Dartmoor Pony Training Centre

Great success for feral foal workshop!!

2011-10-31T07:52:00.000-07:00

Well we are now all thoroughly exhausted but very happy after a wonderful feral foal handling course with fabulous Sarah Weston!!! Last week really flew by and everyone involved really enjoyed themselves, the atmosphere was so lovely and peaceful, the real world has been a bit of a shock ha ha. I have taken on one foal myself and the DPTC has taken on another, they are called Suki and Bella and are both a real credit to the breed, can't wait to see how they turn out. Suki was def. the head of the class and graduated to leading around the barn and having her feet picked up. The ponies were all very different and gave everyone a chance to see all sorts of reactions and different techniques for dealing with them. Can't say enough thank you's to Sarah and all the tutors who give up their time for free and refused to even take petrol money from us, gorgeous people. We do still have 3 adorable foals from the same herd as Suki and Bella looking for homes, who will otherwise sadly become lion food!! DO get in touch if you think you could offer a home to any of these amazing ponies. We are now all really fired up for trying to run the course again next year but we will need to raise a chunk of funds for insurance and we are hoping buy the mesh panels which are so vital for making pens for the course and will be looking for corporate sponsors for the panels (see photos) so also get in touch if you own or work for a company who might consider this. Very exciting, futures looking bright!

Urgent Appeal, homes for Colts!!!

2011-10-11T09:02:00.000-07:00

URGENT APPEAL- these little Dartmoor hill pony colts are destined for zoo meat unless we find them a home in the next week or so. He is from a farmer who is very supportive of our work and who is trying to work with on schemes to produce less stock each year, but with the poor economic climate he cannot afford to take colts to market, where they almost def. won't sell. If you think you could give these gorgeous chaps a home, please contact us. We know we can't make a difference to them all, but we can make a difference to some. And you could be the difference between life and death!! There may also be fillies available if they don't sell at market.

Don't forget the pony market this Thursday, the 13th of Oct. at Chagford as well, we will be there with training advice as well. Around 400 ponies will be going through the ring. Charlotte Faulkner of the Friends of the Dartmoor Hill Pony can bid, buy and hold ponies for buyers who cannot attend themselves as well! So you've got no excuse lol x

Open day Thanks and rehoming push!

2011-10-05T11:27:00.001-07:00

Here's a picture of Alfie and friends at the open day, waiting for their adoring fans!! Well we had our little open day on the 1st of October and would just like to thank everyone who came along for making it a success. We had the most amazing weather, a good turn out, the ponies behaved beyond brilliantly and we all had a wonderful time. We have also hopefully re-homed another pony yay. Our lovely volunteer Ro's clicker demo was very popular and Mikey and Leo both performed perfectly. I'd like to try some more of this myself after seeing the lovely positive atmosphere it created for the ponies. Our Alfie was a super star and escorted lots of small children around the horse agility course without batting a horsey eyelid lol.

Well we are feeling much more relaxed about the coming winter, now that it looks as though it might finally be arriving ha ha, and we have re-homed a fair few ponies over the summer. Just as well after our less than bountiful hay harvest eek!

We do however still have a few really lovely ponies looking for homes, particularly Brambles, Courage, Mikey and Milo. So do go take a look at the re-homing blog (dptcrehoming.blogspot.com) if you think you could help? We also have two or three rather wild little mares from rescue backgrounds who might make a nice little conservation grazing herd for someone or for an organization like the wildlife trust, any suggestions or contacts gratefully recieved ??? Well the log burner and choccy are calling my name, wrap up pony pals xx

Pony market correction!

2011-09-28T02:13:00.000-07:00

Sorry about that peeps lol, I blame the boss, the Tavistock market is this Friday, the 3oth of Sept. We will hopefully be attending handing out training info. and support for anyone taking on ponies. Sadly we can't take on any more ponies so we have promised to leave the trailer at lol!!!
Above the poster from Charlotte Faulkner about the sales, hopefully see some of you there?

Pony markets coming up, open day and training event!

2011-09-25T10:19:00.000-07:00

Busy busy busy lol!!!!

Well we have had a great summer at the DPTC, we have managed to re-home several ponies though we still have quite a few more waiting for forever homes! Autumn is definitely upon us and our only real worry now is that we got very little hay from our fields this year and did not cut enough to get us through the winter!!!! If anyone would like to donate hay or haylage and your in the west country PLEASE do let us know, the ponies would be very grateful!!!!

Plenty of positives though, with ponies waiting to go to their new homes, the open day still on for the 1st of October and the semi feral foal handling course on the 24th-28th of Oct which we still have spectator spaces for, so come see us or get in touch........or both ha ha!

This is also the time of year for the annual pony markets;

Sat 1st Oct - Tavistock

Thurs 13th Oct - Chagford

For more information please contact Charlottte Faulkner at the Dartmoor Hill Pony Association. info@dartmoorhillpony.com / 07734 785644.

For help with training your pony after you take it on from sale please contact us - dartmoorponytrainingcentre@yahoo.co.uk / 07802 218169. Or come to our open day on sat 1st October to see what we do and how wonderfully these ponies can become given the chance.

Open Day!!!

2011-09-11T07:18:00.000-07:00

On 1st October 2011 between 10am and 2pm the Dartmoor Pony Training Centre will be hosting their annual Open Day at Moretonhampstead Riding Club’s arena next to the George V Sports Hall, the event will include clicker training demonstrations with the ponies and horse agility.

At the event will be the DPTC’s sponsor ponies Trixie and Leo ready to meet their sponsors as well as a selection of ponies currently available for re-homing. The Centre is currently overrun with ponies and so if you are thinking of homing a pony the Open Day is an excellent event to attend enabling you to meet prospective ponies and see them in action through demonstrations and workshops. At the event you can find out about the DPTC and how to re-home a pony from them as well as learn about the Dartmoor Hill Pony as a breed; there will be lots of people to answer any questions and offer advice on training.

The clicker training demonstrations will be 11am and 11.30am and this will be followed by a horse agility course where the DPTC ponies will have a go, people will be invited to try for themselves with a DPTC pony, the horse agility will start at 12.30pm.

The Open Day is being run separately from the very popular annual 5 day Semi-Feral Foal Handling course this year. Although fully booked for participants there are still a number of spaces available on this course for spectators which will run from 24th to 28th October in Widdecombe.

For more information on the Open Day, Handling Workshop or if you’d like to offer a pony a home please contact Natalie Torr on 07802 218169 or e-mail dartmoorponytrainingcentre@yahoo.co.uk

Great training session, Mikey and Star!

2011-09-07T04:25:00.000-07:00

Well school term started Tuesday (hooray) so I've had a bit more time to help Nat with pony training. They should be coming on leaps and bounds now lol!!!

We took Mikey and Star down to the riding club arena, so that hopefully when our open day roles around (Oct. the 1st) they should be used to hanging out down there. They were very good boys, not worried by buses and cars on the way down, not even the crazy old lady in the 4x4 who flat refused to slow down!

We go out the scarey dangly shower curtain and the tarp and cones, they were total stars, it is quite hard o find things they are scared of really, we will have to be very inventive to give them a real challenge ha ha. Mikey really is the most clever, quick and responsive pony. Which does mean that he can be a challenge, but in the right hands he could be an amazing pony and do ANYTHING! He just needs that special person to put the time into him.

Spectator spaces still available!

2011-09-05T04:07:00.000-07:00

We have been full for participants for quite some time on this course but we still have plenty of room for spectators! A great opportuntiy to see the work and what these wonderful, gentle techniques can achieve and meet lovely like minded people.

Events for your diary!!

2011-08-25T04:45:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a bit of a busy time at the DPTC, playing musical ponies at the fields (that's a whole other story lol) to manage grazing and training schedules. After our continued push for rehoming we have quite a bit of interest but still seem to have loads of lovely ponies waiting for homes. so don't ve shy, take one home today rofl!!!!

We have been invited to attend a fabulous local event with the ponies on SUNDAY 4TH SEPTEMBER, not long so put it in your diaries!

We will be at the family fun dog show in Kingsteignton thanks to the very generous Barry of BJ's catering services, who will also be there doing refreshments on the day.

We will be bringing some of our ponies with us, which will be great training for the ponies and give everyone a chance to see how gorgeous they are!!

As well as Dartmoor ponies, if that's not a good enough reason on it's own LOL?, the show will have dog agility displays, fun classes, bouncy castles, face painting, beer tent, gymkhana races, clear round jumping, terrrier and lurcher classes and even a ferret show. All this in aid of local animal charities like us, brilliant.

So do come down and say hello, the ponies and us will be pleased to see all comers (especially those with a spare field tee hee). Should be a great family day out.

SUNDAY 4TH SEPTEMBER, AT BELLAMARSH MEADOWS, CHUDLEIGH ROAD, KINGSTEIGNTON, TQ13 0AJ.

ps hope you like the pic, two of my favourite ponies (other than Alfie of course) Merry and Brambles playing you scratch my bum...i'll scratch yours! Both looking for homesx

Picture over load!

2011-08-07T07:51:00.000-07:00

This is Indigo with Mikey, he is one super clever pony, and staying one step ahead of him is a challenge lol!
Tango is so sweet and sensitive but has really taken a shine to Indigo and they did some good work today!
Indigo and Tango x
Asking Prince to back up, he is still a bit sticky with this, but improving every time.
Monty Roberts eat your heart out, lovely Courage after some of Indigo's advance and retreat work, happy to join up.

It was our turn to check ponies in both fields today, so Indigo (the mini horse whisperer in training) was my assistant, while the other two amused themselves in the woods. It is a bit more challenging training children and WILD ponies at the same time tee hee, but with carefull handling and direction from mummy we all stay safe and get the ponies used to children all at the same time!

Proud mummy!

2011-08-06T12:24:00.000-07:00

Yes that's me! Alfie is doing so well and Indigo is on a very steep learning curve about "natural" horsemanship lol. He is very pleased to see us (nothing to do with the carrots ha ha) and is happy to be lead around by Indigo, his stopping and backing up are coming on treat and he starting to yeild his shoulder, as well as his quarters now. He has a had saddle on several times with not so much as a funny look and I have been laying over his back with no reaction. So proud of him and of the girls.

Mean while we have many plans in the pipeline at the DPTC, show visits, horse agility and open days all in the offing, so WATCH THIS SPACE!!!

We also have the Sarah Weston ferrel foal handling course (which I am also on yay) coming up in october, busy busy. Most of all we are still pushing to find great homes for ponies and fundraising, fundraising, fundraising lol, so that we will be prepared for the winter and the hay prices eeeek! Keep spreading the word freinds, the ponies say thank you (though it sounds more like neighhhhhh) xx

Tinker x

2011-08-05T07:34:00.000-07:00

Tinker is currently at loan home in Bridford but coming back due to lack of time to bring him on. Ready to be brought on to ride or drive. Lovely handsome cheeky chappy! Tinker turned 4 this year and is about 12hh.

Adhorse

2011-07-29T03:03:00.001-07:00

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Our Aaron Truelove!

2011-07-28T10:02:00.001-07:00

AKA Alfie, we have signed the papers and made him officially our loan pony, the girls are over the moon.

Indigo worked with him for the first time the other day and he responded very well to her, very proud of both them, isn't he gorgeous, not that i'm biased lol???

Plenty more looking for homes though everyone? and all as lovely as Alfie (well nearly tee hee)x

Child proofing!

2011-07-25T12:08:00.000-07:00

Took Indigo (my eldest daughter, who is nearly 8) with me today, checked the boys field, they were very brave, if slightly surprised, by such little people lol. They were very interested and it was a good learning curve both ways. Indigo was surprised to see the effect her actions had on such tuned in ponies and they learnt that slightly erratic behaviour doesn't spell certain doom ha ha.

Here she is with Tango and Hobo, two ponies who were very nervous, they've come a long way.....now they just need lovely forever homes????? x

Hobo x

2011-07-24T10:00:00.000-07:00

Well I had the perfect start to my Sunday, checking both fields full of ponies. Spent some quality time cuddling my Alfie as well. I arrived at the BOYS field to find all of them, except George, lying down at the top of the field. All of them slowly got up to come say hello and the last one still lying down was little Hobo. We collected Hobo as an unclaimed stray, who turned up on a village green where he shouldn't have been, his name is perfect. He had been so lonely and chased about so much that he wanted nothing to do with people, up until a few weeks ago he would only have a halter on if a bucket of food was involved. Then last week with a little more work he progressed very qiuckly and let Natalie and me put on and take of a head collar without food. So today when I arrived I thought I'd sneak up and get a picture of him relaxing if I could get close enough. Not only was he happy with a picture but he let me spend several minutes scratching him and just chilling out while he lay there. A very special moment to see this pony letting humans be with him at his most vulnerable. Bless him. So here are his pictures because he is of course looking for a loan home. He's now 2 and a bit years old and around 11.1hh. Hobo is another really sweet but sensitive boy. He has just learnt to wear a headcollar and be led around a little bit. We'll be building up from this to get him more and more confident and then work on picking up his feet. He's learning quickly but needs a sensitive home to take him further. Would be a fab companion pony or small riding pony.

Rowan x

2011-07-24T09:42:00.000-07:00

This lovely black chap (with a couple of white hankerchiefs, incase you want to do coloured classes lol) is Rowan he's 2 and a bit years old and around 12hh high at the moment. He is really handsome chap and has a lovely mellow temperament. He can be a bit of a teenager sometimes but is very easy to pursuade! He'll make a great riding or driving pony. Needs to get better at having feet handled but very good at catching and leading.

Loading practice and getting wet.

2011-07-22T07:58:00.000-07:00

Well the rain is obvious, hooray for summer lol. We had the trailer up at the barn in the field this morning and the ponies took the opportunity to do some loading practice without us ha ha, Monty Roberts eat your heart out! They love anything new and exciting and going in and out of the trailer they just love. Just goes to show that with the right sort of start loading need never become an issue. We put Star and Buzz in the trailer and they took a little trip down the field then we took them out, happy as larry. Then we took a walk round the lanes and Trixie, who recently came back to us, long lined and Buzz and Star walked. They were all super stars, very brave, Buzz chased tractors and I'm sure they all worked off some pounds up and down the hills (as did we lol). The hardest bit of trailer training is getting the little monkeys out again! Brilliant! This is Buzz, Star and Mikey, show em how it's done lads.

