Help with strong pony for child out hacking

[Flowerofthefen]

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

There is an absolute wealth of knowledge on here that everyone of us can learn from.. If you come on say your pony has bolted with your daughter then most of us would assume you know what your talking about and that you know what bolting means. Anyone experienced with horses does know the difference otherwise you could be putting your life in danger.

 

[Rowreach]

There is an absolute wealth of knowledge on here that everyone of us can learn from.. If you come on say your pony has bolted with your daughter then most of us would assume you know what your talking about and that you know what bolting means. Anyone experienced with horses does know the difference otherwise you could be putting your life in danger.

I think she’s got the message now

 

[Rosiewells86]

I think she’s got the message now

thank you

 

[Rosiewells86]

There is an absolute wealth of knowledge on here that everyone of us can learn from.. If you come on say your pony has bolted with your daughter then most of us would assume you know what your talking about and that you know what bolting means. Anyone experienced with horses does know the difference otherwise you could be putting your life in danger.

you haven't even made an attempt to actually make any suggestions for the actual question in my post just kept going on about that I wrote the wrong terminology even after finding out what I did actually mean. It seems it is more to put down my knowledge than to try to help. I actually thought I would come here for friendly advice not point proving. This whole post has given me anxiety and I wish I had never written it.

 

[eggs]

I am not sure that a stronger bit would really help in the situation you outlined (ignoring the use of the word 'bolt'). The rider needs to be very switched on to stop a quick spook escalating into running away from the perceived danger and a small light weight rider probably doesn't have the strength.

My first pony was very strong and I frequently ended up going faster than planned! I used to alternate between using a Kimblewick bit or his normal snaffle with a drop noseband. I also used a Market Harborough on my mare who could be a bit feisty.

It sounds like this was an unfortunate series of events and if it is the first time that it has happened it could very well be that your daughter clamped her legs without realising it which would just tend to send the pony on more. If possible - and you may already be doing this - could you walk on foot whilst your daughter hacks to help give her confidence?

 

[Rosiewells86]

I am not sure that a stronger bit would really help in the situation you outlined (ignoring the use of the word 'bolt'). The rider needs to be very switched on to stop a quick spook escalating into running away from the perceived danger and a small light weight rider probably doesn't have the strength.

My first pony was very strong and I frequently ended up going faster than planned! I used to alternate between using a Kimblewick bit or his normal snaffle with a drop noseband. I also used a Market Harborough on my mare who could be a bit feisty.

It sounds like this was an unfortunate series of events and if it is the first time that it has happened it could very well be that your daughter clamped her legs without realising it which would just tend to send the pony on more. If possible - and you may already be doing this - could you walk on foot whilst your daughter hacks to help give her confidence?

HI Eggs, thanks for you reply. This was really an isolated incident where she 'tanked' off lets change the wording. really I was giving background to why i am a nervous mum rather than it being an issue that I think will continue to happen as after the incident we talked to her about the best ways to resolve if she loses control again. Its more she has got quite strong and I wanted to put an additional break in if I could. i like the idea of a market Harborough as a temporary fix till they know they area more and a couple of people have now suggested this. I always walk with her and we have been getting her used to the other pony she is with going off ahead and her having to wait, I just wanted some security as a mum for my daughter as pony wouldn't need it with an adult

 

[outdoor girl]

When I was younger and a new horse owner, my chunk of a cob used to tank off with me quite frequently. I was advised to try a Kimblewick and what a difference. I felt more confident and that was what I needed. Don't give up. Find a good instructor who will help you and give you the tools to handle situations like the one you found yourselves in.

 

[ester]

It might also be worth having a chat with instructor re. (Emergency) stopping techniques. I’ve been escorting someone who is fairly novice hacking recently and having watched her disappear and her telling me she was pulling but nothing was happening we had a chat about how just pulling both reins equally on a pony that’s set it’s neck is not always terribly productive. A voice cue is always good to have in the box too.

 

[Rosiewells86]

It might also be worth having a chat with instructor re. (Emergency) stopping techniques. I’ve been escorting someone who is fairly novice hacking recently and having watched her disappear and her telling me she was pulling but nothing was happening we had a chat about how just pulling both reins equally on a pony that’s set it’s neck is not always terribly productive. A voice cue is always good to have in the box too.

thank you we did have a chat with her after the incident as she didn't realise what to do and just sat there and went along for the ride, she said she quite enjoyed it as first, I as her mum did not enjoy it haha . Hopefully she is more prepped for if that situation ever happens again.

