HQ Pony Magazine Issue 3

Fostering the connection between horse & rider.

WELCOME

Hi everyone!

Welcome to our third issue of HQ Pony Mag.

This is a jam-packed issue with lots of content from new writers, so we hope you enjoy it!

Check out our articles on the walk pirouette, serpentines, reading pony body language, the Welsh pony and much, much more…

And, please don’t hesitate to let us know if there is anything you would particularly like us to write about. It’s great to receive your questions every month, so keep sending them through along with any article suggestions you might have. We’ll write what you want us to!

We hope you have a pony-filled August and will see you back here in September for more pony related fun!

Lots of love, Lizzie and the HQ Team xxx

GET IN TOUCH

We’d love to hear from you and receive your photos, drawings or pony-related thoughts. To get in touch send an email to lizzie@hqmagazine.co.za and we’ll get back to you!

What if there was an exercise that tested your transitions, your pony’s suppleness and their reactiveness to your aids, all at the same time? Well, guess what? There is! Our serpentine exercise can do all of this and MORE!

Top tip: To ride a serpentine accurately it can be a good idea to set up guide poles or place markers to ride through each time you cross the centre line, so that you know you are making the transition in exactly the right place.

How to ride it

This exercise is a great one for your flatwork sessions, or as a warm-up for your jumping lesson.

1. Begin by riding large around the arena in a forward walk rhythm.

2. Start a three-loop (or four-loop) serpentine at one end of the arena, making a smooth turn towards the centre line.

3. As you cross the centre line, ask your pony to halt using your seat and then your reins. Aim to stop with your body on the centre line.

4. Return to walk and carry on with the rest of the serpentine, making a transition to halt every time you cross the centre line.

5. When you are ready try the exercise in trot, making a walk – or even a halt – transition over the centre line as before. You could even try it in canter, trotting to change leg each time!

Top tip: Focus on riding a super-straight line over the centre line before changing your pony’s bend as you progress into the next turn.

Did you know?

The transitions are a great way to slow your pony down, and get him listening to you so you can change his bend more easily.

TEACHING THE WALK PIROUETTE

A canter pirouette is a very advanced movement only performed later on in your dressage training.

You won’t even meet walk pirouettes in a dressage test until Elementary level, but they’re a fun movement to practice and great for suppling up your pony’s body.

To begin teaching the walk pirouette, you need to start by riding really small circles in the walk. You should be able to bend your pony through his whole body and turn him with your outside leg on this circle. After all, a pirouette is just a really small circle, so this is the best place to start.

If your pony is stiff and struggles with these small circles, practice them over a few training sessions and only when your pony feels more supple, move onto the next steps.

Once you’ve mastered very small circles, you can refine things further:

1. Ride an active walk around the arena, bending your pony very slightly to the inside.

2. As you ride out of the corner onto the long side, bend your pony a bit more to the inside and ride a square turn towards the centre line. Remember to use your outside leg firmly to turn him. Do not just ‘pull on the reins’ to turn as this will dump your pony onto their inside shoulder and lead to them collapsing, not turning.

3. After the quarter turn, straighten him up and do the same once you’ve reached the track on the other long side, but turning in the opposite direction this time.

4. Aim to make these turns as square as possible, using your outside leg and inside bend to push your pony’s shoulders around a 90 degree turn.

5. Once you’ve got the hang of the quarter-turn you can try a half pirouette by pushing your pony’s shoulders around 180 degrees instead. Ride your turn off the track on the long side, but instead move your pony all the way around until you are back on the track on the same long side, but facing in the opposite direction.

6. You can gradually progress the movement, turning further and further until you can get up to the full 360 degrees. Just remember that you’ll need to move away from the track once you’ve mastered the 180-degree turn, though, to ensure that you have enough space to complete the turn!

Note:

This exercise sounds very simple, but (surprise, surprise!) it isn’t! Give your pony plenty of time to understand what you are asking. By taking the time your pony needs, you will end up with a much better walk-pirouette in the long run!

