A proud mother post vid

Sweet - she really sits well and they're both having fun!

Can I hear a whip on the soundtrack though........?
 
Well-sat and such a sweet pony!
Please don't scare her with a whip.

I *have* used them to free school (never touching anything but with the occasional flick rather than just to point) and I wouldn't do it again.

There isn't anything satisfying about scaring a horse into doing something (even if it wasn't you who taught the horse to fear a long whip). Horse and rider (pony and child) need to learn to work together. Pop the pony on a lead rein/lunge until child learns to control paces as well as (s)he can sit :-)
 
bimbomb said:
After reading schooling pony thread below made me think how far my daughter has come with her pony in the last 2 years. What do you think? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWoj42SNWYQ
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As the owner of a little ponio who regularly decides it is too much of an effort to even walk unless he has a very capable rider on him, I have no problem whatsoever with you flicking a lunge whip around to give your daughter a helping hand and remind the pony he's meant to be moving forward, after all she won't have the leg strength for her efforts to be felt through those thick saddle flaps!
 
Thank you trotting on!! I never hit the pony and only use the lunge whip when my daughter canters to help my daughter keep her going, i don't even chase her with it, just stand in the middle of the school making a noise. She definately not scared or she'd run away!
 
I'm afraid I disagree trottingon. I don't lunge or free school with a whip even with a total novice/no rider at all. There are nicer ways of sending a horse/pony forward. And voice activation is much more useful :-)

ETS: she has no where to run to in an arena she is already at the edge of. Only forward to relieve tension.

OP your daughter sits very well to canter but she can learn to sit it once she has learnt to ask for it too :-)
 
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Well i can't see the vid, but i see no problem with using a lunge whip to make a noise. Don't we do that lunging? There's a difference between a terrified horse running madly away, and one that says 'oh, i'd better listen!' Ideals are not always possible in real life and with a child, it's better than them kicking and kicking and kicking and getting no where.
 
bimbomb said:
Thank you trotting on!! I never hit the pony and only use the lunge whip when my daughter canters to help my daughter keep her going, i don't even chase her with it, just stand in the middle of the school making a noise. She definately not scared or she'd run away!
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I have to say that I don't think that the pony is scared either - but I also don't think I would have posted the vid as a "proud mother post" to show how much my daughter had progressed with her pony in 2 years if I still had to whip the pony into canter.......

You're not helping your daughter to keep her going - you ARE keeping her going. Nothing much wrong in that tbh, just not fitting with your post!

Nice pony, good little jockey, proud Mum all having fun. Hurrah!

Don't turn into Pony Club mother from hell.......!!! LOL!
 
somethingorother said:
Well i can't see the vid, but i see no problem with using a lunge whip to make a noise. Don't we do that lunging? There's a difference between a terrified horse running madly away, and one that says 'oh, i'd better listen!' Ideals are not always possible in real life and with a child, it's better than them kicking and kicking and kicking and getting no where.
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Actually I don't use the whip to make a noise when lunging - does anyone else?
 
Bedlam: Not always, but plenty do. Just think some of you need to get off your high horses (excuse the pun), it's not like she's beating the horse. Some horses are sensitive and don't need a whip, only slight body language. Some are less sensitive and need a whip to make a noise, shake at them, whatever. I'm working with 2 fillies at opposite ends at the moment. Both well handled and raised, just different. It's hardly a crime, and i'm the first to shout up at harsh gadgets or force, if you look at my previous posts.
 
somethingorother said:
Bedlam: Not always, but plenty do. Just think some of you need to get off your high horses (excuse the pun), it's not like she's beating the horse. Some horses are sensitive and don't need a whip, only slight body language. Some are less sensitive and need a whip to make a noise, shake at them, whatever. I'm working with 2 fillies at opposite ends at the moment. Both well handled and raised, just different. It's hardly a crime, and i'm the first to shout up at harsh gadgets or force, if you look at my previous posts.
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This, havent seen the video so cant really comment.
 
Tickles said:
I'm afraid I disagree trottingon. I don't lunge or free school with a whip even with a total novice/no rider at all. There are nicer ways of sending a horse/pony forward. And voice activation is much more useful :-)

ETS: she has no where to run to in an arena she is already at the edge of. Only forward to relieve tension.

OP your daughter sits very well to canter but she can learn to sit it once she has learnt to ask for it too :-)
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I know what you are saying Tickles, and I see where you are coming from, and in many circumstances I would agree with you. However if you think you can get my lazy pony going with just your voice, you are welcome to come and give it a try - I'll have a large brandy waiting for when you eventually give up!!!! ha-ha!!!

At the end of the day, a lunge whip is just another aid, and as long as it is used correctly and sympathetically there is nothing wrong with it. In this case I would be more worried if the child was learning to kick kick kick to get the pony going, which inevitably ends up with loss of balance, and a terrible riding position. As the child gets stronger and more effective and more experienced, the mother will naturally take a back seat more and more. It is a very young child in this instance who can't possibly perform all the elements of riding correctly at once, so she is learning the feel of the paces, learning a secure seat, and possibly most importantly she's not constantly kicking and nagging at the reins and jabbing the pony in the mouth which is a bug-bear of mine (even more so when adults do it!) and so getting the pony going forward by herself will come with time. We all have to start somewhere and we all need a little help along the way.

So let's not sweat the small stuff, no laws are being broken and no-one is needlessly suffering, let's just leave this as the pleasant happy mummy post it started out as.

Don't forget though, the gauntlet has been thrown, that large brandy is waiting for you...
 
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