Find us on twitter!

2011-07-21T09:44:00.000-07:00

You can now follow my tweets for upcoming events and news from the DPTC and my ramblings and fascinating facts about the wonderful Dartmoor Hill ponies!

http://twitter.com/Dartmoorpony

...And the sun came out!

2011-07-21T09:25:00.000-07:00

Well for a little bit anyway. After some very dark and brooding Dartmoor days we finally have a little bit of summer here. The fields had started to look all muddy and wintery, booo, hopefully we'll get a little bit of summer weather, otherwise the next 6 weeks will pass very slowly lol!! I have just posted some new profiles of ponies looking for loan homes, so please take a look and spread the word. Kisses from ponies xxx

Tiny Tim x

2011-07-21T09:06:00.000-07:00

Tiny Tim is a real sweetie and as his name suggests, one of our smallest residents he's 2 and a bit years old and around 10hh. Tiny is a real sweetie and great at catching, handling and leading. Needs more foot work - should be getting better soon when we do more work on this! Would make a sweet little childs pony or small driving pony.

Tango x

2011-07-21T09:01:00.000-07:00

This is the adorable little Tango, he's 2 and a bit years old. Around 11hh. Tango is a sweet and sensitive boy. He can be caught and led around but he is a bit nervy and needs more confidence building. He needs work on his feet too but we should be building up to this soon. Needs someone who is able to be sensitive in their handling. Would make fab pony for the right home!

Prince x

2011-07-21T08:51:00.000-07:00

This sweet boy is Prince he's about 2 and a bit years old. Around 12hh high but will grow a bit more. Quite a solid pony so should make good riding pony or driving. Prince is a very handsome chappy and has a really lovely temperament. He is really good at being caught and led around now but needs work on his feet still. We're hoping to work on this so he should be improving soon! He has a lovely temperament though and learns new things quickly. He's still got winter woolies on in this pic and is much shinier now :)

Brambles x

2011-07-21T08:43:00.000-07:00

Now here is one of my personal favourites, such a stunner and definitly going to prove that you don't need to shell out a fortune to get real quality pony. Hill ponies are by no means always the poorer cousins of the stud bred Darties! This is Brambles 3 and a bit years old. Around 12hh high and dark bay. He is a really handsome chappy and has a lovely nature. He is fine to be caught, led around and be handled but needs work on his feet. He is okay with his front feet but we're working to get him confident on his backs. He would make a lovely show pony or kids riding pony. The ultimate diamond in the rough lol!

Courage x

2011-07-21T08:39:00.000-07:00

This striking liver chestnut boy is Courage3 and a bit years old. Courage is a very friendly confident pony and is getting really good at being led around and having his feet done. He recently had the farrier trim all 4 feet but needs more work to get him totally confident. He is a really sweet pony and loves attention. Around 12hh high and quite chunky.

2011-07-18T08:41:00.000-07:00

Left to right Rowan, Tiny Tim and Tango x

Lovely rainy Devon day!

2011-07-18T08:19:00.000-07:00

Well having started with a drought this summer seems as though it is sponsored by the colour grey and brought to you by wet!!! Oh well at least the grass is enjoying the weather and our little native Dartmoors are thoroughly un-bothered by it. In fact it means less flies so happy all round.

Natalie and I whent up to the second field where all the boys are hanging out putting on weight and playing lots of rough teenager games. Wonderful to watch and we are working on reminding them to leave us out of those leg biting games lol!

Did a little leading work with them all and picked up feet and so on. These ponies in their little wild herd are such great teachers. They read your signals so carefully and it very quickly teaches you to do as little as is needed to get a really sweet and responsive pony. As Natalie so rightly said, a good lesson to take back to our more domesticated horses when working towards lightness.

We wormed everyone with some kindly donated wormers and all ponies were very brave about having the weigh tape on. Have put a picture of the boys all hanging about looking for more food and attention.

Star x

2011-07-09T00:12:00.001-07:00

Star came back to us from his previous home where he was a companion pony because he was very overweight. (yes this is the slim version eeek lol) He has a lovely sweet temperament and would make a fab riding / driving pony (quite strong build,) but needs to be doing some kind of work to keep his weight controlled. He is a lovely pony and get's on particularly well with Buzz. That's a not very subtle hint, well why have just one Dartmoor when you could have two!!!!

George x

2011-07-09T00:06:00.000-07:00

George is a really striking black pony, I guess the plain coloured ones sometimes get overlooked. But bless him he is such a character, he has won me over straight away, my daughter adores him and he is always following people about, hoping it will be his turn for some training and cuddle. George is around 3 years old and is a really lovely boy. He can at times be sensitive and needs calm, patient handling but if he got out and about more I think he'd settle down quite easily. He is quite lightweight and only around 11.2 so ideally would be best for a child or small driving pony. He would also be okay as a companion pony as he's quite fine so not as much at risk of laminitis. Have you got the perfect job for Georgey boy?

Rona x

2011-07-09T00:03:00.001-07:00

Next is little Rona, so pretty and such a sweet gentle nature. Rona is around 3 years old and 11hh ish. She is a really sweet mare and is very gentle with people. She is often at the bottom of the pecking order but just seems to get on with things. She has mild allergies so would need someone who had experience of this and could keep an eye on her. she loses some condition in the summer due to this so needs lots of care and TLC. I think she would make a fab kids pony / companion with the right home. Maybe you are that home?

Buzz x

2011-07-08T23:59:00.000-07:00

...and next, another of my favourites, Buzz is a really striking little chap. Buzz is a real sweetie and LOVES attention. He is sometimes a bit "in your face" so we're working with him on creating stronger boundaries at the moment and only allowing him into our space when he's asked to. He is quite stocky but only 11hh ish. Would be ideal for kids pony, driving, farm work etc. He really needs to be doing something as he has a really active brain and loves attention and fun! Could you be Buzz's forever family?

Ponies looking for homes!

2011-07-08T23:46:00.000-07:00

Morning all, as promised here are just some of the ponies we currently have looking for loan homes, all have a brief description. Details of our loan policy are on the main website and you can contact one of our team by email or phone, thanks so much for looking. First little Mikey!

Mikey, approx 5 years old, 11hh ish. In need of a home that are willing to take things slowly and break down into small steps. Mikey is a very bright but sensitive pony. With the right home could be amazing! He has responded really really well to clicker training; it makes him really think about what we're asking of him.

New beginnings!

2011-07-08T13:38:00.000-07:00

Well for me anyway lol. My name is Sarah Edwards-Tooke. After Kathryns sad retirement, my move to the area, and my starting as a volunteer with the DPTC, I have been lucky enough to take over the blog!

I will be doing my best to keep you up to date with the ponies goings on and will be updating the list of ponies currently looking for loan homes. With the prospects of another hard winter and ever rising hay prices we really would like as many of these guys to find special forever loan homes. Where they can fulfill their great potential and lead happy natural lives as someones pride and joy!

I have 3 young daughters and currently no equine family member (well that won't do now will it lol) so we are hoping to take on one of the DPTC ponies for ourselves, to become a riding pony for my daughters and myself. We might even try go Western, what could be more appropriate lol! So i'll keep you up to date our progress to.

A local riding club recently organised a horse agility taster session, great fun was had by all. Natalie took one of the DPTC ponies, the lovely Leo, here's a couple of pictures of him with my oldest daughter. She loved it, would highly recommend for anyone to have a go at this, great for building trust and spook busting in a fun and friendly way!

Well thanks for reading, my next post will be a list of available ponies, so watch this space x

A sad farewell from me

2011-04-13T06:01:00.000-07:00

It is with regret that I have decided to retire from the Dartmoor Pony Training Centre as Fundraising Officer, this is due to personal health reasons which have made it impossible for me to continue.

It has been a very tough and sad decision, the DPTC has given my much opportunity, fun and satisfaction as well as a lot of hard work and tears over the years! I was there when Natalie set it up and have seen it grow since 2005 and hope to watch it continue to do so. Experiences include filming with ITV for This Morning and last years award ceremony at the House of Lords.

Of course the main point of the DPTC is the rescue and re-homing of the ponies and education of people in how to handle and deal with feral ponies. I have seen many of our ponies go on to wonderful loan homes who are now leading great lives, we have also helped numerous people with their unhandled foals and the yearly course we run has changed from a one day open day to a 5 day semi feral foal handling course! I will still be involved with this course this year.

A huge thank you to Natalie for giving me the opportunity to help these ponies and hopefully a way forward will be found.

Good news is the Friends of the Dartmoor Hill Pony are now a registered charity and so should be able to help much more with projects which can do nothing but help the future of the hill ponies.

I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to give up something that has been so important to me over the last 6 years but I have finally realised my health has to come first, I can’t help any body if I am stuck on a sofa unable to get out!!

In the mean time Trixie the sponsor pony is currently in a new home learning how to drive, she is staying at Westown Farm and has been out experiencing lots of new adventures including a walk down Exeter Quay! If you live Exeter way do look out for her whilst she is out and about! An update on how she is doing with some photos should be posted soon.

Merry and Milo have been re-homed too.

We do however have lots of ponies in need of homes, we have had quite a few back and many ready to bring on as riding ponies so please do get in touch with Natalie if you are interested.

Farewell!
Kathryn

Recent Newsletter!

2011-01-27T05:18:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Dartmoor Pony Training Centre

Christmas 2010 Newsletter
Welcome to our 2010 Christmas Newsletter! We hope you are all well and happy and have had a great 2010 so far! The purpose of this newsletter is to let you all know what we’ve been up to this year, how the ponies are and any developments with our organisation and Dartmoor Hill Ponies in general. The ponies are doing well at the moment, if a bit cold. We currently have 18 ponies at the centre which is keeping us busy! They all need hay putting out twice a day and are also all in need of some form of training.

As most of you know, or can see by our name, a big part of what we do is about training Dartmoor Hill Ponies. This takes the form of training our own ponies; who are with us to eventually be rehomed, and also helping other people learn about training methods for working with unhandled ponies. We’ve been busy this year with quite a lot of training; we ran a 5 day unhandled pony training course with Sarah Weston from Intelligent Horsemanship as well as progressing with our own ponies.
5 day foal handling course with Sarah Weston
Jenny has been volunteering with us since the summer. She volunteered for the foal handling course to learn more about working with the ponies. Here’s what she says about the course…..

“What a fabulous success the semi feral foal handling week with Sarah Weston was. Having the privilege to help out for the week I learnt so much thanks to Sarah and her team. For the 10 lucky participants (plus one enthusiastic spectator) Sarah and her team of volunteer trainers; using feather dusters and vibrantly coloured scarves (see pic) taught and supported them through the process of building trusting relationships with the gorgeous, semi feral Dartmoor foals.

We started at the very beginning and worked right through to putting head collars on and even leading a couple of them! Sarah Weston's book 'No Fear, No Force' explains the training techniques used, including clicker training. These gentle ethical techniques are so productive I can't recommend her book more!! All participants of the course got on amazingly with the ponies, the task at hand and each other.
The feedback at the end of the week couldn't have been more positive and everyone seemed to leave feeling excited and motivated about moving forward with either their own ponies or with future projects involving ponies. One lady fell so deeply in love with the charmer known as Chester that he had to go home with her and the latest news is that he is a star amongst his new herd!”
Here’s some of the feedback we received:
"I really like the fact that ponies were not "hurried along" for the benefit of the students, which can easily happen in a course environment"(K.E.) and "there was no pressure, but secretly we had goals, we just didn't tell the ponies!"(L.S.)
For more information on the course please visit Sarah Weston’s Journal: www.sarahweston.co.uk or go to our news blog: dptc.blogspot.com. Your Horse magazine also did a fantastic article about the course in the January edition (out now.) We are now taking bookings for next years course; participant and spectator places available. Please contact us for more info.

Now here’s Ro for an update on two of our ponies; Mikey and Leo
Mikey
We mentioned in the last newsletter that we’d devised a step-by-step programme to help Mikey to have his feet handled. He’d been very panicky about anyone trying to pick up his feet and we realised we were going to have to go right back to basics and take it slowly. We decided the first stage was to teach him that it was good to keep all four legs on the ground so that it would be safe and comfortable for us to work around his feet. We used a glove on a stick for this so that we could safely and calmly touch his legs. The great thing about this approach is that he is free to kick out at the glove on the stick – BUT it doesn’t move away when he does so (unlike a human hand!) The deal was that the glove was only moved away when his foot was on the ground. For the first few times he found this difficult but he’s so clever that pretty soon he’d realised that if he could manage to hold still, then the glove would move away again. We backed this approach up by using a clicker and a small food reward. So, not only did the glove move away when he stood still, but he also got a ‘click and treat’! This worked like magic and within just a few sessions we could gradually move onto using our own hands rather than the glove on the stick.
Once we were sure that he was relaxed about us touching any part of his legs then we decided that the time had come to move onto the next stage. We’d taught him to keep all four feet on the ground so how were we going to teach him that now he needed to let us lift his feet? We realised that, like most ponies, he often ‘rested’ one leg when he was standing and we used this to our advantage. We just very gently flexed the pastern a little on the resting foot. By moving him around carefully we could set him up so that we could work on each foot in turn. In the very next session he allowed us to pick up his feet a short way off the ground and for just a moment or two. He was very relaxed throughout this and we are thrilled that we seem to have been able to overcome the kick ‘reflex’ that had become a habit.
We’ve learned a lot along the way. Our usual approach just simply wouldn’t work with Mikey because he was so frightened, so we had to be prepared to try something new – and we weren’t sure if it would work or not. We also had to work at his pace. Even though we are desperate for him to have his feet trimmed we needed to move slowly from one stage to the next only when he was ready. And, the added bonus from all of this is that Mikey has blossomed into a delightful pony. He is now much more trusting and loves attention. We’re sure that the work we’ve done with him on his feet has helped him to develop a lot more confidence and will make it easier to teach him all sorts of other things too.

