HQ Pony Magazine Issue 10

THE WORLD’S MOST TRUSTED HOOF BOOT

Greetings HQ Pony Mag readers!

It’s wonderful to have you with us again for another issue of HQ Pony Mag.

As always, there’s lots of new stuff in here for you to check out. We have articles on the Dosanko pony, tendons and ligaments, and riding bounces, to name just a few!

We hope you enjoy diving into the content, and please let us know if there is anything you’d particularly like us to include next month. We’re grateful for the suggestions we’ve received so far and have got our Pony experts working hard to put some information together for you.

In this edition, we are again running our ‘Find the Icon’ competition with some St Patrick’s Day themed icons for you to hunt for.

To take part, count the number of icons (shown below) that you can find in the magazine, and then either fill out the form which will pop up on our Instagram account on the 20th of March OR send an email with your answer and name to lizzie@hqmagazine.co.za. We’ll select our winner and announce it on Instagram.

The icons you need to search for are:

And we need to know the number of EACH icon, not the total number of all icons.

In the meantime, happy horsing! Give your ponies a carrot from us! With much love, Lizzie and the HQ Pony Team xxx

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!

Bounces are an excellent way to build your pony’s athleticism and strength. To see the benefits for yourself, give this exercise a go!

SET IT UP

You’ll need six jump wings or cavaletti blocks and three poles for this exercise. Build a line of three bounces down the three-quarter line of the arena with a distance of 3-3.7m in between each one.

To start with, keep the fences low as your pony will find this exercise challenging, particularly if he hasn’t done bounces very often before.

YOU MAY NEED.....

If your pony is a little speedy, you might need a couple of extra poles to put on the ground before the exercise to slow him down. Set up three poles on the approach, approximately 2.7-3m apart and enter the exercise in trot to give him something else to focus on.

HOW TO RIDE IT

1. To begin with, leave the poles for the bounces on the ground and warm up over them. Ride over them in walk, trot and canter to check the distances are okay for your pony.

2. When your pony is nice and warm, and you feel ready, raise the poles into small fences and establish a positive yet controlled trot or canter around the arena.

3. Turn onto the three-quarter line and look up over the bounces. Don’t be tempted to throw your reins away, but instead, keep your pony in the same rhythm you had when you were riding large.

4. Only fold very slightly over each fence, i.e. don’t go into full jumping position.

5. Give your pony lots of praise after the exercise.

6. Change rein and repeat the exercise.

TROUBLESHOOTING

• If your pony gets speedy, set up the ground poles as described above and enter the exercise in a trot. Alternatively, you can circle before entering the exercise and remain on the circle until your pony has settled down into a rhythm.

• If your pony keeps knocking the bounces, take a step back and work with the bounces as poles on the ground. When they can go through the line of three poles without knocking them, put one bounce up. When they have mastered riding one bounce, create a second one and then finally, when you are ready, add a third.

How to build your pony’s fitness

As riders, it is our job to make sure that our pony is fit enough to do all the things we have planned. Fitness is important as it reduces the risk of your pony getting injured and makes sure he has enough energy to enjoy what you are asking of him.

Whether you are bringing your pony back into work after some time off, or you are simply looking to boost his fitness for future adventures, this article is for you.

Plan, plan, plan

The most important step of this process is making a plan to lay out how you intend to improve your pony’s fitness. This plan needs to include what you’ll do, when you’ll do it, and the length of each planned session. You should make sure that your pony does a real variety of work from flatwork to jumping, hacking, and even groundwork. The variety will keep him interested and give him a well-rounded work-out routine.

Top tip

We’d advise keeping a diary recording what you do with your pony every time you see him. This makes sure you stick to your plan and allows you to look back and see what worked well and what didn’t!

Hacking

Getting out and about and riding on various surfaces is great fitness work for your pony. As surfaces are rarely even out in the big wide world, hacking improve your pony’s balance and self-carriage; he’ll need to learn to watch where he puts his feet and carry himself, and this requires a lot of energy and muscle control. As an added advantage, many ponies feel more positive and energetic out on hacks than in the arena, so use this positive energy to get them marching forward and building strength.

