Sore Fingers and Tidy Manes!

-
Well, I think I have taken the first few layers of skin from my left hand, and my fingers have classic mane burn!
However, that's two more horses off the mane pull list and the gang are all starting to look rather smart!!
Last night was the turn of my mum's little Irish horse Louis and then my sisters oversized ginger dog!
Louis was great, he has the worlds thinnest mane to start with so in all of five minutes, I was done!
He is also one that I can do alone as he is quite happy to stand there and let me pull, it makes a nice change from horses that try to give you their emotions in a less helpful way.  
I have however always been one for feeling guilty about mane pulling, I mean, it can't really be all that pleasant.
In response to my own musings, I have come up with my own little method that combines thinning, minimal pulling and then trimming.
See what you think of the results, here are Louis shots :D



Yes, I was standing on a sheep lick to reach him, I am officially short.
So as you can see there wasn't much to start with which made Louis the easiest one I have done in a long time!

So having got the seal of approval from mum as to her ponies new haircut I moved on to Chloe's boy. 
Sid.
Sid, that is the most cuddly affectionate ex-racehorse you will ever meet. 
Sid, that is the most chilled out horse.... any more laid back and he would be on the floor. 
Sid, that stands at 17.1hh and only realises this when you attempt to pull his mane, when he then becomes some kind of possessed mad man.
Sid that needs to be twitched and held by one person whilst the other pulls and trims at turbo speed.
Safe to say he is a total buffoon, but he is an incredibly lovable one. 
The funniest thing is that the twitch was barely on and he was pretty much asleep. 
It's all in his head.
Still, he had a lot of mane hair, much thinning was needed but I think he came out looking ok!
See what you think of his before and after.


Check out the side eye because I was holding a mane comb!!! ^^^

But he did come out looking like quite the dude! 
They are now back out and parading around the field as if they own it.
You know, because they are worth it! 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Injuries, Organisation and Education

-
Image
So being the insanely graceful human being that I am I managed to fall down my steps the other day, spectacularly.  So with my arm not broke (whoop), but all strapped up with ligament damage. Safe to say I was lucky. Its sore and irritating but it's done now so I'm simply on a mission to try and get it sorted asap, lots of using it gently and building it all back up.  Also in the land of me being brave this week, as part of my 'sort yourself out' campaign, I managed to get myself to a dentist this week.  This is something that literally terrifies me, and I haven't been for years, consequently, there is a lot to do, but like my horses, it's going to be done in small manageable steps.  If I expect my horses to face fears and learn then it's only fair that I expect the same from myself. Also, I have finally put the deposit down on my course to study equine sports massage.  I really want to build a career within the equine industry and I plan to
Read more

All caught up..... Commence the training!!!

-
Image
Well, as per usual nothing goes quite to plan around here, Having said that I am finally all caught up with the animal jobs on our return. Also, I have managed to convince a certain stallion's owner to put a higher fence up so I can get my ponies past him without the constant threat of him coming with me! He's lovely don't get me wrong, but walking past him with a bunch of mares.... Let's just say it can be a little hair-raising. I am currently sat at work writing this.... can't hear myself think so thought I would take a few minutes break to write here instead. Stella has had a quiet week or so but I went out to see her last night for a little bit of groundwork and to try the western tack on her. I was hoping that it would fit her a little better than my saddles, she's so broad that getting anything to fit her is a nightmare. The good news is it seems to fit well, but I haven't sat in it yet. Last night was a case of seeing if it fit and seeing wh
Read more

Down to business or Play based Learning. My views on Training.

-
Image
"He's impossible, stubborn and nothing works" Once upon a time, I was told this about a horse that refused to load, and for me, this was where a lot of my inspiration came from.  The horse in question did appear stubborn, no amount of tugging, pushing, pulling, feed or lunge lines would get him to load if he didn't want to. Yet watching him in the field showed that he was incredibly intelligent. Taking off his rugs with all straps done up, opening gates, opening stable doors.  It was clear to see he was a horse that liked thinking but didn't like pressure. Therefore I decided to give something else a go.  I turned the task of loading him into a puzzle, something that he had to work out, for his own gain.  A game if you like.  He didn't like going onto the lorry, but he did like coming off. He also liked to think that he knew what was coming next.  This was where he gained the upper hand. For me this was what I was seeing from him:
Read more