Changes to Club Pony Pals Schedules

We are pleased to present new upgrades that will start soon.

In order to help our many members who depend on regular mail for their entries, as of next week, our newsletter will be named the Wiggins bi-Weekly. It will publish on the first and fifteenth of each month.

Story Contest and black and white art deadlines for coloring contests will now be the last day of each month. Our monthly coloring contest deadline will be the 14th of each month.

Our games' high scores and awards will be posted online twice monthly.

New Live Moderated Chat Schedule

Now that school has started and our members' afternoons have filled to overflowing with homework, barn chores, etc. our Live Moderated Chat will be open only on Tuesdays when Mrs. Crandal holds riding lessons and on Fridays. Our schedule:

Every Tuesday is Jane Crandal's online riding lessons and mini show in the virtual riding arena. Stop by and say hi from  

• 11 pm - 1 am London time  
• Midnight - 2am Continental time  
• 6 - 8 pm Eastern USA time  
• 3 - 5 pm Pacific USA Time  

Friday, October 15th is our next cross-Atlantic virtual Live Moderated Chat. Please log on to our live moderated chat to talk with our members from across the ocean. Stop by and say hi from  

• 5 - 7 pm London time  
• 6 - 8 pm Continental time  
• Noon - 2 pm Eastern USA time  
• 9 - 11 am Pacific USA Time  

Friday, October 22nd is our next virtual barn sleepover. Chat with the Pony Pals, take lessons and enter show classes in the virtual riding arena. Stop by and say hi from  

• 11pm - 3 am London time  
• Midnight - 4am Continental time  
• 6 - 10 pm Eastern USA time  
• 3 - 7 pm Pacific USA Time  

Friday, October 29th is the last cross-Atlantic virtual Live Moderated Chat in October. Please log on to our live moderated chat to talk with our members from across the ocean. Stop by and say hi from  

• 5 - 7 pm London time  
• 6 - 8 pm Continental time  
• Noon - 2 pm Eastern USA time  
• 9 - 11 am Pacific USA Time  

Vote for Sept Story Contest
Vote for your favorite stories today!

Winner receives 3000 WB and Gold Quill Trophy,
runners up receive 500 WB and the Silver Quill Trophy!

If you are over 13 years of age and have permission from your parents to have a Facebook account, then you can find our new page there. We are hard at work creating a Facebook version of our game just for that network. Our main site will stay the same -- anyone who registers for it, either directly or soon via Facebook, will still have all wmails reviewed by a live adult before any message can be seen by any member.

If you are a Facebook member, look up Club Pony Pals and find our new page.

Club Pony Pals may even be able to make a version of our game....on Facebook!

Watch this newsletter for details.

Clown Pumpkin
next to your fireplace

The Long Riders Special Recognition to our Trail Riders

for miles ridden Curlyfrye --- 523.5

advertisement w-mail Kell27 for more information

w-mail Keely for more information

w-mail Gunprize for more information

Saddle Pad Designs Draw Yours Today!

Admin3's Halloween Saddle Pad

To download the template and make your own saddle pad, click on the pad above. Then email your design to contests@clubponypals.com (Designs submitted without 3000 WB will be saved and put on hold.)

Cabin of the Issue Contest

Enter to win 1000 bucks for your decorating skills!
Ponylover8499	Gunprize	Missy30
Last Issue's Cabin Winner Oreopony6 Send contests@clubponypals.com an email telling us the username's cabin you want to enter. Rules are: Each issue three cabins will be chosen from the entries for member voting. Members can enter enter as often as they like, but winners cannot enter this contest again for six months. Look for more new fun furniture items soon. Have a request for something you want to add? Let us know!

Drawing of the Issue Contest

by PicassoGirl

Jumping From My Dreams

by Nuova

Winner gets 500 Wiggins bucks, and their art is made into a painting for members' cabins. If you want to enter, send your art to the Contests@ClubPonyPals.com or mail it to:

Club Pony Pals
16654 Soledad Canyon Road #382
Canyon Country, CA 91387 USA

If you want a sticker and bookmark make sure and include a mailing address where we can send it!

Vote for your favorite caption for this cartoon--

Write a caption for this --

Can you write the winning funny caption for this cartoon? Deadline is Thursday before the next newsletter issue. Email it to Contests@clubponypals.com

Look for the entries in the next issue's e-newsletter and vote for your favorite.

