New pony - wrong pony?

[Bathnewrider1]

I have been riding for 2 years and so has my 9 year old son. I bought us a pony to share 3 months ago. A hunting pony outgrown by a teenager. I hacked him out and he was perfect. Trotted him around their tiny sand school and popped a little jump at trot - fantastic - no kicking required - very calm and willing. The school was too small to canter. I tried him twice and my yard manager tried him too - taking him over some cross country jumps - great. I also had him vetted. When he got back to our yard he was very nervous and spooky but is settling now with the help of a calmer. He is great to hack out and my son can trot him around the lanes with his riding teacher. The problem is the school - when asked to canter he motorbikes around at top speed and I find him difficult to ride - I have fallen off him a number of times. I am nervous and as a result make things worse by being tense and then heavy handed which speeds him up more! I can't put my son on him for any of his lessons. The idea was We would learn to jump on him. My son is learning to jump on a riding school pony. My riding teacher does not think he has been schooled at all and has agreed to school him once a week and I will do so in my lessons and do some simple stuff on my own. She thinks it will take a year to sort this out. I should have bought a school master - do I persevere or cut my losses? I had to buy a new saddle as his old one did not fit properly so have invested quite a lot of money!

 

[oldie48]

I'm sorry he's not turned out to be quite what you expected but he's clearly got some really good points. I'd be inclined to stick with him. my friend bought a horse to hunt and he's turned out to be fab to hunt and hack but initially was dreadful in the school as he'd clearly never been schooled. He was a similar age to your pony and he made really good progress, no longer motorbikes in canter, is easier to take to a fence in a controlled manner and is so much nicer all round. As you have help, spend some time schooling him, you can do a lot in trot early on to help him become more balanced, then take a view in six months time. If he's progressing, all well and good, if he's not, then perhaps sell. My saddler will always exchange a saddle and gives a reasonable return so if you do sell and then find you need to replace the saddle, you'll only lose some of your money.

 

[Bathnewrider1]

I forgot to add the pony is 9 years old.

 

[AceAmara]

i would stick with what you have unless you have very deep pockets. a pony that is as safe as you describe for your son to ride is worth its weight in gold and if you add in being school on the flat to a higher level you are adding £££. Your RI is right, is IS fixable. If it were me I would look at sending him to be professionally school for 6 weeks.

 

[L&M]

Welcome to the wallet emptying world of horses!!!!

Tbh a 'hunting' pony would not be my first choice as a first pony/schoolmaster, but that doesn't mean its school work cannot be improved. The question is are you prepared for the time and money that would be involved….

If I was in your position, I think I would stop riding the pony in the school and let someone more experienced bring it on for a you. Do you/your son feel confident enough to hack the pony out, as then you can get to know it better that way? Also can you canter it on hacks, maybe on a straight line and ideally up a steep hill!?

Maybe give yourself a time scale - 3 mnths would be a good start and you should see some improvement in its schooling by then, at least enough to help you decide whether to keep or sell.

Also have a look at the pony's management - what is it being fed and how much turnout is it getting, as all these factors can affect behaviour.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[be positive]

The pony sounds good in many ways, the only issue seems to be cantering in the school, is he easier in a field or out hacking? if you can canter outside of the school it will build up your confidence as well as the pony benefiting from doing more outside where he feels more comfortable.
Could your son not ride him in lessons, there is plenty he can learn still in walk and trot, he can jump out of trot initially and if the pony pops in a few strides of controlled canter that will help bring him on, provided he can come back to trot before the corners, it will take time but with the right approach you should see improvement fairly quickly, some controlled lunging may help as he can learn to balance without the rider.

Often with these ponies that have not been well schooled once the penny drops and they find they can do it they quickly cotton on and you make rapid progress, as suggested above make a plan of action with a realistic time frame and then if you feel it is not working look to sell him, the timing then to sell him as a hunting pony would be good.

 

[Bathnewrider1]

Thanks for all the advice. He is being fed hay and molasses free chaff with his calmer. I canter and gallop him in fields where he is very well behaved. He will even pull up mid canter if need be - a friend had problems when cantering and he slowed right down to a walk when asked and we were on the flat! He can be a bit nappy when hacked solo or in company if another horse is spooking. He is hacked out 3/4 times a week and has a good gallop at least once a week usually twice. He is turned out most days and is staying out over night regularly as he often refuses to come in unless I go to get him.(I live 8 miles from the yard). We were caught in a gate a few weeks ago and I fell off and broke some bones in my back which meant I couldn't ride him for 4 weeks. My riding teacher and another girl at the yard ride him for me. Me being hurt has sapped some of my confidence but we are back to hacking out again. I imagine sending him off for schooling would be very expensive?

 

[Bathnewrider1]

I meant to say they rode him for me when I was off. I feel very safe cantering/galloping in a straight line in a field.

 

[D66]

He sounds like a nice pony, I'd stick with him now. Could you get the instructor to lunge him to build up the muscle he needs to work properly? Professional schooling is about £125 per week near here. ( Milton Keynes).

 

[L&M]

He sounds great fun! And the nasty fall you had at the gate, although an unfortunate accident, is enough to dent anyone's confidence. Well done for getting back on.

His management sounds good so I think it is just a matter of time. His hacking attributes I'm my mind would outweigh any school issues…

Could you ask your instructor to school him a couple of times a week? This may be enough to bring him on, and would cost less than sending him away.

Good luck as he sounds a star, and if you decide to sell, send him my way!

 

[Orangehorse]

He sounds a really nice pony, think of all his good points. It would be a good idea to have him schooled by a more experienced person.

