Posts Tagged ‘clicker training
Ammo the Blogger
For any of you that follow the Trick Pony Blog, you then also know of my little Dachshund, Ammo. Ammo is my constant companion as he works with me, patrols the farm, and sleeps soundly in my living room at home. Every opportunity I have, he’s with me. I can probably count on one hand the number of times he’s been left home alone.
So since Ammo is such a huge part of my life, I finally decided it was only fitting he got his own Blog. With a little push from his adoring fans on facebook, AmmotheDachshund.com was launched a few days ago.
So if you like Dachshunds (or dogs for that matter) and you’re not above reading the musings of a feisty little Doxie, then head on over to his Blog. I promise you, he will keep you entertained!
Ammo plans to post something new every weekday (I think his entourage would riot if he didn’t). He even has some exciting giveaways planned (the first one being this monday).
Also if you have a product or business you would like to advertise, Ammo is taking ad slots at a DEEPLY discounted rate. Or you may choose to offer a giveaway to all of Ammo’s readers. So act fast, pricing will increase as traffic to the site continues to increase.
End of Summer Paintings
"Purple Lovelies" by Chincoteague Minnow
On August 16th we had another group of pony campers come out to the farm. The ponies always know when visitors are coming because they all get baths, and I begin filling their small paddock with all of their trick paraphernalia. And then the painting easel comes out. Heads perk up, and the ponies peer over their dutch doors in the hopes that is their turn to paint today.
Sorry Boomer and Blitz, but today was about Minnow – the very first (and my personal favorite) Painting Pony. Minnow would stand at that easel painting for days if I let him – unfortunately for him we only had time to make two paintings. “End of Summer Blues” and “Purple Lovelies” are now available in the shop. Minnow also painted a few new mini 8×10 paintings too! I love his bright colors, and how every one is always different, it’s like a magical surprise.
NEW! mini 8x10 paintings
"End of Summer Blues" by Minnow
Pony Penning 2010 – Day 2
On Tuesday, July 27th I headed over to the Pony Centre to feed Minnow, and swap him around to a different paddock. The paddocks at the pony centre are mostly dirt – as the hungry little Chincoteagues have eaten all the grass. This is PERFECT for Minnow, because goodness knows he doesn’t need to gain anymore weight, not to mention it means he gets to spend the week without wearing a muzzle to limit his grass intake. I’m sure Minnow wasn’t entirely happy being without the grass he as accustomed to, but I was sure to take him grazing for any small little bites he could find.
After taking care of Minnow’s needs for the morning my mom and I sat in on a foal handling demonstration given by Kendy Allen at the Pony Centre. Not that we were planning to bring home a foal (as much as I would have liked) – but it was more we were curious about it. My mom has had experience with foals when she bred and trained her Thoroughbred Cross, Pippin, at the age of 16. I, aside from my visits to Chincoteague, haven’t really been in contact with foals. As a kid any pony/horse my mom brought home for us was always older and experienced – which is ideal for young kids anyway.
Teaguer, the pony centre mascot, wait to perform in the show
The foal handling demonstration was interesting, I had never thought about the fact that if you buy a wild Chincoteague pony from the auction – the first handling experience they get from humans is when they are taken from their mothers, herded into a pen and then auctioned off and sent away on a trailer to a strange place. So naturally they are going to be fearful, not to mention they don’t know what fences or boundaries are, and are likely to try to escape from any enclosure you put them in in the beginning.
a goofy Minnow
I think a lot of people get caught up in the magic of the island and the mystique of a wild foal – making impulse purchases. Not that there is anything wrong with that (I admit I wanted to do the same), but it’s easier to buy a foal at the auction than it is to adopt a dog. That being said – are you ready for a foal? Do you have somewhere to keep it, do you have a trainer to help you, are you going to want it after it’s not a cute fuzzy foal anymore? Those are all questions I think you should think long and hard about before raising your hand and handing over your credit card at the auction.
an all black foal in the pens on Assateauge Island
I see/hear of a lot of people on the island that are getting a foal for their young child, so that they can grow up together. I think its a nice thought, but I’m glad for the fact that when I was a kid, my mom didn’t buy me a foal. She bought me a seasoned pony, who was safe and reliable, and I could do pretty much anything on. A foal would have limited my experiences, and more than likely I would have lost interest in him once I discovered I had to wait 3-4 years to ride him. I’m grateful for my my first pony Oreo Cookie who taught me the ways of the world and took care of me. And if I was REALLY set on buying my kid a foal – I wouldn’t buy a wild pony foal – instead I’d get one of the foals from the Pony Centre that had been handled from birth and was already primed to make a great children’s pony.
a foal with heart markings in the pens on Assateague
Needless to say I know that one day I WILL buy a foal from the auction. Maybe I too have been sucked into the magical desire to own a wild Chincoteague Pony foal – but I think I secretly just long to have another pony just like my wild-born Minnow. No pony could ever take the place of Minnow, but I wouldn’t complain if there were lots of little Minnow wannabes running around. 🙂 My mom on the other hand thinks its a little crazy to buy a foal from the auction. Her reasoning being you can’t look at both sets of parents (usually the sire is just a guess) and determine that they were bred with complimentary traits, gauging how tall they will be is much harder, not to mention a wild foal is a lot more dangerous, and I think she just thinks the breeding stock to choose from on Assateague is just not that amazing. I know all this, but its not going to change my desire to own a wild foal someday. I guess its just one of those things I feel that I have to do in my life. Now it’s just a matter of when.