Winning caption gets 500 bucks, runners-up get 100 W bucks each. Captions should be short.

or draw a cartoon --

We are looking for cartoon artists, too. Draw one and email it to us by Thursday.

If it is selected, you can earn 500 Wiggins bucks! Hint -- for this contest, please draw your cartoon in black and white. If you want to enter, send your art to Contests@ClubPonyPals.com or mail it to:

Club Pony Pals
16654 Soledad Canyon Road #382
Canyon Country, CA 91387 USA

Envelope Art Contest! Win 100 Wiggins Bucks!

by Redneck2010

WINNER OF THE MOST ORIGINAL PONY NAME CONTEST:

Supercalifragilisticexpeealagotius
BipideebopideeBOO's 's Pony has won 1000 WB!

Runner Up: Lightning
Cristina's Pony has won 500 WB!

Pet Bunnies by: Scoutgirl Hi I’m scoutgirl and I own 2 bunnies. If you or some one you know wants a bunny have them read this. Bunnies come in all different sizes they can be mini, medium, large or giant as they are called.  Some bunnies are really nice but some can be really mean! All bunnies are different. The Smaller the bunny is the more energetic, and the larger the bunny is the calmer it will probably be. All bunnies scratch and some bite too.

Did you know that female bunnies can have up to like 12 or more babies at one time! My bunny had nine. Boy bunnies are called “bucks”, females are called “does” and the babies are called “kits.” When a female bunny has babies it is called a liter. If a buck is spayed/neutered it can still breed until 2 weeks after the surgery! If a doe isn’t spayed/neutered and isn’t bred for a year she can get cancer!  Remember if you choose to breed a bunny make sure you have at least 5 homes before you do. Baby bunnies are very hard to raise and not all of them will survive. Usually if a doe is a first time mommy she will not know what to do so you would be lucky if even one baby survived. If a doe has had babies one time before about half will live, but on the third time almost all of them might. A doe can get pregnant one day and get pregnant again a couple days later ending up with 2 litters at once! Which is dangerous because there will be too many babies for the mom. 

It is hard to tell if a baby bunny is a boy or a girl even for the experts.

It’s always a good idea to keep bunnies in separate cages from each other until you know for sure if they are a boy or a girl.  If you have 2 boys they should always be in a separate cage, if they are not they will fight with each other and might even kill each other especially if there is a girl bunny around.  If you have 2 girls then it might be okay to let them share one big cage but watch them carefully. A bunny’s cage should be big enough for them to stand up, turn around, and hop a little in it.

A bunny should always have fresh water and food and you should let your bunny out at least once a week every day is better, just watch them when they are out.  Bunnies like to run away that’s why I keep a cat bell collar on mine at all time mostly when they are let out. If you decide to put a collar on yours make sure it is not to tight or to loose because you do not want it to strangle them but you also do not want there feet to go through there collar(that happened with mine).  You should clean your bunny’s cage at least once a week to keep them healthy. 

For the first week that you bring your bunny home don’t try to handle it for about a week let it get used to its new surroundings.  After the first week of owning the bunny it is good to handle your bunny as much as possible to get it used to you. Remember choose your bunny carefully because they can live up to 12 or so years!   Bunnies can be a great joy if you take care of and be nice to your bunny.  I hope you enjoyed reading this! Before you get a bunny or any pet research on the kind you want to know what it will be like!

Yours truly ~Scoutgirl

EagleGirl's Clicker Club Training Column:

Last week we talked about how to use The Rope Bump Game to move into training your pony to walk with a rope around his neck. This week we are going to talk about how to put that lead on his halter and lead him.

If your pony is already wearing the halter, you are ready to start working on putting the lead on it. If not, you will need to teach your pony to wear a halter.

We briefly went over those steps in an earlier column (September 11, 2010).

