Pony (Red Sky)

Pony is a pretty bay dun. He had received some training at Riverton Honor Farm in Wyoming. We adopted him for our grandson, a special needs child, who was staying with us. Soon after the adoption our grandson went home. It made it more difficult to train the horses with three but Pony is such a nice little horse that we never once seriously considered sending him back to the BLM.

Pony is smaller than the other two horses, especially smaller than Shunka but he can hold his own. He did it at first by kicking. He could kick both back and cow kick. We began working to erase that behavior right away. He now kicks out around his humans only when truly frightened. He has been frightened like that only once in over a year and he kicked up and out in back but not at anyone just as a demonstration of how scared he was. He does still kick the other horses in our little herd now and then. Nobody runs over Pony!

Pony loves to be with his humans. He will follow you anywhere you ask without a halter and lead. He took to clicker training very fast. In no time at all he was backing all over the place for a treat. He is  learning Shadowing and to carry my weight on his back.  He is doing well with both. Our next goal is to get him to go out and circle me at a walk and trot on command.  He doesn't lunge. I tried to get him to circle me like that a few times with the stick and string but it was a complete no go. Since he knows how to run I haven't pushed it but am now approached it with the clicker as an exercise in control.

Until recently he had an aversion to stepping forward when you stood in front of him and applied pressure on the lead rope. I used the clicker to teach him the command "Step up!' He now steps up to which ever side of me I indicate with my hand.

He is a very mellow little guy, slow to frighten, and the most patient of the three. If you leave him anywhere he will patiently wait for your return. I  tell people he is a "Good Waiter."