My poor pony! Am very cross.

L

Lill

Well-Known Member
Joined
11 November 2005
Messages
5,673
Location
Kent
Visit site
Am sure i have posted before about our liveries using Holly to put their son on, he is a total beginner? He was having a lesson a week on her and then riding her maybe once or twice a week on top of that.

Now Holly is a pretty responsive ride usually but she's been getting lazy of late as she's being allowed to get away with anything with their son because he cannot ride and she is not a beginners pony.
mad.gif


My friend E usually rides Hollly and E and Holly have their first ever dressage test (E's first ever competition) in 2 weeks.

E rode Holly yesterday and she now has a pony that won't trot.

BECAUSE GET THIS

our liveries put their son on Holly the other day and because he couldn't get her to trot (cos he can't ride) they CHASED my poor pony around the arena with lunge whips to get her to trot.

Now poor Holly seems scared to trot. So much so that i asked E to show me, so she asked Holly to trot, (took a lot of persuading) she trotted about 20m very jumpily and her head right up in the air and then started bouncing on the spot and almost rearing straight up before bursting into canter.

mad.gif
mad.gif
mad.gif
mad.gif
mad.gif
mad.gif
mad.gif
mad.gif
mad.gif
mad.gif
mad.gif
mad.gif
mad.gif
mad.gif
mad.gif
mad.gif
mad.gif
mad.gif
mad.gif


You can imagine how cross i am with our liveries now. Holly was fine before they did that to her.

We have 2 weeks to get her trotting nicely again before the dressage test.
 
Oh my gauld, poor Holly, I hope you can get her back working nicely... why on earth would you chase a horse around with a lunge whip...
 
That sounds more than just being upset because of the lunge whip. I would check the back or mouth perhaps? Toby's pony will not trot off the lead rein with him and we therefore carry a lunge whip to encourage him. The pony goes beautifully off the lead rein with an older rider and is extremely responsive. Just won't go unless he knows he has to. I think 3 more inches on T's legs will do the trick.

Anyway - what I am saying is that using a lunge whip to make a pony trot will not then turn him into a pony that rears when you want to trot. I would first of all check that there are not other underlying problems. In the meantime, stop the kid from riding as it certainly won't be helping the pony if there is some sort of physical problem.
 
The 'kid', their son is a fully grown man in his 30's. Why he even wants to ride a 14hh welsh cob is beyond me.

Its got to be something they have done to her though, i didn't see this happen its what i've been told. She was absolutely fine last weekend and they are the only people who've worked her since then (i haven't had a chance this week). They have 2 perfectly good horses of their own their son could ride but of course they don't want to ruin their own horses they'd rather ruin someone elses then they don't have to fix it.

Will be having words with them when i see them on Weds and taking Hollys tack home with me if it comes to it!

Wouldn't mind if their son was hacking her out because that would be mainly walking and ok but she isn't a beginners pony and not suitable for him to learn to ride on!!!
 
It started off as he'd ride her for one lesson a week under the supervision of an instructor, which was fine, one hour (or 45mins) a week wasn't really going to harm her. But now they are taking the p!ss. Fair enough chase your own horses with whips if you so wish but not someone elses.
 
I would certainly put a stop to it asap. It does seem they have done something to upset your poor pony
frown.gif
As is appears they have only done it once, I am sure with a little tlc she will soon be back to herself and trust that she wont be hurt in trot. It does sound like perhaps she was touched with the whip from behind and is now anticipating this.

I know my instructor has chased Baron with a lunge whip when we were trying to establish medium trot and this did him no harm. However she did not get angry or touch him with the whip.

Definatly take your tack home though and if they do ride her then make sure there is someone you trust supervising. It take only a second to ruin the trust between horse and ride, and awful lot longer to gain it back.
 
So...your liveries ride your pony without your permission?!
confused.gif
In that case, why not just tell them NO!
As regards the trotting, I doubt chasing a pony with a lunge whip will have the effect of making it rear when you ask it to trot, more likely it would bolt!
Perhaps, if im following correctly, it is the fact that a 'full grown' man has been learning to ride on a 14hh pony,probabaly bouncing and crashing about on it, and may have damaged its back,or saddle, causing pain, which has made it rear? Just a thought.
smile.gif
 
Change of plan it seems i shall be seeing them tomorrow (pm off work now) so will talk to them then, i very much doubt they will put their son back on Holly if i tell them she's been rearing anyway but i shall take tack home to 'clean it' just to make sure.