 

[The Xmas Furry]

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

Used correctly, it helps the rider if they are not equipped to stop quickly (see Esters excellent post about stopping techniques). The animal then leans on itself, most back off.
Also, get child to be more aware out hacking, get them to identify things to left, right, front and behind as you go along
Do get some experienced help to fit it correctly if you get an MH, there is temptation to fit one too tightly which in turn can cause bigger issues, including major injury to pony.
Good luck

 

[Cortez]

I think if it was my daughter/pony I would pop them on a lead rein for a bit, just until the rider's confidence returns, and the pony learns that it can't just bog off.

 

[Rosiewells86]

Used correctly, it helps the rider if they are not equipped to stop quickly (see Esters excellent post about stopping techniques). The animal then leans on itself, most back off.
Also, get child to be more aware out hacking, get them to identify things to left, right, front and behind as you go along
Do get some experienced help to fit it correctly if you get an MH, there is temptation to fit one too tightly which in turn can cause bigger issues, including major injury to pony.
Good luck

thank you. i will keep all those things in mind especially getting her more aware out hacking.

 

[NinjaPony]

First things first I think is rebuilding your daughters confidence. So I’d be booking lessons in the school to teach her how to manage her pony more effectively and learn some tactics for those spooks with a kind instructor. I would then be hacking with her on foot and even lead her off another sensible horse. What does the pony do when he tanks off? A martingale might help and also give her a neckstrap to hold onto. A good instructor should be able to advise about bits too.

 

[Rosiewells86]

First things first I think is rebuilding your daughters confidence. So I’d be booking lessons in the school to teach her how to manage her pony more effectively and learn some tactics for those spooks with a kind instructor. I would then be hacking with her on foot and even lead her off another sensible horse. What does the pony do when he tanks off? A martingale might help and also give her a neckstrap to hold onto. A good instructor should be able to advise about bits too.

thank you. at the moment she has two lessons a week with her instructor and as many pony club rallys as we can get to. She has a lesson tomorrow so I am going to speak to her instructor then as well. I actually will also ask if she will ride out with us instead of a lesson to give some tips. I think we need to stop hacking where we are hacking at the moment as I think the minute we get in there my daughter tenses up, it is a very open and quite a windy field. Pony doesn't tank off as such that was an isolated (hopefully) incident a year ago she is just quite strong to get to stop or slow once she is going but she does stop.

 

[NinjaPony]

Also just to add, there isn’t anything wrong with a slightly stronger bit if that helps your daughter stay in control. If she is taught to use a stronger bit with light hands, that is kinder than pulling on a snaffle.

Great idea to have your instructor go with her on a hack, I’ve done that myself when I lost my confidence hacking and it really helped me.

 

[maya2008]

How big is pony? Do you ride out with her or are you on foot? How long has she been riding?

My kids have young ponies and stuff happens. With my daughter, the scenario you described would have resulted from the reins being too long in the first place, as she likes them loopy. If that was the case, you can put elastic bands on them where the child should hold them and insist she keeps a decent contact at all times.

If loss of confidence, I usually put my daughter back on the lead for open spaces just for the next few days, on a longish lead and get her to work on control. We also then work on how to fix the issue for next time at home (heels down, reins, practising stopping from canter by actually pulling back not just holding on and panicking, no stirrup work to improve balance etc). Through that approach, I now have a child whose reins aren’t always perfect but who can stay on when pony spooks and does then remember to gather her reins - so they stop, even if it’s later than the rest of us would!

So short-term = decent reins and possibly on the lead where needed.
Long term = work on her riding so she can cope with a spook.

ETA I found the rubber reins harder for the kids to hold. We have the thinner grippy reins that are better for little hands. That has helped hugely. By age 8, I took off the grass reins and taught the kids to keep the ponies’ heads up themselves too. Meant a greater choice of reins and ponies who respected them more.