Remember:

Your most important aids in the pirouette are your outside leg and rein. Do not be tempted to pull on the inside rein! Some inside bend is required, but you want to be moving your horse’s shoulders using your outside leg, and outside rein, not your inside aids. Your inside leg will just be used to support your horse and avoid them falling in and your inside rein creates a small amount of bend to the inside. The rest of the action lies in the use of your outside rein and leg!

Roan ponies have an even amount of white and coloured hair mixed together. In winter their coat darkens, and in summer their coat lightens.

Is your pony’s noseband tighter than it should be?

Text | Christie Wolhuter

We are taught to make sure that our ponies’ girths aren’t too tight, that their throat lash is not restricting them, that their bit is not too high up in the mouth but did you know that your pony’s noseband can also be too tight?

When we ride ponies, it is our responsibility to ensure that we are not causing any harm or pain to them, as they cannot talk and tell us if something is wrong. So how do you know if your pony is comfortable in his noseband? The answer? Measure it!

Measuring noseband fit

The rule for noseband fit is that two fingers should fit between the front of the nose and the noseband on the horse’s face. Only then is the noseband loose enough to be comfortable for your horse or pony.

The correct place to measure the ‘two-finger' rule is under the top surface of your pony’s nose, not behind where the noseband attaches.

As a reader of HQ Pony Mag, we will assume you have tiny fingers, so we would suggest that you slide your fingers right up to your knuckles to measure the two fingers under the noseband. You need to remember, as well, that the two fingers need to be on top of each other i.e. one finger rests on the nose, and the other touches the noseband. You should also be able to fit two fingers under the noseband if you are using a flash noseband.

Did you know?

The International Society for Equitation Science (ISES) has developed a very clever device to help you with measuring noseband tightness.

Our ponies have sensitive structures on the surface of their noses, and we must make sure that that their nosebands are not causing damage and pain.

Top Tip

Make sure you choose a noseband that has lots of nice padding under the leather that covers the nose and the leather that goes around the chin at the back.

Don’t use your noseband to make up for bad riding

The purpose of the noseband is to make our bridle look nice and pretty, not to close our pony’s mouth to make sure it doesn’t open. For many ponies, opening their mouths is a sign that the bit is causing them pain due to a rider having ‘hard’ hands or the bit being the wrong fit. In these cases opening their mouths is the only way that they can get away from that pain. Strapping your pony’s mouth shut with his noseband is, therefore, just silencing his cries for help!

Instead, you need to make sure that you have soft hands that give your pony instructions so that he can respond without discomfort. He will then not open his mouth, and you won’t need to tighten your noseband to ‘keep his mouth shut’. If your horse continues to open his mouth even if your hands are soft, you should then look at the fit of your bit. You will need a bit-fitter to help you with this.

A Grackle noseband is a good option if you still need to use a flash but don’t want the flash pulling the cavesson noseband downward on the face. By mistake, some people tighten up the cavesson noseband to stop the flash pulling the noseband downward. This often leads to a ‘no-finger’ gap, which is very uncomfortable for the horse. The Grackle noseband avoids this.

Be extra careful with a Crank noseband. A Crank noseband has a metal loop that you pull the leather through to tighten the noseband before securing it with the buckle. This allows you to tighten the noseband more easily than a traditional or cavesson noseband with a simple buckle. If you have a crank noseband, you need to use more than two fingers when you fit it!

A thicker noseband spreads the pressure over a wider area and is, therefore, more ‘gentle’ on the horse’s face.

Summary

The take-home message here is that you need to make sure your noseband is not tight on your pony’s face, as this causes him pain and discomfort. If in doubt, make it looser. You’ll have a happier pony if you do!

JESSICA VON BREDOW-WERNDL on DALERA

I felt from the very first second to the last the she was 100% with me - listening so well that I had to be careful not to do too much or too little!

