Nappy pony....your solutions.

Enfys

Enfys

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Scenario, 10 y.o ex RS pony . Stubborn little ****

Seems happy enough, back, feet, teeth, eyes, tack OK. great manners on the ground.
Will lead or long rein alone.
Tries every evasion known to ponydom.......bucks, rears, spins, cow kicks, plants and has even laid down on one occasion, all with ears forward and no indication of fear/worry.
Naps alone or in company, if I get off and lead or drive he is fine.
It doesn't matter whether he is being ridden English or western, or whether I ride with a contact, looser contact, passively or actively (more 'persuasive riding gets bigger bucks) He is worse with my daughter, one buck jump and she gets off.

So.........I am not at the end of my tether, I am just plain fed up with having to fight all the time, and feeding a pony that isn't doing the job he was purchased to do.

Suggestions?
 
If it were me, I'd try making his life difficult whenever he plays up, eg by making him walk backwards in the direction I want to go until he is prepared to be reasonable. phsychologically this could show him that you can control all aspects of his behaviour and still get the upper hand without getting off/cross.

on the other hand this might not work at all!
 
Oh, yes, didn't I say? I am sorry. Fergus is broken to harness, he'll long rein into the next county without problem and enjoys logging, but we want him to ride not haul logs, therein lies the problem
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Once he is going under saddle he is fine, quite chirpy........until he decides he wants to go home.
 
How about someone on a push bike? It's how I got my mare out and about, only problem is she now tries to canter after all cyclists when she's on her own
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Seems happy enough, back, feet, teeth, eyes, tack OK.

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Have you actually had them checked?

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Yes,
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I have an excellent Farrier and a Vet who only practises with horses.
 
Will be be ponied? You could try leading him from your horse (without him being ridden) for a while and see if that makes any difference, then if he improves, try with a willing victim, oops I mean rider, on his back! I'd be hesitant to get into a battle of wills with him if he's bucking, spinning, rearing and lying down etc! Otherwise, will he long rein with someone sitting on top as an interim measure?
 
Sell him to someone who wants to skid logs?
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Do you know his history? A friend of mine bought a "perfect kid's pony" that had just been standing in a field and quickly found out WHY it had been standing in a field. Apparently it was famous and had learned to shed kids pretty much at will. getting gradually trickier over the years until it ran out of suckers. (To be fair, this one didn't turn a hair with a large competent rider on board so it was a bit hard to see coming.) MANY very good people had tried to "fix" it but once it was off the leash the problems started again almost instantly. I saw it dump a really good child "pro" (catch riding, riding jumpers, starting ponies etc.) 3x in 15 minutes one day.

I have to say I've seen a few riding school horses go this way over the years, including ones I KNOW did not have physical problems. Some just have enough.

I am the LAST person to blame horses and label them unfixable but I've met a few that had so much experience NOT doing what they were supposed to that they were more trouble than they were worth. Maybe they did hurt in some indefinable way but I know a couple who went on to be useful driving ponies.

By the way, how are you enjoying winter . . . ?
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I used to ride a horse that was nappy. If you wore spurs, he was an angel. You did not have to USE them.

If you tried to hack out without spurs or a stick, it was completely hopeless.
 
Henry, thanks, I would try ponying him but he is scared of the only other two ridable horses I have, the mare will kick him (she's boss in his field) and the stallion just wants to play all the time
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so sadly, that's a non starter.

Push bikes.....no way, our roads are dirt, right now we are melting and the surface is abot 2" deep! He'll pony from the back of a quad though! Or the back of a truck.....he escaped once and I got a call in the early hours, and had a very nice chat with some stranger as we sat on the tail gate of her truck holding onto two errant horses! Can you imagine what people would say if you did that in the UK?
I have seen them exercise trotters four at a time round the tracks, hitched to a frame. Hmmmmmm.
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Cruiser, Hi how are you? How are you liking British winter time?
It's 10C today! We don't know whether we are coming or going, yesterday I had a foot of snow, today I have lakes! I wish it would make its' mind up! Still happy and cheerful here though, and despite the greyness have absolutely no desire to return to the UK. (Couldn't afford to anyway!)

Yes, I do know his history, he went to the stables I bought him from at 2months old on his dam, so it's all he has ever known. I have made allowances for his lack of outside experience as it were, I think outside of the RS environment he has discovered his 'real' self, and that isn't, in all honesty, a suitability for a child (not a brave rider, enthusiastic, but not brave) that just wants to hack about and have a bit of safe fun.

You said what I have been thinking about the pony for months, he wants to be a draft horse! He LIKES logging, and with a bit more work would make a cracking driving pony, thing is I don't want a driving pony!
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Once I get him going he is a great ride (for me) sparky and forward going (until he decides out of nowhere that now would be a good time to go home), he jumps, he is really well schooled.....can't figure him out. He hated being a school pony, everything about him screamed "I'm dying of boredom here!" and I can't school him at all at home, he just refuses to move.

Would you like to come and tell Evie why her pony has to go? Please? Because that's why he's still here, I can't bear the tears and seeing her sitting on him (oh yes, bareback, no halter, nothing) in the field with her arms around his neck sobbing her heart out, and the little **** just laps it up. He does her no favours at all, and she would rather ride the Paint because that one wouldn't dream of shaking her head unless she was given permission.

Logically, I know he has to go (either as a driving pony, or he'd probably settle well in a head to tail trail setting too) I am not buying her another one, she can go to the Riding School with her friends at weekends.

I really hate being a parent sometimes
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I replied to your other post about being parent with nappy pony.You are describing a pony we had on loan for a year we loved him to bits but he was a absolute pain.He now has a small adult rider and doesnt play up half as much .He was just too smart for my daughter who was 12 at the time.Can you find a small adult loaner to work on him for a while .
 
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