BroadfordQueen
Well-Known Member
right, i have had my mad pony for about 2 months now. we knew he had a fault/vice as he was under £2k but had £200 bsja winnings (we are guessing he won them ages ago!) and was only 8yrs old. he was sold as a hunting pony though, which is what we wanted so we bought him. he has been fab out hunting/team chasing, like they said he would.
however, decided to take him showjumping to see what his fault/vice was. he was very cool and calm in the collecting ring and jumped the practice jumps really well. got in the main ring and he bucked his little brains out every time we went down the one end by the collecting ring. we ended up retiring before we got to fence 3. we came to the conclusion that he was a "napper".
we took him again on thursday and went in the clear round- got him round by giving him a fairly hard smack with the stick every time he bucked, and squeezing him with my legs at the same time. we managed to get round clear twice which was a huge improvement, and we even went double clear in the class with no bucks (although he threatened to by lifting his back end slightly)!
however, am i doing the right thing? he has obviously been beaten with the whip before as he is terrified of it. should i try a different method or carry on the way i am? i dont want him to get even more scared of the stick
however, decided to take him showjumping to see what his fault/vice was. he was very cool and calm in the collecting ring and jumped the practice jumps really well. got in the main ring and he bucked his little brains out every time we went down the one end by the collecting ring. we ended up retiring before we got to fence 3. we came to the conclusion that he was a "napper".
we took him again on thursday and went in the clear round- got him round by giving him a fairly hard smack with the stick every time he bucked, and squeezing him with my legs at the same time. we managed to get round clear twice which was a huge improvement, and we even went double clear in the class with no bucks (although he threatened to by lifting his back end slightly)!
however, am i doing the right thing? he has obviously been beaten with the whip before as he is terrified of it. should i try a different method or carry on the way i am? i dont want him to get even more scared of the stick