This is so cute and it's good to see all the riders are nice to their ponies and their fellow riders (like when the girl in yellow fell off and the winner checked if she was ok) I wish thoroughbred races could be more like this, no whips, all friendly
They're so cute. I already had two half brothers but I bought a little pregnant mare only a couple of days ago. She's so friendly and has the most beautiful face. Can't wait for her to get her foal!! Months to go though...
Saartje Hond aww, who wouldnt love a shetland? ive heard of people that didnt, but couldnt trust those people..hahah..Congrats on your new baby girl...
well that little winner won by a foot. Just about how far ahead it was when the flag dropped! Even start,head to head with that paint? I'd bet a different outcome.....
these are our ponies and in the first race there was no head start its just how they start. theyre all very good racer ponies and all (but two) was ours so it didnt really matter. we congratulate those who were in the pony races back in october!! and the winner of the first race(ellie perri) it was her last race so it ment a lot to her to stop on a good note so id appreciate it if you guys wouldnt talk so poorly about her and Mardi and the other jockies.
Das ist doch voll fies Die Gewinnerin hate fast nen halben Meter Vorsprung.Und außerdem hat sie die 2.Gewinnerin also die die direckt hinter ihr war immer voll an die Hecke gedrückt, klar das sie dann gewonnen hat.Und ALLE Reiter sind für die kleinen Ponys VIEL ZU GROß.
number one is to BIG, and that are very large schetlandpony's, never seen them so big... only a schetland x Welsh mix are so big and elegant. schetty's schouldn't be elegant
You can't even spell Shetland, so you probably have no idea what you are talking about anyway. And my first pony was a purebred 9hh Shetland, so they can be quite large. He was also quite elegant.
hopeforpaws, I actually agree with you but then I'm comparing the Shetland ponies that I see here in Britain to the ones in these races which are probably from bloodlines which have been selectively bred in America for generations. Our purebred Scottish Shetland ponies are heavier in the body and shorter in the leg than the ones in this video. If you know or can research the Thelwell pony cartoons, our Shetlands look like his Shetlands, yours look like his elegant cartoon show ponies. The same thing has happened with some dog breeds - your cocker spaniels now look so different to their UK ancestors that they are specifically called American cocker spaniels and interbreeding back to the English strain is discouraged.
that first pony that won had a head start un fair race they need to find a better way to start them all out evenly cause the first pony ran before the others were lined up evenly
What does patting mean to a horse? People do it because it makes them feel good but it doesn't register to a horse or pony as a reward. You are literally hitting it on the neck. lol What a great reward! Now scratching a horse on the withers is something horses do in nature and would understand as being friendly.
Horses actually do understand a pat as a reward. At least most do. Have you ever heard of pavlovs classical conditoning? A pat is a neutral stimuli to the horse, so it doesn't trigger an reaction. But if a pat is repeatedly combined with a treat (which is a natural positive stimuli) the horse will remember that a pat is a nice thing, even if the treat is taken away. My mare is a quick learner and a pat works very well for her. If I teach her something new and pat her if she did something right, she instantly drops her head and snorts. She usually understands after a few repititions and some nice pats. If I don't pat her, she won't understand what is right or wrong and get's grumpy. I'm sure not every horse understands a pat as a reward, some don't like a pat at all, that's where scratching the wither might be a better solution. :D
It's been proved in horse psychology books that pats don't register as a reward. There's nothing in a horse's natural social cue that is like a pat (compared to getting a scratch on the withers) so it is literally white noise. People do it because it makes them feel better. I do it sometimes and I know it's silly.
