pony boot camp

Jaime, Kyle, and I took Shyloh (and Clutch and Isaac) down to Ohio for some pony boot camp with Beth and her ponies. Beth was awesome enough to volunteer her time, horses, and equipment to help me and Shy get this whole driving in the cart thing down. I can barely summarize everything without writing a novel about it, but I am going to try to keep it short. 

Waiting for Jaime and Kyle to pick us up!

All loaded and going to get the big boys!

First, we (and by we I mean Beth. . .I still have no idea how to do a farm harness) put a farm harness on Shy. She was totally fine with it. I walked her around and trotted her in hand, just so she could get used to the different sounds. There is more metal on a farm harness with the hamess and traces and other parts that my harness does not have. Shy was fine. 

Haflingers galore!! Curly (Moe) in front, then Art and Shy

It was so windy! Shy looks cute in this harness though.

Beth then hooked Shy to the cart next to Art. Art tends to be picky about his cart partners, but Shy worked her charms on him and they made a great little team. Shy was a little nervous at first, but Beth had her just stand hooked in the cart and next to Art until her breathing slowed. She stood perfectly still, but was breathing a little hard. For safety, Sierra held Shy's lead for the first couple rounds, but when Shy didn't act like a crazy lunatic she was unclipped from the lead. I think Art was great for Shy and held her back a few times when she wants to do her scoots. 

So cute together!

Butts! Shy needs to work on building hers up!

Beth is so so calm in the cart. She has a calm I feel I could never have! Her and Art kept Shy in line and they did great at walk and trot. Beth was a little surprised that Shy was able to match Art so well because Art can make tight turns and that is harder to do. Maybe we have a team in the future. . .? The little dogs running around, yeah, they liked to hop on the cart and go for rides too. So cute!

We gave Shy a little break while Kyle rode Clutch bareback (after he was launched off the other side of Clutch and landed in a pile of poop!), and Haley rode Isaac. It was only Isaac's second time with a rider! He was so calm! Isaac did an awesome job on our outing. 

Isaac is so big!! Haley is testing him out first.

Then Beth hooked Shy by herself and got a feel for how Shy works. Yes, Shy is very forward. Yes, Shy's transitions and gaits are rocky. Yes, Shy is quick and wants to go. Yes, she is too much for me at my current skill level of zero. Beth could handle everything Shy was throwing at her with a laugh (which really wasn't much), but I am not equipped to deal with it. . .yet. Luckily, Art is similar to Shy in the way he drives, except that he is dependable and has been doing this three times longer than her. So, hopefully I can get a few more drives on Art. 

I did drive Art for a while. He is so much fun! I love this punk rocker! I drove him for a while and I am already getting more comfortable with him. When you let him trot, he picks up a quick trot, but he will slow down when asked. He is such a good boy. Jaime even drove her first Haflinger!

I took in a ton of information today and had a really fun time with everyone and the horses. Shy's new driving bit came in the mail today, so I am looking forward to putting that on her bridle and working on refining her skills as I line drive. The cart still needs to get fixed and I am not ready to drive her in the cart by myself, so more line driving it is. I need to come up with cone patterns, trail patterns, and other challenging things for us to work on. Should be fun!

Going home. . .tired pony!