my nf pony - hit a brick wall, what can i do now

Lucy J

Lucy J

Weaver's Tale aka Ciara!!
Dec 5, 2001
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Renfrewshire, Scotland
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maxwell my nf pony we backed has come on leaps and bounds and is walking and trotting round the school and over poles/round cones etc, but we have one big problem (aside from the fact he panics on the lunge) he always heads for the gate, ie he does what is asked until he decides he would rather go somewhere else and his neck is very strong, so if he sets it against you there is no way of changing his mind, we have put him in a running martingale and flash noseband to try and discourage him from lifting his head to the right and setting his neck, but when he puts his mind to it thats it. how can we persuade him that it is in his best interests to do what we ask? the partnership is kind of 48% 52% in his favour. we try circling/changes of direction, plenty of seat and leg aids as well as the reins but we are kind of stuck. he is such a lovely pony, but we cant progress to hacking him out until this is sorted. any ideas, i've run out. he is in a full cheek french link. i was thinking of trying bit guards with the brushes on the inside, but surely there must be a better way of tackling him mentally?
 
does he charge off towards the gate or side step towards it with his neck set?

if he charges you may want to put a stronger bit in his mouth as it's not at all a nice habit for them to get into. obviously don't abuse it but you don't want to discover that whilst you've been working on this he's realised that he can charge off with you.

if there's another entrance that might be ideal so he doesn't think "right, the gate is the way back to my stable/field". if not then so far as i know it's a matter of being really determined. make sure he's going as nicely as possible with all his energy contained between your hands and legs. watch for the smallest signs of escaping shoulders or hindquarters, rising head, escalating rythm or anything similar, and contain it. if you nip the signs in the bud he should eventually learn that it's not worth bothering.

if anyone has any specific tips i'd be very interested to hear them too!
 
This can be quite a problem. How long are your lessons and are they intresting for the horse? If you find maxwell does it when he is doing hard work try and give him a few beaks and let him walk round gently or something like that.

Another idea is that you get him lead past the gate when he acts up while you use your legs etc. to get him used to that. Also you never said if the gate was shut or had rope across it. If it isn't shut maybe you could find something that you could put in the gateway.

Hope this helps but im not sure it will. :eek:
 
Just thinking aloud here really because I don't have much experience with young horses, but to me the fact he's napping to the gate and panicking on the lunge suggests to me that some of the basics of his training have been rushed a bit. I would look at doing more groundwork and long lining with him rather than just pushing on with the riding. Upping the ante with stronger bits, flashes and bit brushes is just going to create more problems in the long run.
 
Sounds to me like typical baby behaviour. my horse napped terribly when he was a youngster but you really just have to ride through it. gadgets and strong bits are NOT the answer. as others have mentioned i'd go back to groundwork, but not necessarily lungeing. my horse still hates lunging so no point stressing him out over it.

just remember not to rush things. he may take a while to mature and asking too much of him will stress him out and set up problems in the future. have you any professional help such as an instructor experienced in schooling youngsters??
 
ok, lets refresh. we got maxwell as an unbroken 7 year old, it took us 2 months to get nearhim as he was terrified of people. we spent 6 months doing just groundwork and he is great, but he has a dreadful fear of the lunge that we just cant gt over, he long reins fine. i have given up trying to lunge, we've done join up, long reining, walking out in hand loose schooling everything, i've left lunging for a while and tried again with the same result. he lived out in the forest, so his flight instinct is obviously quite dveloped and something terrible must have happened on the lunge, i cant think of another explanation. with regards to the gate, no he doesnt bolt or charge, just sets his neck against the bit (in walk, perhaps trot) and goes whichever way he pleases (9/10 times this is the gate, or perhaps to a person standing at the school fence, he always gravitates to a person on the ground ) i think this stemmed from the YO bribing him with food which i dont agree with as it makes them bargey, so he thinks person on ground = food, the most success i have had with him is when we have been on our own - no other horses, no people just me and him. then he ismore focused, i have tried to vary what he does in the school and he never does more than 15/20mins. the other thing that is odd though is that we have tried to get him to follow another horse but even that he doesnt do particularly - still chooses to go his own way. he trots up lovely in hand and is a dream to lead and handle .... stuck, not had this problem before!
 
wasnt this the pony that kept bolting forwards under saddle? Or something similar, if it is I would suggest you still have not got over the problem that caused him to do that, putting a stronger bit in will mask the problem you need to find out WHY he is going to the outside. Maybe it is the bribery but maybe it's something else like he's doing more than he's comfortable with so wants the session to end earlier, maybe his tack rubs after a while, maybe he isn't fit enough for the level of work you are doing.

