First Ridden, First Pony Problems

[misst]

OP go to your local PC and speak to the DC or instructors there. They will know of anything suitable coming up. Also ask your farrier and vet. Many of these ponies don't get sold as they are older and well loved, but they get loaned for a year or two to local families. If you can find something like this it is ideal. We loaned my daughters PC pony (not a first ridden but a cracking PC pony) locally and then had her back when they were ready to move on. We kept her after that as daughter was light enough to hack her out and she was a companion for our others. For the right family we would have loaned her again. One pony we knew had taught two of the PC instructors to ride. He was about 37 and still taking children round their first mini xc courses. He was never sold but loaned out every time. This might be good for your daughter as she will have a loved pony and although he will go back in a couple of years she will not have the heartbreak of selling him and will likely see him around at rallies etc.

 

[Flyermc]

OP did you manage to return your pony?

 

[Maeby]

Bucking is not always learned behaviour. It can be, and most usually is, a reaction to pain.

Sorry to hear about the history of the pony OP. I hope you have better luck going forward. Definitely try your local pony club, the best ponies seem to go via word of mouth.

Is there a way of telling if it's behavioural or pain related? He is going back to he dealer but I hate to think if it's pain, it won't be sorted properly. It's not something he does all the time, and there seems to be no link--- it's just something he does out the blue so can't be trusted with my daughter on board obviously

 

[Maeby]

OP did you manage to return your pony?

He is going back hopefully start of next week, I'm sad to see him go as he is sweet, I don't want him to just be passed about but I can't remedy the bucks as I've no idea how to

 

[ownedbyaconnie]

Is there a way of telling if it's behavioural or pain related? He is going back to he dealer but I hate to think if it's pain, it won't be sorted properly. It's not something he does all the time, and there seems to be no link--- it's just something he does out the blue so can't be trusted with my daughter on board obviously

Do you have an experienced friend who could watch you trot them up? They might be able to spot lameness. But ultimately only way of knowing would be the vet.

 

[Flyermc]

He is going back hopefully start of next week, I'm sad to see him go as he is sweet, I don't want him to just be passed about but I can't remedy the bucks as I've no idea how to

im pleased you was able to return your pony. ive not had personal experience, but from many posts on here, returning a pony/horse to a dealer for a full refund, is not always that straight forward. its sound that altho the pony was miss sold, you have bought from a good responsible dealer!

 

[Dexter]

Is there a way of telling if it's behavioural or pain related? He is going back to he dealer but I hate to think if it's pain, it won't be sorted properly. It's not something he does all the time, and there seems to be no link--- it's just something he does out the blue so can't be trusted with my daughter on board obviously

In 99.9999% of cases its pain. It might be an easy fix, but the chances are its not or someone would have sorted it by now sadly.

 

[criso]

Is there a way of telling if it's behavioural or pain related? He is going back to he dealer but I hate to think if it's pain, it won't be sorted properly. It's not something he does all the time, and there seems to be no link--- it's just something he does out the blue so can't be trusted with my daughter on board obviously

Probably not, I've seen people spend thousands on investigations and not come to a conclusion.

If he's a nice pony apart from the bucking episodes, the chances are someone has tried in the past. It may have been inconclusive or it may have resulted in a diagnosis that led to him being rehomed as a non ridden companion but then got passed on.

If you've got an original passport that shows previous owners, that would be a starting point but do you want to commit to taking this on? You could end up spending a lot of money and still not having a pony you can ride.

 

[nutjob]

What ever is the problem with this pony it is now a long standing one. If he is not obviously lame the likelihood is that diagnosis will be difficult and expensive otherwise one of the previous owners would have tried to resolve it. You could be throwing a lot of money at diagnostics only to find that the problem or multiple problems cannot be easily treated. You might want to arm yourself with a bit more information by finding out if the dealer you purchased from is mentioned on dodgy dealer fb page and as previously mentioned try to find out what vet work ups any previous owners have had done and the outcome.

 

[splashgirl45]

Probably not, I've seen people spend thousands on investigations and not come to a conclusion.

If he's a nice pony apart from the bucking episodes, the chances are someone has tried in the past. It may have been inconclusive or it may have resulted in a diagnosis that led to him being rehomed as a non ridden companion but then got passed on.

If you've got an original passport that shows previous owners, that would be a starting point but do you want to commit to taking this on? You could end up spending a lot of money and still not having a pony you can ride.