Our aim at the end of this is to for him to be able to have his feet trimmed regularly and safely. Watch this space for more news about how we’re progressing with this goal.
Leo
I didn’t manage to do as much with Leo over the summer as I’d hoped, so we’ve been ticking over steadily rather than making lots of progress. I’ve been carrying on with trying to make him bomb proof and he quite happily accepts balloons being blown up and then released around him!
His first outing as a sponsor pony was at our Open Day in October when you may have met him and seen how relaxed he is about being in new places and how pleased he is to meet new people. Recently we took him out for a walk with Mikey and both of them behaved very well, despite the icy conditions which made it a bit tricky underfoot in a few places. Over the winter I shall try to get him out for more walks around the lanes near our fields to get him used to as many different sights and sounds as possible.
Now here’s Jenny for an update on Tia, a pony that came to us through the RSPCA
Tia who came to us at the end of July, from an unknown abusive background, complete with headcollar is a very sensitive soul. We've just left her in peace for the past few months to let her settle into the herd and we've just been sitting in the field making very gentle connections with her, keeping the pressure very light. She has become more brave recently so with the round pen up we've begun the next steps.

Making the round pen as appealing as a 5star hotel (plenty of hay and hard food) she now chooses to join us in there! Sitting very quietly with her, looking as non threatening as possible she is relaxed while eating around us. The next step has been her accepting more contact from us with our hand in her feed bucket, she is very clever though and keeps finding a way to move the bucket so she avoids contact with us

but yesterday she was ever so brave and was accepting my hand brushing up and down her head and over her eyes!! She has come a long way but its very important to take it slow with her as she is still so sensitive to any change in movement. The biggest hurdle is removing the headcollar, I see her spooking at the straps alot!! Keep an eye on our blog for more info on how Tia is getting on!
Foot handling
One of our biggest areas of training for the ponies we take on is getting them used to having their feet handled. We have been lucky enough to find for the first time a fantastic farrier, Mel, who is both sympathetic to nervous ponies and loves trimming little ponies feet!!! This isn’t something that you find that often so we’ll do anything to keep her! Mel’s idea is that if she puts some time into training the ponies to be comfortable around her a they’ll be easier in the long run. Her visits form part of the ponies training and Mel is happy for us to bring ponies into the enclosure to meet her, have a stroke or have their legs handled a bit.

The idea behind this is to make the farrier visits as everyday and normal as possible. The more exposure ponies have to leg handling by different people the easier they will find it when they are rehomed and meeting a new farrier for the first time. Most of the ponies we have at the centre for training are quite comfortable being trimmed now, but there are others; like Mikey, who still need lots of work on this.

Some information from Kathryn on the recent publicity surrounding Dartmoor Hill Ponies

You may well have seen the recent stories in the newspapers about the cull of 700 ponies on Dartmoor, this has caused much reaction in many forms, there are people who want to do all they can to help and there are the unhelfpul people who just want to shout abuse.

The situation is a delicate one on Dartmoor, myself and my friend set up the Dartmoor Pony Training Centre in 2005 with a view to rescusing and helping Dartmoor Hill ponies ad any other type of Dartmoor which landed on our doorstep and making a difference but it is never that straight forward. There are many factors to be taken in to consideration and nothing can be done overnight, it will take time and lots of money to put things right.

Charlotte Faulkner at The Friends of the Dartmoor Hill Pony Association has been doing all she can for 10 years, she has helped in many ways in these years and the welfare of the ponies is much better because of her work. A Ten Point Strategy Plan has been drawn up which we would like to use and follow, unfortnately as always little funding is in place for it.

There is uproar at the cull of these ponies and it his hugely upsetting. However we have to ask whether it is a better end than being exported live to the continent. There certainly shouldn’t be this amount of unwanted foals however at the moment that is the case and we have to deal with the situation we are presented with. I myself cannot believe I would ever say such a thing, back in 2005 I had rose tinted spectacles much like many others who have made comments on this issue, however when you get closely involved with the ponies, Dartmoor and the commoners you can see there truely is no easy overnight solution that will ensure the long term survival of the ponies and keep the ecology of Dartmoor.

If you’d like to get involved or support the work we do in any way please do get in touch using the contact details below. We are super busy trying to fit this work into our everyday lives but will endeavour to get back to you as soon as possible.
We also have ponies available for rehoming and can put you in contact with people with ponies for sale.

Some Photos

2011-01-19T14:06:00.000-08:00

Photos of some of the ponies the other weekend, when we had nice weather! We did a bit of work with Mikey and we got him to pose with Ro!

25+ ponies needing homes

2011-01-19T14:00:00.000-08:00

An appeal is in place to re-home 25+ hill ponies some crossed with cobs and arabs, I will have photos and further details shortly, in the mean time if you would like information email- mary.tyrer@hotmail.com

There are over 25 dartmoor ponies, 5 cob crosses, and 3 arab crosses needing homes. The majority of the dartmoors left are colts although there are a few fillies left. The cobs and arabs are all colts. The dartmoors are £30 each, cob x`s between £140 and £240 and the arabs are £240, but the farmer will consider offers on the cobs and arabs. The dartmoors are between 6 and 10 months old, the cobs are between 8 months and 2 years, and the arabs are between 2 and 3 years old.

They are all classed as unhandled, however they are used to people, just a little bit nervous that all.

There are some photos and details on their Facebook Page http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=317&post=754&uid=192228360792606#!/pages/Dartmoor-rescue-of-25-ponies/192228360792606

A message from Charlotte Faulkner

2010-12-03T05:30:00.000-08:00

A message from Charlotte Faulkner of Friends of the Dartmoor Hill Pony Association

I need help from everyone who cares about the ponies on Dartmoor, I have spent the last year writing a strategy to give them a future and Natural England were going to pay for it. Sadly their funding has been cut and they cant help me. The only bit of strategy i have been able to put in place is the humane disposal scheme which was funded by private people who realised we needed to put something in place. The rest of the plan will ensure our wonderful ponies have a chance at a future managed and marketed in the proper way. i am going to try and apply for lottery funding to help me put plans in place to address the management issues facing breeders of ponies on Dartmoor. Please if you have any ideas or you can help, let me know.

Please get in touch with us if you think you can help and we will pass this on

Think Before You Breed

2010-12-03T05:26:00.000-08:00

A Facebook Group our supporters may be interested in
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=212&post=808&uid=179228988757470#!/pages/Think-before-you-breed/179228988757470

Workshop in Your Horse Magazine!

2010-12-03T05:12:00.000-08:00

Quick go out and buy your copy! In the current issue of Your Horse magazine is a lovely colourful article following the progress of the Your Horse Competition winner Kay Emmerson over the 5 days. You will see Kay was working with a chestnut pony named Chester who at the end of the 5 days she decided she had to take home!

Issue is out now!

Shock as 700 ponies culled

2010-12-03T05:10:00.001-08:00

Headlines in the Western Morning News today, please visit the link below for the full story

http://www.thisisdevon.co.uk/news/Shock-700-ponies-culled/article-2966369-detail/article.html

2010-11-27T01:46:00.000-08:00

Brrrrrrrr Good morning!!
I hope you're all cozy cozy!
What a week! Been doing lots of training with our nervous ponies this week.
One of or nervous ponies Gorse, who doesn't let us touch her, chose to come into the roundpen first yesterday,

after a little hesitation she began to accept my hand in her feed bucket and was soon allowing me to gently stroke her face

Gorse soon decided it was time to go and with Tia knocking on the door who could blame her!!

Tia who came to us at the end of July, from an unknown abusive background, complete with headcollar!?! is a very sensitive soul. We've just left her in peace for the past few months to let her settle into the herd and we've just been sitting in the field making very gentle connections with her, keeping the pressure very light. She has become more brave recently so with the round pen up we've begun the next steps.

Making the round pen as appealing as a 5star hotel (plenty hay and yummy hard food) she now chooses to join us in there! Sitting very quietly with her, looking as non threatening as possible she is relaxed while eating around us. The next step has been her accepting more contact from us with our hand in her feed bucket, she is very clever though and keeps finding a way to move the bucket so she avoids contact with us

but yesterday she was ever so brave and was accepting my hand brushing up and down her head and over her eyes!! She has come a long way but its very important to take it slow with her as she is still so sensitive to any change in movement. The biggest hurdle is removing the headcollar, I see her spooking at the straps alot!!

Our youngster Mikey, well he's not such a youngster anymore at the ripe age of 4, Mikey has come so far since I started with the DPTC, he used to be such a fidget, quite fiesty and would hate to have his legs touched. He now comes to you when he sees a headcollar and practically puts it on himself. He allows us to touch his legs all over but we're taking things very slowly with picking his feet up, no need to rush these things especially with a pony who struggled with this particular task. We used clicker training with Mikey which was so successful, he's a clever boy and really enjoys work he has to think about. I did some tying up and leading work with him this week, tying up was a doddle really, he didn't react at all and I lead him over a big, green tarpolin which didn't worry him in the slightest!! We then went for a walk round the fields away from the herd and his manners were impeccable!! He will make a very good childs pony very soon!! Any takers???

With this cold snap setting in I'm not sure how much training we'll get in. The ponies will need hay and there water checked for freezing on a daily basis but there is always time to do a little with the littlies no matter how chilly it is!!
Keep cozy everyone xx

Quick intro and 5 day handling course

2010-11-22T05:57:00.000-08:00

Hello all, Jenny here.
I've been volunteering with DPTC since the spring and ashamedly this is my first post, but I will add, its the first of many! (I promise!)
So where to start, I'm new to this world of training ponies using gentle and ethical techniques. Having been around horses most of my life I had always seen them in a classical light and enjoyed mostly riding them , but since I've got to know the girls and their techniques at the DPTC all has changed dramtically, for me. I look at horses from the inside out now and getting to know and understand how they function, communicate and percieve the world has been an incredible journey. Using pressure and release methods and working at the pace set only by the pony I am learning soooo much about these incredible animals that we share our planet with.

5 Day Foal Handling course

What a fabulous success the semi feral foal handling Training week with Sarah Weston was. (www.logicalhorsemanship.co.uk/)
Having the privaledge to help out for the week I learnt so much thanks to Sarah and her team. For the 10 lucky participants(plus one enthusuatic spectator) Sarah and her team of volunteer trainers (using feather dusters and vibrantly coloured scarves! see pic) taught and supported them through the process of building trusting relationships with the gorgeous, semi feral Dartmoor foals, a couple of which had been through the markets. They started at the very beginning and worked right through to putting head collars on and even leading a couple of them! Sarah Weston's book 'No Fear, No Force' explains the training techniques used, including clicker training. These gentle ethical techniques are so productive I can't recommend her book more!! you'll find it on Amazon or go to Sarah's website www.logicalhorsemanship.co.uk
All participants of the course got on amazingly with the ponies, the task at hand and each other. The feedback at the end of the week couldn't have been more positive and everyone seemed to leave feeling excited and motivated about moving forward with either their own ponies or with future projects involving ponies. One lady fell so deeply in love with the charmer known as Chester that he had to go home with her and the latest news is that he is a star amongst his new herd!
This training week is so very successful and next years plans are in full swing. So keep checking the DPTC for news and dates etc.
Take care for now x

Tavistock Pony Sale 2nd October 2010

2010-09-30T07:14:00.002-07:00

Time
02 October · 09:30 - 16:00
Location Tavistock, Devon
More info The first of Dartmoor Hill Pony drift sales
www.wardchowen.co.uk

The Friends of the Dartmoor Hill Pony would be delighted to give you any information on buying ponies, transport and collection centres near you!
For more Information, please ring Charlotte Faulkner on 07734785644 or visit ‘www.dartmoorhillpony.com’

Chagford Pony sale 14th October 2010

2010-09-30T07:14:00.001-07:00

Time
14 October · 09:30 - 16:00
Location Chagford

More info The second of the annual drift sales to be held in Chagford (www.rendells.co.uk) on the 14th October

The Friends of the Dartmoor Hill Pony would be delighted to give you any information on buying ponies, transport and collection centres near you!
For more Information, please ring Charlotte Faulkner on 07734785644 or visit ‘www.dartmoorhillpony.com’

Summer 2010 Newsletter

2010-09-20T14:23:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Summer 2010 newsletter keeping you up to date with the goings on at the Dartmoor Pony Training Centre.

Open Day & Workshop
Plans for our 5 day workshop with Sarah Weston of Intelligent Horsemanship have been going really well, the course is now full for Participants and we are filling up with spectators for the course. The workshop will be 25-29 October 2010 in Widecombe, Devon. The aim of the course is to teach participants to: build trust with the pony, first approach/body language, accepting a head collar/how to lead, pick up a pony's feet, finish with a calm, confident, loving pony. Great care is taken to ensure the foals are trained without fear or force. The emphasis is on a trusting partnership.

If you or anyone you know is interested in attending, there are limited daily spectator spaces at a cost of £20 a day; please contact us by email / phone (details below.)

Our open day will follow the 5 day workshop on Saturday 30th October; this will be a chance for sponsors to meet their sponsor ponies as well as find out more about what we’ve been doing over the five days. Everyone is of course invited to this free of charge. If you want more information about this, or directions, please call or email or check out our blog: http://dptc.blogspot.com/ closer to the time where we’ll put full details.

Merry
As we mentioned in our last newsletter we decided it would be best for Merry if we retired him from the sponsorship scheme and found him a home where he’d get more one to one attention. He’s not totally comfortable going to big events and meeting lots of people so we think this is the best choice for him. We haven’t as yet found him a new home so if you or anyone you know is interested please get in touch. Merry is a happy, confident 5 year old pony. He is around 12.1hh and could take a lightweight adult or child rider. He is unbroken and not used to being ridden but I think would be very keen to start doing more challenging things as he’s pretty inquisitive!

Trixie
Trixie is as happy as ever, she’s been away at our fields down the road for some summer grazing and has just come back home. She loaded first out of all the ponies coming back, just marched on and stood there whilst the others took their time getting in! We’re hoping to do a little more with her in the upcoming year, as always we’re a little constricted by time but she’d like to do a little more work we think!

Leo is our new sponsor pony; on loan to Ro! He’ll be attending our open day on Saturday the 30th of October in Widecombe if you’d like to come and meet him!

Current ponies in need of re-homing
At the moment we have quite a few ponies looking for new homes. We are quite high on numbers and are hoping to find some more loan homes before the end of the summer. The weather has been a bit of a nightmare this summer for growing grass so we’re going to be limited on hay supplies for the winter and we’re hoping not to have to buy to much in as it’s very costly. Please keep your ears out for potential new homes for the following fabulous ponies:
Storm is coming back from his loan home as his loaner isn’t able to restrict his grazing as much as is needed. He had an attack of laminitis last year so needs restricted grazing and a home that will bring him into work. He’s approximately 8 years old and was backed last autumn. He hasn’t had lots done since then but shouldn’t take masses of work to get going again. He’s a very handsome bay chap and has a lovely character.

