speedy pony...help!

Abserd

Abserd

New Member
Apr 12, 2007
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West Yorks
www.backlanestables.co.uk
Hello! Not posted for a while and couldn't decide where to post this but as i am a mature rider who generally gets the ponies..i'm afraid it's you lot that'll have to put up with me :eek:

I've been riding at my RS for nearly 4 years now and since i did a spectacular somersault off a big chunky cob last year and hurt myself a bit :eek: the YO who is our main RI said i was overhorsed and got me on the ponies. So for months now i've been getting used to Star, a 5 year old, fell/dales type mare who is still growing, is very bum high and has no shoulders to speak of! I'm getting used to her quirks and it's been a challenge as i've found it hard to trust her due to my own fears. She's a cracking little pony, i've hacked out on her quite a bit and am even learning to jump.

But last night it all went a bit flat again and i'm struggling to understand it. I have a lot of problems with anxiety and my RI is always on at me to be more positive. Do other RS riders feel that with only one lesson a week that it takes some time to settle in each lesson? On top of that i was away last week so have missed a lesson. The first canter was horrific :( and i ended up getting a canter on the long side so she was on the wrong leg and i got told off. My RI as great as she is, often puts me on edge with her voice and things she says. I know she has to be strict but i was feeling pretty fragile last night (just lost my job) and my mind wasn't really on the job as it were!

Another questions for pony riders...my RI is always saying that canter is another gait not a faster gait, than trot. But Star races round the arena and the more i lean back and try to slow her down, the more she fights. Yet when i give her her head, she still races off and is more likely to spook! I know i tense up which doesn't help. Last night she spooked at the traffic as we set off so we ended up in the middle of the school and i got blamed for it all. Well, yes i suppose it was my fault though!

Then the second canter i was really determined but still felt really unbalanced and i felt like a Thelwell rider trying to keep her on the track! RI was pleased as she was getting frustrated and i feel like i'm constantly making excuses for myself. I know she's busy, but her attitude seems to be, well i can do it so why arn't i? Pony is just soooo fast...one of the other girls from the lesson did say to me afterwards that not only does she go fast, but her little legs make it seem even faster. So i'm not the only one that sees this.

I love riding ponies, don't get me wrong but i'm the only pony rider in my group that is an adult and feel i've hit a wall :rolleyes:

PS oops, went on a bit there, soz
 
Hi. Funnily enough, I have a fell mare called Star, who also tanks off in canter!!!

She is just turned 7, and I have private lessons on her at our yard rather than at a riding school. My EE instructor says that my pony is still very young and unbalanced, so we do not canter at all in the school. I think this could be the probelm with your pony. She is after all only 5. Fell ponys mature later than horses, so she is probably trying to sort her legs out in canter, and is unsure what goes where and when:)
Is your pony just trotting faster and faster before launching herself into a canter when you ask?
My instructor is happy for me to ask for canter on a long stretch whilst out on a hack, as long as I bring her back to a controlled trot straight away if she doesn't make a good transition into canter, or if she is disunited in canter.

If you are unbalanced yourself and a little bit tense in canter, then your pony hasn't the experience to be able to balance herself and you as well.

Sorry, response is a bit waffly too.:p
 
Hello!

Firstly I know what you mean about weekly riding lessons - I'm starting to feel like if I rode even twice a week, or three times every two weeks, I'd be progressing a lot faster and be able to get horses going well for earlier and for much longer than the last 20 minutes of the lesson :rolleyes:

Re fast ponies - I've found that not cantering until I've got a really good and balanced trot has worked, which is fine when working in open order (as you can wait until you're ready) but not so much if you're in a ride (when you don't have a choice as to when you canter).

Sorry, that wasn't much help! But I do sympathise! :eek:
 
Rather than constant pressure on her mouth, I would use half halts to try and balance her. I would also advice keeping a good feel for her mouth, so you can tell when she is going to spook and head it off before it happens with your seat and legs (does that make sense?).

Ponies can be very trying. Teddy is so stubborn that you have to concentrate all the time and always be 100% determined. As soon as he gets away with one little thing, thats it.

Best of luck - personally I think the ponies are the most rewarding, but not the easiest of rides at times. Although Ted is a superstar hacker, which is worth a LOT!
 
Personally I would advise a different riding school!
Riding schools and r/s ponies or horses are supposed to give confidence not take it away.
Instructors are NOT supposed to get frustrated or use any "tone of voice" you are paying to learn, have fun and enjoy yourself not be scared or worried.
I think its really irrelevant if anything is "your fault really"- its NOT your fault your learning and yes its hard when you only get to ride once a week. Its also expensive and you should be able to make the most of your lesson.
Are there any other paces locally you could try?
 
