Progress

Well, Rusty is doing fabulously. He's facing me consistently 100% of the time; coming TO me when frightened; lowering his head for scritches and hugs; allows me to pull, tug, poke and pry in his ears, hold his head, rub all over his body, pull his tail, lift his hooves and still follows me everywhere until I tell him it's OK to go eat, play, drink, whatever. He comes right to the front of the stall and backs up just one step or two so I can enter. His ears remain forward and he is quite comfortable with Matilda sitting on her eggs in the corner of his stall! :) Very careful not to step on her or the eggs. He's just been acutely attentive to me and very quick to respond. Does his sidepassing VERY nicely in concordance with *my* feet ... and backs up when I do. He also is yielding his forequarters for me very well. I think he understands "leadership" thoroughly! He's also waiting very patiently for me to give him the "go ahead" to leave his stall and go out to the paddock. He doesn't rush the stall door nor does he run away. He stands, patiently, until I turn aside and say, "OK! You may go out, now." and off he trots to his hay pile. He's also good to wait until I put his feed down. Will wait about 3 feet back from me and stand still until I tell him its Ok to come eat. He's learned ALOT in the past couple of weeks. This week coming we'll pull out some scary things (umbrellas, tambourines, shiny pom-poms, etc. and teach him how to deal with those types of pony-devouring items.

He did prove his athleticism on Wednesday! He is in a paddock with a 4 rail fence that is 6 ft. tall. He knocked the 2nd from the top rail off and JUMPED over the bottom two rails to get out to the larger part of the paddock! Wise little guy, he is ... *LOL* Just for visuals, the highest rail he jumped over is as high as his croup. So, he's got some good abilities for a little munchkin! But, when I called him to come to me from wayyy down back, he trotted right up and then followed me back into his usual area. What a good troll pony he is!

So, that's the update for now. Will post again after we learn how to relax around noisy, shiny, flappy things.

:)

BIG breakthrough today!

Well, today Rusty had a big breakthrough. First of all, he finally got to go out to "his" paddock at liberty on Saturday. I had been only letting him out while I was there simply because of the other horses; not necessarily because of Rusty. I wanted to be sure that everyone would be used to one another and no one would attempt to go through fencing etc. All was fine. My 2 year old filly and Rusty seem to have hit it off - they spend most of the days staring at each other. I'm sure Rusty is wistfully thinking about what a nice little gal she is not even realizing that he's about as tall as her hock and there's no WAY he would be able to "service" her! *LOL* It was quite obvious that she was very curious about the little troll pony. But, today, Rusty behaved quite wonderfully through a scary situation. Not having seen the rooster and the chickens before, they had gotten behind the fencing of Rusty's paddock and for some reason they were rustled suddenly out of the brush with quite the raucous fluttering. Rusty took off in gallop for about 15 feet then whirled around and trotted right back up to me! Dropped his head (yes! The self-relaxation works even for troll ponies!) then stepped up for his "treat". I gave him a few pellets of Alfalfa and then proceeded to wrap my arms right around his little head. He leaned right into me instead of running away. This is the first time he willing leaned into me! We stayed like that for maybe 45 seconds and then he lifted his head and wanted to play a bit. I am so proud of this little guy. He was so brave and he did exactly what I had hoped he would learn ... look to 'me' for his safety instead of seeing me as a frightening human. Seems like he's settling right in here at Penzance.

New Projects

Well, once again Penzance will start a new project this spring. Besides the PPL Pony Academy, we'll begin to take in throw-away horses who merely need hoof and health and emotional attention to become special, healthy horses to make little girls and boys' dreams come true. This will serve two purposes: to begin to record, formally, with veterinary verification, remediations of hooves that have foundered, navicular, or otherwise deemed to be "too far gone" for recovery by traditional means and 2. to give the horse a 2nd chance with a loving, caring family for life. We'll be doing this one or two horses at a time as space allows. Our recovery and rehab spaces are still available for horses transitioning from shod to barefoot or those who need special attention that owners may not have the time to give and as of this writing we have a waiting list for training boarders.

Continuing farm improvements include new fencing this spring, more trails and woods clearing and possible barn relocation and reconstruction. The acquisition of a tractor is 1st on our list - (know of any used ones for sale?) and a space for a trailer to store hay is definitely needed. Picking up one ton at a time is getting most tiring as well as expensive considering the time and gas to get 3 or 4 ton a month as we go through it.

Clinics this year will include week-end 2-day Natural Hoofcare or Progressive Partnership clinics with tent camping here on PENZANCE or motel/campground stays in neighboring facilities for clinic students. One day clinics are also on the schedule. The 10 week course for Natural Hoofcare is on hold at this time pending time and energy constraints. Last summer brought in a good number of hoofcare emergencies that needed weekend and evening focus in addition to the regular clientele and trying to juggle everything became exhausting. It *is* good to have at least one day off a week or month. (or even in 2 months!)