OP has traced previous owners and has already arranged for the pony to go back to the dealer

 

[criso]

OP has traced previous owners and has already arranged for the pony to go back to the dealer

I know but they asked if it was possible to tell if the issue was behavioural or pain and worried about it not being sorted.

Changing their mind could mean thousands in diagnostics, with no positive outcome so being out of pocket for the cost of the pony as well as vet's fees.

Chances are someone has already tried and failed which is why it's ended up with a dealer.

 

[maya2008]

Re the bucking and pain vs attitude - our Shetland has always had a multitude of ways to refocus her rider on giving 100% attention and effort. Bucking them off, spinning and dropping a shoulder, stopping suddenly, head down, scraping them off on something … You can watch the child lose focus and then predict exactly what she’ll do! She also is particularly incensed when children do things they have been told not to (by her and parent usually) like holding onto reins too tightly for example. First offence gets a shake-up, after that she just goes straight to evicting the child. The trigger is obvious every time, her behaviour has an obvious reason and as the child’s riding improves, the ‘telling off’ episodes decrease!

Pain is often clear in their body language - tense face, tense body, aversion to tack or to being mounted, strange movement patterns, sudden bucks on being asked to do a particular thing or seemingly unpredictable explosions/running off. Gets worse with more work rather than better, develops issues being caught often or nips when being tacked up, issues having feet picked out or being groomed over certain parts of the body.

 

[misst]

Re the bucking and pain vs attitude - our Shetland has always had a multitude of ways to refocus her rider on giving 100% attention and effort. Bucking them off, spinning and dropping a shoulder, stopping suddenly, head down, scraping them off on something … You can watch the child lose focus and then predict exactly what she’ll do! She also is particularly incensed when children do things they have been told not to (by her and parent usually) like holding onto reins too tightly for example. First offence gets a shake-up, after that she just goes straight to evicting the child. The trigger is obvious every time, her behaviour has an obvious reason and as the child’s riding improves, the ‘telling off’ episodes decrease!

Pain is often clear in their body language - tense face, tense body, aversion to tack or to being mounted, strange movement patterns, sudden bucks on being asked to do a particular thing or seemingly unpredictable explosions/running off. Gets worse with more work rather than better, develops issues being caught often or nips when being tacked up, issues having feet picked out or being groomed over certain parts of the body.

Oh my goodness I had forgotten our first loan sh1tland - he was exactly like this. He knew his job perfectly but gave no quarter to the rider who didn't! He taught many children to ride in a riding school but was an absolute monkey when out on loan to individuals. He was such a clever boy - my daughter spent more than a few rides ended in a clump of stinging nettles by his gate. He would feel that lapse of attention and make a run up the track to his field where he would drop his shoulder and then calmly munch grass until an adult arrived. He only died recently in his late 30s.

 

[Winters100]

If someone could sort this out, he’d be a great little pony, I’m just definitely not that someone.

A very sensible approach. It is always a bitter pill to swallow when we realise that a horse or pony is not a good fit, but you have almost certainly saved yourself and your daughter a lot of heartache in recognising it now, and in taking the appropriate action.

 

[Maeby]

Re the bucking and pain vs attitude - our Shetland has always had a multitude of ways to refocus her rider on giving 100% attention and effort. Bucking them off, spinning and dropping a shoulder, stopping suddenly, head down, scraping them off on something … You can watch the child lose focus and then predict exactly what she’ll do! She also is particularly incensed when children do things they have been told not to (by her and parent usually) like holding onto reins too tightly for example. First offence gets a shake-up, after that she just goes straight to evicting the child. The trigger is obvious every time, her behaviour has an obvious reason and as the child’s riding improves, the ‘telling off’ episodes decrease!

Pain is often clear in their body language - tense face, tense body, aversion to tack or to being mounted, strange movement patterns, sudden bucks on being asked to do a particular thing or seemingly unpredictable explosions/running off. Gets worse with more work rather than better, develops issues being caught often or nips when being tacked up, issues having feet picked out or being groomed over certain parts of the body.

Thanks, that’s really helpful. I tracked down his previous owner who had the same issues. She had everything that is normally checked, checked… saddle, back, physio etc and found nothing. He’s gone back to the dealer and apparently has not bucked there at all as her daughter is a very confident rider. It was all the things you said, ponies are clever little things!