i would say that a combination of a lightly nervous rider and a young pony are not a good combination personally. as someone else says, she may not be that balanced yet, which is why she is rushing off with you in canter. they way i see it is you can either stick with her and you RI, or you could try a different pony or a different yard altogher. i assume that private lessons are too expensive if you are riding in a group, but just once a month could you maybe afford it? evenif its just half an hour, as i often think just that 1-1 is worth maybe 2 hours group instruction. then you could ask for a lesson on the lunge, and you could concentrate on what your doing without having to worry about stopping, and that way if the pony is unbalanced a good RI should be able to pick that up clearer from the lunge work (a good one should be able to see it from the ground imo, but if its just you and the pony having the lesson it should be glaringly obvious)

if thats not an option, then try to do some more work on walk and trot, especially transistions and circle work to improve her balance. try doing 20 meters and then 10 meters when she feels balanced enough. if she were mine i'd work on stuff like that before the canter work, and try not to pull to much even if she is tanking off with you. like someone else said try half halts and when she feels as if she is going to slow reward her by releasing the pressure. i used to have a pony that did everything at 200 mph, not a malicious bone in her body but she was sooooo quick. the only thing i could do was just be really light with my aids, and i developed a rather light and forward seat, as the minute you sat, you were off! speaking from experiance tho' i would say that its very difficult to correct a problem with a riding school horse or pony tho'. anything to do with schooling or reschooling has to have a consistency to it, which because of the number of different riders each week its just not possible for them all to tell the pony the same thing and repeat it until its right. i used to help school ponies that came to our yard, and whilst in the winter it was a lot more effective as it was mainly me riding after school, within a couple of weeks being in the school they were being used all weekend and maybe a couple of days/nights in the week as well, with differerent riders all with different abilities. a badly schooled or poorly schooled pony is not your problem, its the yards problem and i for 1 would be loathe to pay me money to ride something that was suitable for my needs. the other way that you could take it is as a compliment, your RI may have more confidence in your skills as a rider than what you do! good luck
 
Hmmm, lots of interesting advice and information there people, thanks loads!

I'm not really looking at going elsewhere, at the moment anyway, i'm just over sensitive but it's certainly an option if this keeps happening.

I agree about the whole RS thing, it's very hard for them to get consistent training and of course being a pony, she gets all the kids learning on her. One of the teenage instructors brought her on really well, but i honestly feel she's not ready although of course i can't say anything.

One big area of contention i've found is the age problem, i've learnt a lot from NR about this. Personally i feel she does too much for her age and although i don't know her breeding exactly, the opinion seems to be well she's a native so she'll be fine. If she was mine, i'd be letting her grow up a bit more!

It is a good RS. There's a very low turnover of horses and ponies and they are very healthy, which is good as they work pretty hard, however the general feeling seems to be that 5 is ok to be doing what she's doing. Another pony is rising 5 and doing tons of jumping etc. although to be fair he's not an RS pony.

I do worry that i'm making Star worse. We don't do lunge lessons there (it may be in the pipeline soon, but they've got no pony cavessons, only big ones).

On the occasions that i've had a private lesson with Star and this RI, it's gone really well. Think i'm better with one-to-one. I get panicky in the group, despite knowing all the other riders.

If like most of you have said, she's likely to be unbalanced and so am i, it's not great. Some of the time it's fast trot to faster trot, but other times she's pulling me into canter and then i just tense up.

The Riding Club is having a dressage to music night on Friday this week so i'm going to try and put your advice into practise.

I'll let you know! Thanks everyone...i REALLY appreciate everything you've said xx
 
She sounds like she needs lots of canter work tbh, which means more than once a week when you can do it. The RI or similar should be doing this with her, otherwise she won't learn.

I would possibley ask if you can do canter circles etc, so you are giving her something else to think about - legs will fall better and find their place naturally. Often when they worry is when they have striding problems.

In terms of your part, relax your hands, and use your legs a lot more. Sounds a bit weird probably, but if it is anxious rushing on her part, you may find if you ride at all paces with a more wrapped around leg, that she gets more confidence from you - so hug always, and squeeze for an up pace. But lots of getting her listening - try to do most of the circle with just leg aids - often have mouth pressure makes them more resistant.

If I had the time, my choice would be to work her for a few minutes in the school at the paces she chooses in canter. I would then push her on faster, and come off back to encourage her to lengthen, so than then, when I sit, and ask her to go forwards, but take the rein contact back up so she has a clear and exaggerated aid for collection. Gradually the difference between these aids can become more subtle. But as this probably isnt option, use 20m circles to encourage her to think about what she is doing direction wise, it will bre4ak her runnning to the back habit too :)
 
I agree with what you say popularfurball, what's worrying is that a) i don't have the experience to do some of your suggestions and b) she's not got anyone else to school her properly.

However working on 'hugging' is something i've recently started so i'll definitely try to improve this.

Am thinking of 'having a word' with my other RI whose daughter does a lot of schooling, maybe a bit of one to one with a more experienced rider would help. My fear is she's not going to get these basics in and will struggle to do what she's asked which is totally unfair because she tries her heart out, just doesn't always understand and as you say needs more regular practise.

Wish i could buy her!
 
Im nt sure which parts you feel you wouldn't be able to do...? Can explain a bit more what I mean - going from your first post, other than anxiety, I don't get the feel you would have any problems with the stuff :D
 
When your instructor asks you to canter to rear of ride. I would ask if its ok if when you get your canter transition, you then ask Star to walk, then do another transition with just couple of strides of trot going into a corner, then canter. This way the pony will get out of the habit of just charging to the back of the ride. You could pop in a couple of 10m circles on the way in trot or walk, this will distract Star.

If you start giving aids to walk as soon as you in canter, sit deep slow any movment you have down, this will help. What ever you do don't try to keep up with pony, it will only go faster. keep your seat slow and dictate the pace.

The RS should be schooling the ponies during the week, and also trying improve them in the lesson. This is good for you as a rider too, you would be contributing to the education of Star.
 
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