Help with strong pony for child out hacking

[Rosiewells86]

Hi, I am looking for advice. my daughters pony has started to get quite strong out hacking. I have always trusted her before but she bolted with my daughter (daughter is 10). Daughter and pony were both fine but I think it has shook her confidence a little bit. she is currently ridden in a lose ring snaffle but her breaks aren't that great. We are keeping to a walk and she is practising transitions. But just wondering if it would be worth changing to a slightly stronger bit when hacking or adding anything to her tack to help with control? she has balance control reins but not sure if anything better is recommended? should note we have absolutely no issues in the school with breaks or transitions so would only be looking at potential tack changes out hacking to keep them both safe?

I basically want to put my mind at rest as a mum and get daughters confidence back?

 

[Highmileagecob]

Difficult one. Horses and ponies will often test out who is in control, and take advantage of the situation. Using a stronger bit may help initially, or it may encourage head shaking and rearing - depends how sensitive the pony is. As your daughter grown stronger and has better leg contact , she will be able to take charge of the situation and exert more control. At the moment, you may have to take a broader look at the situation - is the pony reacting to traffic or some other scary thing? Does it happen if you change pace and pony assumes you are racing? Is there a leadership issue and pony is having a tantrum because she is not in front? Being able to eliminate trigger points will be a big help, but unfortunately, your pony may just be testing out the rider to see what she can get away with. As you say, practising transitions in the school will help, but the pony needs to be able to listen when out of the school too.

 

[AmyMay]

If the pony truly bolted, then never put your daughter on it again.

 

[Rosiewells86]

If the pony truly bolted, then never put your daughter on it again.

I'll sell her beloved pony then!! thanks for the advice!!!

 

[Flowerofthefen]

If the pony truly bolted, then never put your daughter on it again.

I was going to say this but I did want to upset OP.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

I'll sell her beloved pony then!! thanks for the advice!!!

No one wants your daughter to get hurt. If it truly bolted once it will more than likely do it again.

 

[Rosiewells86]

Difficult one. Horses and ponies will often test out who is in control, and take advantage of the situation. Using a stronger bit may help initially, or it may encourage head shaking and rearing - depends how sensitive the pony is. As your daughter grown stronger and has better leg contact , she will be able to take charge of the situation and exert more control. At the moment, you may have to take a broader look at the situation - is the pony reacting to traffic or some other scary thing? Does it happen if you change pace and pony assumes you are racing? Is there a leadership issue and pony is having a tantrum because she is not in front? Being able to eliminate trigger points will be a big help, but unfortunately, your pony may just be testing out the rider to see what she can get away with. As you say, practising transitions in the school will help, but the pony needs to be able to listen when out of the school too.

Thank you. I think there is an element of her testing her rider. I defo have concerns changing bits ponies bit as she has always been happy in a snaffle and she's a bit of a dope on a rope in the school. I would say 99% of the time pony is calm she even allows other ponies to canter off ahead of her and not go with them or get stressed. she worked really hard on getting her to stand calmly when we went out last night. I just think as a mum I was wanting something for back up in case pony does go off similar to balance support reins or whether it woudl be worth putting a martingale on her for hacking only whilst we work on her hacking skills? It doesn't help the field we are in is a big open field so I think my daughter gets a bit nervous straight away and prop puts that onto pony. We are going to try another track at the weekend when we have more time when there is less open space and less wind to get up their backsides!

 

[SilverLinings]

Did the pony bolt (run blindly without taking notice of anything, only stopping when they fall, are exhausted or stopped by a wall etc) or tank off (charge off pulling, but eventually your daughter was able to stop her)? The difference is important, true bolting is dangerous, and tanking off is easier to fix.

If something set the pony off (e.g. frightened by a tractor etc) then the pony needs to be carefully desensitised to the object of fear. Badly fitting saddle or other issue causing pain can also be a cause of horses running off when ridden, so have you changed your saddle, or does the pony seem unhappy in any other way? If it appeared to be for no reason then the pony would benefit from schooling, with an instructor who is aware of the problem and works on getting the pony to listen properly to your daughter's aids.

If the pony is big enough then it may be helpful for an experienced adult to hack the pony out a few times so that she learns that she can't always outwit the rider, and an experienced adult is likely to be better than a child at anticipating a possible charging off and stop it before the pony starts.

A stronger bit may sort out the problem in the short term, but if the behaviour was caused by fear or not listening to the rider then the pony is likely to eventually do it again.

