I think Smiley will be staying now! Pics!

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Starbucks

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Mums new pony - He's a baby Irish 5yo, done hunting but not a lot else. He's a bit of a scardy pants on his own and won't really hack on his own without a battle. He's kind of on trail so I think with his hacking out limitations my mum was half thinking of sending him back :(

So he had to be a really good boy XC schooling today to prove to her he is actually a good boy and is going to be a good hunting pony for her!

He was soooooo good! We went to Eland and I was anticipating there might be a lot of spooky things for him to not like.. but he was such a little pro! Popped over everything as if it was easy peasy, strait in water, over ditches, steps and everything! Clever pony. :)

Some pics... what do you think?

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:)
 
I'm all up for keeping him! But then I was all up for keeping the one that chucked everyone else as soon as they sat on him. :)

When he see's something he doesn't like he turns round and then backs up and does miny rear/spinny things which get bigger and more drastic the more you push him. If you turn him the way he wants to go and then turn round the way I want to go, trot, shout quite a lot and a few neck slaps - that seem to do the trick. I'm keen to not get in a big battle with him, that's no good for anyone.

Mum has got a bad back from when the other one chucked her off :( but she's had him out in company a couple of times and she's managed fine.. so I'm hoping he'll be allowed to stay... I just need to get him a bit less scared on his own.
 
Starbucks said:
When he see's something he doesn't like he turns round and then backs up and does miny rear/spinny things which get bigger and more drastic the more you push him. If you turn him the way he wants to go and then turn round the way I want to go, trot, shout quite a lot and a few neck slaps - that seem to do the trick. I'm keen to not get in a big battle with him, that's no good for anyone.
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then don't push him! let him stand and look for as long as he wants, but make no move to push him on! And don't look at what he's looking at! he'll soon realise you're not bothered, and will either have another look and walk past, or learn to ignore it if you're not looking!

he looks lovely! I hope you get to keep him! if he's only ever hunted then don't expect him to be too brave on his own for a while!
 
JenHunt said:
then don't push him! let him stand and look for as long as he wants, but make no move to push him on! And don't look at what he's looking at! he'll soon realise you're not bothered, and will either have another look and walk past, or learn to ignore it if you're not looking!

he looks lovely! I hope you get to keep him! if he's only ever hunted then don't expect him to be too brave on his own for a while!
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I've tried that. He'll stand like an angel but then when you ask him to walk on again (with your legs) he's like... nooooooooo!! Vocals seem to work, either "Walk On!!" when he's being good or "GOOOOO OOOOOON OOSSSSS!!!!!!" if he's being bad! :P
 
He's a lovely boy :)

Mine does the spinny, rear, nap thing too and I've found the only thing that works if on the road ( as I won't risk a slip) is making him stand, giving him a little pat if necessary, then asking him to turn and eLk on, I repeat until it works, they soon learn. Although mine the same age wasn't confident by himself so he just had to learn to be, when hacking with others I took turns going in front which seemed to really help. Smacking him only got him more stressed, but sometimes a well placed growl would work.

Having said that, mine is now 12, so old enough to know better, if we're on a path with no risk of slipping, I open one hand, and pony club kick with the other leg :)
 
my little mare used to do that when I first got her (she never totally grew out of it until she was 26:rolleyes:) however she did get nearly normal. I found if she wouldn't go forward past something she may sometimes go backwards past it - she got so fed up of going backwards that going forwards seemed a very good option - this may of course not work for you :)
 
Well, mine won't until I have made him stand, given him a pat, chilled his little brain out, and then got going again. Smacking, shouting etc does not work at all for mine, just exacerbates things :)
 
Ahh, he looks lovely. Good to try them out doing what you most want them to do, to give them the best chance really. Hacking am sure you can sort out with a bit of work and if you have company/people to help, or groundwork/long reining, it should be manageable.

I think my new mare might be a bit spooky on her own (haven't tried yet) but I don't mind too much about that, go out hacking in company lots anyway and can spend time working on it to help improve, and I am more interested in pony parties, hunting and xc - not many are great at everything !
 
He's only 5 - give him a chance! He may never have hacked out on his own before so it will all be very new to him.

If he is genuinely scared give him plenty of time to look (I was told it takes 9/10minutes for a horse to decide whether he is going to be brave and tackle a problem or take evasive action), don't try and force him during that time. If he is good to lead and trusts you, you can get off if he still won't go past and he can follow you. Getting off isn't giving in, it is showing him who is the leader and that he can trust you not to put him into danger.

If you don't want to get off and he starts backing up, bring his head round and use your legs to turn him in 2-3 tight circles to get him moving and then keep going forward. He can't rear or buck with his head by your foot. Keep calm and keep persisting.

Both of these methods worked for my 17 y.o. mare, who at 16 had never been out on her own. It took time, but we got there!
 
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