Merry, our old sponsor pony, is a happy, happy fellow and lots of fun. Although he’s being retired from our sponsor scheme because it was too stressful for him, he would probably be great with lots of one to one attention. He just wasn’t too sure about standing in a small pen at Trago Mills for the day surrounded by clows, brass bands and steam engines; I have to say I don’t blame him! He is now 5 years old and at an ideal age to start being ridden.

Rona – now two years old is a really sweet character. She has quite bad allergies to flies and comes up in bumps. This would need quite careful management, but if someone’s willing to put in a bit of time and effort she’ll make a fab little riding or companion pony.

Milo – 3 this year and also full of fun and character would make a lovely pony for someone. He would love lots of one to one attention and fuss and is a really sweet pony.

Ponies that need homes with experience in handling, come along to watch our training course if you’re interested in any of these ponies!

George – Amy’s foal who is now a two years old. George was castrated in the spring and is doing well with his training. He is very handsome and full of presence but needs more training to settle him down a bit. He will lead around and be touched all over but needs more work on his feet and general relaxing!

Mikey: now 3 years old and full of fun. We have had problems handling Mikey’s feet so Ro has devised a step by step training plan for him which we started a few weeks ago. This involves a glove on a stick, positive reinforcement and two of us spending quite a bit of time with him! We’re getting there with him! Mikey is a really loveable character but does need a home with experience.

Gorse is approximately 11.2hh and 5 years old, she is nervy of people but when she trusts you very rewarding. Ideally she would suit a home with experienced loaners doing something like conservation grazing.

Tia came to us in May from another rescue organisation who weren’t equipped to deal with her needs. She’s very nervous of people and we’re currently putting very little pressure on her and waiting until she’s ready to trust us. We’re getting there and Jenny was within a few feet of her the other day (That’s quite a development!)

Four yearling colts and one two year old gelding from last years markets. These ponies are just starting their proper education with people and will make great projects for anyone interested!

Thanks to all our loaners for giving the ponies such great homes!

Training sessions with Ro and Jenny
Since the weather has been a bit better we’ve been doing lots more training. In the winter, getting them all fed and watered after work and before it’s totally dark is more of a priority but it’s great to do more of this as all the ponies need loads of work before they can go out to new homes. Ro, Jenny and I have been doing training with the young boys especially. Jenny has lots of riding experience but was keen to learn more about unhandled or nervous ponies and has come to help us with the work. Mikey and George have had quite a bit of work especially; look at our blog http://dptc.blogspot.com/ where we’ll put some pictures and info on how we work with the ponies.

Future of the DPTC
We’ve taken the decision to not take on any new ponies for a little while until we know how much time we have and whether we can manage the workload we already have. We all have other jobs and fitting in pony care & training, lots of admin work and trying to raise enough money to keep running alongside our jobs is pretty hard work! We also get quite a few ponies back from loan homes because the loaner’s situations change so we’re worried about being left with hundreds of ponies and not being able to look after them all. We’ll continue with our training work; running our yearly training event and open day and looking after the ponies we currently own but we won’t take on any new ponies this year for certain.

All the best, thanks for all your support and see you at the open day hopefully!

Natalie

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT, PLEASE REMEMBER TO KEEP CHECKING OUR BLOGS FOR REGULAR UPDATES AND PHOTOS OF THE PONIES. http://dptc.blogspot.com/ http://dptcrehoming.blogspot.com/

Dartmoor Pony Training Centre Open Day

2010-09-11T15:42:00.000-07:00

We want to make this years open day the best yet so please come along and bring your friends for a great day out!

The Equine Advertiser

2010-08-01T11:30:00.000-07:00

http://www.equineadvertiser.co.uk/Default.aspx

Thank you to Equine Advertiser for advertising our ponies for free, and including a link for our open day

On Equine Advertiser you can sell your horse, pony, horsebox, trailer or advertise stabling & grazing for just £15.00 and sell equestrian property for just £60.00. Plus we will donate 50p to the Brooke for each and every paying advert that we receive.

They have horses for sale, ponies for sale, horses & ponies for loan, equestrian property for sale, equestrian property to let and stabling & grazing for rent, secondhand tack for sale and horseboxes & trailers for sale across the UK in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

If you have unwanted tack & equipment to sell you can advertise it FREE on their website.

Don't forget to visit their comprehensive Equestrian Directory where you can search 1000's of equestrian products & services from equine dentists to equestrian centres, feed merchants or livery yards or add details of your equestrian business FREE. (Basic details can be added to the Directory free of charge).

http://www.equineadvertiser.co.uk/Default.aspx

All about the Dartmoor Pony Training Centre

2010-07-14T12:00:00.000-07:00

The Dartmoor Pony Training Centre

We set up in September 2005 (then called the Dartmoor Pony Rescue Centre) to take on ponies that were not sold at the traditional Dartmoor pony sales held every October and December. Since then our aims have changed slightly.
We are a non-profit organisation registered with the Council for Voluntary Services.

Since setting up we have changed our name and aims, we still take on a few ponies from market each year but we also aim to promote the breed.

Our aims are as follows:

To take on a number of ponies every year to train and re-home preferably doing ‘high profile’ jobs e.g. working as therapy ponies. We hope that these ponies will act as ambassadors for the breed.
To promote Dartmoor Hill ponies in any way possible.
To offer advice and marketing and training support to people wanting to sell their ponies privately (including online sales list.)
To offer advice and information on suitable training methods for working with Dartmoor Hill ponies. (Including running training workshops and events.)
To compile a list of national trainers with experience working with Dartmoor Hill Ponies.
To work alongside and support other organisations and bodies working with Hill Ponies to help us achieve our aims.

The ponies that are normally unsold at market who we take on are often Bay colts (male), who are unpopular because of their plain colouring, it is also believed that they are harder to train as being colts they tend to be more lively, we have not found this to be the case though! The colts do also have to be gelded which can cost over £100 so any buyer has that additional expense to contend with.

Once we have taken on a pony (from the sale or from elsewhere) we spend a lot of time with them getting them used to people. A lot of the ponies we take on will have been born that year, and will have spent their lives out on the moor with their herd. The drifts and sales can therefore be fairly traumatic for them as they will probably have been separated from their mothers and their herd.

It can take a lot of time to get the ponies to trust us and eventually be halter broken. We are hoping to take on a number of volunteers to help with the training of the foals and other ponies, we hope then to be able to re-home them by the following summer.
When we re-home ponies we loan them out to permanent homes and do not sell them. This means that we can keep a close eye on them throughout their lives, and monitor their progress and their achievements!

We look for homes within the local area and give the new families the support we feel is necessary. Once the pony reaches an age where it can be broken in to ride or drive, we will endeavour to give the families as much support as they need with this.

We run various different sponsorship schemes to help us raise funds. The daily costs of running the Centre can take its toll particularly in the winter though fortunately this year we have been able to cut our own hay which will reduce the feed bill considerably over the winter months. However there are still the routine costs of rent, vaccinations, farrier, castrations, vets, worming etc.

We always have ponieslooking for new homes, though if we havenothing suitable we can always point you in the direction of someone who does!

Merry and Trixie are the two sponsor ponies. Merry is a bay and born in May 2005 Trixie is strawberry roan mare born in July 2005. They attend various shows throughout the year to promote the Dartmoor Hill Pony as a breed.

When someone sponsors a pony they will receive a photo of the pony, a certificate, a profile and a welcome letter. Throughout the year they will then receive regular email updates on how their pony is getting on and what is happening at the centre as well as a birthday and xmas card. They will also be invited to our yearly open day and if they want to visit the Centre and their chosen pony they can ring to arrange this at any time. The cost of this is £15 a year.

We also offer an annual sponsorship where people can sponsor a pony we take on from market, the sponsor gets to name the pony and follow its progress closely, and the sponsorship covers the cost of that ponies keep for a year. This is £600 a year.

A sponsor pack makes an ideal gift for someone and what with Christmas fast approaching what better way to bring a smile to someone’s face and help a good cause all in one go than to sponsor a pony!

If any one wishes to sponsor Merry or Trixie please go to http://www.dptc.org.uk/downloads.html download the yearly sponsorship form and send it to: Dartmoor Pony Training Centre, 2 Sherwell Court, Buckfastleigh, Devon TQ11 0BG with a cheque for £15 made payable to the Dartmoor Pony Rescue Centre. Alternatively, if you want to do it online then e-mail the form to dartmoorponytrainingcentre@yahoo.co.uk specifying that you will donate online and go to http://www.dptc.org.uk/home.html and click on the donate button to pay via paypal.

Buzz and Steer

2010-07-14T11:56:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately Buzz and Steer have had to come home from their new home. The new loaner has had health problems and we needed to rehome them quite quickly. Luckily a home came up near Totnes and the ponies have gone to live with Jane Hughes and her family. I'll take some photos soon and keep you all posted of how they're getting on!

A visit to the moors

2010-06-16T04:29:00.000-07:00

Last week I had a drive around the moors to see the foals, I fell in love again and have banned myself from visiting that area of the moors until the foals are gone.... Last time I fell in love with a foal on the moor I ended up buying him.

This foal is the spotty in the photos, we stopped and walked over to the herd cautiously and you could just tell from the glint in his eye he had no worries about us being stood there, he was soon over investigating us and enjoying a good scratch, he attempted to groom back however his little teeth were quite sharp. He was so tiny and adorable, so as I said I must stay away!

Whilst wondering around we could hear lots of splashing coming from somewhere so we went to investigate to find a pony have a good paw in the boggy water.

I would really recommend visiting the moors this time of year, it is beautiful and there are plenty of ponies and foals to see, as well as sheep (whose lambs are somewhat large now) and of course the cows!

Some photos

Update 16-6-10

2010-06-16T04:22:00.000-07:00

Well we’ve had a few comings and goings at the DPTC over the last month or so.

Firstly we had George and Courage castrated, they were not all that amused about this but the operation went well for both!

Then the foals were off to their new home until October, they are on conservation grazing in the Tiverton area and will come back to us in October once their job is done. We have kept hold of one of the foals, Rowan, has he has a bit of a problem with his feet which we need to keep a close eye on.

Bramble has gone to a new home, the loaner who has Leo has taken him and her sister hopes to work with him and eventually back him for the kids when he is old enough.

You may have seen that Storm is looking for a new home, he is a lovely pony and very willing and we hope to home him direct from his current home so as not to unsettle him too much, he has been lightly backed and is ready to bring on so if you know of any one after a good strong little pony do get in touch.

Steer and Buzz have settled in well together in their new home. Below are a couple of photos of the boys.

Also are some photos of the lazy ponies, I was up early last weekend to find them all snoozing. The big grey horse is an 18.2 (obviously not a Dartmoor) and Rona one of our smallest ponies has quite a fondness for him and you can see her snoozing at his feet!

Trixie was flat out when I arrived but did decide to wake up a little, though getting up was a bit too much effort that early.

Storm needs a new home

2010-05-24T05:01:00.000-07:00

Storm came to the Dartmoor Pony Training Centre as an unhandled 4 year old. He had been brought at market as a stallion and taken to Surrey with a couple of other ponies (including our Alfie and Black Star) where he was gelded but they did not do any handling, we agreed to take them to our centre as the owner could not cope with them.

Storm liked human contact and he was quickly handled and re-homed, in his new home the loaner continued the work with him so he ties up, behaves for the farrier and has also been lightly backed. He went to Kate Reece’s yard in Newton Abbot for 5 weeks where he was backed in September 2009 though he has not had much more ridden work done since as there has been no one to ride him, this is why he is looking for a new home as his current loaner thinks he is wasted where he is as just a companion and could be so much more.

Storm has suffered a couple of bouts of laminitis so whoever takes him will need to be able to ensure they can control his food intake and give him plenty of exercise, he is used to a muzzle and being stabled. He will also need very regular trimming which he has been having to date.

Storm is currently based near Peter Tavy and we hope to re-home direct from there so as not to unsettle him unnecessarily, his current loaner has now had him for a couple of years and can tell any one all about him and what he is like.

Storm will make a lovely kids pony or small adults he is a sturdy type.

Pony Videos

2010-05-08T06:39:00.001-07:00

I have set up a You Tube account where we will upload the odd video. I am hoping to door more videos of the pony's behaviour and their training for you all to see. In the meantime I have uploaded a few videos from over the years though the quality and content aren't that good but got to start somewhere!

http://www.youtube.com/user/DartmoorPonyTC

Some photos of the ponies taken 27-4-10

2010-04-27T15:51:00.000-07:00

Photos of Ponies this weekend

2010-04-11T11:29:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of the ponies this weekend, you will see Leo was having a nice snooze before I arrived yestrday and rudely awoke him! (bottom photos). The top photo is Tigger having a snooze when I arrove this morning!!

Steer and Buzz went to their new home yesterday, they loaded up and arrived safely and are settling in really well

Home Check Reports!

2010-04-07T13:58:00.000-07:00

Managed to fit in a few home checks over the last couple of days with the help of the long Easter weekend and lighter evenings!

First up was Alfie, unfortunately I forgot my camera but I am very pleased to report he is doing fantastically well with Claire, so well that Claire never wants to give him back which is fine by us!!

Next up was Leo who Adele has on loan. He is doing well and has been lightly backed and her 2 yar old daughter is led around the field on him happily. He does still need to lose a bit of weight which is being worked on but unfortunately Leo has turned in to an amazing escape artist with electric fencing and is very good at removing muzzles and not being caught! Poor Adele is having to resort to building a stable for him so hs grass in take can be managed!!

Photos of Leo and grooming with Kitty

With Leo is Buttercup and Clover, they were two foals worked with on last years workshop, they are both really friendly and doing very well, I fell in love with Buttercup (previously known as Hope) and did think about taking her home but then thought that was a bit silly with all the ones we currently have!!

Buttercup (the darker one) and Clover

Finally I went to visit Bonnie and Lynn. Bonnies is very happy there getting all the one on one attention we knew she needed, she has her own stable and name plate and gets taken out on the odd walk which she loves. She still has to have her nose in everything and likes to try to nibble - she is a real character!

