Please help! My daughters loan pony arrived 6 days ago and I am asking for some advice so we can try to get things right from the beginning.
My daughter is 10 and has been hacking and having lessons on riding school ponies for 5 years. She is a quiet rider who needs some work to become more assertive, but is determined and keen to work hard at her riding.
The pony is a 13.1hh New Forest x Exmoor mare called Rosie who we were told was 8.
Day 1 - Rosie arrived and was put in the five acre field with an electric fence seperating her from 3 others so they could meet over the fence.
Day 2 - Rosie is mixing well with her new friends. One of the bigger horses puts her in her place now and again but she doesn't seem to mind - puts in a cheeky buck and canters away. My daughter goes out on a gentle hack, mostly walking with a bit of trotting, with one of the others from the field and me as a 'foot soldier'. Goes like a dream!
Day 3 - Rosie has a rest day, brought in for a good grooming and a bit of 'bonding'
Day 4 - Decide to play 'foot soldier' again with just Rosie and my daughter going out. Rosie decides she's having none of it and stops dead on the way out of the yard. My daughter uses her legs and voice to try to get Rosie to move on but she spins round and does a kind of half rear. There are some pigs on the farm which all the horses seem to be a bit scared of, so decide to switch to another route. We get about 50 yards down the track and Rosie puts in a spin and bucks. We decide to lead Rosie out in hand for a bit of a walk before my daughter gets on her. When she does, Rosie does another bigger rear at which point she wins, and my daughter decides she's getting off!
Day 5 - A hack with 2 of her new equine friends. Stops at a puddle but then steps round it with minimum fuss. Other than that she behaves perfectly
Day 6 - The lady who runs our tiny yard is a riding instructor. She offers to take pony and child to the school at the farm next door which we have the use of, a 10 minute walk away. As Rosie is walking through the yard she stops her nonsense again so the lady holds her by the bridle, uses a firm, slighly scary voice to get Rosie moving forwards. She keeps hold for the first five minutes, by which time Rosie decides she'll do as she's asked. They have a quick lesson during which time Rosie puts in small bucks whenever she's asked to canter, or if she's tapped with the stick, and has that horrible habit of snatching her head to pull the reins from my daughters hands. The walk home is perfect!
I know it's early days and it can take many months for some ponies to settle in to new homes but I want to make sure we're doing all we can to help her settle in. I think she's trying to push us to see what she can get away with, rather than being a spooky pony. The couple of times she's been out with the others she's been happy to take the lead. She's fine with dogs running around barking, tractors going ten feet past her when she's tied up in the yard, cars driving right past her when being led back to the field, a field full of geese etc etc. I haven't been as assertive as I should be which is something I know I'll have to work on. I also wondered if she is in the correct tack or if something else would be more suitable. She wears a grackle and a hanging cheek snaffle bit, no martingale. Can anyone give me any advice as to whether I could make any changes to her tack to something more suitable for a pony who bucks, spins, backs up and rears? She doesn't pull apart from the head snatching, and I think she could be quite a lazy pony rather than one who speeds off with people. I think she'll do as little as possible if she can get away with it. Her back has been checked, aswell as her teeth and tack.
Any advice would be gratefully recieved.
Thanks!!
My daughter is 10 and has been hacking and having lessons on riding school ponies for 5 years. She is a quiet rider who needs some work to become more assertive, but is determined and keen to work hard at her riding.
The pony is a 13.1hh New Forest x Exmoor mare called Rosie who we were told was 8.
Day 1 - Rosie arrived and was put in the five acre field with an electric fence seperating her from 3 others so they could meet over the fence.
Day 2 - Rosie is mixing well with her new friends. One of the bigger horses puts her in her place now and again but she doesn't seem to mind - puts in a cheeky buck and canters away. My daughter goes out on a gentle hack, mostly walking with a bit of trotting, with one of the others from the field and me as a 'foot soldier'. Goes like a dream!
Day 3 - Rosie has a rest day, brought in for a good grooming and a bit of 'bonding'
Day 4 - Decide to play 'foot soldier' again with just Rosie and my daughter going out. Rosie decides she's having none of it and stops dead on the way out of the yard. My daughter uses her legs and voice to try to get Rosie to move on but she spins round and does a kind of half rear. There are some pigs on the farm which all the horses seem to be a bit scared of, so decide to switch to another route. We get about 50 yards down the track and Rosie puts in a spin and bucks. We decide to lead Rosie out in hand for a bit of a walk before my daughter gets on her. When she does, Rosie does another bigger rear at which point she wins, and my daughter decides she's getting off!
Day 5 - A hack with 2 of her new equine friends. Stops at a puddle but then steps round it with minimum fuss. Other than that she behaves perfectly
Day 6 - The lady who runs our tiny yard is a riding instructor. She offers to take pony and child to the school at the farm next door which we have the use of, a 10 minute walk away. As Rosie is walking through the yard she stops her nonsense again so the lady holds her by the bridle, uses a firm, slighly scary voice to get Rosie moving forwards. She keeps hold for the first five minutes, by which time Rosie decides she'll do as she's asked. They have a quick lesson during which time Rosie puts in small bucks whenever she's asked to canter, or if she's tapped with the stick, and has that horrible habit of snatching her head to pull the reins from my daughters hands. The walk home is perfect!
I know it's early days and it can take many months for some ponies to settle in to new homes but I want to make sure we're doing all we can to help her settle in. I think she's trying to push us to see what she can get away with, rather than being a spooky pony. The couple of times she's been out with the others she's been happy to take the lead. She's fine with dogs running around barking, tractors going ten feet past her when she's tied up in the yard, cars driving right past her when being led back to the field, a field full of geese etc etc. I haven't been as assertive as I should be which is something I know I'll have to work on. I also wondered if she is in the correct tack or if something else would be more suitable. She wears a grackle and a hanging cheek snaffle bit, no martingale. Can anyone give me any advice as to whether I could make any changes to her tack to something more suitable for a pony who bucks, spins, backs up and rears? She doesn't pull apart from the head snatching, and I think she could be quite a lazy pony rather than one who speeds off with people. I think she'll do as little as possible if she can get away with it. Her back has been checked, aswell as her teeth and tack.
Any advice would be gratefully recieved.
Thanks!!
)
