The weather is changing, and the ponies are fresh! What to do when you cant Ride.

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Well all of the ponies seem to have gotten that bouncy fresh streak that comes with a change of seasons. 
They have taken to randomly galloping around when they are out in the field and when turned out in the school for a leg stretch then they seem to be up for some serious fun!! 
So with the bad weather looking more and more threatening and the need to be stabled much more coming up, what can we do to keep our ponies on the straight and narrow?
Its important that if they cant be out and stretching their legs that they at least get some mental stimulation. 

So what can we do with our beasties when we cant ride them. 
Or even when we can, how can we make things more interesting. 
Here is my list of things that I like to do with my guys.

1) Groundwork - When I cant ride I like to brush up on othger things, manners, space, flexibility, giving to pressure, desensitising to scary things, sensitising to my aids. You name it I like to brush up on it when I cant ride. 

2) Trick training -  I love teaching my horses new tricks, useful things that will help them in the rest of their training as well as more novelty things. I use clicker training to teach them and I let them really puzzle things out to get the right answers. This seems to really help with keeping their minds occupied.

3) Grooming -  Spend some time getting to know your horse, make them shine, it will improve your bond as well as giving you a brilliant chance to get to grips with your horse's regular lumps and bumps. In turn, this will make it easier to notice anything irregular!

4) Go for a walk- Go out without riding, put a headcollar and leadrope on and take your horse for a walk. I cant recommend it enough for increasing their confidence, adding to the horse/owner relationship and for making things a little different for them. Its also a brilliant way to take your groundwork to the next level, practising what you have put in place in new environments. It teaches them that they should be listening to you no matter where you are.
The other upside to walking with your horses is that it gets you fit, and for young horses, it is brilliant for showing them the world in a way that isn't too scary. They can take comfort in being able to see you and follow you, gaining confidence and respect as they go.  




Next time I will be focusing on how to make the stable an interesting environment to help prevent boredom whilst your horse is in. 

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