Help with lazy pony!

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Trix98

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So for anyone who read my other post, I visited a pony this morning which I'll be riding over the summer. He's a 6 year old, 14hh gypsy cob and he's a lazy bones :p
Couldn't really get more out of him than a walk when in the field as he just stops dead for no reason and ignored all aids to try and move him forwards.. he also naps towards his donkey companion :rolleyes:
When I walked him out he was reluctant and kept trying to head back home, took a good 5-10 minutes to walk a few yards down the track... but once out of sight of his friend and given his head he would walk happily for a few yards then stop. Then after a minute or two he would walk again on his own accord.
I really like the pony but I was just wondering if anyone had any ideas as to how to make him more willing to co-operate and go forwards, or is he just being a baby and not wanting to leave his buddy behind? ;)
 
If he's not used to leaving his friends behind that could be part of it. If that's the case, its just a case of building up his confidence alone. To get him thinking forwards I would be doing plenty of hacking with forward going horses & stuff like fun rides. And do any schooling out on hacks for now when he's going forwards.
 
Thank you LL, I think he has a lack of both confidence and respect as he usually is left to graze all day with his mate and now someones got on and started telling him to do something he doesn't want to.. He's perfectly forward going when turning for home though! :D
Tomorrow a friend of mine is coming to help me out with him and I think it may be a case of going back to basics and starting with ground work to build up his confidence :)
 
He is pretty chubby :/ I'm hoping being back in work will help shift some of the weight and due to being so close to his field I could work him twice a day if need be :D He isn't on any hay or feed though, just grass. Also his owner is bringing down her mule & donkey which will hopefully help reduce the amount of grass.
 
Yeah, it's amazing the difference that weight and feet can make. I've ridden various horses and ponies that have had very different personalities when their weight and feet have been in good order! I don't think my new pony has ever felt so well - both his weight and feet are now looking pretty good and as a result he is Very Lively :-)
 
I've not ridden a pony this.. robust for a while :o He's been left to his own devices for a bit so I'm hoping I can look back in a month and see some sort of improvement :P
 
I think he should, his owner is a novice and bought him from some gypsies I think so I recon he's not really had much groundwork or schooling put in. The first target is to be able to walk continuously for at least a minute at a time :o
 
Batgirl said:
Is he better in hand? If so I would do the small hack route in hand a couple of times. Hope you enjoy him :)
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Great minds think alike ;) I had thought about doing this after I've done some ground work just to see if he's more confident. The woman who rode him before said he does go after a lot of arguing but I think I'd rather build up his trust first as when I tried to take him out today he was very reluctant to leave his mate. Thanks for the suggestion! :D
 
Got some pictures of the little guy today, Apache (AKA Patch), was sold to the woman as 14.2hh but he isn't much bigger than 14hh!
His 'good' side as he has a Sarcoid on his other side! Vet is coming out to remove it soon though :D (The length of his neck is hilarious :D)
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Patch and Jack the donkey stud ;) Patch's best friend who also eats his mane! Hence the mohican..
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