Anyway, all that aside – its really really really hard not to want to take a foal home with you! I should know….how tempting is it when your horse trailer is on the island with you! Talk about torture!
After the foal training demo my mom and I headed over the bridge to Assateague Island. First we stopped at the pens that held all of the wild horses from the island. Early Monday morning the ponies had been rounded up into the pens to rest before they made the big swim across the Chincoteague Channel on Wednesday morning. And let me tell you those foals were sooooo cute! There was even a black and white pinto foal with 3 white heart markings on him – he was the talk of the island. I searched around for the horses I knew by name, Surfer Dude, Riptide, Southern Belle to name a few – and noted that some of the horses looked a little extra thin this year. Although as I should know – the Eastern Shore had a VERY hard winter with record amounts of snow – its no wonder the herd was a little malnourished looking – I heard some of last years foals didn’t even make it through the winter either.
I watched around the pen as potential pony buyers were scribbling in notebooks and marking down which foals caught their eye. I realized that this is the only way to remember which foal you might want to bid on. See the foals aren’t tagged with numbers until after they make the swim on Wednesday – so you can’t simply write down a number and then plan to bid on that one at Thursday’s Auction. You instead have to take photos, draw pictures and write descriptions in order to remember which foals you like best. It’s also important to take note of the foals mother, how tall is she, what is her build like, does she have good confirmation? Looking at a foals parents are the best way to tell more about what your foal will look like when it grows up. I also learned that a horse’s cannon bones (sort of like their shin) is the only bone that does not grow much more after birth – it will be about the same length when its a day old as it is when its 20 years old – so this is a good way to estimate how tall your foal will be by trying to find an adult with a similar length in cannon bone to estimate size. Here is also a link that describes some other ways to estimate how tall your foal will be when it matures.
After drooling over the foals for a while we headed over to the beach. The weather was wonderful and I fell asleep for a little while before it was time to head back to the Pony Centre for the 4pm show.
Me with Rainy's Boy
Before the show I brushed Minnow up on his tricks, after a good nights rest he was much more ready for perform. He practically dragged me into the arena. In between shows I rushed over to Pony Penning Enterprises to meet the Misty family pony, Rainy’s Boy, who was making a special appearance on the island. I got my photo taken with him, and subsequently purchased the book, The Forgotten Pony by Jessie-Ann Friend, which I had signed by Jessie-Ann Friend, Rebecca Stevens who owns Rainy’s Boy, Helen Merritt a character in the book, and Rainy’s Boy himself. I haven’t read the book yet, but am very much looking forward to reading this “mostly true” story about Rainy’s Boy. Jessie-Ann was actually mentored by Marguerite Henry herself, when she later moved to California and subsequently met Jessie. Jessie told us that Marguerite told her to always sign her name with a small horse shoe after it – I’ll have to remember that if I ever write a book!
"Wild Spirits" by Chincoteague Minnow
Minnow performed again at the 8pm show at the Pony Centre. This year Minnow’s painting sales seemed to be down, I’m assuming it was effects of the economy, but they just weren’t auctioning for as high as they normally do. I guess that much could have been expected, as everyone is tight with money right now. I had hoped to raise a lot more money to donate to the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company as well as the Chincoteague Pony Drill Team, but Minnow did the best that he could. I love watching him interact with the children after the show, his eyes half close as they stroke his face, and every so often he reaches over and gives me a big sloppy pony kiss – as if to say thanks for bringing me here.
Look for the continuation to our journey to Chincoteague Island tomorrow!
"Sea Foam" by Chincoteague Minnow
**I called home at the end of the night to check on the little Dachshund. Ammo was easily adapting to spending 11 hours at home (and it should be noted that we do not crate him at all) – in fact I think he was sleeping all day long burrowed under the covers in our bed! When my husband returned each night he happily greeted him at the door, then proceeded to peer outside in the hopes that I was following closely behind.
