| EQUINETOURISM - EDITORIAL - EXMOOR PONY BREED - Socialising a moor bred foal |
| Penelope now has her own BLOG at: http://www.equinetourismcommunity.com/index.php?/blog/12/entry-46-uncle-harry-rocks/ |
| NATIVE PONIES - PAGE TWO: Socialising a 'wild' moor bred Exmoor Pony foal (foal starting) |
This section is about the socialisation, foal handling, halter training and foal starting of a free-living moor bred Exmoor pony filly foal. Not everyone has the time - or facilities - to easily handle what is basically a 'wild' pony. However, with some well-planned, short sessions, plenty of patience and a basic understanding of positive, trust-based methods of horsemanship, we hope we can demonstrate here that it can be an immensely rewarding experience to take on an Exmoor pony foal. This article is not an instructional lesson - it simply offers you the opportunity to share our experiences of working with a foal 'from the moor', and foal starting an Exmoor pony.
By Dawn Westcott of Holtball Exmoors |
QUICK LINKS below to the various sections of Penelope's Progress (with Step by Step pictures):
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| EXMOOR PONY FOALS - Page Two of Penelope's Progress... |
| DAY 14 - Loose schooling an Exmoor pony foal, bigger field, new friends |
Penelope can now be called into the yard each night from the field, and when I visit her in the field, she comes over - and will follow me. In the mornings, she comes up and can clip onto the lead rope. Soon we will do more work taking the head collar on and off, but for now, as her confidence and trust in approaching us is growing, I'd like her to be more relaxed with us touching her head - and the head collar will cease to be an issue. Although growing bolder each day, she is still very much a wild pony - and has come a long way in two short weeks.
This morning, Penelope clipped on to the halter and led into the indoor schooling area (no camera - agghhr!). She explored the area and I loose schooled Harry for a couple of minutes. Penelope happily joined in and soon got the idea of trotting around with Harry, and then coming into the middle with him when I turned my shoulder to them and became 'passive'. We ended with Penelope trotting smaller circles around me, and coming in with Harry, right up to me. Her confidence seems to grow when she is able to approach and go away from us at will. She then had her breakfast and as a positive consequence for the session, I let them straight out to the pasture. Penelope is looking happier, with more spirit and natural 'joyfullness' and it's a pleasure to see her flourish like this.
Here are some pictures of Penelope meeting the horses over the gate and then meeting Exmoor filly, Blossom, in her field for the first time, as we begin her socialisation with the main herd, one at a time. |
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| Penelope meets the other horses, closely supervised by Harry |
Blossom (on the right) is let into the field and circles around looking at the new foal |
Harry watches closely as Blossom approaches Penelope. |
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| After a couple of Blossom 'squeals', Penelope decides it's time to give an impressive display of Foal Power and races around |
Blossom and Harry look on as Penelope runs rings and rings and rings around them |
Showing all her paces... |
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| And puffing herself up to her full height |
... and presence. |
And showing how pretty she is. |
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Blossom's response is to find something more interesting to do and she takes a circuit around to explore the new pasture, closely followed by Harry and Penelope.
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Blossom decides it's time to approach again, and Harry warns her not to come too close. |
Penelope sticks close to Harry and the three of them quickly settle down to some grazing. They have plenty of space and it looks good so far. |
| Day 15 - introducing Penelope to three year old filly, Blossom |
Penelope is happy to come up to me in the field, and follow me in to her yard and barn for the night. She is still apprehensive about clipping on to the lead rope, but once clipped on, does not pull away. When she is wary of an approaching hand ie, with a small grooming brush, she will walk slowly around me. I leave my hand near her until she stops, and then I take it away. After a few moments, I approach her again. She learns that she can make the brush 'go away' by stopping and this calms her. Then, she becomes more accepting of the brush, as through repetition, she realises that it isn't going to hurt her, and that it actually feels quite nice.
She is becoming keener to walk up to me and more confident of standing near me. However, she would not be easy to put the head collar on and off yet, so we are leaving it on today while she's turned out. After letting Penelope and Harry into the field, I turned Blossom out with them again. Penelope playfully raised a leg at Blossom as she went past and Blossom squealed and leaped in the air, but didn't chase Penelope. She then walked slowly towards Penelope, who realised that Blossom was in charge, and moved a step or two away. After testing that she could easily move all of Penelope's feet, Blossom started grazing - having firmly established the pecking order. However, Penelope only moved one step away and also grazed - accepting the higher authority, but only just - so it's clear to me that she's going to be a feisty little mare...
