that day.
When I first brought him home, I rode him to find out what he could do. He broke my finger the first time I got on him by spinning, taking off and throwing me off lol I persevered and then found out that when he doesn't want to work or he gets excited, he bucks. Thankfully it's not a nasty buck, it's just a cheeky one. His canter was horrific. I found out that basically he's had no correct schooling and cantering him was basically him flying round in a disorganised canter with no balance whatsoever. He was on the wrong leg 90% of the time and it was a panicked, run into canter. He hacked out yes but would freak at everything from white lines on the road to a cat. Thankfully he wasn't a bolter. I think if he was, I'd have sold him back then. Finally, I found out that jumping even a tiny X pole was a no go zone since it didn't matter what the hell you put in front of him, he'd crash through. solid, wooden, plastic, it was getting broken. He has no care for his legs, it doesn't hurt so I'm taking that jump down. It was at that point that I thought, he needs to start again, he literally doesn't have a clue what you are asking him.
I contacted a few people who knew him before I bought him and found out that *apparently* when the lady I bought him off, bought him, he was pulled off the wagon, tacked up and made to jump. On approaching the jump, he panicked and started weaving to get out of the jump at which point he was belted with a stick and made to jump. Ideal.
And so fast forward to this year: I have spent thousands (not an exaggeration) over the course of having him (just over 2 years now) on lessons, schooling sessions, groundwork sessions, saddle fitters, physios etc. The improvement is amazing. His manners on the ground are near fantastic, and his trot is excellent. He is great at hacking and really enjoys it but he is spooky. You have to be confident and ride him through the fear but he will go through it and he's never bolted yet. His canter is getting there. It's still a bit ropey and when he is in a new place, field for example and gets excited it can go a bit downhill but we are working on that. Unfortunately until it's sorted, no jumping. I need him to be confident in himself in the canter before I even start to introduce any jumps. I just hope that it's something I can fix and they haven't ruined him for life.
So yeah that's Toffee.
Toffee when I first bought him (2014)
Toffee now.
I also have two Staffordshire Bull Terriers - Kaiah and Harley, and a Pug called Bella Boo. Bella for short or Miss Boo for occasions. Yes I know, I'm a bit bonkers lol All the best people are. I have a husband (or man child as I prefer to call him) and 2 daughters - one of which is a teenager. Yay. My oldest used to ride but has now found out she has a social life. My youngest is horse obsessed and lives and breathes riding. The man child isn't horsey but he does a good job helping us bless him.
And that's my little gang!
Hope I've not bored you all senseless, I do tend to waffle.