Good luck, I hope you are able to fix the problem.

 

[Rosiewells86]

No one wants your daughter to get hurt. If it truly bolted once it will more than likely do it again.

ponies and horses do bolt or spook at times, its a risk we are putting on ourselves at all times surely riding animals?

 

[AmyMay]

I'll sell her beloved pony then!! thanks for the advice!!!

No need to be snippy. A true bolt kills.

 

[SilverLinings]

I'll sell her beloved pony then!! thanks for the advice!!!

True bolting is incredibly dangerous and difficult to fix, please don't underestimate it. I was very nearly killed as a teenager by being bolted with across a dual carriageway, I only managed to stop (after galloping a few miles) by running the horse into the side of a house. It was absolutely terrifying.

 

[AmyMay]

ponies and horses do bolt or spook at times, its a risk we are putting on ourselves at all times surely riding animals?

Spooking is common, yes. Bolting is not. Unless you’re confusing scuttling off and bolting…

 

[Rosiewells86]

Did the pony bolt (run blindly without taking notice of anything, only stopping when they fall, are exhausted or stopped by a wall etc) or tank off (charge off pulling, but eventually your daughter was able to stop her)? The difference is important, true bolting is dangerous, and tanking off is easier to fix.

If something set the pony off (e.g. frightened by a tractor etc) then the pony needs to be carefully desensitised to the object of fear. Badly fitting saddle or other issue causing pain can also be a cause of horses running off when ridden, so have you changed your saddle, or does the pony seem unhappy in any other way? If it appeared to be for no reason then the pony would benefit from schooling, with an instructor who is aware of the problem and works on getting the pony to listen properly to your daughter's aids.

If the pony is big enough then it may be helpful for an experienced adult to hack the pony out a few times so that she learns that she can't always outwit the rider, and an experienced adult is likely to be better than a child at anticipating a possible charging off and stop it before the pony starts.

A stronger bit may sort out the problem in the short term, but if the behaviour was caused by fear or not listening to the rider then the pony is likely to eventually do it again.

Good luck, I hope you are able to fix the problem.

Pony is in no way a bad pony, she's an absolute star but was spooked by a dog and a bike and daughter wasn't strong enough (or probably skilled enough at the time) to be able to get her back so she fell off. She was trotting and the dog came up behind without her realising. it was a series of unfortunate events not really ponies fault at all.

Really I am looking for a short term back up to help while we continue to get pony and rider more used to hacking, this is purely to put my mind at rest as a mum. We have a great instructor and adults have hacked her out and she's a star. Saddle back teeth all are ok.

 

[ester]

So pony took off rather than bolted?

 

[Rosiewells86]

So pony took off rather than bolted?

yes. sorry i didn't realise the difference between them.

 

[FestiveG]

If I were you I would ensure that I found out the difference, very quickly. Should you ever wish to sell the pony, no one with any sense at all will be willing to buy a pony that has bolted, one who occasionally bogs off is a very different kettle of fish.

 

[doodle]

So trotted off and daughter fell off?

That is not a bolt. I agree with everyone saying a true bolt you would never ever ride again.

So pony spooked and trotted off. No bit is going to stop a pony spooking. You generally don’t get enough time to stop a “proper” spook. I say proper spook as my horse is very good at looking for something to spook at, tell me he is about to and then spooks.

 

[ester]

In which case yes you do have options, the best one depends a bit on what pony does when bogging off/where head goes etc, and how independent daughters hands are. If you have an instructor you trust I’d speak to them about it as a first port of call or consider a bitting consult

 

[ester]

So trotted off and daughter fell off?

That is not a bolt. I agree with everyone saying a true bolt you would never ever ride again.

So pony spooked and trotted off. No bit is going to stop a pony spooking. You generally don’t get enough time to stop a “proper” spook. I say proper spook as my horse is very good at looking for something to spook at, tell me he is about to and then spooks.

No, she was trotting before she was spooked and bogged off

 

[SilverLinings]

Pony is in no way a bad pony, she's an absolute star but was spooked by a dog and a bike and daughter wasn't strong enough (or probably skilled enough at the time) to be able to get her back so she fell off. She was trotting and the dog came up behind without her realising. it was a series of unfortunate events not really ponies fault at all.

Really I am looking for a short term back up to help while we continue to get pony and rider more used to hacking, this is purely to put my mind at rest as a mum. We have a great instructor and adults have hacked her out and she's a star. Saddle back teeth all are ok.