The next goal is to see if Penelope can become confident enough to let us take the head collar easily off and on, so she can be turned out without one. |
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| Day 16 - BREAKTHROUGH with the head collar! And introduction to arab mare |
Breakthrough with the head collar
Penelope has been getting more and more confident about approaching me, however, I have had the distinct feeling that, if I was to remove her head collar, she would be apprehensive about having it put back on again. This morning, I took a slightly different approach. Penelope was happy to clip onto the lead rope in the barn. She let me run my hand up her face and gently take hold of the head collar and clip the rope on. We then spent a few minutes getting her used to being stroked and overall, she was better than the previous day. I then took another canvas rope and got her used to having that stroked over her withers and around her neck. All the time, the lead rope was loose, giving her plenty of opportunity to move away if she wanted to. If she did I gently went with her, still holding the canvas rope next to her. When she stopped, I took it away. She quickly got used to the idea that the canvas rope would 'go away' when she stopped and that made her calmer.
I was soon able to put the canvas rope over and around her neck. All the while, Penelope was calm. Once I had it looped loosely around her, I stroked around her head collar, holding the canvas rope in my other hand. Penelope let me undo and remove the headcollar, but she didn't pull away. I then put the headcollar back on again. She was happy with this, so I removed the head collar and also the canvas rope and walked away. She was free in the barn. After a while, I approached her again and she was definitely aware that she was 'free' and was wary, but not alarmed. I gently approached her with the canvas rope and stroked her with it. She gradually let me stroke it up and over her wither, and then put it over her wither, so I could loop it around her neck, loosely, again. Once I had done that, she walked forwards willingly with me towards the head collar - which was lying on the floor. I picked it up and gently put it on her. She was fine. I removed it again, and gave Penelope her breakfast. After that, I turned her out with Harry and then fetched Blossom. When I opened the field gate, today, Penelope walked out then turned and came back to sniff my hand - then she trotted off. The trust is definitely growing and Penelope is so intelligent. She is working out how to have the best relationship with humans.
We then brought Matara, the arabian mare, to meet Penelope. Here are some pics...
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| Matara has already got to know Penelope over the gate and we feel it's safe to put her in the field. Here, she approaches, but Harry puts himself in between them. |
Penelope knows to stay with Harry and takes guidance from him. |
Under Harry's watchful gaze, Matara slowly approaches Penelope. They both graze to show each other that they are not a threat, and also not concerned. |
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| Matara gets closer. |
Penelpe makes the submissive foal gesture of snapping her teeth, to show Matara that she recognises her as a superior. |
They get closer and Penelope keeps showing her submissiveness to Matara. |
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| Matara gives a cautionery squeal and Penelope veers away. |
She then walks away and rolls, while the others watch. |
They are soon back together and its calmer this time. |
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They are soon all very happy together and graze for a few hours before we return Matara to the main herd. |
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| Matara is very gentle with Penelope. |
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| Today, Penelope is far more confident. She is happy to come up to us in the field and when I went to call them in later on, she came flying into the yard with no hesitation. She is growing bolder by the day. It seems that, by allowing her space and freedom, and yet doing a short session on the lead rope each day, it is giving her the choices she needs to build trust and friendship with us. |
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| DAY 17 - Head collar on and off |
| After spending the previous day out in the pasture, and then a night in the yard and barn, without her head collar - this morning, we wanted to see if she would accept having the halter on again. It's been raining, so Penelope is rather bedraggled today! |
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| First of all, I call her across the yard, and she comes over... |
...and leads into the barn, watched by Harry. I have a few nuts in a bowl, which I give her before the session. |
I get her used to being stroked and then get her used to the rope stroking her and gently work it over her back, so it drops down the other side. She is wary of it at first, so when she stops, I stop, until she's happy with the rope. |
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| Once it's down the other side of her body, I stroke her face and neck, and reach down to lift the other side of the rope, so it's looped loosely around her neck. This is not to restrain her, as she could easily pull away. |
Penelope accepts that she needs to stand with me, and I pick up the headcollar from the floor, and start to put it on. She is now happy with me to put my hand over her neck and reach down to lift the headcollar. |
She lets me put the strap over her head. |
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| And start to do it up. |
And tighten it to fit her face. She is fine about me fiddling about with the headcollar and hasn't moved. |
I clip on the rope and draw it down across her neck, so it is now a lead rope. |
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| I ask her to walk towards me. |
Which she does without resistance. |
Here, I'm just about to slip the headcollar off and do it all again. After this, I give Penelope her breakfast, and turn her out with Harry, Blossom and Matara in the pasture for the day. |
