# Napping pony advice



## Boodles79 (1 April 2017)

I posted a while back about our pony. He's adorable and generally a very good boy and great for my daughter but at some point when off lead rein he decides he's had enough and naps back to where he wants to go - I.e gate / exit. This napping consists of twisting / pulling / moving his head about to evade the bit and walking / very slow trotting to get to where he wants to go, he's not unsafe or trying to unseat his rider. He's 12h and my daughter is 6 she's fab on lead rein but this is just unsettling her a bit as a rule she can pull him up and turn him but she's not happy about it and feels out of control. I have had small adults on board and he's good as gold so It's very minor and he knows he can get away with it with a little jockey. I intend to get her lessons and we are trying schools elsewhere (as we ride in a sectioned off bit of our field at the mo) any other tips? I noticed he opens his mouth when doing it so have a flash ready for next time . (Teeth have literally just been done so it's not that) saddle properly fitted etc. I am just after some tips and advice on what we can do to nip this in th bud. Thank you


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## irish_only (2 April 2017)

I'm sure the pony realises that he can get away with it when your little one is aboard. Why not try a stronger bit for a short time that will enable your little girl to stop him from doing this. Once he realises he can't do it your little one will become more confident too and feel able to ride him more strongly.


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## Boodles79 (2 April 2017)

Thanks, a good idea, would you have a  suggestion on. It. He's In a French link snaffle at the moment. He has low head carriage ordinarily.


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## JillA (2 April 2017)

I would think considering it is important for your child's safety and confidence it might be worth investing in some good professional schooling to include lessons for her at the end


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## elsielouise (2 April 2017)

Boodles79 said:



			Thanks, a good idea, would you have a  suggestion on. It. He's In a French link snaffle at the moment. He has low head carriage ordinarily.
		
Click to expand...


We had exactly the same problem. Super pony, very safe, just a bit opinionated when she had had enough. TBH 12hh + as ours is, was also a bit big for my son when he was six but safety in every other aspect made it OK. I tried a few bits last year including a kimblewick but what made the most difference in a flash. Ours has a low head carriage and can 'set her jaw' when she feels like she'd rather not do as asked. I've put her most recently in a gag on the second ring with a flash and my son has complete control; though he is now 8 and has learnt to use his legs and a whip and make her do what she's asked. 

I'm not sure as a six year old in any bit he would have been able to make her behave. What was frustrating is if anyone with any weight, even a complete novice got on she'd go off the buckle. She'd just learnt to ignore him.


ETA I also had a pro school the pony but it made b~~~~ all difference. She was/is angelic as soon as she knows there is real heft in the saddle.

He did stick with her though despite many incidents of being run off with and yesterday jumped a little course with her and today was part of a mounted games pony club team on her so - with persistence, if the temperament is right I think it's worth sticking with.


My son learnt he couldn't just sit there and had to actually ride our pony. I put her in the snaffle regularly now too as my son has progresse and he's now able to trot round in a snaffle bareback. We just use the stronger steering for faster work/hunting.


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## Boodles79 (2 April 2017)

I've heard so many good things about Kimblewicks I used to ride my pony in one, they seem out of fashion At the moment. I've a feeling it'll be the same with him, works perfectly for anyone heavier/stronger. Perhaps some lessons build confidence get her to be bossy with him so he learns even though she is lightweight she means business.


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## elsielouise (2 April 2017)

TBH I think that's your answer - lessons, hours in the saddle and a bit of growing. My son learnt to boss ours(but nicely) and she has done wonders for his riding to the point where I think I'd rather he had her than any push button. The worst she has done is, as you say with yours, trot off to wherever she wants. In truth this has sometimes meant tears of frustration and half an hour of him making her turn round or trying to make her turn round but we've always finished on a success of some kind and it has worked. He now has another pony who is the complete opposite but is teaching him a different set of skills. We are keeping her though and she will have a home for life with us.


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## Boodles79 (2 April 2017)

Just to add he's so good he was used for rda on leadrein it's just he's cheeky off. And yes he's probably a tad too big for my daughter but I couldn't face buying and selling quickly I wanted something to Keep for a while .


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## elsielouise (2 April 2017)

What also might help is Pony Club or somewhere where they are riding in a group as ours has generally behaved quite a bit better in a group ride. Our branch also holds rallies in venues with an indoor school for the little ones which makes for a nice safe place to get going.


