[HollyBubbles]

Well around May 09 i received a miniature horse to take into my care as her owners dont know the meaning of the word care.. She is now 5yrs old, broken in, jumping 70cm/3ft, she is 9hh, Buckskin an registered as Golden Fury Exquisite Gemma in the nzmha

(please comment she's my pride and joy I want to know what you think of what we have accomplished together on our own with no help.. I am only 14 and i have never taken on a horse except my tb mare bubbles who is a complete goober and does anything i ask)

When we first got her home she had a miniature foal halter on which had been on for 3yrs straight and was cutting her face...

She was severly overweight and had no manners whatsoever, she was so obese she couldnt even lift her back legs off the ground to buck and as soon as you tried to lift one hoof up she would topple over.

(no she was most definately NOT pregnant either :S)

But now, it is the 1st of january 2010 and this is gemma in the last 3 months or so....

These ones are my favourite.. because no one ever believed that gemma could have anything done with her. every person that saw her the first comment they made was that she was going to die or never be any use. that she would never be ridden, never jump, never learn tricks. nothing. no one believed in us... but look at us go...

No matter what you point her at she does not stop. She does anything you ask of her. She knows how to bow, back up on voice command, on rein command, and on hand command. she follows me everywhere, comes galloping up to the gate to see everyone, LOVES jumping, my 5yr old sister can ride her on her own no worries gemma treats her as her own... but as soon as i get on she just wants to run. and that jump.. look at her stride before the jump.. IMMACULATE and from a TROT.. my 15.3hh tb mare wont even jump that from a canter let alone a trot.

and she's absolutely BOMBPROOF.. haha and when i say bombproof i mean bombproof.. eg starting up and reving a 2200cc Honda Prelude with big bore and Cobi right beside her and she doesnt flinch.. I mean milk Tanker coming past her paddock and she doesnt flinch. I mean her actually WANTING to swim in flooded rivers.. I mean me and my little sister climbing over and under and all around her and her not blinking an eyelid.. I mean me frog leaping over her bum onto her back... and her not moving a single muscle.

 

[IheartPheobe]

She is adorable!!!! Good job with her!

 

[ShutUpJoe]

She's cute. You did a great job!

 

[thunderhooves]

She's super cute, and great job with her, but I don't think you should be riding her. you look way to big!

 

[Jillyann]

I remember when you first got her, She is looking GOOD! And I agree with the above poster^ You shouldnt be riding her, you are too big for her, I think..

 

[paintluver]

She is a cutie! Love her coloring, and the jumping pics are great! She can fly.

 

[SmoothTrails]

Congratulations on doing such a fantastic job with her. She looks so much better.

 

[Domino13011]

Wow what a difference. God job!

 

[MaloreyAnimal]

She's an adorable girl, looks much better, but as said, it'd be a good idea for you not to ride her...

 

[HollyBubbles]

Yea i know i shouldn't really be riding her.. although despite my frame im only actually 52kg. I dont ride her often though its mainly my 5yr old sister who rides her i just jump on for 5minutes before she rides her.

 

[Honeysuga]

That is a stocky little horse, she looks like she can hold her rather easily... The horse does not show any signs of strain in how she is moving in the pics.... She looks good, good job.

 

[PaintsPwn]

Minis are tough, but are not bred to be ridden. They're bred to be driving and companion animals.

She looks good though! You should hook up with a mini clup and show her in the in-hand jumping classes!

 

[New_image]

I mean me frog leaping over her bum onto her back... and her not moving a single muscle. !

Oh my! These little horses are often too sweet, gentle and bombproof for there own good. You shouldn't be riding a Miniature Horse let alone JUMPING ONTO HER BACK!

I'm sorry if this offends anyone and I get called mean, no one this size should jump on a miniature horse. Period. I don't care if I am "rude". In fact jumping on most ponies is completely un-necessary. Why JUMP on an animal may I ask...? To prove it for some un-Godly reason trusts you?