| Penelope is still wary of initially having the rope put around her neck, but only two days ago, she wouldn't have accepted having a head collar on and off easily, so we have made big progress. All the while, she is growing more and more confident of approaching us at liberty. She walks or trots up to us whenever we visit the field and she canters in with Harry at the end of the day. She is becoming very friendly. The daily training session with Penelope last about 15 minutes from start to finish
and ends with her having a meal, and then turnout. So there is a positive consequence for her concentration and compliance. We find that it works well to give the pony something they value after training, and it reinforces that working with us is a good thing. |
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| DAY 18 - Socialisation with more new friends |
| Harry and Matara were needed for riding today, so it was Blossom's turn to babysit Penelope and for our grey arabian herd leader to be introduced. If Penelope can make friends with Casper, then she is well on the way to being able to run with the main herd. We socialise new horses carefully. Casper has met Penelope numerous times when she stayed in the big barn. He was able to see and sniff her over the gate. This week, she has been turned out in a paddock which adjoins the main horse field and again, she has been able to talk with the main herd over the gate. We have watched the signs and Casper's attitude to Penelope looks promising, so it's time for him to meet her properly. |
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| Penelope is getting confident about coming up to me in the field. |
Casper was brought into the field and introduced to Penelope. Firstly he looks at her, but doesn't approach immediately. |
They graze and move closer, each telling the other that currently, they don't find each other a threat. |
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| Then there is some excitement and cantering around the field. But although Casper is interested in Penelope, he does not lunge at her... |
... he canters past and circles around. This is a good sign. Penelope stays a respectful distance away but isn't scared. |
They approach each other, with Penelope giving the submissive 'foal' gesture of snapping teeth, to show that she accepts him as a superior. |
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| Casper gives a squeal, but it's a very soft one. |
Then his expression returns to neutral. |
Penelope gives the Flehmen gesture, as she sniffs something on the ground and then curls her upper lip back, taking the scent into her back nasal passages to explore and process it more closely. |
Casper, Penelope and Blossom were turned out together all day and got on very well. Penelope is confident with new horses and ponies and doesn't move far away, but she is clearly very experienced in equine social behaviour and expert in 'reading the signs' of the other horses. She seems much more advanced and fluent in this than domesticated horses, and the domesticated horses are far more tolerant of her than they are with other more domesticated newcomers.
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| DAY 19 - More work with the head collar (halter training) |
| Yesterday, Penelope had no session with me as we were out for most of the day, and she was turned out all night too. So today, I'm putting on the head collar again, to see if she's remembered. |
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| I approach Penelope with the canvas rope. |
And after spending a minute stroking her with it and getting her used to it, I slide it over her back and pick up the ends, making a loop around her neck. |
Holding the loop of rope loosely, I lead Penelope over to where I've put the head collar on the floor and pick it up. |
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| I slowly put on the head collar (halter). |
And do it up. |
Fitting it to her head and fastening it. |
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| I clip on one end of the rope to the head collar |
And slide the end around her neck, so she's now clipped on and the rope becomes her lead rope. |
Penelope is allowing me to rub her forehead - a big gesture, as this is the horse's blind spot and they can't see where your hand is. |
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| She is happy to stay with me and approach me when I move away. |
I'm getting her used to the curry comb and use advance and retreat to encourage her to accept being brushed. For the first few times, when she looks at the brush... |
...I take it away. Then I go back in and brush her. If she tenses or moves away, I try to stay with her, and as soon as she stops or looks at the brush, I take it away. Very soon, she realises that she can make the brush go away by standing still or looking at it. Then she begins to relax, and lets me brush her for slightly longer periods each time. It's like little building blocks. My feel, timing and balance have to be spot on here, to get the best results. |
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| Penelope has been great today, so I gently take her head collar off. |
She is more relaxed today. |
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| After this session, Penelope has her breakfast and then she's given access to the pasture again with Harry and Blossom. The session has lasted only about 10 minutes from start to finish, although we stayed around for a while when she was eating. For the rest of the day, she is at liberty to graze or return to the barn with Harry and Blossom. |
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| DAY 20 - Head collar on without rope & socialising with the horses |
Today, Penelope accepted having her head collar on, without having the put the canvas rope around her neck first. I began by touching her rump and stroking her. She walked around a bit and then stopped. Using advance and retreat, she was soon happy to have her face and neck stroked and she let me slip the head collar on and do it up. I rewarded this big gesture from Penelope by giving her breakfast and leaving her in peace to eat it. Once finished, I approached her again and she let me take the head collar off. As she had made such progress, this was all I did with her today. There is no reason that the session can't be just 5 minutes long, if the pony makes dramatic improvement.