Hillwork

Riding up and down hills builds your pony’s strength and fitness and improves self-carriage and balance. When you ride up or down a slope, focus on keeping your pony forwards and straight. This will encourage him to correctly use his hindquarters and hindlegs to power himself up the hill.

While doing faster work on a hill can help improve aerobic fitness, you need to be very careful of faster work downhill as this can put strain on the joints and result in injury. We would advise that you walk, trot or canter going uphill, but only walk when coming downhill. Walking downhill is still hard work for your pony as he will need to engage his core and flex his hocks.

Polework

Using poles during flatwork sessions is a good way to increase the work-out your pony is getting. Moving over poles requires extra effort so helps build general cardio fitness and improve core and leg strength. Try different layouts and walk, trot and canter over poles to get the maximum impact.

Interval training

Interval training is quickly gaining popularity as a mechanism for improving pony fitness, as it works quickly to increase levels of aerobic fitness. With interval training, you mix separate periods of walk, trot and canter, gradually increasing the amount of time spent in the faster gaits as your pony gets fitter.

It is advised that you don’t start interval training until you’ve worked on the other four activities above, as your pony will need a base level of fitness to be able to do this work.

An example of interval training for a pony might look something like this:

15 minute warm-up in walk

3-5 minutes of trot

2 minutes of walk

3 minutes of trot

1 minute of walk

2 minutes of canter

2 minutes of walk

2 minutes of canter

2 minutes of walk

3 minutes of trot

1 minute of walk

3-5 minutes of trot

10 minutes of walk to cool down

Learn to lunge

Lungeing is a super valuable tool for working on all of the things you do under saddle but without the weight of a rider. It also allows you to watch your pony move and work and see how what you feel under the saddle translates to what your pony is doing with his body.

Equipment

To lunge your pony safely, you’ll need:

• A bridle with the reins removed, or a specific lungeing cavesson

• A lunge line

• A lunge whip

• Your helmet, gloves and sturdy shoes

• A safe, enclosed area such as an arena or a round pen

Where to start?

As with all things with your pony, the most important consideration is safety for you and your pony. This means wearing the right clothing, using the right equipment, and starting slowly, so your pony understands what is being asked of him. Even if your pony is generally very well-behaved, he might find lungeing exciting, so start by leading him around the arena and practise stopping and starting using just your voice. You should walk next to his shoulder and hold the lunge line roughly a hand’s width from the clip that attaches it to his bridle or cavesson. Once you know your pony has understood the exercise and will stop when you ask and move on when you want him to, you’re ready to try lungeing.

Your position

The first thing to think about is you and your pony’s positioning. Imagine a triangle with you at the point and your pony as the base. Your lunge line and whip make the two sides of the triangle. You should be positioned roughly at your pony’s shoulder, which keeps you safe if he kicks out. If you move too far ahead of your pony, he will want to slow down or stop, and if you fall too far behind his shoulder, he will think you are driving him forwards and may speed up.

Lungeing

Once you understand your position relative to your pony, you can start lungeing. Here are the basic steps:

1. Start by walking your pony on a small circle around X.

2. Once he’s walking confidently, allow him to make the circle a little larger and gradually stop walking with him. You want to stand as close to X as you can, staying level with his shoulders. Let out the lunge line as he moves further away from you. If he is slow to move away, you can point your whip towards his side (around his ribcage) to encourage him to step away from you.

3. Use your voice and the whip to move your pony forwards. If he drifts in, gesture with the whip towards his ribcage, and he should step out again.

4. You want to keep constant contact on the lunge line without pulling on your pony or letting the line become so long that it drags on the floor. NOTE: Never wrap the lunge line around your hand, as if your pony gets a fright, you could end up with your hand stuck and may even get dragged.

5. After a few circles, try getting your pony to stop. Use your voice and relax your body to show him that he should slow down. If this doesn’t work, you can put a little bit of pressure on the lunge line, but be careful not to pull him in towards you or unbalance him. Once he has stopped, you can walk towards his shoulder, looping up the lunge line as you go. Praise him and then repeat the process on the other rein.