I presume they did 'touch' her with it as they also said she bucked with their son, she only bucks if you use a whip on her.

So now thanks to them we're going to have to try and get her back and teeth checked in the next week!

I'll try riding her tomorrow and see how she is with me.
 
Gosh people get their nickers in a twist don't they???

If you aren't happy about someone riding your pony - simply tell them that she is no longer available for them to use.

Obviously teeth and back are checked as part of your annual routine - so I don't see why you think that this should be done 'thanks to them'.

It's easy to rant and rail against others - but if you're not happy about people riding your pony, simply don't allow it.

It's unlikely that they have done any lasting damage to your pony - However, she's probably just peed off at being ridden by someone possibly too big and heavy for her, who is a complete novice. If he can't get her to trot, then there is every likelihood that he can't rise to her trot, and therefore is hurting her when she does.

Just don't allow others to ride her.
 
I would think that the son is far too heavy for a 14hh pony and has caused back pain. The saddle will not be flocked for a heavy adult on a 14hh pony. So he will be driving the saddle into her back. She won't want to trot with him because her back is hurting and if he is bouncing around it will hurt even more. Even if the saddle is a perfect fit the flocking will be squashed with a heavier rider and cause pressure points. This will then probably carry over as pain areas even with a lighter rider. I would not think using a lunge whip to encourage forward movement has anything to do with the ponies unwillingness to move forward and her rearing.
 
Its thanks to them because she's not actually due to have them checked right now and we need her back to normal in less than two weeks if humanly possible! Have just spoken with B and dentist is coming next week anyway to look at one of the others so can look at Holly then too.

Yes they say they were chasing her so their son could practice his rising trot.
crazy.gif
mad.gif
 
PS Amymay, rode both the new mares at the weekend, have ridden photos of one but not of the other (Ada) and have better photos of Ada taken when it was daylight. Will try post them tonight.
smile.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
Why are you letting the kid ride your pony? Can you not just put a stop to it and let your friend continue to ride her?

[/ QUOTE ]

Lol he's not a kid i think thats half the problem.

I plan too as of tomorrow (not going to yard today).
 
[ QUOTE ]
The 'kid', their son is a fully grown man in his 30's. Why he even wants to ride a 14hh welsh cob is beyond me.

Its got to be something they have done to her though, i didn't see this happen its what i've been told. She was absolutely fine last weekend and they are the only people who've worked her since then (i haven't had a chance this week). They have 2 perfectly good horses of their own their son could ride but of course they don't want to ruin their own horses they'd rather ruin someone elses then they don't have to fix it.

Will be having words with them when i see them on Weds and taking Hollys tack home with me if it comes to it!

Wouldn't mind if their son was hacking her out because that would be mainly walking and ok but she isn't a beginners pony and not suitable for him to learn to ride on!!!

[/ QUOTE ]

Could it be that if he is a grown man of 30, he weights a bit yes?? And beginners in trot are bouncy - adult male beginners will be even more so cos of the 'pain' factor! I know that if beau has a total beginner on him who want rise if they are very bouncy he will hollow and pull wild eyes then just not go forward - and yes he will be like that with me the next day.

Personally, I wouldn't be letting him ride her other than in the lessons.
 
All blame aside, it does sound like this pony has had a bad experience recently, whether it be from too much weight, whips or whatever.
Don't you think you should postpone the dressage this time? It doesn't sound as though this pony is going to be going very well even after 2 weeks of checks and work.
It would be a real shame for your friend's first comp to be a frustrating experience. Surely you want them both to go into the comp relaxed and happy?
 
I'd put an immediate & permanent stop to it. A fully grown man would, I'm guessing, be too heavy for a 14 hander.

Just say no, it isn't convenient anymore, it's your pony, you are the one who decides who does & doesn't ride her.

I wouldn't let anyone near mine that was less than a good rider, she was broken too young before I got her & so needed to have physio & be turned away for a year & re-broken. She'll never carry top weight as a result although she is perfect for petite adult/light teen/experienced light child. She is also sensitive in the mouth due to only ever being ridden by somebody with light hands, she'll fight the bit & try & bolt if somebody with heavy hands rides her.

It just isn't worth it. At the end of the day do you want your pony to remain a good ride & responsive or do you want her ruined by a novice who is too heavy for her?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top