Afterwards, she was turned out with Harry and Blossom. We then proceeded to let the arabs into the pasture, one by one. Once they were all together, and peacefully grazing, we opened up access to the horses field and left them to socialise for a few hours. In the afternoon, we asked the three Exmoors to go into their own paddock and the horses to return to their main field, which they did. Penelope showed again today that she is adept at reading the signs from the horses. Each of the arabs checked that Penelope accepted their seniority and superiority, by waving their heads at her as they went past. She stepped a few paces to the side to let them know they could move her feet. She gave them no reason to 'step it up a gear', so their adrenalin remained low. Penelope stayed in and around the herd and, today, didn't have any mad gallops - perhaps sensing that this would 'fizz' up the arabs. The herd remained calm and together. |
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| Penelope tentatively approaches Casper. |
And shows she is not a threat or threatened when meeting the other arabs, by grazing and remaining with the herd. |
Soon they are all grazing. |
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| But each horse periodically snakes its head at Penelope to check she is willing to move all her feet for them. |
Once they have all checked her out, they graze peacefully. |
Penelope enjoys some new vistas... |
The Exmoors are showing a lot of intelligence during this socialisation. They come when they're called, move where they need to and work with both the humans and other horses. There is a great willingness of the part of the horses to socialise with Penelope and I've never seen them so calm when dealing with a newcomer. Penelope is very savvy and it's impressive how she is embracing her new life.
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| DAY 21 - Head collar progress |
| This morning, Penelope accepted me approaching her with the head collar in my hand and putting it on, without going away from me. I gave her breakfast straight away and then approached her to take off the head collar when she'd finished. Again, she didn't move away. As this was another big step, I ended the session and opened the gate to their field. Today's session lasted about 2 minutes, excluding the feeding time. But Penelope has taken another enormous step forwards in confidence and compliance, so her reward should match her achievement - a short session! |
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| DAY 23 - Penelope lets me put her head collar on outside |
| In the last two days, there has been a distinct change in Penelope - it seems like she has decided to really start to trust us. She doesn't move away so quickly when you move around the barn or yard, and she is less easily startled. She comes up to me willingly, and also other people and is curious and interested. Today, I wanted to see if she would let me put her head collar on in the yard area. This is a big open space where she has plenty of room to 'get away' if she wants to. |
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| Penelope is curious to approach and doesn't seem worried about the head collar. |
I reach under her jaw and stroke her face. |
As she is comfortable about this, I reach further under her jaw to stroke right underneath. This seems to steady Penelope and she can clearly see the head collar. |
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| She allows me to bring the head collar to her face. |
And reach up and over her nose. |
She doesn't move while I put the head collar over her nose. |
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| And reach around to take hold of the strap that will go over her head. |
My movements are slow and smooth and I'm careful not to do anything jerky to startle her. |
She allows me to take the stap over her head. |
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| As I reach up to do it up, she turns towards me to question what I'm doing. |
Then accepts me doing up the strap. |
This time when she turns towards me, she is more comfortable. |
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| And now unconcerned as she's accepted that she has her head collar on. |
I clip on the lead rope and she reaches towards me rather than pulling away. |
I'm always honest with Penelope and show her the brush so she can get used to it. |
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| I gently brush her neck, and along her wither. |
And over her back. |
And repeat this on the other side. A horse or pony only transfers about 20% of the information it receives through one eye and side of the brain, to the other side of the brain. So whatever we do on one side, we need to repreat on the other side, as a near 'new' experience. |
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Penelope has been brilliant today, and the total session lasts for under 5 minutes. She is rewarded with breakfast, which she eats in her head collar. As soon as she's finished, I approach her and she stands still for me to take off the head collar. Once again, the immediate reward for this positive response is for her and Harry to be turned out into the pasture. Blossom soon joins them. That afternoon, when I go out to fetch them, Penelope is keen to come in and comes right up to me. She seems to be growing in confidence daily. It is very important for us, that no matter how short the session, we end it on a positive note. This way, it is very clear to the pony that calmness and compliance is rewarded with turn out (freedom) and an end to the session. This helps them to both learn appropriate and acceptable responses, and reinforces desired behaviours.
