You Can Take the Horse Out of the Show Jumping Arena, But...

...you can't take the jump out of the horse!
Tommy Boy was in the arena for a little work out - free lounging - and he just started jumping! Watch him go, this horse is lovin' it! If you remember, Tommy Boy is an ex-champion jumper who, after injuring his front legs, was retired. When we got him, (5 years later) he was still lame, and not doing too much. We brought him home, changed his diet, took off his shoes, and let him round around barefoot in a large turn-out while we treated his hooves for various problems. He's got a new pair of shoes on now, and what a difference!

Thanks Donnie, for catching this on your phone!! It's so cool to see him out jumping like this!!

Zim - On-Going Training...

We continue to work with Zim, especially in jumping. He'll make a darling Junior Hunter, don't you agree? He loves to jump!!

One of the problems we're having with Zim and his half brother Flash is they are small ponies and it makes them more difficult to train, especially jumping! Generally speaking, the children that are small enough to ride Flash & Zim are not advanced enough for jumping; and those people that know how to jump, are generally too big for them!! So keeping them both trained and in condition is challenging!

Here, you see Jessika working Zim with a flag, dragging a plastic bag filled with rattling tin cans, and free-jumping (Zim's favorite!)

But, we're always on the look-out for that small special someone who can bring Zim & Flash along in their jumping careers!

Know of anyone?

"Invader Zim" - This Pony Loves to Jump

This is a 5 year old Welsh pony that, as you will see, loves to jump. Once he gets going, there's no stopping him! We're just standing in the middle watching with delight as he obviously has an enjoyable jaunt over the obstacle course! Sweet as they come!

Max Tries His Turn at Free Jumping

For whatever reason (certainly not because of age!!), I kind of move along a slow and steady path of more classical training, like the kind you find in books. And then, along comes Jessika and throws in a creative twist that gives me pause for thought. Like today! She calls me down to the arena and tells me to bring my camera. And there she has the jumping standards up and Max in the arena free jumping!! Old, hollow-back, high-head Saddlebred, Max! Now I had a dressage diva once try to lunge Max over a small cavaletti and he refused. She said, "he would never be able to jump! He just wasn't built for it"! So I never gave it another thought.

But there he was, jumping and lovin' it! (or the treats he received after each jump!) Max was clearly enjoying this new challenge. And honestly, it's not something I would have ever thought to do with him, having already been told he couldn't do it!

That may sound like a major character flaw, not being gutsy enough to try new things like that, but in my defence, I didn't grow up with horses. I learned late in life, from books by Jane Savoie and Betsy Steiner; and the occasional lesson (from the dressage diva), and I would not want to push my old horse to do something an "expert" told me he couldn't do. I am cautious

In general, I'd have to say I am more conservative, by-the-book when it comes to training horses. So it's really nice to have (young!) Jessika come in and throw me these curve balls - the horses sure seem to have fun with it! (Although I draw the line when she gets out the scissors and wants to get creative with their hair!!)