 

[JackFrost]

A good way to slow a pony that's tanking off is to turn it rather than pull against it. Pony will have one side it is less comfortable turning into and your daughter is probably also stronger in one side of her body, so work out what she will do next time to make this work. It does require that you have enough space to turn, which you may not always have out hacking. It also requires a certain amount of rider strength but at 10 it's a good thing to learn. Turning unbalances the pony and usually has the effect of disengaging it from shooting forward, so it comes back and listens to you.

I think dealing with random spooks from dogs, cyclists etc all appearing at once is just a hazard of hacking, whatever age you are. If the pony is being a bit reactive, the best defence IMO is just to be able to sit it. It helps also if the pony will move into the contact of the bit when asked to stop, not pull against it. If it's hard mouthed, could be the wrong bit, lack of schooling, previous bad riding or pony is not athletically able to go into the contact. Talk to instructor to see what can be done to help - the bit alone may not be the answer.

 

[oldie48]

Lots of really good advice already just to add, when my daughter was young we had a rule that we never trotted or cantered at the same place on a regular basis. It could be a bit frustrating but it did pay dividends as the pony didn't get into the habit of anticipating a faster pace. I also used a kimblewick for hacking until she and the pony understood about stopping when asked. Good luck, being bogged off with has happened to most of us at one time or another but it is fixable.

 

[fankino04]

I'd also add that you might want to work on your daughter getting a better seat so she doesn't fall off at a spook, I'd suggest the good old fashioned lunge lesson with no stirrups or reins.

 

[Snow Falcon]

My son's old pony learnt that she was stronger than him. She would put her head down and try to go faster than required. A jointed kimblewick was recommended by a couple of different instructors and duly tried. Problem sorted. I was also able to pop on her and give a short schooling session now and again to iron out any issues. Watch her heels aren't being draw up, encourage to think balloons are attached to her head and toes to keep them in the correct position for a more secure seat.

I would always make sure a childs pony is desensitised to all manner of things. All my youngsters are subjected to walking over tarps and wearing them, puddles, bikes, dogs, umbrellas, washing lines, sudden noises etc. Handy pony courses set up at home are very useful life skills for pony and child. We had a no mileage 5yo pony on loan. Took her to a PC show and did handy pony. She didn't bat an eyeline at anything, including the child riding with the umbrella up over his head!

 

[BronsonNutter]

I don't think there's much wrong with a stronger bit if it helps your child feel safe and in control - it's not like they need to ride along pulling on it if the pony is being calm and sensible, but it's there if they need it. A market harborough or martingale would also give them a neckstrap to hold onto if pony spins or tanks off again.

If there is the option I'd also get a small adult or older, more experienced child, to hack said pony out a bit so that pony can get their confidence back, and in turn child can see that the pony is happy out hacking and hopefully feel more confident. As a teenager I hacked a few small ponies out who had learnt they could spin round and tank off home with their tiny children, they very quickly learnt that wasn't an option! And then all went on to be good with their tiny children when they realised hacking was actually quite fun.

 

[nagblagger]

Have you got a friend with a well trained dog that you could use and get your pony use to it in a controlled environment. Unfortunately, as you will read on another thread, there are a lot of irresponsible dog owners out there.

 

[gallopingby]

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

The problem frequently is that most people don’t know or understand the difference between bolting which is extremely dangerous and ‘getting carted’ which basically means the pony does what it wants but isn’t in a blind panic as it would be what bo,ting.

 

[AmyMay]

The problem frequently is that most people don’t know or understand the difference between bolting which is extremely dangerous and ‘getting carted’ which basically means the pony does what it wants but isn’t in a blind panic as it would be what bo,ting.

We’ve established that pony didn’t bolt.

 

[gallopingby]

We’ve established that pony didn’t bolt.

We’ve established that pony didn’t bolt.

In that case a reassessment of the situation and maybe remember it’s ‘supposed’ to be spring so the spring grass is coming through and lots of ponies feel rather full of themselves at this time of year.

 

[Highmileagecob]

Monty Roberts worked out that horses are very aware of our heartbeat. If our heartbeat suddenly increases, that signals danger to the horse, who will then run. Some fun games can be had in the menage, to help with desensitising pony and rider, opening umbrellas, walking around with balloons on a string, suddenly appearing with a wheelbarrow etc.. Even the most placid animal will jump if startled, but if your daughter can learn not to react, then normal service may be resumed more quickly.

