I'm afraid the answer is huge amounts of strapped up lounging and adult jockeys. They will often be left in their stables strapped up in an outline.
It seems to be a bit of an old fashioned parctice but we would do a lot of 'strapping' of their necks and bums - which is just rhythmic beating, enough to make the muscle react - to help get muscle on them and it is also good for condition because it increases circulation and works the coat.
These ponies look to go beautifully, but the sad thing is that if you were to blow them up to 16hh and get on them yourself most of them would be horrendous.
We have all these young jockeys coming through with awful hands and they wonder why they dont do well when it comes to showing horses. If they don't learn how to do school them properly they will produce horses with awful mouths and no flexion or ability to vary pressure as asked. They are used to poines with fixed outlines. And don't get me started on the bits they are putting in their mouths, throwing a severe bit into a hack so that it doesnt want to put any pressure onto the bit is not schooling - it is actually just ruining its mouth for good.
It would be lovely to get all the kids on board and have them do everything but you need a little one that wants to learn and has the patience to realise it is not the pony's fault if it is not doing something right. And that is really hard for them when the other kids are sitting on pre-made ponies.
Unfortunately without some adult schooling and outward intervention you are automatically at a disadvantage, so you have to have the pony going well, which makes the child a passenger and teaches nothing. This is why all the good jockeys come from having ridden all the bad and novice ponies as well as the good ones. But if you just have one or two poines that are being shown, and a child that can only ride at the weekends, it is hard.
But I think it is more satisfying for them to take the showing less seriously and do more themselves. Get them out jumping and pony clubbing and hunting and when they are older they will be leaps and bounds ahead of the kids they have stood behind in line who can only sit on a robot pony and have no feel for what is right.
It would be nice to see this attitude instilled in the judges more. I would much rather see a pony that is not quite 100% foot perfect but being mannerly and doing exactly as the pilot has asked than one that is 100% consistent but oblivious to the fact that there is a child on board.
Ultimately, a child does not enjoy being dragged from one end of the country to the other at silly o'clock in the morning to be surrounded by an often not very pleasant attitude/environment. If they want to ride it is becasue they have fun doing it and they should be allowed learn about responsibility and reward the fun way... mum will have a far less stressful time and they will be much better jockeys in the future!