 

[rocky pony]

Oh my goodness, look at that! I remember when you first posted pictures of her, she looks AMAZING. Great job =) She's a lucky little girl
However I do agree that you shouldn't be riding her a lot..and definitely, definitely should not be jumping onto her back in the way that you described. She looks pretty stocky and big for a mini, so you're probably clear to ride her lightly, just every now and then, but it sounds like the riding you're doing on her is actually pretty regular, and probably more than what's necessary. I know that you aren't very big, but neither is she. In the long run, that can really harm her, and I know that you really love her and don't want to do anything to hurt her.
I really hope you will take this into consideration. I know it's a hard decision to make, but sometimes we have to make hard decisions for our horses' sakes. I weigh the same as you, but I've just recently chosen to give up riding my 13.3hh pony with kind of a bad back. He's my best friend on earth and I had years of great times on his back, but it was in his best interest to stop riding him, even though he showed no obvious signs of discomfort and was more than willing to do anything with me on him. If I continued regularly riding him, it would have caused him harm in the long term, and I'd never want that.
Please, think about that before you go to hop on her back again. Try to keep it at the lowest minimum possible, and don't do things that cause extra strain on her part.

But going back to the original point, she's looking amazing. Keep up the good work

 

[PonderosaMiniatures]

Oh my goodness, please dont ride her, you are clearly WAY to big for her, no matter how stocky you think she is, and how much she can hold her own. Thats awful,

 

[veganchick]

First off, She looks like she is in great shape! good job!

But.... Even though miniatures are VERY strong, They just should not be ridden by people that weight< especially without a saddle. Jumping should be out of the question. Maybe your little sister could ride some x's with her, or even show her, but she will wear out VERY quickly if you continue to work her like this. Her old owner treated her badly by neglect and underwork whereas you are treating her badly by overworking her.

 

[New_image]

^
When it comes to 120 pounds launching onto a Miniature Horses back... I believe I was more than tactful.

 

[BoarderCowgirl12]

YIKES!!!!! I wouldnt be suprised if that mini will have back problems. WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU JUMP ONTO HER BACK!!!!????????????

 

[HollyBubbles]

hold on people settle down please i wanna clear this up as i must have misexplained it in the original..

1. in the photo where it looked as i was jumping onto her back I WAS NOT i swung my leg around and landed back on the ground again, i wouldnt jump ONTO her back thats sad and cruel. and i have the video to prove i did not jump onto her back. and that is the only time i have ever tried that.

2. i do not overwork her. i have ridden her 4 times in the 10 months i have had her. she gets lunged by me, and ridden by my 5yr old sister. we have a sort of a excersize plane of each week, advised by the vet.
she gets IN-HAND jumping. i would not ever dare jump her with me on her back i consider that as abuse, the only horse i jump with when riding, is my 15.2hh tb mare.
I actually knocked my 15yr old cousin out because i caught him riding gemma and whipping her and trying to jump her. yes i knocked him out (accidently) and he has not been near her since.

New Image: please don't be so rude, I know you intend the best for gemma, so do I, that is the reason i took her from where and when I did. theres a lot more to the story of her owners, than what I have said on here so far. e.g, when she was as obese as she was, the owners had 3 kids, 5, 7, and 12. ALL 3 OF THEM would jump onto gemma, pull her tail, smack her, ride her round the paddock until she collapsed. her hooves where far overgrown, she had thrush in all four hooves, she had worms, and even the vet i have out to her had seen her in that state and was gobsmacked that she hadnt already died. he see's her still now, and he says it's okay for me to ride her lightly every now and again. i walk her down to the river once a week (1km away, LEADING NOT RIDING) and she goes for a swim with me along beside her, except of course during winter. I get the cows in for milking sometimes and when it's to hot to ride the bike, gemma will come for a walk beside me.
I'm sorry i miss explained it in the first place, my fault. but please can you be a little bit nicer, everyone that see's her in person is amazed by how much she has accomplished, and i can put any under 7 on her, i even had one 5 year old who had NEVER seen a horse in his life (city auzzie boy) and she just didnt care. New Image, she trusts me because I saved her life. She's affectionate to everyone except my cousin and her owners, because she recognises them to have hurt her. and i would also like you to know, EVERYTHING i do with her (eg vaulting over bum back onto ground) is checked first with our vet, who specialises in miniatures, and if he doesnt give the ok, i WONT do it. My sister is only learning to ride so gemma works in a bitless bridle, or her halter, as i dont want casey to pull her mouth.
The vet was there with me when the vaulting picture was taken. i was telling him about my horse that i do vaulting with occaisionally, and he told me, that i could get casey to do vaulting on gemma (casey is only 18kg), but he also said he wanted to know, before casey did it, if gemma would freak if anyone did. so he said it was ok if i did it once, so long as i didnt land on her back, to see if she freaked at all. and she didnt.


P.s... if i could, or knew how to, edit my original post i would re-explain it so everyone knows better. but i can't so yea.

 

[rocky pony]

I'm glad that you posted that, that sounds like a much better situation. Well congratulations to you both for the huge improvement