So as the pony spooked at a dog and/or bike I would prioritise desensitising her to these things. This needs to be done gradually, without ever making her scared. So get her used to stationary bikes, and when she is happy with them start introducing moving bikes, and when she becomes relaxed next time have the bike pass by closer to her. The same with dogs. It would help if you had an experienced person help you with this (at least for the first couple of sessions) as it is important to use positive reinforcement and get the timing right (and also to avoid overfacing the pony). Your problem is fixable, but shouldn't be rushed.

 

[Rosiewells86]

I have probably worded this post incorrectly and made the focus on the isolated incident of horse getting scared and shooting off. In general she isn't a spooky pony. The one incident was really a series of unfortunate events mostly where the dog chased her and she panicked, really wasn't ponies fault. She actually walks very nicely with no worries of our own dog and she sees them a lot as her field is a public footpath, shes more likely in general to spook at a puddle than a dog or bike. I only mentioned that as as a mum its made me want her to have some back up.

The actual part that I wanted to see if anyone has any recommendations for was I wanted her to have some short term control in case she needed it and just a bit of back up. A bit like her balance support reins do at times. Nothing harsh but maybe a bit change for hacking only or a martingale as pony can be strong and not listen as efficiently as she does in the school. We have ridden her as adults and she isn't strong at all.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

ponies and horses do bolt or spook at times, its a risk we are putting on ourselves at all times surely riding animals?

I would never get back on horse that bolted and im no snowflake and have been riding for 40 years. Yes, horses spook but bolting is quite rare and extremely dangerous. I think you've now discovered the difference between a bolt and a spook. Hope you get it resolved.

 

[Rosiewells86]

I would never get back on horse that bolted and im no snowflake and have been riding for 40 years. Yes, horses spook but bolting is quite rare and extremely dangerous. I think you've now discovered the difference between a bolt and a spook. Hope you get it resolved.

I don't think I am the only person that would need this education actually lol. Most people I know call it bolting

 

[FestiveG]

I don't think I am the only person that would need this education actually lol. Most people I know call it bolting

This rather suggests that the people you know are all rather novicey

 

[Rosiewells86]

I think this probably isn't the forum for me thanks anyway everyone and good luck.

 

[Fjord]

I don't think I am the only person that would need this education actually lol. Most people I know call it bolting

When my mare tanked off with me after a week in the stable, my friend told the farmer she bolted, as that was a term he'd understand. Realistically she took fright, ignored me, and ran to the safety of her stable, but using the term 'bolted' meant the farmer took notice and changed his mind about the lack of turnout.

Generally its just tanking off and being mardy and they are all capable of doing that!

 

[The Xmas Furry]

I don't think I am the only person that would need this education actually lol. Most people I know call it bolting

Your pony shot off as it was startled, it then stopped? It's a perfectly normal reaction from a creature of flight.
A bolting equine never stops, it runs flat out and often hits things as it goes, nothing makes it stop. This rare type need to be pts before someone gets killed.

OP, I wouldn't add stronger bits, but talk to a good coach. I'd probably look at using the likes of a Market Harborough for a few outings out hacking (yes, they can be helpful on a strong pony providing they do not jump in one)

 

[Gloi]

I think this probably isn't the forum for me thanks anyway everyone and good luck.

Don't run away. Although this forum can be harsh you are not likely to find anywhere with such a big group of knowledgeable people.

 

[Rosiewells86]

Your pony shot off as it was startled, it then stopped? It's a perfectly normal reaction from a creature of flight.
A bolting equine never stops, it runs flat out and often hits things as it goes, nothing makes it stop. This rare type need to be pts before someone gets killed.

OP, I wouldn't add stronger bits, but talk to a good coach. I'd probably look at using the likes of a Market Harborough for a few outings out hacking (yes, they can be helpful on a strong pony providing they do not jump in one)

Thank you. Market Harborough was one of the items I was looking at actually temporarily to give her some back up.

 

[Rowreach]

I think this probably isn't the forum for me thanks anyway everyone and good luck.

Stay, it’s a fabulous resource with a lot of experienced and knowledgeable people who are more than willing to help anyone who wants to learn.

To answer your question, yes short term a Market Harborough might help, or go old fashioned with a Kimblewick with the same mouthpiece the pony is used to. But it’s probably more a matter of avoiding the set of circumstances that led to the incident while your child builds up her confidence again, and keeping things fun and positive for now.