sez_hope1
New User
Hello,
Hoping someone could give me some advice?!
I have recently started to ride a pony for a friend 3 times a week. He is a lovely Connemara 14.2 gelding. He is 12yrs old and is pretty much a 'happy hacker'. He is a great ride out on the roads and is really safe and responsive. He is a little unfit and overweight at the moment so it does take a few squeezes to get him going, but out in the fields or on the road he is a fairly uncomplicated ride. As part of mine and my friends arrangement, I have agreed to start schooling him and bring on his groundwork for her. They have an outdoor ménage and riding field at their stables. My 1st port of call was to take him into the ménage to see what he was like. He walked around fine and listened to my little checks and got used to me guiding him with my legs. After about 10 minutes, I squeezed him on into trot and he wasn't having any of it. He slowed his walk down to a near holt and bent his head outwards and his belly inwards as if he was trying to avoid anything I asked him to do. Eventually after lots of kicking a sqeezing, he broke into the slowest trot for about 3 paces and then went straight back to walk. This carried on for about 20 minutes until I was near death and dripping with sweat!
The next day I rode out with another girl on the yard and went on the roads and round a few fields. he was a gem, barely any kicking and he seemed to really enjoy it. So the next time I planned to attempt to school him I went into the riding paddock to see if he was any better (thought he might not like the surface in the ménage maybe?) But he was nearly exactly the same! fine in walk, but as soon as I asked for anything more he bent his body around and ignored every signal I tried to give him. I tried to vary things up for him to make it slightly more interesting, like trotting poles and weaving poles. Even had another girl bring her horse in and canter around to try and GEE him up a bit but nothing..
Since this I have hacked out a few more times (he was faultless) he listens to my leg and responds when I check him, he is quite a gentleman out on the road. I tried battling the school again, but decided to try him on the lunge instead. To my amazement he was fine. He really watched my body language and voice commands and was even going around in canter!
So bottom line is, I am really struggling to know what to do to get him remotely forward in the saddle. I've tried using a schooling whip, he doesn't even seem to care that I've got it. He must have rhino skin because I used it quite firmly to try and get him into trot and it was as if I wasn't even holding it.
I've never really had this problem to this extent before (had a string of speedy hot blooded horses!) Just wondering if anyone has any ideas how to try and overcome this stubborn act! Any help of advice would be much appreciated!
Thanks a lot
Hoping someone could give me some advice?!
I have recently started to ride a pony for a friend 3 times a week. He is a lovely Connemara 14.2 gelding. He is 12yrs old and is pretty much a 'happy hacker'. He is a great ride out on the roads and is really safe and responsive. He is a little unfit and overweight at the moment so it does take a few squeezes to get him going, but out in the fields or on the road he is a fairly uncomplicated ride. As part of mine and my friends arrangement, I have agreed to start schooling him and bring on his groundwork for her. They have an outdoor ménage and riding field at their stables. My 1st port of call was to take him into the ménage to see what he was like. He walked around fine and listened to my little checks and got used to me guiding him with my legs. After about 10 minutes, I squeezed him on into trot and he wasn't having any of it. He slowed his walk down to a near holt and bent his head outwards and his belly inwards as if he was trying to avoid anything I asked him to do. Eventually after lots of kicking a sqeezing, he broke into the slowest trot for about 3 paces and then went straight back to walk. This carried on for about 20 minutes until I was near death and dripping with sweat!
The next day I rode out with another girl on the yard and went on the roads and round a few fields. he was a gem, barely any kicking and he seemed to really enjoy it. So the next time I planned to attempt to school him I went into the riding paddock to see if he was any better (thought he might not like the surface in the ménage maybe?) But he was nearly exactly the same! fine in walk, but as soon as I asked for anything more he bent his body around and ignored every signal I tried to give him. I tried to vary things up for him to make it slightly more interesting, like trotting poles and weaving poles. Even had another girl bring her horse in and canter around to try and GEE him up a bit but nothing..
Since this I have hacked out a few more times (he was faultless) he listens to my leg and responds when I check him, he is quite a gentleman out on the road. I tried battling the school again, but decided to try him on the lunge instead. To my amazement he was fine. He really watched my body language and voice commands and was even going around in canter!
So bottom line is, I am really struggling to know what to do to get him remotely forward in the saddle. I've tried using a schooling whip, he doesn't even seem to care that I've got it. He must have rhino skin because I used it quite firmly to try and get him into trot and it was as if I wasn't even holding it.
I've never really had this problem to this extent before (had a string of speedy hot blooded horses!) Just wondering if anyone has any ideas how to try and overcome this stubborn act! Any help of advice would be much appreciated!
Thanks a lot
