I’m very grateful to Jenna (Beansy) and Jon Payne for generously agreeing to have Orion during the winter, and to Beansy for writing this: her first blog about Orion’s initial training with them in Cornwall. I’ve found it really interesting, and I’m sure you will too.
We didn’t really know what to expect with Orion. Tortie had been very honest about him, but we didn’t know how he was going to take to any of his new experiences – least of all, how he was going to take to us.
Orion travelled quietly home with his new friend, another Exmoor called Bumbe Bee, and happily reversed off the trailer and led into his stable. We were aware that he might look to ‘pull away’ so we led him everywhere with a lunge rope for the first few weeks, which meant we could be happy that if he did pull we could let the rope out until he settled.
There was little delay in starting work with him; he went for his first walk the following morning. We don’t believe in formal training sessions with youngsters, they rarely go in the school to be worked but rather we much prefer ‘real world’ training and what better way to see what life has to offer than by going for walks around the village? Orion went for a walk daily; he spent lots of time watching traffic pass, greeting walkers, walking out with pony friends or on his own and exploring the endless stony tracks around us in the heart of old Cornish mining country.
He was certainly nervous around us. He would jump about in his stable when we went to feed him, he’d run backwards when people walked past his door and we had to quietly coax him to let us close to him so we could gently pop a headcollar on him for turnout. At first, we just let him follow his friends in from the field, but as we began to build up a relationship with him we soon expected him to be caught before he came in. I’d often spend up to an hour at a time standing quietly, waiting for him to approach & rewarding him with food before he’d let me catch him. This time is much less now and I don’t need a bucket, just some food in my hand.
One of the things we were charged with working on was trotting. I think part of the key with Orion is to have high expectations. Once you start to push the boundaries and get him working a little outside his comfort zone, you see a massive improvement in his confidence in other areas of his training. From the very beginning we expected him to walk beside us. We nagged him to come forwards, never proceeded unless he was beside us and rewarded him with scratches on his wither when he was delivering. He’s a bright pony, quick to pick things up, and we swiftly moved onto trotting. He really was reluctant to go forwards into trot, and when we’d try to encourage it he’d get all sticky on his feet and sometimes have a mini ‘meltdown’, as we’d call it, where he’d want to pull away and get all worried. Once it was clear this route wasn’t getting us anywhere, I led him and asked Jon to quietly walk behind. (Orion hated this to begin with, but within a couple of walks it became the norm.) As I asked for trot, Jon put a little bit of pressure on him from behind. . . He whizzed off forwards but we let him; we went with him and rewarded him with lots of scratches and kind words. He was confused at first, but his confidence grew. Going forwards is something I’m a huge believer in. If a novice ridden pony shoots off forwards, I never hinder them. Forward energy is vital. Orion picked up trotting quickly and we were soon trotting large parts of our walks (it’s lucky we’re fit!).
All the background work never fully prepares a pony for a show. The atmosphere is so different, the ponies can easily get ‘stage-fright’ and there are so many new sights and sounds, not to mention the travelling to and from the event! Orion was hesitant to load. His travel partner this time was our homebred foal, Silky. It was only her second time travelling and her first time without her Mummy, but she’s laid back, trusting of us and good natured; she gave much confidence to Orion.
We hadn’t planned to show Orion, we just took him along for the ride so he could get more experience of life. Off the box, he was quite overwhelmed and looked very much to Jon for support. We spent time walking around, brushing him and generally letting him take it all in. As the ring steward called for the 2 & 3 year-old small breeds Jon said, “Let’s got for it, I think he’ll manage.” So we made a rapid entry and Orion went into the ring. He was amazing. It was quieter in the ring than the outside, but he was still a little hesitant. He had a fright at the judge on his individual show, but got it back quickly to finish in second place behind a Welsh Section B colt.
A second place meant Orion qualified for the championship. We felt it would be good for him to go in the ring again. He was certainly more relaxed the second time, and he gave an even better performance. His confidence grew by the minute and the transformation was incredible. So much so, he was pulled in Reserve Champion! He even had a round of applause for his lap of honour and he behaved like a pro!
We knew it would be the making of this pony, and it was. He’d had so much to think about and was exhausted when he arrived home, but he came back a much more confident pony. He’s more readily caught in the field and doesn’t get worried about people in his stable any more. I’m sure this is a real turning point for him.
Orion’s lap of honour with Jon. (Well done, Daddy!)
We’re super proud of this little man and are really grateful to Tortie & Chris for letting us steal him to Cornwall for the winter. I’m not sure how Orion is going to do better than this for his next blog……….!
The post Orion 12: First Few Weeks In Cornwall (by Beansy Payne) appeared first on Victoria Eveleigh.