Photos of Bonnie and her pal Cheroke

April Newsletter

2010-04-06T07:59:00.001-07:00

Spring 2010 Newsletter

Welcome to the Spring 2010 newsletter keeping you up to date with the goings on at the Dartmoor Pony Training Centre.

Open Day & “Award Winning” Workshop
Following the success of previous years workshops we have decided to go the whole hog this year and do a full 5 day course with Sarah Weston of Intelligent Horsemanship.

The workshop will be 25-29 October 2010 in Widecombe, Devon and will cost £250, there is also limited daily spectator spots at a cost of £20 a day.

Participants will learn to:

· build trust with the pony
· first approach/body language
· accepting a head collar/how to lead
· pick up a pony's feet
· finish with a calm, confident, loving pony

Great care is taken to ensure the foals are trained without fear or force. The emphasis is on a trusting partnership.

Kelly Marks, founder of Intelligent Horsemanship, says: “Sarah has an exceptional ability with unhandled and semi-feral ponies and a straightforward way of teaching others to work with them in the same way."

So if you are interested or know of any one who may be please pass the details on. We are trying to get as much publicity for this as possible so if you feel you can help in any way get in touch, you may be able to put posters up in your local tack shop, riding school, livery yard etc.

Our open day will follow the 5 day workshop on Saturday 30th October, everyone is of course invited to this free of charge.

House of Lords
You may notice in the above that we called our workshop “award winning”! This is because in early March we were invited to an awards ceremony at the House of Lords by Wetnose Animal Aid who were giving us an award for The Best Training Workshop. It was a very exciting day and we thoroughly enjoyed it. John Altman otherwise known as “Nasty Nick” from Eastenders presented the award to us and gave a brief speech on why it is so important that people are educated before taking on something like a wild pony. Nick Knowles, Lorraine Chase and Jenny Seagrove also showed their appreciation for the work we do at the Centre and it is hoped through the event we can find a patron.

Wetnose Animal Aid
Wetnose Animal Aid kindly donated us £1000 when we first set up which was a huge help to get things moving, it meant we could buy a much needed field shelter for the foals!
Their aims are to raise money and awareness for the sick and needy animals in Animal Rescue Centres and good causes worldwide and the UK.
From their website: In our experience, we know only too well how these Centres are really struggling, due to lack of funds and volunteers. Many still having to cope with the costs of never ending vet's bills, and medical supplies; and that's without special diets, fuel, repairs, insurances and all the other costs. Wetnose will vet some of these Rescue Centres and providing the correct criteria is met, we will help pay off these vets bills, or buy equipment such as incubators or cat traps and additionally offering help and advice when it's needed.
We will do all we can to help these Rescue Centres to keep on going, but we need your help and support too. We need fund raisers to do marathons, bike rides, boot sales, anything to help raise more money and awareness.

Merry
Merry is very well and enjoying life at the moment. We have made a decision about his future though and decided it would be best for Merry if we could re-home him and therefore retire him from our sponsorship scheme. Merry hasn’t been out with us for a while other than our open days as he gets himself very wound up during a long day, this results in him chasing poor Trixie and getting quite nibbly with peoples fingers! Unfortunately he doesn’t have the same calm, chilled out personality as Trixie to cope with it and it would be unfair to take him to events for the day. So if you know of any one who is looking to loan a very adorable pony do let us know!! We will of course keep you updated on how he gets on in any new home we find him. Leo will be the sponsor pony in place of Merry and for further information on him see below.

Trixie
Trixie is as happy as ever, nothing seems to phase her and she always seems so contented. My friends daughter Shoana has paid her a couple of visits and given her lots of fuss and cuddles which Trixie loves, there is a photo of Shoana with Trixie, you will see it was a very wet day and so there wasn’t much grooming that could be done but both Shoana and Trixie seemed to enjoy themselves! Hopefully Trixie will be making an appearance at Moretonhampstead Show on 9th May 2010.

Buzz
Buzz has come back to us as he kept escaping from the fields in his home! He is a very adorable confident pony so hopefully it won’t take us too long to re-home him again.

Gorse, Bramble & Milo
These three ponies were returned to us just after Christmas as the loaners could no longer keep them. They have settled back in to the herd well and Bramble is very protective of his mum Gorse! We are looking for new homes for the three of them.

Leo – Written by Ro
Leo and I are both looking forward to some spring sunshine! He’s suffered a bit with rain scald this winter so I used a special shampoo and oil which have helped a lot – but some dry, warm weather will make all the difference. Kathryn and I have been doing some work together with her pony Tigger and Leo. Leo likes to have a companion with him and is really calm and confident when he’s out and about with Trixie or Tigger. We took the two boys into one of our other fields and spread out a tarpaulin for them to walk over. It was a breezy day and we couldn’t get the tarpaulin to lie flat – but as you can see from the photo neither of them was bothered in the slightest. In fact Leo’s main interest was in the cone as I’ve used clicker training to teach him to touch cones with his nose and so as soon as he spotted the cone he was just keen to get to it and give it a nudge!

We’ve decided that Leo would make a good sponsor pony, to replace Merry, as he really enjoys his trips out into the wide world. He’s been with us a couple of times to Trago Mills when we thought it would be too much for Merry. As long as he’s got Trixie and some hay then he’s very happy with all the attention. So we’ll gradually be phasing out sponsorship of Merry and offering Leo instead.

Equine Touch
At the end of January I went on my first Equine Touch course. For those who haven’t come across this before, it’s a simple system of bodywork that helps to balance and relax the body. We practised the techniques on each other before being let loose on the horses and I can vouch for it being very relaxing! My course lasted 3 days and was very intensive! My most rewarding experience was working with a slightly nervous and fidgety (but very gentle) horse who became completely mellow and was almost asleep by the end! Since then I’ve done the basic body balance a few time on Leo. I’ve got to be honest and say that the pile of hay which I gave him to keep him occupied proved to be far more interesting that anything I was doing. Still he seemed to enjoy it and he’s an ideal pony to practice on!

The Foals from 2009 markets
The foals have settled in really well, they are growing in confidence each day. We have re-homed two of them and they should be off to their new home shortly. They will be out near Crediton living on a large piece of land with two other hill ponies and so I am sure they will be very happy!!

Current ponies in need of re-homing
At the moment we have a few ponies looking for homes:

· Mikey & Steer – now 3 years old and full of fun
· Rona – now a yearling she has a mischievous but loving character, the loaner will need to be confident but calm and also be aware she is not keen on dogs, though we are trying to desensitise her to them
· George – Amy’s foal who is now a yearling, he is currently with a bachelor herd awaiting castration
· Gorse – approximately 11.2hh and 5 years old, she is nervy of people but when she trusts you very rewarding.
· Bramble – Gorse’s foal now 2 years old, he is full of fun and character
· Milo – 3 this year and also full of fun and character would make a lovely pony for someone
· 5 foals taken on from market this year, handling just starting

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT, PLEASE REMEMBER TO KEEP CHECKING OUR BLOGS FOR REGULAR UPDATES AND PHOTOS OF THE PONIES. http://dptc.blogspot.com/ http://dptcrehoming.blogspot.com/

SPONSORS
Thank you to Cartridges Solicitors for sponsoring the printing of the newsletter. Cartridges are specialists in Personal Injury work and much more - to find out more about the services they offer log on to www.cartridgeslaw.co.uk

Pony Photos!

2010-04-03T11:53:00.000-07:00

Some photos of the ponies for you! We have moved 6 of them to our other field so ourscan have a bit of a rest, all this rain hasn't helped! We also have 6 others hopefully going to new homes in the next month including Buzz, Steer, Gorse, Milo, Timmy and Rudy. Finally some of the other foals may well be off to conservation grazing in Tiverton until October which would be great! Give them a nice chance to chill out and relax before they come home and we will then do more work with them - oh and castrate them!!!

Some random photos

2010-03-08T12:39:00.000-08:00

Below we have Ebony & Tinker in their home who I visited at the weekend, both doing really well.

Then there's some others including Timmy who is still tiny! Ro & I walking Tigger and Leo over Tarpaulins, as you can see they really weren't bothered! The bottom one is Bramble who decided to turn and run and just missed knocking me over!!!

Trixie has a visitor

2010-03-08T12:34:00.000-08:00

My friend's daughter Shauna came up to visit Trixie the other weekend, she has a lovely posh new headcollar for her to wear! Trixie was very good, sadly it was a little wet to do too much grooming, hopefully next time it will be a bit drier and we can take her for a walk too! The mud was a little deep and think Shauna was lucky not to lose a welly!

Dartmoor Hill Ponies in need of urgent homes - UPDATED

2010-03-08T01:08:00.000-08:00

The ponies below are being taken on by SWEP, there are more in urgent need of homes though so do get in touch with Mary if you think you can help. Please be sure you know you can cope with a unhandled feral pony though!

Below is an appeal by someone who is looking for homes for some Dartmoor Hill Ponies, unfortunately we are full at the centre and unable to take on any more, if we did we would risk the welfare of the ponies we have by taking on too many which we just can't do. If you think you can help please get in touch with Mary on 01752 346858 OR 07789676116.

PLEASE CAN ANYONE HELP?!? 9 DARTMOOR HILL PONY COLT FOALS
They all need good genuine homes. They need you now. They have very uncertain futures.
They are all around 8 months old and will make between 11-13hh
There are:
* 2 Red/Whites
* Dark brown with a white blaze down the face
* Light dun (Caramel/cream)
* Dark brown with star on forehead
* Browns and Bays

They are currently living on the moor; some are friendlier than others and some allow me to touch them. They were late foals last year and were too young to go to the sales and most werer colts.

WE DESPERATELY NEED HOMES FOR THESE GENTLE TEMPERAMENT PONIES.

Someone needs to care for these ponies. Please don't just feel sorry for them. Help them by giving them genuine homes. Could you or do you know someone that would?

PLEASE PHONE Mary ON TEL: 01752 346858 OR 07789676116.

Having spoken to Mary, she is a woman at her wits end trying to save these ponies.

She and her friends have transport and are willing to help transport them if homes can be found.

She added this info:
They are Dartmoor Hill Ponies all late foals from last year and all colts. They will make 11'2-12hh and some 12-13hh approx. They are still on their mums and running free on the egdes of Dartmoor, on the moor in and around Lee Moor village between Cornwood and Shaugh Prior nr Plympton Plymouth. Their colours are Bays and dark browns, light dun (cream with black tails and points) a chocolate brown with white blaze and dark browns with stars and there is also 2 red/white one small than the other but beautifully marked.

Help has been offered for cheaper passporting/microchips and gelding for any serious home offered. A genuine home is needed for all these colts.

I feed them twice daily, I don't have to and I do not own them, I have spoken to the farmer and he doesn't know what to do with them and no-one has no money resession etc., he doesn't want to shoot them and prefer them to get homes instead.

I have and will try to get as many homes as possible with the help of people like yourselves. Any help would be appreciated and thankyou

Best Training Workshop Award - Wetnose Animal Aid

2010-03-04T05:59:00.000-08:00

Well yesterday Natalie and I had a fantastic trip to the House of Lords for an award ceremony. Wetnose Animal Aid have kindly given us an award for the best training workshop in appreciation of the work we do in trying to educate people in the handling of feral ponies, before - and sometimes after - they have taken them on.

The day was great fun and we met a few well known faces.

Huge thanks to Wetnose Animal Aid for organising the event and involving the Dartmoor Pony Training Centre!

PS. We are cringing at the photos which seem not to show our best sides but in the interests of you seeing what we got up to here they are........! (Prefer the photos of the ponies myself)!

Award Ceremony at the House of Lords....!

2010-02-19T10:19:00.000-08:00

Wetnose Animal Aid have kindly invited us to an award ceremony at the House of Lords on 3rd March! I believe we are up for an award to do with education and training, we are very excited but can't quite decide what to wear......

A HUGE thank you to Wetnose Animal Aid, some of you may remember they donated £1000 to us not long after we set up which meant we could put a deposit down on a field shelter and pay the castration bill!

For more information see
http://www.wetnoseanimalaid.com/wetnose-awards.asp

Merry - sponsorship news

2010-02-19T08:36:00.001-08:00

We are sorry to say we will be removing Merry from the Sponsorship Scheme. We have been considering this for some time and continually assessing Merry and his suitability but we have decided it is not the right job for him! Unfortunately he gets very uptight and unsettled when taken to shows and events and can then get a bit nibbly which isn’t ideal when meeting children! He can also then take his nervousness out on poor Trixie which causes problems!

So we will keep those who have sponsored Merry updated on his progress but will be looking to rehome him in to a suitable home.

As Merry will no longer be a sponsor pony we have chosen Leo to take his place, some of you may have met Leo already who has made appearances at Trago Mills on a couple of occasions as it would have been too much for Merry to cope with!

Leo is nearly 3 years old and has been with us since he was 6 months old having been unsold at market, he has a lovely character and takes everything in his stride, most importantly he doesn’t get stressed about meeting his fans and trips out!

If you would like to sponsor Leo or Trixie it is £15 a year, for this you get a sponsor pack which includes a photo, a certificate and a profile, you will also receive birthday and Christmas cards, regular updates and a CD of photos taken of the centre and its ponies over the years

Trixie

Leo playing with Rona

Equine Tourism Website

2010-02-12T07:00:00.001-08:00

Please see this website for various information and details on events nationwide
http://www.equinetourism.co.uk

Foal Handling Workshop 2010

2010-01-13T14:34:00.001-08:00

An exciting new opportunity to learn how to handle Dartmoor ponies will be available next year and people are being asked to book early.

The Dartmoor Pony Training Centre (DPTC) in conjunction with Sarah Weston of Intelligent Horsemanship is pleased to announce a five-day Wild Pony Training Workshop.

The workshop will be using feral Dartmoor Hill Ponies, though each method learned can be applied to all equines, and will be held in Widecombe, Devon. It will run for five days from the 25th to 29th October 2010.

The workshop costs £250 for the full 5 days, a limited number of spectators are welcome at £20 a day.

Taking on an unhandled pony can prove very rewarding, but it can also be a terrific challenge, especially if you buy one straight from the moors at the sales. This special workshop is dedicated to helping you learn how to handle feral ponies and will give you the experience and confidence you need to make a new partnership immensely rewarding and satisfying both for you and your pony.

