Dino will have been with us 5 weeks on Saturday and he’s pretty much settled in. We’ve found he’s quite a an anxious horse – really quite sensitive – so a lot of things he already knew have had to be re-learned over the past few weeks but we’re making progress. We’ve also taught him some new things! 😀

Pictures are obligatory for these posts so here he was yesterday, hanging out with us in the field :wub::

We’ve come miles in terms of basic stable manners. When he first arrived everything was a bit suspicious and anxious making, but now he mostly stands quietly in his box to be groomed and tacked up without and fuss. And we’ve stopped him mugging people for treats. He’s a bit too treat focussed – once he sees you have one he just can’t bring himself to think of *anything* else – so we mostly reward him by scritching his neck or withers which he really likes, rather than giving treats.

He’s settled on the lunge now and knows his voice commands although stopping isn’t always what he wants to do. We’ve also done a fair bit of a loose schooling with him. He’d never done this before but took to it really well. We’re lucky we have an indoor arena where this is permitted and it’s a great way to get him moving and learn to balance himself a bit in trot and canter.

And we’ve been riding! It’s soo nice to be able to ride a bit – Pico is obviously off work still with the laminitis but we’ve been having fun with the baby instead. Dino’s not very balanced – he’d done very little in the school before he arrived with us. He has no bend at all on the left and sometimes find corners quite confusing. He only ever seems to have the vaguest ideas about how many legs he has and where they all are… He routinely walks into the mounting block when you’re trying to line him up to get on! We’ve been doing a bit of walk and trot though, and (well M really) have started teaching him to step over and back which he is beginning to understand.

He’s a quick learner! Probably of things you don’t want as much as those you do…we keep needing to check ourselves and make sure we’re not teaching him bad habits! He’s been living out during the day and seems to have settled into the herd well – the gelding bunch can be a bit rough but he seems to keep out of trouble. Hopefully his shoes will be coming off soon! We’ve sat waiting for the yard farrier two days running this week to get just get them off and have a quick trim before we can get a proper EP out but the bloody man hasn’t shown up :rant:!! Maybe tomorrow. Really looking forward to those coming off – he’s only had 3 sets of shoes ever so hopefully this won’t be a big deal for him and he’ll get used to being barefoot again quickly.

There are a few niggles we are working through, like with any baby really. He’s not very happy about the whole mounting block business. I think one of us being taller than him makes him anxious, but after being silly about it for a few mins he usually settles down and stands quietly. We shall be working on this more.

Today he was a total loon and really showed me up – got silly about me tightening his girth and I realised the saddle was in the wrong place, so undid it (in the arena) to place it properly at which point he stepped away from me, dumped the saddle on the floor and shot across the school!!! Poor M, just wandered across the yard to see her horse trotting around, loose, saddle-less… And there was someone else in the school. They didn’t seem to mind, but really, I should know better!! :doh: :rofl:

Anyway, generally speaking we’re really happy with him. :db:

And after an initial bout of jealousy Pico has decided he might like the Baby Horse after all. Just as long as we’re clear who’s in charge :wub: :wub::