How can I get my daughter, who loves riding, to not be scared of ponies and horses

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ECORTEN

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Hi there,
I hope someone can help! My 8 year old is horse and pony mad. She loves to ride and particulalry loves to canter and jump - the faster, the higher the more she loves it. She loves mucking out, cleaning tack - the whole thing BUT she is petrified of ponies when she is off them. She will smooth them, she will, if tied up, groom but she will not feed them or go anywhere near a pony's head.
She is ready to have her own pony from a riding sense, and I am ready to buy her one, but I really think she needs to overcome this fear first otherwise she will never be able to 'be the boss' but I really don't know what to do.
HELP!
 
Simple solution, get her helping out at the weekends at a local riding school where she has to be very hands on with horses on the ground. Did something happen that gave her a fright?
 
Wait until she feel more confident. A pony is a large object compared to the size of a child. Seems that she is doing quite well already. As she grows in confidence and knowledge you can teach her how to handle them correctly.
 
As above I'd get her helping out at a local riding school and see if that helps things. We get a real mixture but they tend to end up in friend groups which means they support / help / occasionaly taunt each other.
We'd expect her to be able to lead in time so that might get her used to being at the front end and nothing terrible happening.
Good luck x
 
showpony said:
Simple solution, get her helping out at the weekends at a local riding school where she has to be very hands on with horses on the ground. Did something happen that gave her a fright?
Click to expand...

Nothing has happened to give her a fright and we she helps out every weekend. Her intructor has been super helpful encouraging her to lead, tack up and untack etc - it's just the offering food thing and naything around the mouth area. Everytime a pony moves its head she jumps a mile!
 
She is still quite young and will grow out of it. My daughter loved dogs but was scared stiff, took some very sympathetic 'therapy' from her aunt and her golden retriever which took time but worked. I remember getting phone call to say she had actually touched her.

Some kids are just naturally more confident at younger ages.

I would borrow a pony that is very trustworthy and spend lots of quiet time with them and encourage her to do just a teeny little bit more on the ground each time. It may take a while but will be worth it.

Hopefully when she realises that pony kisses can be lovely she'll be ready for her own.

Good luck
 
Maybe see if you can find a super docile pony and some kids the same age and see if she will follow their lead?

I personally can see her point, they are big beasties! And really her being cautious is better than her just wandering up to them randomly and slapping them on the arse or the like - which is what I keep having to tell my daughter not to do. She is the complete opposite - hate riding but is FAR to comfortable with them on the ground for my liking!
 
Do you know or know of a pony that loves cuddles and attention? You could take her to spend some time with a very affectionate pony and see if she can understand although they are big beastlings they can be soft and gentle too :)
 
Ours is not a horsey family.
In the same position (sort of) with a gentle, not very assertive grand child, I arranged for her to have the type of experience you give your daughter - tack up, groom horse and lift feet on the yard.
Children are probably right to be frightened of horses on the ground where they have no control over a large animals and I did what I would do for an adult. Got lessons (in the school) in which she was taught natural Horsemanship style - with a 12 ft rope - how to lead, keep the horse out of her space, control speed and direction on the ground.
I first saw this done by an Intelligent Horsemanship associate at a demo where a child who was successful at competing had no control of her pony from the ground. Very soon the child learned to make the horse back up, approach, and could lead the pony through a small maze of poles laid on the ground. Not only is it good for the child (or anyone learning to ride) but it teaches the ponies some ground manners too.
Both the children I have seen taught this way were a little older than 8 years but one could adapt it to the right level for your daughter. It didnt change my grand daughter into an assertive child - it did transform the power situation on the ground - put her in charge of the animal.
 
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