Sarah Weston of Intelligent Horsemanship is renowned for her work with unhandled feral ponies including New Forests, Exmoors and Dartmoors. She will be the lead trainer at the course and will bring with her other experienced trainers in the field. The work with these ponies will involve one on-one sessions with these trainers and so therefore places on the course are limited.
Those that sign up for the workshop will learn how to befriend a feral pony and will learn the following and more:

Build a trusting relationship between you and the pony
How to first approach a feral pony, the right body language to use
How to achieve the first touch
How to build up to touching different areas of the body
Teaching the pony to accept a head collar
Teaching the pony how to lead
Pick up the pony's feet
Load the pony
End up with a calm, confident and loving pony

Some ponies may well progress further than others by the end of the five days and it must be remembered that each pony will have a different character. Great care is taken to ensure that the foals are trained at a pace that they can cope with and without fear or force. The emphasis is on a trusting partnership.

Kelly Marks, the founder of Intelligent Horsemanship, says of Sarah “Sarah has an exceptional ability with unhandled and semi-feral ponies and a straightforward way of teaching others to work with them in the same way - She is a great ambassador for the work and values of Intelligent Horsemanship”.

For more details contact Kathryn Hulland on 07751 218093 or Sarah Weston on 07871 252954 or
e-mail dartmoorponytrainingcentre@yahoo.co.uk

Quote from a previous satisfied customer!
“Sarah’s course provides a wonderful opportunity for those of us that believe wholeheartedly in the methods of Monty Roberts, Kelly Marks and Mark Rashid to practise and develop the methods, skills and mind set that we have learned through attending their demos and courses and reading their books. Sarah’s dual roles are her duty of care to the foals to prepare them as much as possible for their new lives and to teach and develop her students. The course offers a mainly hands on learning experience and Sarah’s skills, professionalism, warmth and humour provide a very safe, calm and supportive learning environment for both foals and humans. Working with the foals is both humbling and an enormous privilege. Gaining the trust of one of these foals in a priceless gift. I have had the most wonderful experience but those of you who would sample this delight, beware – AN EQUINE HEALTH WARNING – these foals can be addictive and life changing! One lady that went on the course last year never went home and is still there!!”

Some photos of ponies in the snow!

2010-01-13T14:20:00.001-08:00

Trixie

Merry

And some other ponies!

Here they are at the watering hole, all the troughs and pipes froze but luckily for us there are boggy pond areas which run water and so the ponies drank from these - if we hadn't had these we would have been carrying water a mile each day for 20 thirsty horses and ponies so we are quite relieved!

The snow has not been the easiest thing to manage, luckily Natalie lives in the town so has been walking to the ponies twice a day to feed them and put out lots of hay. They have all coped with it very well and don't seem to mind it at all, particularly was they get extra hay! As pretty as it is we won't be sorry to see it gone!

This is our friendly Robin, he waits for us to open the shed then flies in and eats the horse feed, he also hops in and out of the buckets whilst they are eating, here he is stood next to my horse Lily waiting for her to raise her head!

Storm & Bonnie

2010-01-13T14:14:00.001-08:00

We have heard from Lynn, Bonnie's loaner. Bonnie is doing well and coping with the snow well! She has some rugs to keep her nice and warm - doesn't she look really cute!!

We also heard from Lyndsey who has Storm, Storm and his pal Smokey have had a bit of fun escaping on to the moors to join the wild ponies, however they decided home had better grass and soon returned and are now staying put!!

Photos!!!

2010-01-02T12:23:00.000-08:00

I finally took the camera up to the field today and got some photos of the ponies and the foals!

Winter Newsletter

2009-12-22T01:02:00.000-08:00

Winter 2009 Newsletter

Welcome to the Winter 2009 newsletter keeping you up to date with the goings on at the Dartmoor Pony Training Centre. We have managed to re-home a few more ponies but also take a few more on (slightly more than intended......)

The Markets

Tavistock October 2009
We attended Tavistock Market with the intention of bringing home 2 ponies, we had decided before the markets this year that we could really only take on 2 ponies as we had had a few come back to us and we were quite full going in to winter. There were many unsold at the end of the day and even the coloureds were going for relatively low prices compared to previous years. This year all the foals also had to be microchipped before leaving the market and there was concern about how this could be done. Luckily an excellent system was set in place making it as stress free as possible, the ponies were herded in to a crush where a vet microchipped them before they were let back in to a pen. Although no doubt traumatic it really was done as quickly and efficiently as it could have been and I doubt many ponies suffered any more than they already were from the whole market experience.

At the end of the day we approached a farmer and brought two of his unsold ponies.

It was very sad at the end of the day with farmers openly saying the ponies really did not have a future if they were not sold, it just shows how important it is that we try and do our best for the ones we can help and promoting the breed. A local farmer is currently reducing his herd and putting geldings on the moor, this will obviously mean he won’t be breeding quite so many foals and we hope other farmers may follow if it works.

Chagford October 2009
Chagford market was much the same as Tavistock with many unsold. We were not planning to take any ponies on but were approached by a girl who had brought a pony, we agreed she could come to our workshop for free to work with her pony which was that weekend and that we would transport the foal to the venue, of course this meant the foal being by itself so we had to buy her a companion..... and so it was we ended up with Tango, who I believe may stay with us for some time as Ro has fallen for him!

Foals from a local farmer
We needed some foals to work with for our open day and a local farmer had some which he had not been able to take to market, problem was he didn’t know what to do with them. We decided to take them to our workshop to work with in the hope of maybe also finding them homes along the way. We did manage to re-home 2 of them to a woman who loans one of our ponies, unfortunately that still left 5, with nowhere for them to go it was inevitable we would end up keeping them!

Open Day & Workshop
This year we ran a 3 day workshop with Sarah Weston which went very well, the last day was our open day. We had 18 foals to work with and the change in them over the 3 days was so rewarding. It was hard work setting the course up and then looking after everyone (equine and human) but it was so worthwhile when we saw what a difference it had made to the foals. Hopefully people on the course learnt from the experience and Sarah Weston and her team were fantastic! You can read more about it on Sarah’s blog http://www.sarahweston.co.uk/ if you look at the October dates you will find the entries relating to the workshop and photos! Sarah has also published a book ‘No Fear No Force’ which covers her training methods and which we’d recommend to anyone wanting to learn more.

Next year we are planning a 5 day workshop followed by our open day, it should run in the week of 25th October so if any one has an interest it’s never too early to let us know!

Merry
Merry is settled back in to the herd and looking really well. We haven’t done too much with him over the last few months but even so he will always be caught and do what is asked of him. He was happy to great his fans during the open day in October, though he and Trixie did have to be separated as he wouldn’t leave the poor girl alone!

Trixie
Trixie has been on restricted grazing and has finally lost some weight! Hopefully she will drop more over winter and be in perfect form for the spring grass! We have to constantly be aware of the risk of laminitis in ponies and cannot risk them getting too fat, quite a few of them are now on restricted grazing and will certainly not be getting ad lib haylage this year. Trixie isn’t all that pleased about her diet but it’s for her own good, if only we could tell her that!!

Alfie
Alfie has been successfully re-homed to a farm near Chudleigh where he is keeping a riding horse company. He settled in well and has been behaving. Keep an eye on our blog for updates on how he is getting on there!

Storm
Storm has now been backed and so has had his first rider on his back, he took to it easily and is progressing very well with his education. He is still being managed very strictly due to his laminitis.

Snoopy & Buzz
We visited Snoopy & Buzz at the riding school they are homed at and both are looking really well. They are all grown up now and it was wonderful to see them. Both live out 24/7 and are handled as and when needed, they will continue to live out in the youngsters herd until they are old enough to be backed. The riding school is a great home for these two as they are well suited to that environment being very boisterous and loving lots of attention from the kids!

Bertie & Clyde
Bertie & Clyde came back to us but were quickly re-homed to a lovely couple in Holsworthy. They are living there together in about 3 acres and enjoying themselves. We needn’t have worried about them settling in, they had their heads down eating straight away! Clyde’s weight will be watched and he will be stabled part of the day to restrict is intake, another one on the Weightwatchers list!

Leo – Written by Ro who loans him
Since the last newsletter I’ve introduced Leo to long-lines. He’s taken it all in his stride and didn’t worry in the slightest about the lines touching his legs or about having a roller put on. The only slight problem is that he’s only got two speeds when long-lining – walk and stop. But the good news is that he does now trot in-hand, and has realised that it can be fun! We’ve also made a bit of progress with his dislike of dogs. He manages to ignore them when he’s in-hand, but I still wouldn’t vouch for how he’d be when he’s out grazing in the field. It’s not going to be easy to do too much with him over the winter but we are planning to take him to Trago Mills for the annual Christmas visit. I wonder what he’ll think of Santa and the reindeers!

Mikey & Steer
Mikey & Steer are doing well. Mikey has settled in finally, he did go through a phase of jumping from field to field so we never quite knew where we would find him! He is a very clever pony and needs a very special understanding home with someone he can really bond with and trust.

Steer has stolen all our hearts again, he is such a soft soppy pony who loves attention and is naturally trusting of people. We also need to find him a wonderful home where he can get all the attention he wants

Current ponies in need of re-homing
At the moment we have a few ponies looking for homes, most are ones that have been returned to us recently. They are:

· Mikey & Steer – now 3 years old and full of fun
· Rona – now a yearling she has a mischievous but loving character, the loaner will need to be confident but calm and also be aware she is not keen on dogs, though we are trying to desensitise her to them
· George – Amy’s foal who is now a yearling, he is currently with a bachelor herd awaiting castration
· 7 foals taken on from market this year, handling just starting

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT, PLEASE REMEMBER TO KEEP CHECKING OUR BLOGS FOR REGULAR UPDATES AND PHOTOS OF THE PONIES. http://dptc.blogspot.com/ http://dptcrehoming.blogspot.com/

SPONSORS
Thank you to Cartridges Solicitors for sponsoring the printing of the newsletter. Cartridges are specialists in Personal Injury work and much more - to find out more about the services they offer log on to www.cartridgeslaw.co.uk

And a thank you to Ian Hulland Photography Ltd for providing the ink for the colour photos on the hard copy newsletter – e-mail ihpltd@yahoo.co.uk for further details on the services he offers.

Update

2009-11-10T07:20:00.000-08:00

Thank you to everyone who came to our workshop in October and to our open day. The workshop was excellent and it has prompted us to do a full 5 day one next year! The week will be 23rd October, we will have further details after Christmas. I will post some photos of the few days shortly!

We have re-homed a few ponies in recent weeks! Rona & Steer have gone together, as have Bertie & Clyde, it also looks like we have found a lovely home for Alfie, this is great news as it makes a little more room for the 7 foals we have taken on!

The foals were all worked with at our workshop but have since been in quarantine, they should be coming back to our fields in the next week or so when we can continue work with them.

We have to get them all microchipped when they get back and George (Amy's foal) and Courage (one of the 7 taken on) will need castrating so it will be a busy time before Christmas. We also have to work out a feeding rota for them and get them in to a feeding routine, winter has to be a very organised business otherwise it can be very difficult! Normally we have a feeding pen and they soon learn to line up and wait to go in whilst we feed the horses they share the field with!

This time of year is very expensive with the extra feed bill and microchipping and castrations don't come cheap! The other foals will also need castrating when they are a little older and ready so if you know of any one who would like to sponsor a pony to help raise funds then do pass them our details!!

I will post some photos when the foals come back! In the meantime here are a couple of links to stories on our open day

http://www.yourhorse.co.uk/Your-Horse-News/Search-Results/Gear-news/Nov-2-09/Nov-2-Feeding-advice-for-Dartmoor-ponies/

http://horsehage.nmdnews.co.uk/

Western Morning News report on Foal Handling Workshop

2009-10-13T03:30:00.000-07:00

The Western Morning News kindly reported on our workshop at the weekend, below is a copy of the article.

DON'T FORGET OUR OPEN DAY AND WORKSHOP!!

2009-10-04T21:58:00.000-07:00

Click on image is too small to read!

Owning a Dartmoor Pony is fun, but can also be a terrific challenge, especially if you buy one straight from the moors at the sales. A special workshop dedicated to helping you learn how to handle feral ponies will give you the experience and confidence you need to make your new partnership immensely rewarding and satisfying both for you and your pony. Spectators are also welcome to pick up training tips.

The Dartmoor Pony Training Centre will be running a Dartmoor Hill Pony Workshop on 09, 10 and 11th October with Sarah Weston of Intelligent Horsemanship, renowned for her work with unhandled feral ponies including New Forests, Exmoors and Dartmoors.

The dates have been set to encourage people to work with a foal/pony they have bought at the sale before they take it home resulting in both owner and pony having a good grounding and knowledge for their new lives together. Because the work will be intensive there are limited spaces – so book your place quickly. People who are thinking about buying in the future are also welcome as ponies can be provided. People who sign up to the workshops will learn to handle their own foal before it goes home with them. The foal can be kept at local facilities after the sale until the day of the workshop at no extra cost and they will be ready to greet their owner on the day.

The course will help guide you to touch your foal and put a head collar on before teaching it to lead. Some may well progress further but we don’t put undue pressure on the pony as the emphasis is on a trusting partnership. Techniques and guidance on all future work with your pony will be given and there will always be people on the end of the phone to help.

The actual workshops will run for 2 days on the 9th and 10th October with Sunday 11th October being open to the general public as part of the Dartmoor Pony Training Centre’s annual open day. We would hope to work with you and your pony on this day for free to show what has been achieved in just a couple of days.

Workshops cost £50 per day to work with a foal and £10 per day for spectators.

If you would like to work with a pony but do not wish to buy one, or would like to work with a youngster but are not sure if you would like to buy one it can be arranged for other ponies to be at the event for you to work with and if you then wanted to purchase one you can.

More details: Dartmoor Pony Training Centre on 01364 644224 or e-mail dartmoorponytrainingcentre@yahoo.co.uk - www.dptc.org.uk
Quote from a previous satisfied customer!
“Sarah’s course provides a wonderful opportunity for those of us that believe wholeheartedly in the methods of Monty Roberts, Kelly Marks and Mark Rashid to practice and develop the methods, skills and mind set that we have learned through attending their demos and courses and reading their books. Sarah’s dual roles are her duty of care to the foals to prepare them as much as possible for their new lives and to teach and develop her students. The course offers a mainly hands on learning experience and Sarah’s skills, professionalism, warmth and humour provide a very safe, calm and supportive learning environment for both foals and humans. Working with the foals is both humbling and an enormous privilege. Gaining the trust of one of these foals in a priceless gift. I have had the most wonderful experience but those of you who would sample this delight, beware – AN EQUINE HEALTH WARNING – these foals can be addictive and life changing! One lady that went on the course last year never went home and is still there!!”

