How do you back a small pony..

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aimeejay

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This maybe a very dumb question :p BUT how do you back a shetland or small pony? Surely its dangerous for a child to be doing it and surely an older child would be too big?
Thanks in advance for replies :)
 
We used to start our ponies with long-reining and going on hacks on a leading rein, so that they understood what was happening before it happened. Then the lightest available rider got on and there was rarely any difficulty. A Shetland can carry a surprising amount of weight and even a finer pony is fine with a small teenager. Just don't ride for very long each day at first - 20 minutes at a time is plenty for the first couple of months.
 
when i was 11 i used to back loads of shetlands and dartmoors for the farmer who owns the livery yard where my horse is at. admitedly i was a small 11 year old and being 16 now am way too big. but you just need a competant smallish rider. my farmer said i was the only person he knew who was old enough and competant enough but still small enough. :P

CxLBx
 
There was a girl at my old yard who was under 5ft and weighed nothing (never asked her weight but bet she was no more then 7stone), even though she was in her twenties. She always use to back the ponies, they were eventually used in the RS. They never ever seemed to struggle with her.
 
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