desperate for help!!

[bubblensqueak]

helped. asking for a friend who really needs help, however everything ive suggested she wont do, or has done and hasnt helped, so we have mutually decided for me to post on here for her.
she has just got a new pony, which she rode for about a year before, however never hacked (important to remember) she then got said pony, 10 years old, used in a riding schoo lsince broken at about 6, to her yard, which doesn't have a school, so only option was to hack, went to hack him, by himself, with me on the ground, when half way round the first field he reared, bucked, planted and span. point blank refused to walk. tried again another day. this time with me on another horse, a field mate, same thing happened. she has fallen of him lots of times now, and is beginning to loose hope and confidence. got new saddle fitted, same thing happened, had feet and teeth done, same thing happened, had physio, everything fine. tried walking him in hand, more progress, but overall same planting behavior, its been 4 months now, and they can just about get round the adjacent field, of which he can clearly see his field mates, on foot. so it seems like a dead end. ive suggested a full work up from the vet, and check for ulcers, however those two options are apparently too expensive. can anyone shed any light. our friendship is becoming tense, due to our differing views,and my already disliking of this small, rude, and tbh, dangerous pony. or is it just nappy-ness? if so how can she work through this? shes been walking in hand a few days a week for the past 2/3 months now

 

[Gloi]

Ponies used in riding schools are often like this. They have never learned to be independent riding ponies, just used to school routine so really need to learn from square one as if it were a newly broken pony.
If she's been walking in hand reasonable successfully I would say progress to long-reining. She will probably need an experienced person to get him going at this, then she can carry on. It might also help if she moved to somewhere with a school for a while at least.

Years ago I worked at a trekking centre and there was a pony there which was a perfectly quiet trekking pony but there was a £10 standing bet on for any staff who could ride him by himself from the stables to the end of the track (200yds). Nobody won it while I was there. It just shows how tied to the routine they can get and she'll likely need plenty of time and experienced help to make him into a regular riding pony.

 

[atropa]

It sounds like she is making progress, albeit slowly. At this stage I don't think its unreasonable to suspect the environment the pony has been used to (riding school) as the root of its problems rather than ulcers or pain, so I can see why she doesn't want a vet as yet.

 

[AmyMay]

I agree with everything posted above.

She’s got a lot of work to do, but needs an experienced person to help her.

 

[brighteyes]

Poor thing is institutionalised and will be out of its comfort zone and likely just wants to get back to where it feels safest. Is there nobody at they yard knows what they are doing can help? Poor pony. It knows only the RS and now a novice owner giving it no direction or confidence whatsoever. Of course it is going to play up (and by that I mean display very normal behaviours for a herd animal)

 

[bubblensqueak]

it might be important for me to mention, pony did hack alone at the riding school. which i think is the most frustrating thing.

 

[bubblensqueak]

i agree with the above, she has also been long reining, but every time she begins to get back on and try, the same thing happens. i was supposed to be her more experience person, however she has kind of decided she doesn't want my help. the other issue is it isnt really a yard, just a field, with just one other person there, with a horse and a companion pony, who has been trying to help, but with as little success as me.

 

[laura_nash]

It doesn't sound like a lot of progress for 4 months. She needs to get someone out to assess her and the pony and work with them to progress. A vet seems premature, but someone experienced to take a look. My first choice would be an IHRA https://www.intelligenthorsemanship.co.uk/trainers-recommended-trainers-horsemanship/ but otherwise any instructor with a good reputation. Maybe she could get someone out from the RS where she bought the pony since they would be familiar with it.

 

[Gloi]

Have you ridden it if you have more experience than your friend?

 

[bubblensqueak]

Have you ridden it if you have more experience than your friend?

no i haven't, i am far too tall, i feel i would add to the problem

 

[Gloi]

no i haven't, i am far too tall, i feel i would add to the problem

If you are unwilling to ride it see if you can get here to get another experienced person to ride it and see how they get on to see if the pony is just taking advantage of a novice.

 

[bubblensqueak]

If you are unwilling to ride it see if you can get here to get another experienced person to ride it and see how they get on to see if the pony is just taking advantage of a novice.

i would ride it(im light enough, so it wouldnt do any harm, i would just look silly), if she wanted me to/let me, however its her first pony and she is the only one who she allows to ride him. shes also not that novicey, just inexperienced from an ownership side, but i see you point!

 

[neddy man]

A good instructor definitely needed, inbetween that happening can you lead her of the floor so the pony can't spin and dump her plus you can encourage it forward, is that one field the only place it can be ridden? Is she big enough to ride the pony firmly and commandingly or is he to big for her?

 

[hellfire]

I worked with a friends riding school pony who she bought and had the exact same issue. She was nick named Satan ?. You couldn’t leave the yard without her throwing shapes it was that bad. She had no medical issues and was great in the school or out in company.
I had to go back to basics with her to build her confidence and teach her how to hack alone and into new places. It took a long time as she was 14 but after several months of regular work she started to turn into a wonderful reliable mare who although had a little spookiness now and then spent the rest of her years happily going out.
Riding school ponies are often like sheep and brain washed or dead to the leg.
If it was me I’d be starting with the basics of re training and working towards a little goal progressing each time.
Maybe you have a field you could make a electric fence pen in to make a safe school type environment?
As suggested to I’d bring in a decent instructor to guid some lessons and build a trust and bond up with the pony. Or is there a school you could transport her to locally?

