advice please! daughters new pony

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maisie1988

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Hi! So I got a 11.2:) section a for my 4 year old as her first pony. We have had him 2/3 months and I adore him. However my daughter not so much as he has terrible manners and I'm not sure how to deal with it. My 16.3 th is a piece of cake compared!

So he will not stand still to be groomed at all. Constantly stamping around and shoving my daughter about. I have tried the nice approach the last few months... but today I got cross as he stood on my daughter and shoved her on the floor... so I tried the firm approach but he just got worse. He is fab for my daughter to lead, it's the grooming issue... tried different brushes but even when not touching him he does it.

Second problem... if my daughter approaches him in the stable when he's eating hay he puts his ears flat back and stamps him back feet. Very clearly telling her to go away.

It's putting my daughter off him massively. I don't think this is what she just imagined it would be like. She can't even brush him. He's been like this since day one.

Any advice be so great.

Thank you :D
 
My daughters section A was like this. My daughter was a lot older and soon realised she just hates being fiddled about with , she just wanted to be tacked up and get on with it. She has never been any different . I think she has just that kind of attitude . She is still the best pony she ever had to ride and we still see her with her new family that were hand picked by us so that they accepted the way she was . Sorry if this doesnt help but welsh ponies quite often have attitude but they make amazing friends .
 
maree t said:
My daughters section A was like this. My daughter was a lot older and soon realised she just hates being fiddled about with , she just wanted to be tacked up and get on with it. She has never been any different . I think she has just that kind of attitude . She is still the best pony she ever had to ride and we still see her with her new family that were hand picked by us so that they accepted the way she was . Sorry if this doesnt help but welsh ponies quite often have attitude but they make amazing friends .
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That's actually really lovely. Maybe this boy is like that. I do chuck tack on and as quick as possible get my daughter on and he's fab 99% of the time. It's just the brushing and tacking up.shame for my girl though :/ thanks for that though xxx
 
Our little mare was and is amazing. She took my nervous daughter from having a go at mounted games to hunting and top level games in the space of two years. She is now teaching several kids the ropes. She hates being fussed etc but is outstanding to be ridden. My daughter just had to accept that the plaits always looked a mess and the lines on her clip well........ I wouldnt have swapped the time she had with her for anything . She is the rider she is today because of that mare.
 
Have you tried giving him a Haynet when being groomed? Something to distract him... Mini me's pony is a nightmare in stable, ears flat back and she has bitten on occasion but as soon as she is out of it she is generally very good re grooming etc...
 
I think sometimes ponies get annoyed with kiddies brushing them because they aren't strong enough to brush firmly, so it just feels tickly for the pony. Then they show the annoyance which worries the child, and pony thinks "hello, I think I might be in charge here". I worked at a riding school which ran week long camps for kids. When we were teaching them about grooming there were a couple of ponies we just couldn't let them near, whereas some of the bigger horses were fine with being prodded and poked for a while.

If I was you, I'd probably just have hold of pony's head whilst your little one is grooming, so pony knows he cant get away with telling her to naff off. As daughter gets older her grooming/handling technique will get stronger and pony will respect her more.
 
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My little New Forest is like this, he's 19 and been the same since he was 5 when we got him, he just doesn't like fuss, and unfortunately he's the perfect height for a childs pony and children want to fuss him. I never let children handle him anymore, I just do everything very matter of fact, tie up, groom, tack up, child on and we're away. The children can cuddle my cob mare while they wait, as she loves scratches. It may be that your childs pony just doesn't want to be a childs pony. If he's fine for riding then perhaps you do the catching and grooming, let your daughter practice her ground work on your bigger horse and maybe when she's more confident and pony is more settled you re-introduce them
ETA - if mine is already in a fidgety mood the more people fuss and flap around him the worse he gets. So if someone were to try and hold his head he would start rearing as feeling restricted - this comes from being mistreated when he was younger - so try to just remain calm and very matter of fact about everything. Don't make allowances but also don't let things worry you. If pony moves into your space, move him back and carry on etc. Lots of patience
 
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There could be another dimension here.. My coblet loves to be fussed over but will push one of his little sharers around simply because he can. Because he can make her move her feet he will do it. Come to think of it he pushed our daughter around a bit when we first got him too. It might help to teach your daughter how to stand her ground safely. Maybe a bit of ground or leading work to encourage him to respect her space. There is a safety issue I know - when my daughter was little I would far rather she ran away than put herself at risk. But you can't teach the pony manners. He'll behave with you - I only have to growl at my lad when he's mucking about - but as soon as your back is turned he'll go back to it. The "Think like a pony" series really helped us all those years ago - I don't know if it is still around.
 
our sec a mare HATES being brushed or stroked.She is a super star to ride though ,so although we have done lots of ground work to teach her to move around children nicely and lead well we just brush as little as poss. Amazing ponies; well worth putting up with the odd quirk. I know it's a rude word but my daughter did lots of .....parelli stuff....ducks for cover...it really helped them on the ground and she loves all the carrot stick and rope and special headcollar. Also just remembered getting a comfy girth helped she has a wintec shaped one and no faces now tacking up. Good luck!
 
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Agree with shay its an animal behaviour thing. Your daughter is considered the lowest in the pecking order and only time and being more confident with him will put her above him. Ofcourse do not go in whips and tails it will only upset him. Agree haynet to keep him distracted and hopefully he will learn to enjoy the grooming time
 
I am surprised that the pony gets the chance to push the 4 yr old child around. If I were supervising/teaching a 4yr old to groom I would be standing as close to the pony as possible with my hand ready to push the shoulder away from the child if the pony started to fidget. I would give the pony some hay to eat as a matter of course.
 
Knobberpony hates being groomed,so we tie her up with a haynet to keep her mouth occupied whilst grooming.She is ok with me and my eldest,but my youngest needs me to hold the pony's head sometimes.She is faultless to ride though,so we just ignore the face pulling/grumpiness.She is a 24 year old Welsh mare.
 
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