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Cory has taken up a new sport

Sara April 20, 2009 February 22, 2011

Forums

Lately I've been pondering how best to get Cory back into shape after pretty much chilling out and growing hair all winter. (Cory, not me.) He has no topline so I didn't feel it was fair to just hop right on his back, and I try not to do too much lunging because of the repetitive stress caused by the circle. Anyway lunging is boooo-ring. I've been meaning to do more running because I've been seriously slacking in that department so I figured, why not take him with me? I took the reins off his bridle and threaded a stud chain through the bit rings and off we went. We attracted many smiles and waves from drivers on the road and encountered lots of things for a young stallion to think about. Today Cory saw cars, motorcycles, bicycles, golfers (one man wanted to know if I was running the pony or if the pony was running me), dogs, and various parked farm equipment. He got a little wide-eyed a few times but he was so good! I loved the clip-clop sound of his hooves running with me. He did go a little faster once we were headed back to the farm but he was still totally manageable and it helped me keep my pace up anyway. We did about two miles today on a ten-minute-mile pace, just to start slowly. I'm excited!

TwinCreeksFarm Mon, 04/20/2009 - 23:25

Wow! Very good! He should be up in shape in no time, and by the time your done, he'll also probably be almost bombproof.
I wish I could do that with Cisco, but the fact that he's double my size and thinks humans are other horsies who want to play, doubled with the fact that there is [i]no where to run [/i]( :BH ), I'm not sure I can pull it off. :lol: I think his previous owner may have babied him way too much and didn't give him any horse buddies to play with and pester when he was young...

Andrea Mon, 04/20/2009 - 23:31

I walk with the ponies all the time! I'm afraid to run though as we're on pavement.
Will jogging on pavement with an unshod pony ruin the legs and cause lameness or is that an old wives tale?

Sara Mon, 04/20/2009 - 23:47

I'm not worried about Cory's legs or hooves on the pavement. His feet are tough as nails and grow like weeds, and as runners know, paved roads (not cement sidewalks) actually have a little give to them. I offered to let him jog in the dirt/gravel shoulder a few times but he seemed to prefer the road. Maybe he likes the clip-clop sound too. :D

TCF, I had thought of the bomb-proof aspect too. He's one of my calmest horses so that's what makes it possible to do this, of course, but we should even be able to do parades and such after doing this for a while. He was already the show-and-tell pony for a class of 18 three-year-olds and behaved like a perfect gentleman (I did not tell the parents of the children clustered around him that he was a stallion) and I'd actually like to start marching the Junior Rose Parade here with students and a nice banner to drum up business. He's the perfect candidate. I'd just have the students walking in their show clothes and Cory would tag along for the Ooh Pony factor.