Top tip

If you struggle to keep your lunge line neat, practice with it away from your pony the first few times. You can clip the lunge line onto the back of a sturdy chair or other fixed object and practice creating and letting out loops of the line.

10. Dosanko Pony

Text | Christie Wolhuter

We move our world tour of the pony over to a different set of islands, far across the seas, in Japan. On a small island known as Hokkaido lives a pony called the Dosanko, or Hokkaido Pony. The Dosanko’s official name in Japanese is ‘Hokkaido Washuba’.

The Dosanko

The Dosanko is one of the rare species that is native to Japan. This willing, gentle pony is found mostly in roan colours, but other solid coloured ponies do exist. The breed is exceptionally strong for its size and in modern times, the ponies are used in the mountains where trucks and other equipment cannot easily travel. The ponies are also used by locals as tour guides to show tourists the local terrain.

Did you know?

The history

It was thought the ponies were brought over to the island between 1603-1868 by fisherman from the Honshu region. On the island, they were used for transportation and to help carry the herring fish loads. The ponies then had to survive on their own when the fisherman left the island every year in Autumn. This meant they had to survive extreme winter weather conditions on their own, with very little grazing. Only the toughest ones survived to breed, so the ponies today are the ancestors of these very tough first ponies. Even today, the Dosanko feed mostly on bamboo grass in the mountain regions and are left for six months to fend for themselves. They apparently return to the ranches on their own in the spring to escape the bears that emerge from hibernation!

Imagine your pony only got ridden for half of the year, and was expected to pick up his job after surviving alone in the snow for half of the year? The fantastic temperament and hardy nature of the Hokkaido pony seems to be one of his greatest assets and allows him to survive this challenging existence.

Not one of the native breeds currently living in Japan is bigger than a pony.

Origins

The Hokkaido pony is thought to be a descendant of the Nanbu horse, a breed that resided in the Tohoku region of Honshu. Due to the fact that the history of the Nanbu is not definitive and the animals are now extinct, the exact origins of the Hokkaido’s ancestors are not known. The Nanbu horse was said to be a prized military horse and because larger military horses were needed in the 16th Century, they were ultimately cross-bred with larger breeds. However, the ponies that were sent to Hokkaido Island with the fishermen were not cross-bred (at least to the same degree), and thus they likely have remained close in heritage to the Nanbu.

Today

A breed registry was formed in 1979 and today it is thought that there are around 2000 ponies on the island. A research grant has been given to the Hokkaido University in order to develop conservation efforts for the breed.

Tendons and ligaments

Tendons and ligaments are essential structures in your pony’s body. They work together with muscle and fascia to create movement and allow your pony to do all the marvellous things he is capable of!

Tendons

Tendons are long, cordlike, fibrous bundles that attach muscle to bone. They are very strong but do not stretch very much.

Tendons help your pony move by either:

1. Pulling on a bone – With this, the muscle contracts causing the tendon to pull on the bone to move the joint.

2. By stretch and recoil – In this case, tendons are stretched when the weight is on the leg; then, as the pony takes the weight off the leg, the tendons snap back like an elastic band to create movement.

Ligaments

Ligaments generally connect bone to bone across joints and are found throughout the body. They are different from tendons as they do not connect to muscle, only bone. Their job is to support the joint and prevent over-stretching of the joint.

Ligaments, like tendons, are made of fibres. The amount of stretch within the ligament depends on the amount and type of the fibres, the ligament’s location, the ligament’s job, and the range of movement within the joint it crosses.

Injuries

The most common cause of tendon and ligament injury is repetitive strain. Repetitive strain occurs when the same movement is repeated over and over again. For instance, always practising the same dressage movement could lead to tendon or ligament strain.

Other factors that can cause damage to a tendon or ligament are:

• poor posture

• inadequate warm-up or cool down

• overworking a tired pony

• trauma to the tendon or ligament

• damage to the muscle attached to a tendon

• poor conformation such as long, sloping pasterns

• poor hoof balance

• a pony carrying too much weight either because of a heavy rider or being overweight themselves

• rough, deep or hard ground

• overheating of the tendons with bandages or poorly ventilated boots

• too much fast work before the pony is ready.