ISABELL WERTH on BELLA ROSE II

If you follow the results of the last 30 years I have not always been number one. It has been up and down all the time and I’m happy today because Bella felt fantastic. This was a tough sporting competition and that’s what we all want to have and love to have. You can’t have ten winners, you can only have one, that is sport

CHARLOTTE DUJARDIN on GIO

I was never going down without a fight but Pumpkin (Gio) has only done one other Freestyle in his life and for him to go out there with as little experience as he has is truly outstanding. We never did this floorplan before and he didn’t know what he was doing and I didn’t know what I was doing but we just went out to have a really good time and enjoy ourselves, and we did that. I’m really proud of him

In our horse and pony series, we now move to the British Isles, where we will start this section with the Welsh Pony. In this article, we look at the different types of Welsh Ponies and go over some fun facts about this special breed.

History

The Welsh Mountain pony is believed to have descended from the Celtic pony and is thought to have existed in Wales for over a thousand years.

Did you know?

King Henry the VIII (1509-1547) ordered that all horses that couldn’t be used in war needed to be eliminated, as he felt that they were useless if they weren’t helpful for battle. Thus, he instructed that all stallions under 15 hands high and mares under 13 handshigh must be culled. Luckily some escaped into the wild, and this tough existence allowed the intelligent and hardy ones to survive and keep this pony breed going.

Did you know?

Many multiple rosette winning show ponies and beloved family members are passed on from one generation to the next.

The breed

The Welsh breed is divided into four segments:

Section A: The Welsh Mountain Pony (up to 12 hands high)

The Section A is the smallest of the Welsh breeds and is also known as the Welsh Mountain Pony. These ponies are popular with children and small adults. The introduction of Arab blood gave the pony one of its most commonly identified characteristics, the refined, concave head.

Section B: The Welsh Pony (up to 13.2 hands high)

Welsh Section Bs are similar in characteristics to Section As, but the most notable difference is their height, which is allowed to be up to 13.2 hands high. They are more of a riding pony type, with a good lower leg action and a more refined build. Arab, Thoroughbred and Hackney blood helped refine the Section B, and add a little bit of height. The Section B is an incredibly versatile pony and excels in many different disciplines.

Section C: the Welsh Pony of Cob Type (up to 13.2 hands high)

The Welsh Section C is part cob, part pony and very suited to a number of disciplines. It is thought that the Section C came about by the crossing of Section As and Section Ds (cobs) and it is the least common type of Welsh Pony. They are bigger and more muscled than a Section B but are still athletic. They are known for being good jumpers, with a particular affinity for working hunter classes and are fantastic at harness work.

Fun fact

Section D: the Welsh Cob (over 13.2 hands)

The Welsh Section D is otherwise known as the Welsh Cob. The breed category has no height limit, but these ponies must exceed 13.2 hands high, although retaining pony characteristics is preferred even at this bigger size. The Cob has exceptional substance but still retains its athleticism.

During the 15th century, horses of Cob type were also used as 'rounceys'. A rouncey is a cheaper warhorse used by squires, often accompanying the much more expensive warhorses known as 'destriers', into battle. Small-sized rouncey horses were preferred by mounted archers.

Did you know?

The Welsh Cob is essential to Welsh Culture, and the Cob classes at the Royal Welsh Show have some of the most loyal supporters.

Why do we group horses into breeds?

Text | Christie Wolhuter

In our HQ Pony Mag editions, we have been going through various pony breeds and showcasing their unique characteristics, but what is the point of a breed, and how did they come about? Why aren’t all horses and ponies just ‘horses and ponies’ rather than Thoroughbreds, Warmbloods, Friesians etc.? Here we explain why we have breeds and what exactly being part of a ‘breed’ means.

Breeds

Humans have been breeding their best animals to try and produce even better offspring for centuries. This process is known as selective breeding. Over time this creates more and more specific groups of horses that share particular features. We call these breeds. Historically, horses were bred for specific purposes, from ploughing fields to racing at top speed, so most breeds are based around functionality, but some are also based on looks and height.