 

[Red-1]

A vet check wouldn't hurt, but I agree that it is likely a new horse in a new area thing.

I would move the horse (temporarily) to a yard with an arena so they can get some success under their belts. Once they are working at walk. trot and canter in an arena, off the leg (that one is important to a nappy horse), and yielding in her mind (and mouth but that is the symptom not the aim), then I would look at hacking.

To be fair, time at a yard with an arena would also let you decide if there is a physical issue or not. It is also likely that the pony isn't as off the leg and yielding in her mind as you might think, this has to be worked on. A good trainer would help here.

I would interchange the schooling with walking out in-hand, so the pony isn't lamed by sudden daily school work, then, once they have some agreement of being off the leg and yielding the pony's mind, I would take out in-hand and mount for the last 100 yards. Next day on the arena, the day after walk in hand and ride last 200 yards. Next day on the arena, day after walk in hand and ride last 800 yards etc etc.

If the pony genuinely is finding schooling easy and is fit, supple and healthy, you could do the walk out in hand and hop back on after the schooling, especially in winter when she may feel the cold a bit.

Once hacking is established in this yard, alone and in company, then I would take home but revert to walking out and hopping on for the return stretch until she is also confident in this area.

 

[CMcC]

it might be important for me to mention, pony did hack alone at the riding school. which i think is the most frustrating thing.

A bit confusing as in your first post you say (important to remember) this pony has never been hacked. So which is it?

Imagine you had a job, first job you ever had, quite a boring job maybe, same thing every day but you were quite good at it. Then you get taken from that job to a new environment and asked to do a different job, you have no idea what is expected of you, no friendly colleagues to show you what to do. You try and say you can’t do it but you’re bosses just keep telling you to get on with it.

Try and understand what this pony is trying to tell you: he doesn’t know the job, he doesn’t feel comfortable doing the job. It will take a lot of patience and understanding to teach him his new job get someone experienced to help your friend.

 

[ITPersonnage]

I understood the first post to mean that the pony hacked at the RS, just not with the new owner.

 

[AmyMay]

I understood the first post to mean that the pony hacked at the RS, just not with the new owner.

That’s what I thought too.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I would keep up the in hand walks with an equine companion to start with over the same route every time but not in a field next to the pony's friends. When pony is completely relaxed all the way round that route, friend can hop on the pony for the last short bit of the route and if all goes well, get on slightly earlier each time out.

 

[rabatsa]

No matter how much riding someone has done, if it has only ever been in a school and on school ponies, the rider is a complete novice outside of that environment. Professional help should be sought and the rider needs to learn how to ride outside of the school.

 

[PeterNatt]

She should sell the pony before she does any more damage to it and get herself a totally laid back 100% bombproof/spook proof pony.

 

[scruffyponies]

I'm currently dealing with something similar in a pony which was hacking alone fine until it realised it could take advantage of a young sharer. Sharer has learned loads in the last 12 months, and I believe will never be taken advantage of again, but she wouldn't have managed alone.
Even after all that time, with experienced help, the previously quiet ride is a bit of a gamble, so for your friend I would say cut her losses and get something more suitable. She is unlikely to 'fix' him, and may well end up losing her love of horses, or something much worse.

 

[Shysmum]

My last horse was from a trekking centre, and he had NO intention of being hacked alone. Spurs and hubs with a lunging whip behind got him moving,but we did have serious rears on occasion. Patience paid of, and he became a fabulous happy hacker, opening gates and everything. I was devastated when I had to sell him, after all we went through. It took a good year.

 

[Arzada]

it might be important for me to mention, pony did hack alone at the riding school. which i think is the most frustrating thing.

Why didn't the current owner hack him during the year that she was riding him at the riding school?

 

[brighteyes]

She should sell the pony before she does any more damage to it and get herself a totally laid back 100% bombproof/spook proof pony.

Or just stick with the riding lessons...

 

[brighteyes]

Show the person this thread?

 

[bubblensqueak]

A bit confusing as in your first post you say (important to remember) this pony has never been hacked. So which is it?

my friend never hacked the pony in the rs, but i know for a fact it did hack completly alone, regularly with other people.

 

[bubblensqueak]

Why didn't the current owner hack him during the year that she was riding him at the riding school?

the chance never came up, at the time she didnt think anything of this, however now we are wondering if there is a reason for that

 

[doodle]

the chance never came up, at the time she didnt think anything of this, however now we are wondering if there is a reason for that

Yes there will have been a reason for that! When I tried Soli I asked if I could take him for a quick hack. I then fell for the “oh we don’t get on with the neighbours so we have nowhere to hack to”. And sure enough Soli did not hack ?. Don’t know how often I walked him in hand, long reined him, got off and walked when he napped. I gave up years later when he dumped me in a field and galloped home to be found tucked up in his stable eating. So when I viewed Robin I think seller was rather bemused when I took him down the drive and back and forward.

 

[bubblensqueak]

i will add here that the rider is a good size for the pony, and quite a firm rider, although like someone said earlier, not very experienced outside the school, shes not done much hacking, and probably never hacked alone, this could well be where this problem is stemming from, along with the pony only knowing how to be sheep in the rs.