** Once he is comfortable with it, and doesn't mind it touching him, you can start touching it to his muzzle, then sliding it very slightly up, clicking, removing it, and treating. You will just proceed tiny step by tiny step. Each situation will be unique, but basically you will work to slide the nosepiece on, get him comfortable with it, moving the poll strap up the right cheek, over the poll, the buckle strap up the left cheek, and the poll strap into the buckle. You will need to take all the time your pony needs, and watch him for clues as to what you need to do next. **

You may find you need to put some extra steps in there. That's okay. Clicker training is customized for each individual animal. Yes, the basics are the same, but every animal is in a different place, so each training session will be unique. You may find that your pony does not want you to reach over or under his head to put the poll strap over his poll, so you will need to take some time to work on getting him used to having your hand and arm move around his head. If you observe your pony carefully, he WILL let you know what he needs.

If you have been using the clicker to work with your pony for a while, you are starting to get the hang of how to observe your pony and decide on the next step. If you misjudge, which happens to us all, you simply back up to the last place you were successful and begin again. Sometimes the misjudgment is stressful enough for your pony that you will want to go back and have a success, then stop and wait until another day or session (later in the same day). Sometimes the misjudgment is mild enough that you can simply back up then keep going.

We have been going into great detail in previous columns, but this week we are going to be more general. This gives you the opportunity to trust yourself and your pony, and make each session truly your own. You have been working with your pony and learning to observe him. He has also been learning to observe you. You may or may not be aware of a bond developing between the two of you. If not, don't despair. Each pony is different and has his own timetable. As you learn to work together, the bond WILL develop. One day you will suddenly realize that it is there.

I remember clearly the day I realized how strong the bond was between me and my mule. I can't recall exactly what happened, perhaps he was nuzzling my cheek, but I do distinctly remember suddenly realizing, "He loves me!' And indeed, it was (and is) true. The bond had formed and I KNEW my mule loved me. I knew I loved him too. There are few feelings like realizing an animal truly puts his trust in you and wants to be with you. This was especially amazing to me because my mule had been abused before he came to me and he had been so terrified of being around anyone. He was no longer afraid around me, and he WANTED to be with me, and it was incredible to realize that this was true.

As you work with your pony you will be building this bond little by little. As you begin to teach your pony to walk on a lead attached to his halter, remember to observe your pony so he can tell you what he needs. Think about your end goal - to have your pony walk nicely on a lead. He may or may not already be doing this when you hold out a rope for him to follow. If not, just keep on working at it one step at a time. If so, then you are ready for this next step.

You will be deciding exactly what steps to take, based on what your pony already knows and how he needs to be approached. The steps might include touching the soft end (the end without the clip) of the lead rope to your pony's muzzle, then working your way to his chin. You might also take the soft end and slip it under the connecting strap (the strap that runs beneath your pony's head, between the throatlatch and the tie ring), then click and treat. Once your pony is used to this, you can leave the soft end of the lead under the connecting strap, and ask your pony to walk with you. Remember to hold out the other end of the lead (loop it and hold the clip in your hand) for him to follow/target. You might also turn the lead around and let him see the clip. If he is apprehensive, be sure to show it to him, then immediately click and treat. At some point you will most likely gently bump the tie ring with the clip, then click and treat. You will probably also want to hold the lead in your hand and grasp the tie ring with your hand, getting your pony used to having pressure on the tie ring before you actually hook the clip to it.

You may have a pony that already knows how to have a lead attached to his halter, but has not been walking nicely. Now that you have done all the preliminary work we have talked about previously, you may be able to skip all the above work and simply clip the lead to his halter and move to the next step. Once you do get the lead hooked on the halter, and your pony is not too nervous about it, you will want to ask him to walk with you by looping the other end of the rope and holding it out for him to target/follow. He is already used to this, and familiar things go a long way toward easing your pony's apprehension. Eventually you will be able to fold the lead and hold it in your left hand, and walk beside your pony with a loose lead. (Remember - NEVER loop a lead around your hand or any part of your body. Always FOLD it so in an emergency you can simply let go if you need to, without getting tangled in the rope and sustaining a serious injury.)

If at any point your pony does not "get" it, or he becomes nervous, you will need to back up to the last point where he was successful. Observe him carefully, and really think about what he needs to do next. Sometimes I just start at the very beginning and ask myself, "What is the very first thing that needs to happen before we can do 'x'?" Other times I find it helpful to work backwards, asking myself, "What needs to happen just before he can do 'x'?" Then I continue questioning each step until I find the point where we need to begin. Sometimes I go back and forth between these two methods. You may find yourself doing the same thing.

