Child’s pony

[serena2005]

I bought my daughter her first pony last September.
We’ve had horses our whole lives in my family so she’s grown up around them and at the grand age of about 9 she wanted to actually learn to ride. She’s had lessons at a riding school to the point they started jumping, then we had a few shares, she’s a naturally nervous rider but is determined to carry on riding.

So back to the story, I didn’t have a lot to spend so I got a 6 year old cob, he’s lovely and things have been good… but the more she progresses he’s not progressing with her, he was a late starter and has really only jumped with us. She’s had 11 falls mostly from him bronking and getting her off. Not just jumping, he protests to new situations and naps.
Her confidence has taken a battering but she’s still wanting to try even though she’s terrified and at the last show cried most of the way round the course. He was such a good boy I couldn’t fault him she was just scared.

I school him as often as I can and I get the feeling he’s just as nervous when he’s not sure what’s being asked of him. So his go to is either run from it or protest and bronk.

I’m just getting to the point that I don’t know what to do for the best.
Carry on and give him more time, sell him? Get someone else to jump and bring him on (I can’t afford to pay for this, so would likely be a desperate, ballsy teen without a ride)

We are literally back to basics and he had a tantrum over canter poles because they were too long for him and he bronked her off she’s jumping the smallest cross poles, so we really aren’t pushing him.
Most days he’s so honest, but that odd he runs out of patience with her.

He’s such a nice pony with a great character it’s breaking my heart to see her so upset, especially when her friends have bags of confidence and she feels like she’s going backwards.
I got her fiends to share other ponies on the yard so they could all ride together and maybe that would boost her confidence but it’s back firing on me.

Please tell me it’s going to get better

Teeth, back and saddle all recently checked no health issues

 

[maya2008]

Sounds like they have both lost their confidence. Can you school him more, focusing on lots of new situations and helping him find his confidence in himself so he doesn’t need any help from the rider? Long reining is good for this too - they’re on their own out in front of you and have to find their confidence themselves. In the meantime, stick to something daughter and pony do feel confident doing in their riding time, so they build up that trust in each other again.

 

[Bobthecob15]

We’ve been there with my daughter! In short I’d sell him and get something more suitable for her! We did lessons at a riding school in between ponies to get confidence back…and now have the most wonderful pony and they are flying together! We tried everything before that…it was the pony she had no confidence in not the riding. We didn’t have bucking etc but ours was sharp and knew when to take the mickey out of my daughter and it never ended well. He’s now at a lovely competition home!

There is no shame in it, sometimes it’s just not the right fit and it’s better to move on before the confidence is gone and she’s put off altogether. I would say to come off that many times I can understand why she’s so nervous and doesn’t want to ride him! Are you definitely sure there isn’t a physical cause? It sounds like you have but has the vet seen? Either way it’s probably too late for this combination to fix it I’m afraid…but that’s me and just going on my own experience!

Best of luck it’s so difficult x

 

[seriously festive equine]

I think in this case you can either
A. Sell him on to a more experienced rider who can give him confidence
B. If you have time school him yourself and give him the confidence he needs.
C. Try just hacking. It does wonders for building confidence between horse and rider.
I personally would go for a mix of B and C
But do what's best for you and your daughter.

 

[Red-1]

The pony is lovely but keeps broncing off your daughter? Doesn't sound lovely in behaviour to me and, especially at that age, confidence can be fragile.

I would stop your daughter riding this pony, at least in any situation he is known to exhibit this behaviour. Sell or get a ballsy teenager, or do comprehensive vet/saddle checks, whatever seems right to you, but I would reassure your daughter that hitting the deck like this is not going to continue.

I would allow her to ride at a riding school until either the pony is performing safely, or it has been replaced.

 

[MidChristmasCrisis]

Years ago I was in the same dilemma but hand on heart you have to draw a line under the partnership and move the pony on and find a confidence giver for your daughter.

 

[Highmileagecob]

Cobs are not a naturally athletic shape, and it could be that he finds jumping difficult. The short leg to heavy body ratio doesn't lend itself to jumping and turning. On the other hand, if she wants to hack on a pony who will look after her, you have possibly found the right one.

 

[serena2005]

Sounds like they have both lost their confidence. Can you school him more, focusing on lots of new situations and helping him find his confidence in himself so he doesn’t need any help from the rider? Long reining is good for this too - they’re on their own out in front of you and have to find their confidence themselves. In the meantime, stick to something daughter and pony do feel confident doing in their riding time, so they build up that trust in each other again.

Thank you x
We’ve definitely tried to do only what she’s confident doing recently. But she’s not nervous about everything it’s hard. And it’s just just because of him. A horse could look at something just because it’s looking not spooking and she’s panicking!

We’ve been there with my daughter! In short I’d sell him and get something more suitable for her! We did lessons at a riding school in between ponies to get confidence back…and now have the most wonderful pony and they are flying together! We tried everything before that…it was the pony she had no confidence in not the riding. We didn’t have bucking etc but ours was sharp and knew when to take the mickey out of my daughter and it never ended well. He’s now at a lovely competition home!

There is no shame in it, sometimes it’s just not the right fit and it’s better to move on before the confidence is gone and she’s put off altogether. I would say to come off that many times I can understand why she’s so nervous and doesn’t want to ride him! Are you definitely sure there isn’t a physical cause? It sounds like you have but has the vet seen? Either way it’s probably too late for this combination to fix it I’m afraid…but that’s me and just going on my own experience!