Selective breeding is the process of choosing breeding pairs with specific desired characteristics in the hope that those desired characteristics are passed onto the offspring.

For example, a draft horse with its thick, powerful musculature would be terrible on a racetrack. They were bred to pull carriages and help plough fields, and the biggest, strongest ones were selected to breed to pass on their genes.

Heavier type draft horses were also sourced from all over Europe to carry Medieval Knights into battle. They had to be heavyset, as a Knight’s suit of armour could weigh over 25 kgs. The finest of the warhorses were known as Destriers and were extremely expensive. A top-class warhorse could cost the same as 5–6 years' wages for an average worker!

On the other hand, a Thoroughbred would be terrible at pulling a heavy cart, as they were bred for speed. The fastest Thoroughbreds were therefore bred together in the hope of producing even faster offspring.

fact: Draft horses are still used to pull heavy logs out of fields in some countries as some forests are still inaccessible by truck.

Fast

Fast fact: The modern Percheron draft breed may in part descend from Destriers, though it is probably taller and heavier than the average Destrier.

Why are there so many breed registries

Since horses and ponies have been selected and bred for their specific characteristics, it would not make sense to breed horses together, which do not meet the standards for that breed. The Studbooks and Breed Registries control which horses are accepted so that horses that do not show the suitable characteristics are not registered and thus become less appealing for breeding. For example, Friesians have to be black to be registered as Friesian. The Studbook is very strict on this, so if someone came in and bred a palomino to a Friesian and that foal came out palomino, it would not be able to be registered as a Friesian. Friesians also have to look a certain way, have lots of hair on their legs known as feathering, and be of a similar height. If they do not meet these criteria, they will not be registered.

Now some other breeds accept all sorts of colours, but the horses need to possess certain characteristics. For example, a Belgian Warmblood can be most colours and be accepted, but being exceptional at show jumping is considered important, and the studs choose stallions and mares that fit these requirements. For this reason, stallions that don’t seem to pass on jumping ability are then not used in the Studbook.

Preserving breeds

So now that draft horses are not necessarily used to pull carts anymore, why is it important to preserve specific breeds? Well, some people are passionate about these breeds that are no longer necessarily used for the functions they were bred for, and there is nothing wrong with keeping these unusual breeds going. Countries are often proud of the horses they have produced over the centuries and want to keep the breeds alive to showcase for as long as possible. Also, many people take great pleasure in owning and riding horses that are not ‘typical’.

TIPS FOR KEEPING YOUR PONY SOUND

Plan regular visits from your farrier

As the saying goes, ‘no foot, no horse’ and your farrier is the best person to ensure your pony’s hooves are in the best condition and well-balanced. Regular trims every five to six weeks will keep your pony’s feet strong and sturdy.

Keep his hooves clean

It’s very important to pick out your pony’s feet every single day. It’s best to pick them out before and after riding and at least twice a day if you’re not riding. This helps prevent any stone bruises or thrush developing and gives you a chance to check his hoof, sole, and frog.

Check your pony every day

It’s much easier to treat problems if you catch them early, so check your pony’s legs every time you see him. You need to look for lumps, bumps, heat or swelling and if you notice any, call your vet right away.

Warm-up and cool-down properly

Warming your pony up and cooling him down for at least 15 minutes before and after exercise helps to keep the muscles, joints, tendons and ligaments healthy. We know it can be boring, but it is essential for your pony’s health and wellbeing.

Think about the surfaces you ride on

Remember to consider the ground you’re riding on, especially if you’re planning to do jumping or any fast work. Ground that’s too hard puts strain on your pony’s legs, and doing too much in deep mud and sand can injure muscles and tendons.

Outrides

Taking your pony on plenty of outrides, where he moves over uneven terrain and has to negotiate hills, is very good for building his strength and reducing the chance of injury. Do not try and do fast work on this kind of ground, but just get your pony to move carefully, and you’ll find he becomes more sure-footed and ultimately less injury prone!