Shandy can be very similar, since riding bareback and without a bit I have NEVER seen her happier maybe it is worth trying something simple like that.

What is it that he does when you lunge?
 
yes same pony, although we figured he wasnt bolting becuase he was under saddle, he was bolting because he was on the lunge....as soon as lunge was removed he was fine. he doesnt seem to be uncomfy and is worse on one rein than the other, saddle fits and we have tried a few bits and he is happiest in this one. i dont feel brave enough to try bareback! i did try a different saddle that i bought for him that turned out to be too narrow and as soon as I sat on him he bucked and reared, but back to the old saddle he was perfect. he just genuinely thinks he can go where he pleases. he is a cheeky thing when he comes out his shell!
 
My first share horse used to do this! And if you went past the gate she would try and shove it open! After building up HUGE muscles on y arms and looking like a body builder NOT funny! :mad: ) We (owner and I) ended up holding a short crop on the side te gate was on and every time sheran towards it she got a small smack on her neck. It sounds harsh but she stopped it pretty quickly!

However she also had a problem with going forwards so I used to carry a schooling whip in my other hand! Great fun when changing the rein!
 
goodness, i dont think i could manage 2 whips!! well, an update, i think the problem is still his acceptance of the bit, i have been watching another girl ride him, and on a loose rein he is much better, as soon as you take up a stronger contact he does his own thing, so i may look to get a thinner bit as he seems to struggle with this one. perhaps a full cheek sweet iron might help.
 
this may not help but I rode a horse at my old yard that did this - a very thick-necked cob mare! usually when circling at the top of the school she would switch direction half way through the circle and head for the gate :rolleyes:

the way i found to bring her back was not to fight her and try and force her back round (she was very strong!) but if I 'pulsed' the inside rein - ie: squeezing it then letting go - she had nothing to pull against and went the way i wanted instead :) any strong contact just made her more determined!!

dont know if thats any help though :eek:
 
Poor chap - does sound as though he is terrified of the lunge. Why not make this your long term project with him. Take him back to absolute basics with one person in the middle and one just gently at his head on his outside and start with walk on and stand. Take it so slowly until he sees that there is nothing to fear. This may take years - but I am certain he is worth it.
He has certainly come a long way in 6 monthes you must be really proud of him and yourself. Have you tried long reining him out of the school in the open at all? This will give you some idea of how he would react in the open instead of risking it on his back. Also get him to associate that actually being in the open is not always about being free in the field etc, but also about having someone else in control. Again this can be done with someone on the reins and another person at his head etc. and build up as he developes. Leading from field to stable is not quite the same thing.
Why not long rein out of the school more often than riding in the school and let him associate that someone being in control is not always about being in the school. I should say that we had a mare and she was in the school 6 days out of seven and got so bored, we did long rein her out and this did help her.
Good luck.
 
aww bless him! :( i wonder what accident could of happened on the lunge though!

i'd really have to see the pony to say this for sure, but it just sounds to me like he's saying "this is boring.. i'm off! ta ta!" and just walks off to the gate no matter what you do! so i don't mean to be horrid, i mean you should try my suggestion as a last resort, but get tough with him! show him who's boss!
i don't mean cane him or anything, but if he really really won't go in the direction you want to go, give him a tug, maybe even a tap down the shoulder to get him listening.

i know how annoying napping horses can be and i've found the only way to get around it is to get tough with them! but then again most of the ones that napped that i knew weren't as young!

you say the partnership is 48% for you and 52% for him.
think about it, how is that fair? up it to 50/50!
make sure he knows you'll give him the treats and nice things once he's been good to you.
 
my pony did that for a while (shes 13 ie not a youngster though!). i have by now developed strategies of dealing with it (ranging from a full u-turn straight back away from the gate to straightening her up with lots of leg and a tap on the shoulder), so she hardly does it now.

i also found it helped to school the other end of the arena for a while ie as far away from the gate as possible.

julia
x
 
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