Best of luck it’s so difficult x

oh I’m sorry, it’s awful isn’t it! I feel terrible for her.
Most of the time I do think it’s best to sell him, she’s not quite ready to give up on him bless her.
I think a big issue is that the 10000% bombproof horse she needs that isn’t boring and jumps, isn’t too fast but not too slow either, they are like gold dust and about 10k which unfortunately I just don’t have.
She was bored on school ponies and she knew I really didn’t have the money to buy a ready made pony. I’d spent a year looking for a full loan before he came along.

He really doesn’t do it with anyone else, he’s done it a few times with me when I first hacked him but he got a telling off, once over a jump when we first started jumping but it was so minor I just pushed him on, and when I was out with the hounds with the local hunt when he was napping as I went to over take another horse but again I’m just like “come on get on with it” and he says ok and does as he’s told.

She just bounces off every time

 

[serena2005]

The pony is lovely but keeps broncing off your daughter? Doesn't sound lovely in behaviour to me and, especially at that age, confidence can be fragile.

I would stop your daughter riding this pony, at least in any situation he is known to exhibit this behaviour. Sell or get a ballsy teenager, or do comprehensive vet/saddle checks, whatever seems right to you, but I would reassure your daughter that hitting the deck like this is not going to continue.

I would allow her to ride at a riding school until either the pony is performing safely, or it has been replaced.

He has a lovely temperament and is actually really lovely, his bronking is usually when he’s napping because we’ve put him in a new situation.
1/10 times he’s being a shit but he’s not usually doing it for the sake of it.

 

[serena2005]

Cobs are not a naturally athletic shape, and it could be that he finds jumping difficult. The short leg to heavy body ratio doesn't lend itself to jumping and turning. On the other hand, if she wants to hack on a pony who will look after her, you have possibly found the right one.

He’s a lightweight cob, more like a sports pony

 

[southerncomfort]

Young ponies, even cobs, tend to take confidence from the rider.

You mentioned that your daughter is naturally a nervous rider. Unfortunately, that would point to pony and rider not being a good match.

The pony is lacking confidence and your daughter isn't able to provide the reassurance that he needs.

Honestly, I think you'd be better selling him and getting an older been there done that type that she can have fun on.

 

[eahotson]

I do have to say,whatever the reason,I would not be happy riding a horse that had ditched me eleven times.She probably needs a golden oldie if you can find one but boring can be good too,especially as she will be doing a lot more with her own pony than she did in riding school

 

[Bobthecob15]

I do have to say,whatever the reason,I would not be happy riding a horse that had ditched me eleven times.She probably needs a golden oldie if you can find one but boring can be good too,especially as she will be doing a lot more with her own pony than she did in riding school

Absolutely this! Nothing wrong with something in its teens and you can often find absolute stars around 15-18 which are a fair bit cheaper x

 

[MyBoyChe]

It sounds as if he needs a confident rider to give him confidence. Your daughter is nervous and its making him worse, not a great partnership. If you have someone confident to ride him and teach him the ropes, dont let your daughter ride him until becomes the pony she needs, then things may work out. Youre right though, the pony she needs now is a lot of money and we dont all have deep pockets! Choices I would say are as above, or sell him to a more confident rider and keep your eyes peeled for an older, steadier pony who can help your daughter gain her confidence so that she can move forwards with a smile. I think if you persevere you are either going to end up with a child who is too scared to ride at all, or worse, have an accident!!

 

[Wishfilly]

He sounds possibly a little bit like my pony (lighter cobx who loves a jump)- I got mine when he was 7, and similarly to yours hadn't done a lot. I wouldn't describe him as nappy, but at the start out hacking he could be spooky and would throw in a spin if he didn't like something. I wouldn't describe him as broncing in the school, but certainly when he was learning to canter in the school, he would put in little fly bucks and similar to sort out his legs- it sounds like yours may be more extreme, but mine would definitely do this over canter poles that were too long in an attempt to make it work, and I can see it having a novice child off?

I persevered with mine, who is now 11, and an amazing little pony- I had lots of lessons to help, and I have considered getting someone to school him on and off- but it's tricky because I'd need someone smallish to do it! Although I am a nervous rider, I do have a fair amount of experience (including riding youngsters) and reasonable stickability, certainly when he was 7/8, I would not have put a 9yo on him. He is a nice pony with a great character, and he has now "come good" in a lot of ways, but he definitely needed time and patience, including to figure out what he was doing with his legs.

I think, unfortunately, he is not the right pony for your daughter at this time. 11 falls in less than a year is a lot, and I do think you run the risk of her getting put off or seriously hurt. I'm afraid I would either sell him or put him out on loan, and see if you could find an older "been there done that" sort of pony for her- a lot of ponies still have a lot of life in them at 17/18/19, and would potentially be in budget.

This situation doesn't really sound fair on him or her- I think both of them are probably losing confidence and trust in each other. I'm really sorry, but I wouldn't have a novice child teaching a pony to jump when they are still learning themselves- there's just too much that can go wrong for both of them.

 

[Nonjumper]

A novice pony and a novice rider are more often than not a bad mix. If I was in your situation, I'd sell him and find something older, and more likely to take you daughter forward rather than holding her back, or scaring her out of wanting to ride.

 

[Canelloni]

Time is a different concept to children ... six months working on a horses behavior might be a short time to us, but an eternity to a child, and takes up a big chunk of what may be a short few years of pony ownership before life, studies etc take over. So It may not be worth spending months trying to rehab this relationship, possibly to no avail. And in the meantime, your daughter may get injured with all these falls.

Do your daughter a favor and don't ask her to spend months long reining etc in an attempt to see if this relationship can be restored. It's awful to see one's friends having fun riding while you are on the sidelines feeling a failure .

Sell this pony and replace it with a steady type.