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## Boodles79 (2 April 2017)

Sounds so familiar... in the past 20mins I've booked an instructor to come and help us out


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## elsielouise (2 April 2017)

Good luck with the pair of them. If your daughter is keen and prepared to stick with it rather than become a 'pony swapper' (as my son calls children he knows who go through half a dozen pones a season) then she will become a rider. Not that keeping an unsafe pony is ever OK - but if everything else is right then I think they learn so much  from something that challenges them a bit in a safe way.


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## Boodles79 (2 April 2017)

AND we've joined PC first rally next week. Perhaps I've been too worried too soon. Thank you I feel like I Am doing all the right things.


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## Boodles79 (2 April 2017)

So very true, he's definitely a keeper so we'll put in the work to make it work


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## elsielouise (2 April 2017)

Lovely - and I hope it works out. It's putting in the work that's needed that gets results I reckon.


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## texel (18 April 2017)

Hi Boodles,  from reading your post I would say you have a good pony that doesn&#8217;t understand the instructions your daughter is giving; either because she is not strong enough or hasn&#8217;t learnt to apply the aids in a way the pony understands. Which is to be expected at her age and especially if she is a starter.  This is why an older rider can get your pony to respond readily to the applied aids.  
From my experience with little ones under 10, the best way to approach this is to put the pony on a long line and take pony and rider to a marked up area of the field, I use coloured upturned buckets placed in either a square or circle within the &#8216;arena&#8217; to help the child &#8216;ride&#8217; and guide the pony towards whatever colour you select.   You can use electric fence poles with coloured card circles attached.  You also need a lunge whip, I have cut off the line and using duct tape (or brightly coloured vet tape) I tape around some paper or card to form a knob like a finger at the end. I can then reach the pony if I need to and tap him with it to support the child&#8217;s aids.  

The lessons are kept short 20-30 mins and the objectives are;  go and halt and steering &#8211; left and right all at walk.  We take our time; the child leads the pony to our &#8216;arena&#8217;, the child gets on and we go through a check list to make sure feet are in stirrups, helmet is in place etc.   Then I stand back away from the pony level with the child and the pony&#8217;s shoulder as if you were intending to lunge the pony but your role is to guide and support the child&#8217;s aids from a distance and to assist should the pony try to &#8216;wander&#8217; off.  So the child applies the aids to walk forwards, if the pony obliges you just walk with them keeping an even distance.  You ask the child to ride to a marker and before you get there you ask the child to turn the pony to whatever side you are on if you see what I mean. If the pony ignores the request you can assist by gently pulling on the line and if necessary to tap the pony in the relevant place with the adapted lunge whip.  So your task is to support the child&#8217;s aids, in this way the child gets confident and has time to understand the aids, the pony learns to listen to the child&#8217;s aids and the child learns how to apply the aids without the worry of the pony  wandering off.  

If requests are ignored or you get in a mess and there are crossed wires with instructions and stress - compose yourselves and the pony at a halt, wait and then continue.  

At the end of the lesson the child dismounts, rolls up stirrpus etc and we walk bck to the yard.  Taking care to halt periodically on our return so the pony learns to return at our pace not his. 

If you repeat these lessons there will come a time when you do not need to use the long line.  
Once the child can ride the pony independently with confidence, I introduce bending poles (electric fence posts  again), buckets and balls and other fun things we then play games ; the poles help the child to learn steering and the buckets and balls teach the child to halt the pony, dismount and mount.  I also intoduce some other fun 'obstacles' and exercises and find this really makes learning fun for the child and gives variety to the lessons.   I hope this helps. 

any photos ?


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## supsup (18 April 2017)

Another alternative in the bit department that I've found very useful for horses trying to turn around is a full cheek snaffle (or possibly a D-ring snaffle, or even a hanging cheek snaffle). If the pony opens the mouth and tries to turn her head to evade the bit, the pressure of the full cheek on the side of the face can help to a) prevent the bit sliding out of place and b) help keep the head pointing in the right direction, without having to tie the mouth shut with a flash. IMO, this can be the kinder and more effective option vs. going to a "harsher" bit with leverage or a gag. After all, the pony isn't storming off, merely heading in the wrong direction.


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## Boodles79 (18 April 2017)

Thank you so much both recent repliers a full cheek is a great idea he's only in a French link snaffle and really doesn't need anything stronger for 99.9% of the time so that sounds like a good low cost idea to try whilst keeping the mouthpiece the same. And the advice on the games and schooling tips are fab I am definitely going to try those at home., I think I'm becoming to realise he needs extra confidence from his rider we hired in an indoor school recently and my daughter was great on him and he didn't put a foot wrong she felt safe and confident and it translated to pony.


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## texel (19 April 2017)

All the best Boodles keep us updated and enjoy watching your daughter bond with her pony and become a confident rider.


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