Allison Walker Oh really? Never heard about that... I can only talk about the things I've experienced myself, and I've seen a lot of horses react in a positive manner when being patted... I think it's very similar to clicker training. The horse is taught that the clicking noise is positive and reacts to it. Of course there wouldn't be any reaction, if the horse has never learned that the clicking noise is positive, same goes for pats :D I agree that the scratching is more natural, and easier to understand for a horse, but I don't think it's completly right to say that a horse could never understand a pat as a reward :)
Guys that was not a head start. They do not count cheating in racing. That pony just walked faster, and the other walked up slower, those ponies could have walked fast but they didn't. Hers was just faster, it WOULD have been cheating if she had trotted or cantered up.
actually most of these kids own these ponies. they love them, been riding for years and know what they're doing. I'm a personal groom for #1 and the rider is my instructors daughter and this was her last race on her horse Mardi. so I can assure they do know what they're doing and care for them :)
And how do you know this? Do you know these kids? Also, to the other person, the professional jockeys in the racing world most often aren't allowed to spend time with the horse. They are hired to ride the horse, make it win, then leave. That's how it works.
I don't know what kind of ponies those were but they were no where near Shetland ponies. Proper Shetlands are little less than 1 meter tall and have round, barrel-like bellies and short, thick legs. Either that or those were some insanely fit ponies and tiny, tiny people leading them. And some of the kids were way too big for them. Poor ponies.
these are proper Shetland ponies they are extremely fit (used in lessons, worked out) and some of the leaders are teens so yes they are smaller. the kids riding them are not "too big" for the ponies as they can carry 2x their weight and treated well and aren't hurting, they actually love to race.
Hannah Bearsch Okay then those ponies are the frickin Olympic athletes of ponies because I have seen extremely fit Shetland ponies and their fitness did not affect their leg length. And yes, I know Shetlands are a hardy breed but I think for the general comfort of both the horse and the rider it would be better if the riders were a tad smaller. I'm not hating on the riders, it's nothing like that, they did a good job with those ponies.
KaregoAt yeah I know the legs on the ponies are to long bet they are 12 - 13hh. Stick to my traditional stetlands. Stocky, small legs, fast little movements and loads of hair haha
@Emma Myruski. 14 Years is nothing for a shetlandpony. It means he's still a teenager. They can get forty or even fifty years old. This pony is still a kid.
Arzu Hoffman Als je er niks van af weet moet je niet kletsen. Mijn haflinger is al dertig jaar. De oudste shetlander ter wereld is 56 jaar geworden. De meesten gaan helaas als tiener al naar de slager.. De oudste pony in Soest is 50 jaar geworden. Die heeft nog de ponytram in Amersfoort getrokken. Eerst jezelf beter informeren voordat je reageert.
No 14 is getting up in age for a pony, a pony age the same as horses. They have a longer life expectancy then horses but they age just the same. 14 is still a good age though for a pony to be working at, if anything the pony is in his prime now.
Saartje05 I never said 14 was old, but once they hit that 15 mark they start getting up into age. I have a shetland who is well in his 30's, just stopped riding him a few years ago, my cousins did at least seeing I grew out of him 13 years ago.
Very cute, but pathetic camera work. Instead of showing the entire field of adorable ponies, we only get to see the few in the front. When the announcer is interviewing the rider of the cutest pony of all, do we get to see it? Nope. And what about giving us rider and pony names for each number?
Number 1 shouldnt have one then after she keeps looking at #2 she also moved her horse in the path of hers so she ran into her butt which put her behind
Look they are not to big! The ponyx are so strong that those kids fit the horses perfectly! Maybe you guys are the weak ones! And nth they did not get head starts thats fair for steeple chases! So shut up! And they are shetland ponys because they come in 3 body forms!
Guys the second race it's going to be really fair because the number five is going to be the where because the number four it's going to do any but the number 5 it's running so much fast and she go in the first place for a bit and they told to the number five she's and weird and the number for the winer and that is very fair guys
NUMBER ONE HAD A FUCKING HEAD START SHE IS TOO BIG FOR THE SHETLAND PONY THEY CAN ONLY CARRY 12 OR OVER I HAVE A FEW HORSES Gypsy vanner,stawberry roan,saddlebred and dapple gray SO I KNOW IN SECOND NUMBER 5 WON CLEARLY GOD AMERICA'S DON'T GET RACING!!!!!!
If u see the last race the namber 4 are cheating the number 5 must win the race did you just say that?!like of u believe they cheating the number 5 must wins and not the number four