Make sure your pony is fit enough

One of the most important things is to make sure your pony is fit enough for the work you are asking him to do. If he’s only been hacking, and you take him to a showjumping show, he is more likely to hurt himself. Instead, you need to increase his fitness gradually and build up the work over time so that he is prepared for whatever you are asking him to do.

Keep work varied

To get your pony as strong as possible, it is important that you keep his work varied. Weak ponies, just like weak humans, get injured easily. Make sure that you do flatwork, jumping, pole work, outrides and groundwork with your pony to make him as physically strong and well-muscled as possible!

Check his tack fits correctly

A poorly fitting saddle affects your pony’s way of moving and can lead to injury. Make sure to get your saddle checked by a qualified saddle fitter every six months to make sure the fit is still good.

Keep him moving

Plenty of turnout, combined with regular exercise, keeps your pony moving and encourages his joints to stay healthy. This is very important in older ponies, who are likely to get stiff if left standing for long periods of time.

Solving the Pony Puzzle

Do you want to know how to understand your pony better?

Text | Shelley Wolhuter

When it comes to understanding your pony, it’s best to start at the very beginning with understanding communication. This involves learning exactly how ponies talk to each other and how they talk to us. Horsey movies often go overboard with the horse sound effects, making out that horses are constantly whinnying or calling or nickering to their owners, but this just isn’t how horses and ponies behave in reality. To understand how our horses and ponies communicate, we need to look at much more than just the sounds they make.

Calling

A horse calling or whinnying typically only happens for something quite intense, like when they have been separated from their friends or when they would like you to bring them their dinner!

Body language

So how do ponies talk to each other without using their voices? The answer to this lies in their body language! Even though humans and horses are two hugely different species, we have this one very important thing in common – we both read body language.

Just like you can look at your friend and tell if they are happy, sad, angry or scared, you can learn to look at your pony and do the same. You just need to know where to look and what to look for. Let’s think about your friend for a minute. When they look sad, do you tell by their eyes? Or is it their mouth? Or is it by their whole body? Most of us agree that it’s the whole picture that fills us in on how they are really feeling.

Ponies are the same. You have to look at their head, tail, legs and body to get the complete picture of how they’re feeling. I like to think of each part as a clue. When you put the clues together, you solve the pony puzzle! So, where do you start?

Clue 1 – Activity level

Is your pony restless, or are they standing still calmly? If your pony is marching around the stable or paddock or constantly shifting his feet, you can be pretty sure he’s feeling anxious.

Clue 2 – Head carriage

Is your pony holding his head high or low? A relaxed pony tends to hold their head low, whereas a stressed pony can look a bit like a giraffe with his head held high!

Clue 3 – Tail carriage

Is your pony holding their tail up, or is it clamped down? If so, this suggests some anxiety. A relaxed pony will hold his tail loosely.

Clue 4 – The feet

Is your pony holding one foot cocked and resting, or are all four feet firmly planted on the floor? A resting foot is usually a sign that the pony is relaxed in his surroundings. All four feet flat on the floor suggests that your pony is ready to move off at very short notice.

Clue 5 – The eyes

Are your pony’s eyes wide open with some white showing, or are they darting around all over the place? If so, they are pretty frightened. If their eyes are soft, then they are relaxed.

Did you know?

You can get an idea if your pony is sleepy or bored by looking at their blinking. When ponies are bored, they hardly ever blink, but when they are sleepy, they blink slowly and half-close their eyes.

Clue 6 – The ears

The ears can give you a good idea about what your pony is listening to. Did you know that ponies can listen to two things simultaneously, which is why their ears sometimes point in different directions? Where are your pony’s ears pointing? Are they together or split? Are they pricked forward or relaxed to the sides? Are they pinned back or softly facing backwards? If they are split, it means your pony is paying attention to a couple of things at the same time, usually a sign they are alert but not terrified. If the ears are together and pricked, your pony is anxious about something. If they are together and pinned back, your pony is feeling defensive, and if they are together but softly facing backwards, your pony is relaxed.