Quote from Charlotte Faulkner Dartmoor Hill Pony Association
“I think it could be a real asset, to giving the ponies a future”

A few home checks, the new foals & Storm saddled!

2009-10-04T13:40:00.000-07:00

This weekend I did a couple of home checks. The first was Buzz & Snoopy who are living at a local riding school. Both were very happy and I couldn't believe how gorgeous Buzz was looking! They are both still as cheeky and friendly as ever!

Next visit was Leo, with him I couldn't believe how much more grey he had got, I wonder what colour he will be in a few years time. He is a little overweight as you will probably see and he is now on very restricted grazing to get this under control.

I popped in on the two new foals to see how they were settling in, pleased to say they were still with Alfie & Steer and all seemed very settled together, so far they are still in good health too so fingers crossed it will stay that way!!

Finally Storm's loaner has sent us a photo of Storm with her son on him!

First 2009 Dartmoor pony sale

2009-10-02T12:19:00.000-07:00

Well today was the first of 3 annual Dartmoor Hill Pony Sales. There were surprisingly few bay ponies, lots of coloureds and shockingly even quality, coloured and grey fillies were passing through unsold, it was incredible, I just stood shaking my head most of the time!

At the DPTC we don't bid on ponies but we will take on the unsold ones and give the breeders the reserve price, done through the auctioneers. We have a few to re-home at the moment so could only take on two.

We then drove them to our field which is away from the rest of them, strangles can occur frequently in those off the moors so we don't want to risk the main herd, however being such babies they do need companionship asap so Steer and Alfie were designated that job as they have great temperaments and aren't too fat for all the grass! Having dropped the foals off we went and collected Alfie and Steer, we thought loading could prove interesting as we have ponies in 3 different fields and trying to get the trailer in without any escaping could be fun, as it turned out it was a piece of cake! We backed up just enough to open up the gate, the ponies were in and out of the trailer and as we were about to fetch headcollars Alfie & Steer were in by themselves so Natalie quickly closed it up!

They settled so quickly (the grass helped) no chasing them around, it was great!

Photos a bit poor due to the lighting!!

Photos of them at market and then safe in the field with Alfie & Steer

Look at George all grown up!

2009-09-14T05:24:00.000-07:00

I have had a couple of updates on Gorgeous George (well I got them in July and have finally got around to posting them)!! He hasn't been out to any more shows just yet as poor Sarah broke her foot, he's coming on nicely though as you will see!

Though i'd share some short vid clips of George & his new jolly ball !....he was caught red handed (or should i say hooved! lol) steeling brushes , buckets anything he could clamp his gums around & bolt off with and then would throw them for himself to fetch! lol , so i decided today to buy him his very own "legal" toy !...a jolly ball !lol
http://s262.photobucket.com/albums/ii102/bamba_2008/?action=view¤t=003.flv

http://s262.photobucket.com/albums/ii102/bamba_2008/?action=view¤t=004.flv

http://s262.photobucket.com/albums/ii102/bamba_2008/?action=view¤t=005.flv

And some photos:

Update on Storm

2009-09-14T05:22:00.000-07:00

Storm is doing well and has been backed! Below is part of an e-mail received from his loaner updating us on his progress:

Storm is backed now! He spent 5 weeks at Kate Reece's yard in Newton Abbot and I rode him while he was there. I dont yet have any photos of him being ridden. He was long reined and ridden in the sand school and long reined on the road- he was very good. Kate is a Recommended Associate od the Intelligent Horsemanship association and is excellent. While at Kate's he was in during the day in a lovely dry airy box and out at night. Back home he has to suffer the wet outside most of the time.

And here he is all tacked up and ready to go!

Brooke Animal Hospital Show 9th August 2009

2009-08-10T14:46:00.001-07:00

We went to the Brooke Animal Hospital show on Sunday, Trixie & Leo were due to go with us but sadly due to car trouble we could not tow them there so they had a leisurely day in the field!

Here are some photos of the day, first up our stand and some of the others at the show, oh and Ro befriending the proud Dalmatian with his red rosette!

There were a few classes for the ponies and here are some of the entries. Little Arnie representing World Horse Welfare and Mojo the chestnut ex racehorse was there as he is every year strutting his stuff and helping raise funds for the Race Horse Rehabilitation Centre.

And here are some pics of a few other rescue ponies at the show

The Dartmoor Challenge 8th August 2009

2009-08-08T10:13:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of the Dartmoor Challenge organised by Charlotte Faulkner of Friends of the Dartmoor Hill Pony, none of us could do the 2 day ride or camp over as we have Brooke Show tomorrow. Ro & I did however decide to do the ride on the cart pulled by two shire horses named Jimmy and Dan I think! It was a lovely day, we set off admiring the views of Dartmoor before meeting up with the 3 rides (beginners, intermediate and advanced) and stopping for a picnic. We then set off on our way home.

The idea of the challenge was to raise money for the Friends and hopefully they managed, it was a fantastic day and hopefully the BBQ and tomorrow's ride will be just as good!

Well done to Charlotte for organising another excellent event!

Below are lots and lots of photos! Sadly they aren;t in any particular order!

Recent Photos of ponies on Dartmoor

2009-07-29T04:10:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos I took on Dartmoor over the weekend. These were taken not far from Haytor, some very cute foals!

These were taken at "the Valley of the White Horses" up pas Dartmeet. It was interesting to watch, the coloured was a stallion and the grey was obviously an intruder (or been very naughty)! as the coloured was chasing him away and then snaking at his herd moving them away in the opposite direction. Eventually they disappeared up over the hill a long long away with the coloured still chasing the grey as far away as he could! Unfortunately the weather was really bad to the photos aren't great as the lense was covered in rain within 2 seconds of getting it out!

These photos are of a herd we bumped in to near Bellevere. The two foals were the cutest cheekiest things ever and I could have scooped them up in to my boot! They were so friendly

On the way to Bellevere river and found another foal who was a bit of a poser!

And then when we got to our desination there was this lovely mare and her foal in the river, again it was a shame the weather was so bad as the photos are blurry!

Summer Newsletter

2009-07-29T04:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Summer 2009 newsletter keeping you up to date with the goings on at the Dartmoor Pony Training Centre. All has been well, we have been to a couple of shows, re-homed more ponies, had more ponies come back and we have been out to visit ponies in their loan homes!

Moretonhampstead Show
On Sunday 10th May we took Trixie & Leo to Moretonhampstead show. This was their first proper show, though Trixie has of course been out and about to shows and stood in the pen for her adoring fans! Leo had never seen anything like it before.

They were both very good, Leo was a little edgy at first when Ro unloaded him, he was having a good look around with all the horse box and trailers moving around and numerous horses rushing past and tied up. He soon settled though.

I was supposed to be taking my pony Tigger but he was ill and as I had already entered the classes I decided I may as well take Trixie in them rather than waste an entry fee! We did two classes the first was Mountain & Moorland in hand and my foot wished we hadn’t bothered! In the ring Trixie got quite anxious being away from Leo and it took her some time to stop calling to him. In the meantime I could see Leo beside the ring not too happy about the situation either, Natalie & Ro kept walking him around though and he calmed down and started grazing, unfortunately the same could not be said for Trixie bless her.

We started in the ring walking around, I was second in line but she kept stopping so we were overtaken!. We then had to wait in single file whilst each pony and handler took it in turns to trot around the ring to the back of the queue. Trixie was getting impatient and stamping at this point. It came around to our turn to trot and she proceeded to leap in the air a few times which is very unusual for her but we got to the back of the line with no further tantrums. We all then had to carry on walking at which point Trixie decided she needed a wee! I had to laugh!

The judge then called us to line up and picked the order. Phew I thought that’s it I can get out of here – I was wrong! Each handler then had to walk out of the line and trot around again, this meant standing with a very grumpy Trixie who kept stamping, nibbling, barging in to me and trying to graze and walking around, I have a few bruises on my foot now from the time we were waiting. She did however trot around the ring ok this time.

I am very pleased to say we did not come last, we came one from last and I did hear the person below me say to someone “well I give up on trying to work out what a judge looks for....” :-)

The class was finally over and Trixie and Leo were reunited, they were happy to be together and grazed until the handy pony class they were both entered in. Both were very well behaved for this class – my aim had been to let Trixie eat as much grass as she could so she would then sleep whilst lined up, it worked too well.... She walked over the pole and around the feed buckets (only glancing to check there was no food in them) we then had to trot but madam was not so keen, she wanted to sleep! We got a few strides before reaching the carpet which she walked on without even looking at it, she picked up her foot as requested and backed up so overall not too bad!

Then it was Leo’s turn and for a 2 year old he was amazing, he didn’t look at the pole and led between the buckets perfectly. Unfortunately he hasn’t yet got the hang of trotting in hand but he did a wonderful striding walk before taking a quick look at the carpet and walking on to it. He was happy for Ro to pick up his foot and back up and he was praised by many people watching him for being so good at such a young age.

During the day we met Anne and Lulu – you may have seen their updates on entries on our blog, Lulu is the coloured Dartmoor Hill Pony. Earlier on she had had won her class and come second in the championship which is a fantastic promotion for the Dartmoor Hill Pony - she also came third in her coloured class later on in the day. She had travelled all the way from Wiltshire to try and qualify for Devon County Show via the handy pony class. Lulu was perfect up until the carpet, she really wasn’t sure what to make of it! They have been practicing lots since and are ready to go to the qualifiers in Widecombe.

Trixie came sixth in the end which was good, she even got a rosette

Dunsford Show
We went to Dunsford show again this year, our fourth year being there. Unfortunately we could not take any of the ponies as we had no one to drive our trailer, this was a shame as they are normally a very good draw to our stand and people love to meet them. It was still a nice day and as usual the show was full of fun and had a great atmosphere. We look forward to next years when we hope the ponies can come again.

Open Day & Workshop
Attached to the newsletter are full details of a workshop we are running on 9th, 10th and 11th October 2009. Sunday 11th October will be our open day so we hope to see you all there, please do contact us if you would like further details.

Name the Mare & Foal
You may remember we had a competition to name the mare and her foal born at the centre this year, we have finally chosen the names and they will now be known as Grace (mare) and May (foal). Well done to S Davies who has won a sponsorship and a poster of a photo taken by Bob Langrishe of a Dartmoor mare. Thank you to everyone for your name suggestions and thank you to Bog Langrishe for kindly donating the prize, don’t forget to look at his website http://www.boblangrish.com/.

Rona
Rona unfortunately came back to us after a month in her new home, it was discovered she had an issue with chasing dogs which was a bit of a worry for the loaner. She is doing really well back with us and has been having lots of leading practice and she even behaved for the farrier! She is suffering mild sweet itch at the moment and so we have had to get a small fly rug for her.

Tinker
Tinker was castrated at the hospital and all went really well, he went straight to his new home (where Rona had been) and has settled in nicely. He is very happy there with Ebony and his loaner loves him!

Woody, Amy, Mare & foal
These four have gone to a new home, they have gone to conservation grazing in Gloucestershire where you may remember a few of our other ponies are including Pippin, Harry and Jet. It was sad seeing Grace and May leave as now we won’t get to watch May grow up but at least they have a lovely home!

Maia
Maia has been re-homed too. She is getting on really well and her loaners love her, they have been taking her out for walks and she has been getting all the attention she could ever want.

Storm
Storm is doing well in his home with Smokey near Tavistock. He suffered a mild bout of laminitis at the beginning of the year but this is under control and he is off to a yard near Coombeinteignhead to be backed very shortly, we will keep you updated with his progress.

Smartie
We went to see how Smartie was getting on in his loan home with Olivia. She has done a fantastic job with him and he is obviously very happy. He wears a bridle and saddle now and Olivia takes him out for walks in hand and also leads him from her other pony Sovereign.

Star & Socks
We visited Star & Socks not long ago and they seem contended where they are. They were very friendly and it was lovely to see them.

Archie & Ronnie
We also visited Archie & Ronnie who were also doing really well at Easterbrook. They loved a fuss from us and again it was nice to see them happy and settled in their home.

Bertie & Clyde
We visited Bertie and Clyde and although they are happy in their home they will be coming back to us shortly. They will make great ponies for someone being well handled, and now ready for backing. Hopefully we can find them new homes quickly. I wonder if Clyde will know Rona is his daughter......!

Bonnie
Bonnie is doing really well with Lynn, she had a few issues with picking her feet up initially (it was an issue she’d previously had which we had worked on but think she decided it would be fun to test her new loaners out too when she moved)!! Luckily Lynn has worked on this and she will now pick all her feet up no problems even without a headcollar on!

Her education continues – she is taken out for walks and has a bridle with a happy mouth bit but is led from the headcollar still for the time being. She has also had a little cub saddle on her but not a girth, she did not bat any eyelid at this and we will keep you updated on her progress.

Leo – Written by Ro who loans him
Leo is continuing to develop as a happy and confident youngster. He enjoyed his outing to Trago Mills early in the summer and took the brass band, steam engines and clown on stilts in his stride! In fact, he was much more worried when we went to our first show and took quite a while to calm down. But eventually, with Trixie leading by example, he settled down to have a nice graze. Even though he’s only 2 years old he’s already starting to fill out and next year I know I’ll have to restrict his grazing to stop him getting fat. He’s had his feet trimmed a couple of times now and was very good – other than chasing the farrier’s dog beforehand. So that’s my next project – to try to desensitise him to dogs. I’m also continuing to work on his leading (especially getting him to trot in hand) and I’d like to try to introduce him to long lines this summer.

Merry
Merry is back in our herd having been with the bachelor herd throughout the winter and spring. It was as if he was never gone, he has settled back in really well. He had his feet trimmed and we were worried he may have forgotten what it was all about having been away and unhandled for so long but he was a pro and was perfect for the farrier!

