HollyWoozle
Well-Known Member
In December my parents bought another pony for my nieces to potter about on. He is undeniably cute (very small and spotty), safe for them to ride and a cheeky but nice character, however he was a terrible purchase. Our farrier recognised him at once and called him a "high maintenance pony", particularly as he is prone to laminitis. Despite me saying not to buy him and trying not to be involved... I am involved, since he is part of the family herd which includes my own horse and they live on the property.
Fast forward to now and pony is overweight and currently on box rest with laminitis... doh! Lesson learned. Obviously we have to get him sorted out first, but I am planning ahead as to how I can burn some calories and weight off him further down the line. My nieces are 5 and 8 and beginners, they want to sit on him once a month and walk and have a few laps trying to trot. He is too small for serious ridden work as no tiny, more experienced jockey available and we don't have a menage or good surface (or a walker).
I would have to start along the road for maybe 5 - 10 minutes and then could get him onto a bridleway, but I was wondering about the logistics of jogging with him basically! Putting him in a bridle and building it up slowly, couch to 5k style? What do we think? Maybe it's a terrible idea but I can't see that endless lunging in the field will do him much good in the long term, either mentally or physically. Someone said to train him to pull a trap but I don't have the knowledge, equipment or time for that and he is pretty dinky. The roads here are also fairly busy.
Fast forward to now and pony is overweight and currently on box rest with laminitis... doh! Lesson learned. Obviously we have to get him sorted out first, but I am planning ahead as to how I can burn some calories and weight off him further down the line. My nieces are 5 and 8 and beginners, they want to sit on him once a month and walk and have a few laps trying to trot. He is too small for serious ridden work as no tiny, more experienced jockey available and we don't have a menage or good surface (or a walker).
I would have to start along the road for maybe 5 - 10 minutes and then could get him onto a bridleway, but I was wondering about the logistics of jogging with him basically! Putting him in a bridle and building it up slowly, couch to 5k style? What do we think? Maybe it's a terrible idea but I can't see that endless lunging in the field will do him much good in the long term, either mentally or physically. Someone said to train him to pull a trap but I don't have the knowledge, equipment or time for that and he is pretty dinky. The roads here are also fairly busy.