One of the things that I found very intimidating at the very beginning was the fact that so many articles told me to "break it down into tiny steps", but I didn't find very much information about exactly what those steps were. How in the world did one go about "breaking things down into tiny steps"? Many of the articles I found were fairly general, and I did not have a good grasp of clicker training concepts, so I was confused. I didn't know where to begin, and I was afraid I might mess up my mule. When I finally figured out that he was already ruined, and nothing I was going to do could make him any worse, I just jumped in. I needed to get that nylon halter off his head, because the buckle was beginning to slip and it posed a danger to him. And I knew I needed to start by helping him to allow me to touch the halter. So that is what I did. And I just moved on from there.

Some days were great, some were terrible. Some days I seemed to do just the right thing, and other days I seemed to be going about it all wrong and moving way too fast. But on the eighth day of clicker training, I was able to remove the halter from his head without terror on his part. I was already learning to observe and analyze and break things down into tiny steps. I just didn't realize I could do it until I started doing it.

You too, can learn to observe your pony and analyze your goals and break them into steps. If you goof, just back up and begin where you last had success. As long as you are gentle and kind, your pony will forgive any mistakes you make. You will work through those mistakes together and the bond you build will be stronger because of it.

Until then, happy clicking!
EagleGirl

Member Photo Gallery

from Ajaxsluver101

Member Art Gallery

by Warhorse

 

Dear Pony Pals Send in your photos, stories and drawings for our contests. e-mail them to Contests@ClubPonyPals.com or mail it to: Club Pony Pals 16654 Soledad Canyon Road #382 Canyon Country, CA 91387 USA The first printing of collectable stickers is almost gone. Get yours now, if you want a sticker and bookmark make sure and include a mailing address where we can send it. Please include your user name and the email address you used to register in your letter, too. Webmaster

 

Play These Games to Earn Wiggins Bucks

 

Play these to earn bucks! Each issue of the newsletter, the highest scoring

Scavenger Hunt
Winner gets 3000 Wiggins bucks,
next nine members scores below that get 500 bucks each.

 

 

"Scavenger Hunt "

gk99

ruaponypallikeme

shinabella

Laelonna

jogjed

puglover199918

grace7531

bannana

horsenerd55

sparkiepony1

 

Pony Pal Derby
Race your pony to earn Wiggins bucks!
Each issue of the newsletter, the derby game's highest scoring player
earns 3000 Wbucks.
500 Wbucks goes to each of the next nine highest scores.

 

"Pony Pal Derby"

RogueMustangMare

KateriAnne

Nuova

solmalfoy

hrsluvr101

WaltonsRocks

Dasher

Little Bird

scoutgirl

BuzztheMule

 

Math Games
High scoring players in addition,
subtraction or multiplication earn 500 Wiggins bucks,
next nine players who have high scores earn 100 bucks each.

 

"Add Like Mad"

Elizabeth114

wombat165

LunaLight

Jessba Baker

indijade

Nyx

balletgirl95

Little Bird

pony-lover-2

CoolGuy

 

 

"Subtraction Action"

wombat165

LunaLight

indijade

ScottysGirl414

Little Bird

Elizabeth114

Dioso

allyalli0

Hannah8359

zoe219

 

 

"Multiplication Station"

Natalie21

LunaLight

indijade

AnnaPanna123

crayon115

elliebear8

allyalli0

Little Bird

sarahkyle

Horselover00000001

This issue's Cross-Country Trophy Winners

Cross-country course north

Elizabeth114

jogjed

shinabella

Foalgirl8021

vavica

Cross-country course south

minty1612

Dasher

lilyjo

frisky103

ilovecandy90210

 

Pony Pal Thoughts for the Day:

"What do we, as a nation, care about books? How much do you think we spend altogether on our libraries, public or private, as compared with what we spend on our horses? "
John Ruskin

_____________________

" But in the east the sky was pale and through the gray woods came lanterns with wagons and horses, bringing Grandpa and Grandma and aunts and uncles and cousins. "
Laura Ingalls Wilder

_______________________

Dedicated to Nat2

"She gallopes as wild as the wing never hitting the groun or even it seemed brething she relized she was free as a bird but she did not leave for she forever loved her life here "
Taylor***