Post by dollylanedales on Aug 7, 2008 20:58:31 GMT -1
Very sadly and reluctantly we have had to retire Tyson from driving.
As some of you will remember, some weeks ago a staffordshire bull terrier attacked him at a driving event, causing him to bolt, and injuring Rick and Alisondaily in the process.
Quite often when they have a driving accident, some ponies never go back in harness. After a couple of weeks rest, we worked Tyson again, and he was fine - we thought we had been lucky that he was not still traumatised. He did another driving event and was fine, and has driven out on the road without problems.
A couple of weeks ago, we had a pre-arranged date booked to show a pony club camp what driving is all about, including harnessing up, going round cones etc. We even gave the kids a serious talk on the dangers that can happen when driving, and that great care has to be taken .....it was a very wet day and windy, but Tyson seemed great, and went round the cone course, even taking the kids round the cones, which they loved.
At the end of the afternoon, one of the young girls stood up and flapped the groundsheet she had been sitting on, obviously without thinking, but it was enough to cause Tyson to take off round the big open field, with Rick who was still on the cart. Before the dog episode, Tyson would stand rock solid even if a bomb dropped, but it had obviously scarred him mentally. Anyway, apart from breaking the breeching ,Tyson was ok.
We had promised a local group a driving demonstration tonight, so duly harnessed Tyson up and went. Once there, we realised he was not right - he had a panic attack, and was shaking. Thankfully, not many people turned up, so it was not a disappointment when we decided not to risk going ahead ....so we brought Tyson home.
That blooming dog owner - it was not the dogs fault - the owner should have had it under control, has ruined what was a fantastic driving pony, who we could drive anywhere, he enjoyed cone competitions, and driving shows. Like Rick said, we cannot risk either us, or indeed anyone else being hurt - when a horse bolts with a carriage it is frightening, and can cause lots of damage.
As some of you will remember, some weeks ago a staffordshire bull terrier attacked him at a driving event, causing him to bolt, and injuring Rick and Alisondaily in the process.
Quite often when they have a driving accident, some ponies never go back in harness. After a couple of weeks rest, we worked Tyson again, and he was fine - we thought we had been lucky that he was not still traumatised. He did another driving event and was fine, and has driven out on the road without problems.
A couple of weeks ago, we had a pre-arranged date booked to show a pony club camp what driving is all about, including harnessing up, going round cones etc. We even gave the kids a serious talk on the dangers that can happen when driving, and that great care has to be taken .....it was a very wet day and windy, but Tyson seemed great, and went round the cone course, even taking the kids round the cones, which they loved.
At the end of the afternoon, one of the young girls stood up and flapped the groundsheet she had been sitting on, obviously without thinking, but it was enough to cause Tyson to take off round the big open field, with Rick who was still on the cart. Before the dog episode, Tyson would stand rock solid even if a bomb dropped, but it had obviously scarred him mentally. Anyway, apart from breaking the breeching ,Tyson was ok.
We had promised a local group a driving demonstration tonight, so duly harnessed Tyson up and went. Once there, we realised he was not right - he had a panic attack, and was shaking. Thankfully, not many people turned up, so it was not a disappointment when we decided not to risk going ahead ....so we brought Tyson home.
That blooming dog owner - it was not the dogs fault - the owner should have had it under control, has ruined what was a fantastic driving pony, who we could drive anywhere, he enjoyed cone competitions, and driving shows. Like Rick said, we cannot risk either us, or indeed anyone else being hurt - when a horse bolts with a carriage it is frightening, and can cause lots of damage.
Ridgelane Duke 
Country Rose