Injuries are most common in flexor tendons, check ligaments and the suspensory ligaments. In the case of a mild strain to a ligament or tendon, there is little or no heat, pain or swelling in the area, but where more serious damage has occurred, and collagen fibres have been torn, the fibres produce heat, swelling, pain and normally lameness.

If you think your pony may have a tendon or ligament injury, you must phone your vet immediately.

Unfortunately, because tendons and ligaments do not have a blood supply, they can take 12-18 months to heal fully.

The name of the species which includes horses, donkeys, mules and zebras.

A baby horse that is still nursing from their mother.

A baby horse around 6 months of age and younger than one year that is weaned from its mother.

A baby horse that is one year old.

A young male horse four years old or younger.

A young female horse four years old or younger.

An adult female horse older than four.

An adult male horse older than four that has not been gelded.

A male horse that has been gelded.

A pregnant mare.

The mother of a horse.

A small horse under 14.2hh that is full grown.

The father of a horse.

THE PAIN FACE OF HORSES

The facial signs marked here may be visible to you if your pony is in pain:

◊ Hollow dip above the eye

◊ Eye half-closed

◊ Ears back

◊ Wrinkles above the eye

◊ Eye appears triangular in shape

◊ White of the eye visible around the iris

◊ Tight nostrils

◊ Tight and pointed muzzle

◊ Firmly closed mouth

◊ Wrinkles around the lips

◊ Tightly closed jaws

◊ Visible muscle lines on the cheek

If you are worried that your pony is in pain, contact your vet for an assessment.

Did you know? A pony’s teeth grow around 4.2mm every year.

W e a r e d e d i c a t e d t o s o c k s

Y o u w o n ' t w a n t t o w e a r a n y t h i n g e l s e .

O u r r i d e r s a g r e e .

w w w . c a l i c o e q u e s t r i a n . c o m

5-Star products from Leovet

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Are these show day essentials in your grooming kit yet?

Available in-store and online at Western Shoppe. Learn more at www.westernshoppe.com

Q: What kind of boots should my pony wear for jumping?

A:The type of boots your pony needs for jumping will depend on the sort of jumping you do with him. If you’re doing eventing and cross-country, you’ll need sturdy brushing boots to protect his legs in case he knocks them on fixed fences.

However, if you’re showjumping, you have three options:

• Brushing boots provide excellent protection for your pony’s legs, as they cover both the front and back of the legs. However, it is thought that they might overheat the legs, which is bad for the tendons and ligaments. If you are going to use brushing boots, you need to make sure that they are well ventilated!

• Tendon boots are open at the front but support the tendons at the back of your pony’s legs. This support for the tendons is very important, particularly when you start jumping a little bigger.

• No boots are usually okay for very small jumps, but we generally wouldn’t recommend this option.

If you are still unsure, chat to your instructor and see what they advise.

Tendon Boot

Q: Why does my pony buck in canter transitions?

A:Ponies buck for many reasons, but pain or discomfort is the most common and important to rule out. Therefore, the first thing you need to do is get your pony checked out by a vet and make sure his saddle fits correctly. Back pain and issues with the sacroiliac are common causes of bucking, so your vet will want to rule these out. Similarly, a tight saddle could be pinching him as he goes into the canter, which will lead to him bucking in response.

If your vet and saddle fitter are both happy that pain is not the issue, then the best way to prevent your pony from bucking in the transition is to keep him moving forwards. Ensure that you are not pulling back on the reins when he picks up canter because this could cause frustration and prevent him from moving into the canter as he needs to. Instead, you want to soften your hands and gently encourage him forwards. This should reduce the chance of bucking!

Another option is to go into canter on a 20-metre circle to help you keep control. This encourages a correct transition and maintains the bend, which may help to avoid the buck.

We can also highly recommend using a neck strap while you get to the bottom of the issue!

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