Naughty Pony!

[Loveanimals:)]

Hey,
I’m fairly new to owning horses and neither of my parents are horsey... a while ago I got a young pony, it was a bit of a mistake as he is quite a cheeky boy for a beginner his behavior turned bad as soon as we got him home! He missed company, so we got him some horsey company and he improved greatly. However, when I’m leading him he sometimes refuses to walk whereas other times he just bolts of. It’s got to the point that I can’t stop him... he has no respect for me and I don’t know how to earn it ??? He’s also naughty in other ways but this is manageable. I am very great full for any help.

 

[Loveanimals:)]

Oops sry I think I might have posted this thread twice ?

 

[AmyMay]

Why not get a professional in to give you a hand?

 

[Winters100]

Oh dear, poor you. Youngsters can be a handful and will push the boundaries to see what they can get away with.

Where is the pony kept? If he is on a livery yard then maybe someone there could help you? And would your parents be happy to fund a pro to work with you? Remember that horses and ponies can be dangerous, so you need to nip this behaviour in the bud before it becomes a habit.

There are many things to think about which affect behavior, especially food! Unless he is skinny I would cut all hard food for now. Also how old is he? Are you riding him? Leading in a bridle can help, but honestly to stay safe I think you need a knowledgeable adult to help you. Most yards are pretty friendly, so if you ask around I am sure that someone would give you a hand, maybe you could exchange by offering to do some of their chores to compensate for their time?

Good luck, and most importantly stay safe.

 

[HazuraJane]

When my young mare was busy behaving like a young mare, I found watching instructional videos on YouTube helped me quite a bit in getting my head around who was the leader, and who was the follower. Rather than vice-versa, if you get my meaning. YouTube videos got me safely through many a Sunday morning on the yard when I was the only one there with no one to help me. It wasn't that I didn't know what to do; I needed to watch someone doing it so I could model leader behavior with my body language.

 

[Loveanimals:)]

Hi,
Thank you for the help... I will look into getting a professional. He is kept on my family farm so no one to help there, but there is a local riding school I could approach he is seven now, got him when he was 5... he was backed a month when we bought him! In the years we have had him he has only really been fed grass and he is always on restricted grazing else he gets a bit frisky! He is the kind of pony who puts on weight just looking at grass we are schooling him as a ridden pony and this is going quite well, he can be cheeky and lazy but, he is improving loads... thanks again for all the help

 

[Loveanimals:)]

I will be watching a lot of YouTube videos tonight. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Winters100]

Oh I do feel for you being on your own. That is hard enough for adults with many years of ownership behind them. Just thinking out loud, but if you have a family farm could you offer discounted grass livery to a knowledgeable owner in exchange for help? Do I understand correctly that you are doing fine with ridden work but he is just a cheeky s*d to handle?

 

[Loveanimals:)]

Hi again!
I will suggest to my parents about the discounted grazing but there is so many options round us and not so many horsey folk with horses to fill all the fields if you get what I mean, but we have the grazing to do it... yeah you understand correct, he is generally fine to handle, groom etc. However when grass or a chance to mess around with his field mates is a possible option he is quite... hmm, yh cheeky Saying all this he now lunges excellently in a small area and is learning to long reign too although only in a well grazed field so there are no temptations! So I think we are making progress. And thank you so much for everyones help my parents are now considering getting a local riding instructor out and I might get to help out at the local riding school too!!