Trixie
You will have read about Trixie’s recent escapades above! She is not too happy with us at the moment, her belly was getting the better of her so she is now on restricted grazing and she thinks she is starving! She gets fed each day to ensure she gets her vitamins and minerals and she gets a bit of hay with the others (she is in there with 3 other ponies) but she does like to stamp her feet to show how disgruntled she is about it all!

Mikey & Steer
Mikey & Steer are back with us causing havoc! Having only recently been castrated they are still full of testosterone and it took a while for them to settle in to the herd, Mikey in particular seemed to want to be in charge and was rearing at Beau the 16.3 Irish TB – though he did eventually give up, every now and then he still likes a pop!

Rona joined in with Mikey & Steer initially and they were a real troublesome threesome, we went up one day to find our barn completely trashed and have no doubt it was them! Luckily they have now settled and Steer and Rona are very close whilst Mikey has latched on to Natalie’s pony Rosie.

Current ponies in need of re-homing
At the moment we have a few ponies looking for homes, most are ones that have been returned to us recently. They are:

· Mikey & Steer – now 3 years old and full of fun
· Clyde & Bertie – both very sweet natured calm ponies, Bertie is now 4 and Clyde is approximately 5, both are ready for backing. They have been well handled, stabled and taken out for walks
· Rona – now a yearling she has a mischievous but loving character, the loaner will need to be confident but calm and also be aware she is not keen on dogs, though we are trying to desensitise her to them
· Alfie – a very sweet pony about 4 years old and ready for backing, would be a great pony for a small adult. He needs a confident handler as he will “try it on” but if he knows you are the boss will be the sweetest pony you’ve ever met!
· George – Amy’s foal who is now a yearling, he is currently with a bachelor herd awaiting castration

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT, PLEASE REMEMBER TO KEEP CHECKING OUR BLOGS FOR REGULAR UPDATES AND PHOTOS OF THE PONIES. http://dptc.blogspot.com/ http://dptcrehoming.blogspot.com/

SPONSORS
Thank you to Cartridges Solicitors for sponsoring the printing of the newsletter. Cartridges are specialists in Personal Injury work and much more - to find out more about the services they offer log on to www.cartridgeslaw.co.uk

Summer 2009 Newsletter

Charlotte Faulkner in WMN

2009-07-21T06:46:00.000-07:00

Charlotte Faulkner of the Friends of the Dartmoor Hill Pony was in the local paper today. The Western Morning News ran a feature, if you click on the pictures below it will bring up a larger version which hopefully you can read.

Update on Anne & Lulu!

2009-07-17T03:11:00.003-07:00

Anne has been busy with Lulu! She is practicing for the handy pony class with 2 carpets a pink one and a blue one!!

They have booked transport for widecombe fair so hopefully will qualify for Devon County there with all the practice they are putting in

They also did some fancy dress, the photos show their practices beforehand!

At the show Lulu did the coloured class and qualified for the Royal London Horse Show. It's miles away from them they will be honouring the qualification and taking her to perterborough in September!!!

Oriane did her first ever in hand showing class in prettiest mare and came second. She was so nervous before hand and cried because she could not get Lulu to trot but it all came together in the ring

Then she did the fancy dress. Lulu came 4th out of four but she was outstanding considering all the flapping, tassels and flares she had to wear!!!!

Brooke Animal Hospital Show - 9th August 2009

2009-06-30T08:32:00.000-07:00

We will be attending the Brooke Show again this year, it's always a lovely day out and a great chance to chat to other like minded people! Please do come along!

RESCUE HORSE & DOG SHOW and EQUINE CAR BOOT SALE in aid of the Brooke Hospital for Animals
Charity Registration No. 1087560
at

KNIGHTSHAYES COURT, BOLHAM, TIVERTON

Sunday 9th August 2009

10.30am – 4.30pm

Parade of rescued horses and dogs, Fun showing classes, Animal displays,
Pony rides and games, Horsy jumble, Animal re-homing charities’ stands,
Home made refreshments & much, much more!
Restricted entries in horse classes (& in advance only)
Dogs must have been re-homed from recognised charity to enter some classes.

For details tel: Penny on 01884 254665
or Jane on 01884 861181 Or email:
jane@blackdog.ukf.net

More photos!!

2009-06-20T12:39:00.000-07:00

Was out and about with my camera again today. The mare and foal are leaving for their new home tomorrow with Amy & Woody so got lots of photos. We will be choosing a name in a week or so thanks for all the entries and keep them coming!

First photos are the troublesome Merry & Trixie!!

Mikey & Steer return - lots of photos inc Mare & Foal

2009-06-20T03:21:00.000-07:00

Mikey & Steer have come back to the centre, we picked them up yesterday evening, they are in the hay fields with Amy, Woody and the mare and foal. These 4 will be moving to Gloucester tomorrow which is why they are separate to the herd.

As you can see Mikey & Steer's arrival caused some chaos!

6th June Re-homing check day!

2009-06-07T10:23:00.000-07:00

Despite the weather Natalie, Ro and myself did some home checks yesterday starting with Smarty, then Archie and Ronnie and finally Socks and Star - to find out how we got on and see some photos please look at the re-homing blog http://dptcrehoming.blogspot.com/

Dartmoor Hill Pony Championship Qualifiers

2009-06-05T08:35:00.000-07:00

Click on image if too small to read!

Take up the Dartmoor ChallengeIn support of the Dartmoor Hill ponies.

2009-06-04T01:49:00.000-07:00

Take up the Dartmoor Challenge in support of the Dartmoor Hill ponies. Sponsored Ride or Drive.The Friends of the Dartmoor Hill pony are running the unusual event on 8th and 9th of August 2009 from Corndonford Farm Poundsgate Newton Abbot TQ13 7PP.Across moors over Tors to secret Picnic places.

Expert local guides leading rides for different abilities.

Those driving ponies and horses follow a route chosen as the favoured route of our local driving enthusiasts.

There are limited places on the wagons driven by shire horses for those who neither drive nor ride but wish to be a part of this unique event.

In the evening returning to the farm for a hog roast and a sing song.

For more information please contact charlotte Faulkner www.dartmoorhillpony.com or Tel 01364 631036 or send SAE to Corndonford Farm, Poundsgate, Newton Abbot, TQ13 7PP

On site turn out and camping/local B and B, livery stables available.

Last Angel Equine Rescue - rescue organisation seeks trustees

2009-06-02T12:42:00.000-07:00

Previously Last Angel Equine Defence now Last Angel Equine Rescue, unfortunately their premises in Wembury fell through and they are still desperately searcing. They are also still looking for volunteers and trustees.

Last Angel Equine Rescue, a south-west equine rescue organisation, is seeking people from the South-West to join its board of trustees. The organisations Co-founders, Cathy Lane and Anthony Lane plan to register the organisation as a charity once they have trustees on board. Their aim is to open an equine sanctuary and rehabilitation centre which will take in unwanted, neglected and abused horses and ponies and re-home them once they have been rehabilitated. The Co-founders said “Another equine rescue centre is clearly needed in the south-west as local equine charities are continuously full and are having to turn unwanted horses and ponies away every week.”

Last Angel Equine Rescue was set up in memory of Cathy Lane's Mother, singer/songwriter Sue Bundrick, who lost her fight with cancer in April 2007. “My Mum was very dedicated to animal welfare. She was the one who helped me with the first two ponies I rescued, particularly with the second pony. It was a combined effort between me and my Mum. I knew of a pony, a little gelding that needed help, and Mum pulled out all the stops to help me get the pony out of the horrible situation he was in. This sanctuary was her dream as much as mine. I just wish she could be here to see it when it happens.”

Last Angel Equine Rescue are looking for people who are dedicated to horse rescue and would like to get involved and give their commitment to the project. The organisation is also looking for a suitable site for the rescue centre. They need a yard and grazing to rent. Initially 3-6 stables with 6-10 acres of pasture, ideally with the possibility of renting more land at a later date. The yard would need to be available for a long period of time and they would need to have permission from the land-owner that the land be used for the purpose of horse rescue. “We need to find a suitable site in the south-west area of the UK. We are flexible on areas, but our preferred areas are Somerset, Devon, Avon and Wiltshire. We are hoping to find both the trustees and the site within reasonable distance of each-other.”

Anyone who can be of help please contact:
Cathy & Anthony Lane – 07847 297058
email: admin@lastangel.org.uk
website: http://www.lastangel.org.uk/
Forum:http://www.lastangel.org.uk/forum

Dartmoor Hill Pony Championship FINAL!

2009-05-24T11:46:00.000-07:00

Today was the Dartmoor Hill Pony In Hand Championship at Devon County Show! I have taken a couple of videos and some photos for you all to see.

Firstly the course – which is very different to the qualifying classes. The first obstacle is a make shift gate the pony has to walk through

Then it has to have a wrapped carpet placed on it’s back and walk around in a circle with it on

Uh oh lost the rug

Far more interested in the grass - you can tell it’s a Dartmoor!

Some weren’t so keen to start but soon settled!

Next was reversing in between some poles

And then walking over a bridge

Come on!

Then a run down to an arch way with scary flags

To finish they then had to go back through the gate they stated at.

The course was timed and penalties could be given

Waiting for the result

And the winner getting a well deserved hug and kiss!

First 4 from right to left

Sticking his tongue out at not coming first!

Best turned out

THE WINNER

Videos of them entering the ring and of the course

Merry & the Boys

2009-05-23T15:33:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed a lack of Merry photos lately - this is because he is in the bachelor herd at the other fields and I never seem to have my camera on me! I took some photos of him with my phone, as well as George and Woody, not the best but at least you can see him!! He is very well and very happy!

Lulu's Success at Moretonhampstead Show!

2009-05-14T09:27:00.001-07:00

As mentioned in the earlier report on Moretonhampstead Show Anne and Lulu had great success together winning their first class, then coming second in the championship before getting third in the coloured class - well worth the trip all the way from Wiltshire!

Here are a few photos of them, you will also find photos of them in the youngstock class on the official photographers website

http://www.jayphotos.co.uk/events/090510%20Moreton%20Riding%20Club%20Show%20Moretonhampstead/Class%2031%20In%20Hand%20Youngstock/

Don't forget the Dartmoor Hill Pony In Hand Final at Devon County Show!

2009-05-14T09:17:00.002-07:00

The Dartmoor Hill Pony in hand final will be taking place at Devon County Show on Saturday 23rd May in the Lady Clinton ring, time yet to be confirmed but as soon as I find out I will post.

2009 Dartmoor Hill Pony In hand Championshop Qualifying dates

2009-05-14T09:17:00.001-07:00

DARTMOOR HILL PONY (IN HAND) CHAMPIONSHIP

The Friends of the Dartmoor Hill Pony together with the Dartmoor Pony Training Centre are thrilled to announce that the final of the Dartmoor Hill Pony (in hand) Championships will be held at again at Devon County Show in May 2010. Below are the 10 show holding the qualifiers for the final:

1. April 28th British Skewbald & Piebald Association
Sec. Mrs A Sizmur – 01837 861278

2. May 10th Moretonhampstead Horse Show
Sec. Mrs C Stanton – 01647 432144

3. May 10th Hunterswood Horse Show, Yeoford, Crediton
Sec. Mrs Knowles – 01363 772594

4. May 25th Native Pony Association of Devon
Sec. Mrs Powlesand – 01363 773172

5. June 7th Torbay & District Riding Club Show
Sec. Mrs P. Bridge – 01803 392915

6. June 21st Dawlish Horse Show
Sec. Sara Stead – 01626 867723

7. June 27th Chudleigh Horse Show
Sec. Mrs Profit – 01626 852113

8. July 19th Cockington Riding Club
Sec. Mrs D. Greenland – 01803 328081

9. July 31st Corndon Ford Show
Sec. Mrs A. Williams – 01364 631595

10. September 8th Widecombe Fair
Sec. Mrs S Beech Hicks – 01647 221233

Please contact the show secretaries direct for show schedules. For further details of what the class entails please contact the Dartmoor Pony Training Centre on 07802 218169 or e-mail dartmoorponytrainingcentre@yahoo.uk. You can also contact the DPTC if you are interested in purchasing a Dartmoor Hill Pony, please look at their website www.dptc.org.uk for the link to the online sales list. The DPTC also have ponies in need of re-homing.

Date for Open Day!

2009-05-14T09:14:00.000-07:00

We will be combining our open day with a 3 day workshop with Sarah Weston, the actual open day will be on 11th October 2009 between 11am and 3pm. We are yet to confirm full details but put the date in your diary!

Are you are considering purchasing a Dartmoor Pony from the sales this year but are unsure how to train an unhandled feral pony? The Dartmoor Pony Training Centre will be running a Dartmoor Hill Pony Workshop on 09, 10 and 11th October with Sarah Weston of Intelligent Horsemanship who is well renowned for her work with unhandled feral ponies including New Forests, Exmoors and Dartmoors.

The date of the workshop is to encourage people to work with a foal they have brought at the sale before they take it home resulting in both owner and foal having a good grounding and knowledge for their new lives together.

People who sign up to the workshops will learn to handle their own foal before it goes home with them, the foal can be kept at local facilities after the sale until the day of the workshop at no extra cost and they will be ready to great their owner on the day.

The course will help guide you to touch your foal and put a head collar on before teaching it to lead. Some may well progress to picking up feet but we don’t put undue pressure on the foal as the emphasis is on a trusting partnership so this will depend a lot on how the foal is progressing over the time allowed, techniques and guidance on all future work with your foal will be given and there will always be people on the end of the phone to help.

There are also places for spectators if you would like to watch the training techniques.

The actual workshops will run for 2 days on the 9th and 10th October with Sunday 11th October being open to the general public as part of the Dartmoor Pony Training Centre’s annual open day, we would hope to work with you and your pony on this day for free to show what has been achieved in just a couple of days.

The cost of this workshop is £50 per day to work with a foal or for spectators £10 per day person.

Spaces are very limited, only 8-10 people per day for the workshop and the same for spectators as we need to ensure it will be quiet for the foals being worked with - so book now to avoid disappointment!

If you would like to work with a foal but do not wish to buy one, or would like to work with a youngster but are not sure if you like to buy one it can be arranged for other ponies to be at the event for you to work with and if you then wanted to purchase one you can.

For information about the workshops please contact the Dartmoor Pony Training Centre on 07802 218169 or e-mail dartmoorponytrainingcentre@yahoo.co.uk - www.dptc.org.uk