Naughty pony - any ideas for sorting him out?!

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diddy

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Morning!

We bought a pony for my kids about 6 months ago. He's 12.2, 10 years old & Welsh of some description (v limited info on his passport!)

He's a lovely little man, super friendly & lots of personality. He hadn't done much before we got him & has come on really well & now hacks out happily on his own & will pop the odd jump without getting as over-excited as before. He used to go mad away from from home (think non-stop neighing, dumping & leaping about!) but after persevering at local shows he's now much better - although he's still a bit jumpy he'll walk around & I'm thinking next time we might even attempt a class with someone on board.

However... at home he's a right monkey. He'll be good 95% of the time & then all of a sudden he'll shoot off. If someone makes a sudden movement or if a jump is in a different place from last week etc., then he'll start broncing. And he just won't stop, which means whoever's riding (me included!) usually lands on the floor. The kids really want to just potter around on him in the field at home but even though he doesn't do it all the time, I just can't trust him not to tank off/bronc with them for no reason (or what seems like not reason to me!).

D'you think this sounds like a confidence thing or is he being horrid?!

Apart from this, he's lovely to handle etc. & the kids can do whatever with him. He's quite head shy so he may have had a rough time in the past. And we love him to bits so I want to help him work through this but obviously I don't want the kids to lose confidence in the meantime. As above, he's come on a lot in the last few months so maybe he just needs more time & consistent work..?

What do you wise people think would be the best course of action?! As above, I can just about ride him myself or would be happy to get someone in if it will help sort this out.

D. x
 
Ooh, that was quick! I've not done long-reining but can get our RI to teach me how to do it. What's your thinking - that he needs to go back to basics..? I was thinking about lunging him too to try & get him more responsive to my voice so we might be able to get his attention back when he starts to lose it :)
 
He is being an horrid Horace. Ponies are so intelligent and you certainly don't want him to learn he can eject his riders at will.

As he has improved already I would think he just needs loads more work and ideally a jockey who can stick on a bronc moment and make it clear to him his behaviour is not acceptable.
 
I long rein our Shetland (not just behind him, you need someone who is really good at it to teach you) as he is obv too small for anyone to ride except my daughter. If I were you I'd get a jockey who could stick on him regardless and work him on the long reins in challenging situations where he might be stupid, before the kids get on.
 
He may be 10 but you said he hadn't done much before you got him.
So hes like a youngster.
The behavior you describe is totally normal and he is improving.

So it depends of if you are willing to persevere or not.
Plus are your children ok with continuing.

He just needs to know you are there to protect him but won't accept the bucking etc, just get back on and continue. Or he could learn he gets out of doing work.
 
Sorry to say it sounds just like he's being a typical little *** of a pony. We owned a little 12.1 welsh cross who learnt various ways of dumping my daughter. His favourite was to jump a jump and then drop his shoulder. She once fell off 5 times in one lesson. When he was outgrown he went to an army riding school where apparently he learnt other ways to get kids off. He was very bright! Saying all that he gave my daughter a great seat.

Does he stick his head down - would a daisy rein help?
 
Hi all,

Thanks for your responses - all very encouraging :) You're so right - I don't want him to learn that bad behaviour is a way to get back out grazing! However, the kids are only just learning so it's hard for them to stay on. And I'm far too big of him so I also find it difficult as there's nothing in front of me! However, I'm getting better at anticipating him so hopefully I can start to win our little battles! He really loves his work & when we're not riding him, I do ride & lead off our other horse, so he's getting out an average of an hour a day over the week atm, which isn't bad for a kids pony I guess.

Asmp - you're right that he's just doing the kind of things we all remember really well from childhood :) He tends to stick his head up rather than down so there have been a few bashed noses & I'm currently trying him in a martingale. However, to be fair to him, he has very good brakes. He came to us in a gag & we've changed him into french link. And it's quite easy to stop him going forwards - it's just the up & down that's the problem!!

Thanks for all your ideas so far. As I said before, he's staying with us whatever (although yesterday I did threaten him with Preloved!) so I really would like to get to the bottom of it. And like SoH says, he is improving so that's something I'll tell myself next time I land on my behind :)

D. x
 
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