 

[Fieldlife]

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

A bolt is a prolonged blind panic run.

It is not when horse goes faster than rider wants or when horse anticipates speeding up to rejoin friends / head home / on open grass etc.

A truly bolting horse is deaf / blind / unresponsive and just running.

Many people say a horse bolted when it ran off a bit and they couldn’t stop as fast as they’d like, that’s not bolting.

That said there can be reasons for bolting. One of mine was startled and chased (we were cantering) by a big lurcher. (We were coming to a brow of hill snd hadn’t seen dog, nor had owner seen us). Dog went to seriously chase horse, horse startled (despite being good with dogs) and took off in panic over rough downhill ground. I did manage a one rein steer to head round hill versus straight down it and onto concrete. Once owner got dog back horse calmed down and I was able to stop. Not really horse’s fault.

 

[YourValentine]

As well as an extra aid to help with stopping, maybe there are so.e things you could do to help your daughter to cope mentally and riding skills wise, if it happens again.

So practice in the arena the idea of grabbing one rein and pulling onto a tight circle. Hard to go fast on a small circle and most horses/ponies will slow out of self preservation.
Also look up the 'one rein stop', needs to be taught (pony & rider) but could be another useful "tool in the box".

Also talk about it in a way to take the "fear" out of going fast?
Make seems like less of an "event" just oh it happens, was it fun,
I regularly got carted home at speed as a kid and was terrifoed the first few times but soon got used to it. Helped by someone pointed out that - if you can canter in the arena you can canter in the open, it might be faster but you're not going to fall off just because it's faster.
- relax and ride the canter don't panic/freeze up that = falling off
- all horses will tire and pull up, if you've got the space just let them keep going round the field till they get bored.
- if you need to run them into a corner/hedge to stop (if you're confident they won't jump it)

All ideas that will give confidence that she can 'cope' with the pony spooking and shooting off or runaway for whatever reason, and skills and confidence that will pay off throughout her riding career.

 

[honetpot]

My daughters rode from about four, on not perfect ponies, and just a small turnout area at home, and I would say the three big things are,
Time, 20 mins five days a week, it often takes them longer to tack up than ride.
Taking them out for short periods, and putting them in is situations where both the pony and the child are stressed a bit but not over stressed. I used to stand on the green outside the school when the children came out, or take them to the sweet shop, or just teaching the pony to stand while you talk to people.
Control, the adult must be in as much control as possible, which means being prepared, and have a head collar on the pony and lead rope tied up around the ponies neck. You are the brake. No child can stop a pony, if it wants to go. Being aware of what is likely to wind a pony up, and hack out with another pony if possible. If there is something scary put the experienced combination in between.
Teaching your child seat and leg aids as quickly as possible, and a basic shoulder out. The child wants to look at the scary thing the ponies looking at. Get them to look away from it, push the quarters in ( it will not be very effective to start with), and slightly flex the head away from the monster, while riding forward. Looking at the scary thing confirms it is something to be wary of. Understanding how the pony sees things, something in directly in front of them is often in their blind spot.

Biting is difficult, to strong a bit with your child riding with the handbrake on causes complications, if the pony gets frustrated. It's no longer popular but a short shank straight bar pelham, with a leather curb chain, and rounding I found effective, for hunting I used a kimblewick on a small pony, that I would normally hack in a snaffle. Avoid a three ring gag, nearly every child I have seen with one the pony,is behind the vertical, and usually with a neck like a banana.
Always to faster work away from home, never do fast work in the same place, if they speed up go back to walk and reset. Only walk home most of the time, never let the child trot to the gate, finish work and get off in a safe place but perhaps not outside the stable or field.
If you know these things already, sorry, but a lot of adult riders miss obvious things that train anticipation in the horse.

 

[greysfordays]

I don't tend to post on here much but wow I'm sorry about some of these comments, surely one would be enough to establish/educate about bolting but some of these are bordering on intimidating you off of the forum.

I'm not sure I read this correctly but it sounds as if the pony was running due to being chased by a dog? If that is the case I wouldn't be surprised as it is a natural instinct. Do you see it more as being genuinely scared or taking the mick? This may sound stupid but how much turnout does your pony get? As my horse used to take off out hacking especially in open fields and giving her more turnout helped resolve this.