The Art of Natural Dressage

The one of 50cm I bought in the Decathlon is a yoga ball. You can find it in the fitness section. You have 2 diffrent sizes. I bought the red one.

I didn't know you had balls with a handle (like the jolly balls) in diffrent sizes : see Josepha's shop.

That looks kinda cool too.

Yes it does. I will have a look at them both before I decide. I am still worried if she isn't interested by it.... Who wants to loan his bal
No, kidding. Isn't there anything where I can try it with. I once brought a normal ball (like for socker) to her and she really didn't looked at it...

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I wish I knew your world

But you have to teach her that it can be fun!

With the haynet around it they can pick it up more easily with their teeth and then swing it around.

So you can introduce your ball. A treat for each time she touches the ball. And each time you wait a bit longer. Soon you will see that she will get very creative.

My horse puts his knee on it, kicks it around, smashes it with his head, put his weight on it, etc

And he is not that into balls. But he can play for a very short time with the ball with me around.

so i have to take pics..hahahaha..
my little one is under the 1 meter
but i can not take pics when i am working with my horses at the same time..and most of the time i am alone...
but it is very funny to she a little horsie and a BIG ball..hahaha

IT must be. Hm maybe try to find a cameraman/woman for a day

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I wish I knew your world

I have found a supplier for larger balls! YAY! They are a Canadian company, and they have distributors in many countries:

http://www.omnikin.com/en/distributors

We have balls at our stable that are just over 40 inches. They are inexpensive (the largest yoga balls we could find) and they are fun, but for taller horses, if you are playing a game of soccer with another rider, the ball can get caught under a horse's belly and they can trip over it. Also, if you try to canter to the ball, the horse can actually fall ON the ball (Cisco has tripped on them a couple of times, although he managed not to fall over them). For ground games, the 40 inch ball is fine, but for ridden games, a bigger ball would just be better. So this company has 60 inch and even 72 inch balls...five and six foot tall balls! COOL!

I see Inge lives in Utrecht....that is not far from me so Inge if you want pictures you know where to find me

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Gymnastic balls are easy to destroy for horse. I think I had about 4-5 gymnastic balls and all destroyd. Thats why I sew myself strong big ball (blue), inside the ball is stuffed soft material and outside durable material, ball wont break down, it does not matter how hard horse
will kick or bite or sit upon etc ball. Of course I have already couple of times sew upper part of the ball, because Esprit is such a "bad boy" (predator) at playing time

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Helen
http://wwwesprit.blogspot.com

You know, I am thinking that if I were to buy the larger 60 inch ball with the cover, and if at some point the bladder (the ball inside) is destroyed, then I could actually take a cheaper, smaller ball, and with padding inside the cover to make up the difference in size, I could end up with a ball that would be even more durable than the original but still have some "bounce" to it. The reason I like the bounce is when you are actually playing a little soccer game with two or more riders, the bounciness just makes the game more fun.

For ground play with the horse (not riding), the smaller, cheaper balls are just fine. If the horse destroys it, the cost to replace it is not bad, and we don't have any horses here (so far) who play so rough that they would bite or kick the ball...the just push it with the nose or the front legs.

When Tam first met the ball, he did try to squish it with his neck and front legs, but then he never did that again. Perhaps because I never rewarded it, and he is now so reward motivated that he will only do things I reward for?

But I would love to play a game of soccer on horseback with a very, very large ball. Or even teach a horse to "herd" a very large ball around. FUN!

yes i know... i will keep it in mind

Dikales LOVES balls of all sizes He kicks ,stomps on them and picks them up
I just bought one of these for him & waiting on it to come
Don't know how long it will last ..we will see
http://brandsonsale.com/inflatable-hop-balls.html

Also there is a big green Parelli ball at the barn where I board...Dikales loves his horse soccer , we do teams and have a lot of fun.

Mitzi

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Mitzi
Enjoying the journey w/ Dikales, Friesian gelding
BraidedTales: http://www.equinetrendz.com

Oh, Martha, I am heartbroken that this one is out of stock!

http://www.brandsonsale.com/tg-002143.html



I need to buy a new one for my guys -- we've pretty much killed it....

Let us know how the one you get holds up!

Best,
Leigh

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"Ours is the portal of hope. Come as you are." -- Rumi
www.imaginalinstitute.com

I know ,Leigh...that one was my first choice
But opted for the smiley face one instead.
Will let you know how it holds up after Big D gets a hold of it
Mitzi

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Mitzi
Enjoying the journey w/ Dikales, Friesian gelding
BraidedTales: http://www.equinetrendz.com

Hi everyone,
I am just wondering if you have any tips on getting a toy ball cheaply? I have some spare physio balls, but I kind of worry about one blowing up - if a horse got too rough with it. - Or do they just quietly deflate (the injured ball, not the horse )
Any experiences? Tips? And would really really cold weather affect their strength (unfortunately we are talking up to -30 C)
Do horses bite the big balls? Can they - if the ball is inflated tight?
It seems like the equi-spirit balls have a good reputation but they look close to the $200 mark (Canada). Anyone have a used one for sale?
let me know please
Any other toy ideas for rambunctious horses with BIG TEETH and great hoof/eye coordination (and a passion for biting whips in two parts...) would be greatly appreciated too!
Thanks

I have no practical experiences yet because I bought my physio ball only two weeks ago and due to the muddy ground I have not used it yet. However, I heard that these balls often get destroyed by horses unless they are really good (and expensive), and my Summy and Pia also are rather good at biting into things. So I chose the other option and bought a very cheap one from LIDL for 8€. If they will destroy it - which I am almost sure of - I can buy a new one. LIDL is a rather cheap supermarket here in Germany, comparable to ALDI that you might know. Maybe you have anything comparable in your area?

Someone also told me that these balls don't burst so easily if you don't inflate them that much, so now mine feels a bit like a prune when you touch it.

I will report back how long it lasted.