We're excited here with the new projects coming up and its nice to be planning them while the snow is on the ground and weather is miserable. We're so looking forward to not having to haul buckets upon buckets of hot water to the tubs that are 400 feet in the woods! or, breaking up the ice with sledge hammers every morning! All this while dressed in 5 layers of clothing just to keep warm. I'm partial to shorts and T-shirts with sneakers for daily attire while working on farm! One *can* dream, right? *grin* I'm still dreaming of moving back to Florida. Soon! Tomorrow? This week? In reality ... retirement isn't that far off and what we do here at Penzance is easily picked up somewhere else. (where its warm!)

Online courses continue with great success. Our "mini courses" begin in March. Those will be fun! Be sure to pass the word on if you know of anyone who might be interested. Check out the schedule on the Penzance page "Online Courses".

Well, hungry critters are lining up at the fenceline waiting for their morning hay toss. Onward and forward ... always.

PENZANCE Equine Solutions: PPL Pony Academy

Personal Ponies LTD: PPL

PPL Pony Academy

Well, the PPL Pony Academy has officially begun with the arrival of "Rusty". Rusty is a UK Miniature Pony. A scared little pony standing just around 34" high, he came to PENZANCE to learn how to live life without being aggressively frightened all the time. After all, a "proper" Personal Ponies Ltd. pony can't be running around kicking out at humans and biting the hands that feed him! So, what better way to christen our new Pony Academy than with a frightened little pony who is just aching to be loved and hugged?

He arrived without fanfare; a bit nervous but very subdued. No aggression exhibited and Crackers and Cider met him with soft eyes and squishy nostrils. There's something to be said about little, squishy pony nostrils. Especially with 3 sets of them all smooshed together in greetings! Being only 2 years old and just recently gelded, Rusty is a bit cocky but in that "little boy" way. He met the big horses, too, with nothing more than a curious sniff and wonder. As we ventured down back, the goats and the chickens all appropriately welcomed Rusty with their various voices loud in welcome. A bit intimidated by Flak, the duck, Rusty was not so eager to meet the funny feathered critters or those with the big horns coming out of their heads! So, we continued to his paddock without any insistence on meeting ALL the Penzance farm family.

The lower part of the paddock is sheer ice from rains that froze solid. The dead leaves and pine needles lent a bit of traction for crossing the slippery terrain but Rusty wasn't too sure about it at all. What normally takes maybe 45 seconds to cross took probably 10 mins as we encouraged the little bugger to follow us without donning ice skates. He finally made it! All the while we "helped" him overcome his fear with positive reinforcement using tiny alfalfa pellets for his rewards. Being briefly previously introduced to our progressive reinforcement teachings Rusty understood what our "Good!" bridges meant - and the small treats for his rewards were enough impetus to keep trying. How brave he was. The next hurdle was the stall inside the BIG barn with the BIG horses just outside the gate in the aisleway. Being just about as tall as the TB's knees, Rusty was quite the picture standing just outside the barn's back door while 2 of the biggest horses pressed up on the center barrier to get a sniff of this little troll. But, keeping the energy pathways open for him, one step would reap a "good!" and a pellet. We made it into the stall, one step at a time, where there was a humungous pile of fresh hay waiting for him next to his bucket of cool, fresh water. He immediately sniffed the water and took a sip, took a nibble on the hay, then circled the stall several times before picking JUST the right spot on which to pee and mark his place.

Yesterday morning after the big blizzard, Rusty was calm and cute in his big stall. A full sized horse stall gives a miniature pony, smaller than some dogs, plenty of room in which to play. When I opened the back of the barn, Rusty quite anxiously wanted "out" as he repeatedly reared up so he could see over the stall door. I decided that this was not desirable, impromptu behavior so why not take advantage and teach the cue for the rear? Rusty would rear, I'd point my two fingers upward and tell him, "UP!" then Good! and treat. Took about 4 times of shaping this before he would take his cue ... two fingers up, "Rusty, up!" and up he'd go while I told him "Good!", then he'd bounce back down onto all 4 hooves and get his reward. No more rearing after that unless he was asked! He's a smart pony ... and going to be a wonderful student. We've had one nipping incident at which time I became a VERY big human and chastized him by chasing him away from me. He immediately swung to face me and dropped his head down. "Good!". Treat. He's not offered to spin and kick or otherwise exhibit any fear responses ... we'll see how well it lasts. The behaviors may return when he's a bit more acclimated to Penzance but, on the other hand, if he's taught that his good behaviors reap him his "bridge word" and his "treat" then perhaps this behavior will be long forgotten before it even has a chance to take root here.

Welcome to PENZANCES 2006 Journal

Welcome! I hope to have many positive, thought provoking conversations here with Horse Enthusiasts from all over the world. Please feel free to leave comments, questions or replies to ongoing discussions here!