New Pony advice please

[Boodles79]

We have recently purchased a pony for my daughter who is 6 he's 12h and 9years old and a total saint on the ground - really lovely nature - like a dog he follows you around. He was lovely when we went to try him but once home he has trotted off with her twice and run off with me while lunging him. Non of this behaviour appears to be him being afraid it seems he's just a bit naughty. He is currently ridden in a French link snaffle and only really trots off to where he wants to go but it is scaring my daughter. When I was lunging I couldn't hold him, he really wanted to get to where he wanted to go.

Its still very early days he's been here 3weeks, so I expect a lot of it is him getting used to his surroundings, we are cutting his hard food right back to a tiny handful and just giving him hay.

Any experience of this advice/tips/tricks/training we can do would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Shay]

Oh so much!!

You've got the "new pony horrors". It happens to almost everyone but really takes you by surprise the first time or so!

The pony is testing his boundaries. He has figured out he isn't going back to his old home so now he is trying to find out what you will let him get away with - just like a naughty toddler. You don't handle him the same way, he isn't ridden the same way - and he is trying to figure out where he fits and what he can do.

How long the phase lasts depends on how you handle him. Be firm, be confident. Sometimes the phase lasts for a few weeks, sometimes months. The more consistent and firm (not aggressive, harsh or unfair) you are the shorter the phase will be. It happens in most cases - but when you get more experienced I think you just forget about it until you get something more tricky to settle. But through my experience with pony club I see this happen so often - and I know it happened to us too.

An experienced instructor can help - and whatever short term care you need to take to protect your daughter's confidence. If pony is on hard feed cut that out and go to forage only for a bit. The grass is coming through anyway so you are compounded with a bit of spring fever I should think. If the previous owner is willing then might come and help you out a bit showing you how they would handle him.

But its a phase. It will pass!

 

[Boodles79]

Phew! Thanks a little bit of the 'wtf have we done' has been going through my head as it's our first actual purchase of a pony. - he's such a poppet and completely different from our very fizzy loan pony. Lessons is a good idea she wants to do Pc but at the moment isn't confident enough on him so that's a good way to build them up.