Posts Tagged ‘boomer
Boomerang Learns to Sit
Boomer is one of those rare ponies that will do just about anything for his “person”, combine that with the fact that he’s pretty fearless – makes the things he can accomplish (in a short amount of time) quite amazing.
So last week I decided I wanted to teach Boomer to sit on some beanbag chairs I had been saving since I was a kid – just for this reason. He had already had some practice targeting his rear end to things, but I had never fully gotten him to sit on anything from a stand-still.
After a few short sessions over a period of 3 days I had him successfully sitting on his bean bags. He was very proud of himself once he figured out what I wanted and now he doesn’t even want to get off of the beanbags.
As he progresses in his training I will slowly remove some of the beanbags until he can hopefully just use one to sit on.
Next he’ll be learning to shake hands while sitting on his beanbag! He’s such a cool pony!
Announcing the Super Pony! DVD Release
The day has finally come! It’s time to announce the official release of the brand-new Super Pony DVD, staring the talented Minnow from Painting Pony and his sidekick, Ammo the Dachshund!
Thanks to my talented brother and Depthink Productions, we began filming for the DVD this past summer, and I’m so excited that it’s finally ready to share with everyone! I think everyone will really enjoy getting to learn more about all the ponies and watch several of Minnow & Ammo’s favorite “super” performances.
Check out the DVD Trailer:
ON THIS DVD
Trainer, Kyley DiLuigi, introduces us to Super Pony, the alter ego of the talented Chincoteague Pony, Minnow! Watch as he shows us some of his favorite trick performances, many of which have been performed at expos, fairs, schools, and even the Annual Chincoteague Pony Penning. Several performances also include Minnow’s lovable sidekick, Ammo the Dachshund, as well as other members of the Painting Pony crew. In addition to 5 featured videos, this DVD also contains 2 bonus videos: a visit to Iron Horse Farm, home to the Painting Ponies; and a talk given by Kyley about everyone’s favorite Chincoteague Pony, Misty of Chincoteague.
PAINTING PONY
In 2007, Painting Pony was founded when Kyley DiLuigi decided to bring her paints from art school out to the farm where she kept her 14-year-old pony, Minnow. That cold winter day Minnow became the World’s First Painting Chincoteague Pony as he created his very first masterpiece. As it became evident that Minnow had a gift that he truly loved, the paintings he created began to pile higher and higher. Feeling the need to share Minnow’s art with the world, Kyley started PaintingPony.com and the rest is history!
The Super Pony DVD is approx. 20 minutes and is available for purchase at $12 in our shop.
There is still plenty of time to order your copy for Holiday Gifts!
As a special gift to all our followers, enter code FREESHIP at checkout to receive free shipping on your entire order! (domestic orders only).
You can grab your own copy HERE, and we also have great gift sets available that include this DVD HERE.
Camping, Thunderstorms, and Late Night Talks
Last weekend we took the ponies to a mounted games competition in New Jersey. This is one of my favorite competitions of the year, because not only is it a short distance from our home base in PA, but it’s also an event that most of the riders camp at. I love camping, especially when I get to bring along the ponies AND the dog.
We arrived just as it was getting dark and dropped two of the ponies (Blitz – who came along for the experience and more training, and Jet – my sister’s mare that my mom would be riding for the weekend) at the stables. We bedded their stalls and tucked them in for the night, all while Boomerang waited patiently on the trailer.
Then we drove Boomer up to the campsites where we set up his portable corral from Travel n’ Corrals. This was the first time I got a chance to use the corral at an overnight competition – and also the first time he had ever seen it. And did I mention it was dark by this point?
We unloaded Boomer and put him in the corral while we set up the tent. He looked around for a second and went straight to eating his hay. I was pretty amazed at how he acted like everything was no big deal. His friends (who rode in the trailer with him) got dropped off somewhere else and now here he was up on the top of a hill next to a campsite, in a corral he had never seen, with not a single horse in sight…..just quietly munching his hay. Pretty cool pony.
Well, he was pretty cool until about 1am when he ran out of hay. Ha. Should have known it would be too good to be true.
With his hay gone I think he looked around and realized “what the heck, where am I and what happened to my friends?” His ear piercing whinny woke me instantly. I think he would have eventually stopped calling too – had his big brother Blitz not heard him a mile away in the stables and called back. And yes, it was DEFINITELY Blitz – he has a VERY distinct whinny. Every hour or so they would call back and forth to each other – if I only knew what they were saying! At one point I even heard Boomerang lay down in his corral – yet continue to return Blitz’s calls. He wasn’t frantic, he didn’t try to escape (not that he could – these things are really well built) or do anything horrible – he was simply having a late night conversation with his big brother….on the other side of the facility!
Hindsight, I probably should have set the corral up closer to the barns so that he could at least see another horse. But regardless of the fact that he stayed up all night talking I was still proud of how he handled the situation I put him in.
Not only was the corral a new thing for us at this competition, but it was also the first time I got to compete with my treeless saddle. I wish I had some pictures to share, but since my mom and I were both riding together we had no one with us to take pictures. If only somehow I could train the Dachshund to do it! Hummm. But, the saddle was awesome! No slipping, and both Boomerang and I were SUPER comfy in it. I even got to do some full out vaulting into it without any problems. I really wish I had gone treeless years sooner – I’ll never go back!
In between competition sessions my mom worked on training Blitz to tie (without his friends around). Blitz has progressed in leaps and bounds with all the training my mom has put into him, but he still has one major issue they are working on. His separation anxiety. He has a real problem leaving his friends and being alone.
This is what well behaved horses look like when they tie:
And this is what naughty Blitz looks like when he ties without his friends around:
Blitz spent a lot of time working on tieing in the woods by our campsite. It was very tough for him not to have his friends around – but my mom thinks she hopefully made some breakthroughs with him.
With high-hopes of working even further on Blitz’s training on Day 2, we were instead hit with a nasty Thunderstorm on Saturday night. Camping proved to get a little wet – but atleast we were nice and toasty in the tent with our little heater named Ammo the Dachshund. Ammo is such a trooper, he’ll put up with pretty much anything – and any situation. Thunder & Lightning is no problem for this guy – I think he might sleep through a tornado if no one woke him! Camping Console is your best guide if you have plans to go camping.
Sadly when we woke up the next day the competition had to be canceled. With no end in sight for the storms, they were forced to pin the divisions based on standings from the previous day. But we still came home with a second place finish!
We packed up and headed home – only to be hit with one last road block just minutes from the farm. Luckily Peco was nearby and able to help us out before the ponies got too hot in the trailer. And next time I’m going to REALLY try to remember my rubber boots so I’m not stuck wearing soggy sneakers all weekend!
