bitting advice for strong, p*ss taking pony ;)

digitalangel

digitalangel

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My little jockey is losing confidence as my naughty little madam of a pony puts her head down and p*sses off with her! *very* common problem, i know and she has done it for years. Jockey has regular instruction, and knows to slip the reins and sit like a lemon while whizzes off round the school, do she does not become unseated and fall off. Problem is, pony is not being reprimanded, and therefore has learned it works. Jockeys safety comes first, hence being taught to sit and wait. Also to try and circle to slow her down. We are now working on reprimanding/catching her before she does it, with legs, etc with reasonable success.

I got on the pony myself on friday night, and remembed how damn strong she is. only when she snatches down though, normally she has a soft mouth. Basically Jockey has no chance.

Pony has been bitted in loose ring snaffle, hanging cheek, and wilkie. Am now considering a slightly stronger bit to give jockey a little more brakes. Not a chance of jockey abusing it as she has lovely soft hands and contact.

Not a decision i am taking lightly - but having experienced it for myself, and all other avenues checked/tried and instruction ongoing, i feel it is the next logical step.

Back/tack/teeth all OK. Pony is somewhat of a veteran and only ridden lightly.

Bitting ideas please! Am thinking gag over pelham?
 
Sounds just like my son on his old pony........we solved the problem by putting grass reins on.......a cheap version is get some bail twine,tie to d ring on the front of saddle,up to the head and down through the brow band,and the tie to the bit,and do the same on the other side.
 
I wouldn't recommend a pelham it doesn't encourage leaning but I found they do tend to go a bit heavier in them. I think with bits it is a lot of trial and error.
 
If the pony is not normally strong I would go with Hunting Mad's suggestion of grass reins or daisy reins. You can either make your own from baler twine or get leather ones that buckle to the headpiece of the bridle and the front dees of the saddle. Either way they prevent the pony from sticking its head down but don't interefere with normal riding.
 
lauraandjack said:
If the pony is not normally strong I would go with Hunting Mad's suggestion of grass reins or daisy reins. You can either make your own from baler twine or get leather ones that buckle to the headpiece of the bridle and the front dees of the saddle. Either way they prevent the pony from sticking its head down but don't interefere with normal riding.
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I tried with bale twine first,and when i knew they would work splashed out on some posh ones!!!
 
we did try a daisy rein, but it didnt really stop her, she still managed to get her head down enough to get control of the reins and pee off! its the snatching motion i think. i can fish it out and try again though, or maybe try with the baler twine.
 
I think if they can get their head on the floor with grass reins on,they can do most things!!!!Not sure what else will help......ponies know all the tricks of the trade!!!
 
A Pelham (and Dutch gag) is a head lowerer.

A true gag would raise the head, or at least encourage pony to stop chucking it on the floor but would your rider have good enough hands? A Cheltenham gag is a pretty hefty piece of kit.

I agree with the above of tying baler twine from the D-rings on the saddle, through the browband and down to the bit as an intermediate measure. Might just be enough to begin with.
 
My old pony used to do this when I was little. He used to buck for England too!! When he buggered off with me my instructor would get me to make him go quicker (almost as though I had asked for the speed in the first place) and then keep him going well beyond the point at which he had had enough and wanted to stop. It did mean we cantered laps and laps and laps of the school quite a few times before he got the point and stopped doing it.

It took us a good few months and he still did it occasionally but was much improved (maybe did it once a month as opposed to once or more every time I rode him).

Not sure that this approach would work for every pony (and it's probably not the 'done' thing so I'm fully prepared for a slating!!) but if she's got a good seat then it may be worth considering?

How big is the pony and how old? Mine was 6 or 7 when we went through this 'phase' and it took around 3 months to make real progress.
 
I'm trying a Waterford snaffle on my little mickey-taker. He seems a tad more respectful! We haven't taken him out in it yet, though...
 
shes 12 hands and old enough to know better. i have thought of that but jockey is losing confidence by the bucketload so probably not going to happen. and really i am too big to rider her.
 
Tricky! Mine was 13.1hh and I was a small 10yr old. Maybe a new bit / grass reins will help restore confidence, am keeping fingers crossed for you!

They can be such little s**ts sometimes - I think the smaller ones are often worse too!
 
Eriskayowner said:
I'm assuming that saddle and back have been checked?

Is this new behaviour or been going on for a while?
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ive had her for 5 years, she used to do it with (now outgrown) jockey, but the bigger she got the more she was able to deal with it. current jockey is a very small 9 year old, who is currently lacking confidence. Pony seems to do it after 20 or so minutes, its not a pain thing, i am sure of it - and yes everything has been checked - pony has just had enough of playing ball and head down and pee's off! pony is having a whale of a time, poor jockey is terrified!
 
suzi said:
Tricky! Mine was 13.1hh and I was a small 10yr old. Maybe a new bit / grass reins will help restore confidence, am keeping fingers crossed for you!

They can be such little s**ts sometimes - I think the smaller ones are often worse too!
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yup, am kind of hoping this will help restore confidence for jockey, as well as long talks out riding through it and not givng up- - gotta hand it to the jockey, despite being very, very scared at times she is totally sticking with it and determined!
 
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