Dear
Lulu,
Maybe the reason Tommy acts the way he does is because he's
upset that his parents aren't together any more. Glad Tommy
has a job.
Tommy and Mike are just jealous because ya'll are better
riders than them. Why would Tommy want to start fires? Yikes!
Seeing a shark sounds scary. Hope your dad comes home for
Christmas. You're lucky your dad's still alive. Wish mine
was. Please answer my question.
Friends,
Cayce
Dear Cayce
Tommy is
so busy now that he doesn't ride around town much on his bike.
We don't know he started the fires. That is just what we think.
My dad said
it was kind of scary. But it was a small shark, not a big
one. He still says he is going to be here at Christmas.
Give your
mom a hug for me. It's hard only having one parent. I miss
my dad too.
I'll give
grandma a hug from you.
Your friend,
________
Dear
Lulu,
I just love Snow White! She is so much like my horse Sugar.
But they have something in common that I don’t like,
they sometimes spook. I know every horse spooks, but Sugar
spooks over a lot of things. Wind, noises in the woods,
fireworks, and so much others. One time she got seriously
hurt, and almost died when she got spooked. It’s scary,
and I have been on her back when she spooked. I have never
fallen off, but I’m afraid one day she will and we
both will get seriously hurt. I love her, and don’t
want her or me to get injured, any advice?
Haley and sugar
Dear Haley
Ponies get scared for lots of reasons. Mrs. Crandal says its
mostly because they see or hear something that they don't
know what it is or are surprised by. The first time they do
it and the rider gets scared, the pony learns that sometimes
that's a way to get out of working.
So making your horse work when it is scared teaches it that
it's harder to misbehave than to be good.
Mrs. Crandal really likes what Keith Hosman of Horsemanship101.com
has to say.
"This is the
solution anytime your horse is doing something you don’t
want him to do: You need to replace the action you don’t
want with action you do want. Don't discipline, replace."
Mrs. Crandal helped me practice this with Snow White. She
said to do this in a snaffle bit.
You need to have a teacher or trainer help you. Start by having
your helper walk way away – far, far from you where
you can barely see them. Then have them do something like
shake a plastic bag full of empty pop cans. Your pony will
get scared. You walk your pony in a small circle making your
pony think about the circle. Keep the pony walking. Once your
pony stops trying to shy, your friend walks a step closer
and shakes the bag again.
This will take a bunch of tries. Do not hurry your pony, do
it a little at a time. Make sure and keep working your pony,
walking where you want to go. Pet it when it stops trying
to shy. Only have your helper walk closer when your pony is
calm again. You are replacing the shying with paying attention
to you.
This will
take time. Mrs. Crandal said when your pony has learned to
shy, you need to train it not to shy.
Remember,
537 times and they get it right away.
Your friend,
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