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| DAY 24 - Penelope's introduction to Horse Agility |
The wind and rain were lashing down this morning, so we took Penelope and Harry into the indoor schooling area. Penelope was happy to let me put on her head collar. She was keen to follow me around, and there were a few Horse Agility obstacles around, so I clipped on the lead rope to see if she'd like to explore them. There are a series of orange cones set about 6ft apart in a line and the idea is to get your pony to walk in and out of them, guided by you as you walk along on one side of them. You start on the lead rope and progress to doing this 'at liberty' later on. Penelope was curious about the cones and keen to follow me. She hesitated a few times and each time, I encouraged her to come forwards without tightening the lead rope, and she walked forwards. She navigated the cones twice and understood, particularly the second time, about walking in and out of them. Then Harry gave her a lead over the small jump (one coloured pole about 3" off the ground) and she calmly stepped over it.
We then walked over to the Giant Blue Plastic Hoop. The idea here is to get the horse to walk and then jump through the hoop. It's quite something for any horse and I wasn't expecting anything, but as Penelope was happy to approach it, we went to take a look. She seems calm and considered about new things, and had a good sniff. At one point, she pushed it and it rattled and wobbled, but she didn't take off. I showed her the hoop from each side, and after taking one step through and then back, she walked calmly through the blue hoop! Harry stood close by and I'm sure he gave her reassurance. We ended the session (about 8 minutes in total) and she and Harry had breakfast, before being turned out. Penelope was very pleased with herself and came up to us for a fuss before going out. We'll try to get some pictures of this over the next few days. |
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Exmoor ponies, one of the UK's twelve Native Pony breeds, have remained genetically pure since the Ice Age and are considered to be a truly 'prehistoric' little horse. Unfortunately, their small numbers (only about 3,000 worldwide) mean they are listed as an Endangered Breed, but much conservation work is being done to preserve and protect this remarkable pony - one of the UK's most ancient national treasures!
Exmoor ponies live in both semi-feral, free-living herds and also 'in ground' in domestic pastures. The free living herds can be found within Exmoor National Park in Somerset, and in small pockets around the UK and overseas. Once they have been socialised to human contact and their trust has been won, Exmoor ponies can make fantastic riding and performance ponies. They are extremely robust, strong, well conformed and intelligent. Their evolution has involved them thinking for themselves and making decisions for their own survival - so the Exmoor pony has a bright, sharp, questioning character and a strong sense of right and wrong (as they see it...).
Positive, Trust-Based Training Methods
The training methods that work best with Exmoor ponies are positive and trust-based. The growing trend for working 'at liberty' with horses and ponies, understanding horse psychology and behaviour, and considering their well being and happiness in any activity they are involved in, is the key to unlocking the best from an Exmoor pony. Once trust is established on the ground, Exmoor ponies will accept you on their backs and, with their strength, speed, intelligence and sure footedness, they ride like 'little horses' and are extremely comfortable. They have natural rhythm, endurance - and can jump like stags!
Managing Exmoor Ponies
At Holtball Exmoors (web page), our ponies live in small herds, with our foundation stallion, Hawkwell Versuvius, running with mares and youngstock all year round. Once youngstock is weaned, they are introduced into another herd with youngstock and older ponies to guide them. A natural management system means the ponies roam freely from the pasture into their corralls and shelter and they have company at all times. Allowing the young ponies company continues in their training. When we are introducing a foal to wearing a headcollar, leading, handling and loose schooling, we will always ensure there is an older, more experienced pony (or ponies) involved. The foal gains great confidence from the calmness of his companions, and learns more easily what is expected of him, when others can demonstrate by example.
FURTHER FEATURES: CLICK HERE to see an Article with pictures on our Exmoor colt loose schooling with his stallion sire
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| For More Information |
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For more information on Positive, Trust-Based methods of Horsemanship see the Natural Horsemanship section for a list of trainers.
For more information on Monty Roberts see the Monty Roberts section and the Monty Roberts Online University
CLICK HERE for more information on Vanessa Bee and The Good Horsemanship Society
CLICK HERE for more information about Horse Agility, contact Vanessa Bee www.horseagilitygb.com
Copyright and worldwide rights: Dawn Westcott 2010. No part of this feature text or pictures may be reproduced in any way whatsoever without the express written permission of Dawn Westcott.
Please note that this is not a lesson and we do not advise you try anything featured here without the appropriate training. Dawn Westcott holds the Monty Roberts Introductory Certificate in Horsemanship, is fully insured as a natural horsemanship practitioner and undertakes ongoing training with horsemen including Rodrigo da Costa Matos and Vanessa Bee. This feature is a descriptive article and should not be construed as a lesson. We always recommend the use of a hard hat when working with youngstock.
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