Clue 7 – The muzzle

Next, look at your pony’s muzzle. The shape of the nostrils is a good clue as to how your pony is feeling. Are the nostrils open wide, or are they relaxed in an oval shape? Open wide means the pony is anxious or taking deep breaths and an oval shape shows relaxed breathing. You can also see your pony breathing by observing their nostrils. Short, quick nostril movements tell us that your pony might be alarmed or smelling something. A calm, quiet pony will show slow and small nostril movement. Whatever rate of breathing you see at the nostrils will also be seen in the ribcage, so that’s a good place to double-check the breathing rate.

Clue 8 – The lips

Last but not least, there are clues in your pony’s lips. Are they soft and drooping open or glued tightly shut? Is the top lip pinched forward, or are the lips gently closed together? A worried pony will clamp their lips closed and pinch the top lip, while a relaxed pony will have super droopy lips.

The calm pony

In a calm pony you would expect to see:

1. Low head carriage

2. A relaxed tail

3. A cocked back leg

4. Soft, round eyes

5. Relaxed and still ears that may be softly facing backwards

6. Oval nostrils and a relatively steady breath rate

7. A softly closed mouth

The stressed pony

In a stressed pony, you would expect to see:

The head held high

A clamped down tail or high tail carriage

All four feet on the ground

The eyes wide and darting around

The ears pricked and moving around a

The nostrils flared with sharp, rapid breaths

A tightly clamped mouth

Final thoughts

The key to remember in all of this clue-finding is that the clues cannot be used

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Q: I had a really bad fall recently, and I’ve lost my confidence. Do I just need to get back on and forget about it even though I’m really nervous? Or what must I do?

A: The first thing to note is that you are not alone in feeling this way! Many of us feel very nervous after a fall, particularly if we were hurt.

Our best advice is to see what you can learn from the fall. Was there anything you could have done differently? Would anything have made the situation better? If you can learn something then just use the experience to stop the same thing happening again. Thinking of it this way, as a learning exercise, can be really helpful in moving forwards after a fall.

If, on the other hand, it was one of those accidents that couldn’t have been prevented

Q: My pony got laminitis last spring and the veterinarian said it happened because he ate too much grass. How can what he eats cause problems in the feet?

A: When a horse or pony gets laminitis, the soft tissue (called laminae) that attaches the bone to the wall of the hoof tears and becomes weakened. This is important because if the soft tissue is weakened the bone can slip down in the hoof. If this happens, the horse or pony isn’t likely to recover enough to be ridden.

These events inside the hoof can happen for many reasons. In your pony's case, his digestive system probably wasn't used to the grass he was eating. In the spring, grass is very rich and this means that lots of starch and sugar enters your pony’s gut. When an excessive amount of starch and sugar are ingested it causes an overload in the digestive system with undigested sugar and starch being pushed through to the hindgut. Bacteria break down the undigested material causing acidity in the hindgut, which kills the bacteria that digests fibre. As the bacteria die they release toxins into the gut, which are then passed into the bloodstream through the gut wall. These toxins provoke a response within the horse that is thought to disrupt blood flow, which, in the feet, can cause laminitis.

Although laminitic ponies can be cured, they can easily become laminitic again. From now on, you'll have to be extra careful not to let your pony have rich treats like spring grass because they could do him more harm than good.

Q: Why can horses sleep standing up?

A: Horses can rest standing up but they can't go into a deep sleep without lying down. They are able to rest while standing because they have a special set of supports (tendons and ligaments) in their legs that can be "locked" into a standing position. When a horse has "locked" his legs in place, his muscles don't have to work as hard to keep him upright so he can rest safely.

However, to go into a deep sleep horses do still need to lie down and relax all of their muscles completely.

Can you spot the 10 differences below?

NEXT ISSUE OF HQ PONY MAGAZINE AVAILABLE ON 1 SEPTEMBER. SEE YOU THEN!