Pony Penning 2010 – Day 1
Ammo says goodbye to Minnow at the Farm
Well I’m finally back and slowly recovering from my week spent on Chincoteague Island in Virgina for the 85th Annual Pony Penning. Pretty much my entire year builds up to this event as I prepare Chincoteague Minnow with new tricks and skills that he can showcase for the week that he’s down there. After that last week in July, I sort of collapse, and then slowly recover again as I brainstorm new tricks and ideas for things to work with the ponies on.
So since last year I recapped the entire week on the blog, I thought I’d do the same this year – so that even if you didn’t make it to Pony Penning this year, you can relive the excitement with me!
On Monday, July 26th – I headed out to the farm early to feed horses and finish packing up Minnow and his ever accumulating belongings (he has a bigger suitcase than I do). This year I was dreading leaving the Dachshund at home, as I’ve become even more accustomed to having him with me constantly. I was also worried he’d think I abandoned him since instead of accompanying me EVERYWHERE for the next week, he would instead have to spend about 11 hours home alone each day – as my husband works (with a long commute). Sadly the island isn’t a very “dog friendly” place. It’s kind of ironic since you’ll see ponies walking the street, making appearances at libraries and shops, and strutting the sidewalks – yet spotting a dog is few and far between, not to mention most of the hotels frown on them, they aren’t allowed in the fireman’s carnival grounds, and trying to find a shop that sold dog cookies or items was next to impossible. So as we pulled out of the farm I reluctantly headed to drop Ammo back at my house as he would have to spend the rest of the day alone. (I’ll elaborate later about how Ammo took to being a “homebody”).
Minnow's got the trailer packed with all his trick supplies
The drive down to the eastern shore took us about 5 hours. Minnow is an excellent traveler, and 5 hours is next to nothing for him when he’s made past trips to Kentucky topping out at about 13 plus hours.
We arrived at the Chincoteague Pony Centre about an hour before Minnow was due to perform in his first show – note to self….leave much earlier next time!! We unloaded Minnow and my mom walked him around while I frantically unloaded all of his trick equipment and painting supplies. By the time 4pm rolled around I was a little frazzled – and I think Minnow knew it.
Minnow opened the show by painting a wonderful painting which I dubbed “Dance in the Mist”. I think he was a little out of sorts as well – because although he painted wonderfully I could tell he was a little distracted, and his strokes were a little less focused.
Minnow between performances at the Pony Centre with my mom
Later as we waited outside for his next cue to perform his tricks I could feel his bundle of energy getting ready to explode. I knew all he wanted to do was leap into the air and let it all out, who can blame him after spending 5 hours on a horse trailer – not to mention I had given him some bute (sort of like asprin for horses) to help with the arthritis in his ankle – so he was feeling pretty good.
Minnow entered the arena to perform his tricks and I had a little trouble focusing him again. He performed everything I asked, but had some slight hesitations as I could tell he was thinking about taking a lap around the arena bucking. But Minnow was a trooper, and held it all in. That just goes to show you that my training with him from the beginning with working on controlling adrenaline really paid off.
After the 8pm show I knew Minnow was struggling to control his excitement. As I turned him out in his paddock for the night I watched as he took two huge leaps into the air. He was saying FINALLY I can let it all out! A few circles around the paddock to meet his new Chincoteague Pony neighbors and he was quite happy to dive into his hay.
"Dance in the Mist" by Chincoteague Minnow
I went back to the hotel and crashed for the night – it had been a LONG day, and I knew we would be doing it all over again tomorrow!
"Assateague Riptide" by Chincoteague Minnow
Look for the continuation to our journey to Chincoteague Island tomorrow!
Painting Pony DVD release!
For the past month my family has been working on a little project. My younger brother, Taylor, is a talented filmmaker and editor, and my younger sister, Laurel, has a special talent for photography. Armed with a fleet of talented trick ponies, and a Dachshund, we decided to make a new Painting Pony DVD.
With my brother up from his home in North Carolina, we spent one day shooting out at Iron Horse Farm. The ponies were amazing – performing their tricks over and over again so my siblings could get the right shots – even Ammo endured the hot day in his flannel stuntdog gear so we could capture him among the ponies.
I think the end result turned out fabulous! I think it really shows what life is like for the Trick Ponies (and Ammo). I especially love the music, which was mostly created by my brother (who is also a talented musician) along with his band, Cinder Cat – the music gives it a magic feel.
The DVD is available for purchase in our Online Shop. Give it as a gift, send it to a friend – spread the joy of Chincoteague Ponies! We hope it will bring a smile to your face.
And since we want everyone to be able to enjoy the magic of these special ponies and their Dachshund friend, we’ve uploaded the video to youtube. Spread it around! Share it on facebook, twitter, myspace, etc!
Special thanks to….
Taylor Hellhake from Depthink Productions
Cinder Cat
Laurel Hellhake (in collaboration with O’Leary Photographics)
Iron Horse Farm
and
Ammo the Dachshund & The Trick Ponies of Chincoteague!