I can understand you feeling tense and nervous, but think along the lines of "I have to learn to ride this pony." Riding a forward going pony that you feel safe on in the open is much more fun and rewarding than something slow and unresponsive.

Could you have some lessons, even lunge lessons, on a different pony to make you feel more secure and be able to concentrate on your position and feel. In the long term I think you will get together and have a great time.

 

[Bathnewrider1]

Thanks everyone I think I will persevere over the summer and see how he gets on. He is a sweet little thing and I am growing very fond of him! I know he was lunged in his old home so I will have lunging lessons so that I can help him with his balance. I will have a word with the yard manager about a formal schooling arrangement as my RI has said she will fit it in but I think he needs to be properly schooled at least once per week. I will continue with my schooling lessons but probably stick to walk and trot for now. I will try some small jumps in trot as I know he can do that and hopefully he will enjoy it and find being in the school more fun. He can be a bit awkward even in trot when he is getting fed up so I will keep my 9 year old off him in the school until there has been some improvement. My RI thinks that he learns quickly but needs to build up the correct muscles which takes time.

 

[alainax]

When he "motorbikes" around the school, what does he do to make you fall off?

Just trying to figure out if he has good enough brakes to stop mid gallop in a feild, then it shouldnt be a miscomunnication of what slow down means. If he has never been schooled its likely just a balance thing. I had a 9 year old with intersting balance in canter, woudl buck into canter 9 times out of 10, get disunited and fast, end up a bit all over the place. It only took a few months for him to build the correct muscles and become well balanced. 18 months on he can collect his canter beautifully, canter to halt etc with ease.

He sounds as though he has a million plus points, and a slight downside which could be easily sorted. Does he do it on either rein, what about when others are riding? Hows the saddle fit, muscle eveness etc?

 

[Bathnewrider1]

He is worse on the right rein. I think it is a pony balance thing and a rider panic thing. He takes off very quickly and the school is not that big, I was sponging to slow him down(otherwise he grabs the bit) we were hurtling toward a wall very quickly, I was afraid he wouldn't turn or stop so became very tense, came out of the saddle and pulled hard on the reins yanking his head up and to the side,he turned very sharply and off I came! My RI can get him to canter around (although he looks pretty stiff) as when he speeds off she is calm and trusting and rides it out until he slows down. I am definitely part of the problem! I am used to ponies that steadily canter around the school after a couple of kicks and perhaps a tap with a whip. A click in trot is enough to ask mine to canter which would be amazing if it was controlled! He has a brand new saddle fitted just after I bought him and he has had his back checked and massaged by an osteopath specialising in horses, teeth checked etc.

 

[Bathnewrider1]

He is a naturally speedy pony but generally has good brakes when in a field.

 

[Apercrumbie]

He sounds like a really good pony so I would get as much schooling/lessons done as you can afford. He might never be a perfect dressage ponce but you will end up with a well-mannered and safe pony. When it's summer see if you can school in a field so your circles can be a bit bigger - then you can gradually make them smaller as you both get more balanced.

 

[acorn92x]

I would most definitely persevere. He sound like a great pony - safety, in my opinion, comes before anything and the fact that your 9 year old son can hack him out without any issues speaks volumes to me! It sounds like he has been mainly hunted and ridden in fields before he came to you which probably explains why he is inexperienced in the school - your RI is totally correct when saying that he will come good with plenty of schooling and work to build his muscles correctly. He sounds like a lovely, very genuine boy so I would say to keep going with the help that you are getting. I would stop riding him in the school unless you are having lessons and concentrate on schooling him whilst hacking out and in open fields as he is clearly much more comfortable with this - it is very surprising what you are able to do in terms of schooling out on hacks and there are lots of youtube videos and books that will be able to guide you should you wish to structure your sessions a bit more.

I really do hope all goes well for you all - you sound like an incredibly sensible first horse owner with an established routine and ensuring that you keep having lessons so stick with it! Your confidence will come and so will your pony's schooling - well done you

 

[Mister Ted]

Possibly needs time to get more settled in his new home and spending time with him quietly gaining his trust.Things will all still be strange to him and probably asking too much of him after only 3 mths.

 

[Bathnewrider1]

Having heard all this positive advice I will definitely persevere. I had a bit of a difficult session in the school yesterday and was doubting my decision but having had a wonderful long hack on him today I have decided that if it takes a few months to see improvement in the school it's not such a big deal when I can enjoy him in so many other ways! Having thought about it I love the grooming, feeding and general fussing over him as much as I enjoy the riding! Hacking is my first love and even if he were beautifully schooled I would probably only go in there twice a week anyway!

 

[honetpot]

I agree with all the others, if you can stop him in an open field he's a gem.
No pony is perfect, some ponies get more tense the more they get it 'wrong' in the school. I would try schooling in the corner of a field out hacking, 10 mins working on a half a circuit of canter before he picks up speed, bring him back to trot or walk , use voice aids, make it a large oval so he does not have too many corners to balance. If he gets it half right a pat, well done and continue on the hack. It may take you six months to get the basics, at nine he knows all about being ridden you just have to make it easy for him to get it right.

 

[soulfull]

He sounds lovely. I too would keep him.

One thing that you can do that will help a lot is to work in walk and trot in circles, serpentine, bolted etc. The more supple you can make him the easier it will be

 

[Kacey88]

I bought my mare as a novice a few years ago, she was only used for hunting. Sounds exactly like yours, she used to motorbike and was also way worse on one rein. I don't think she had ever been in a school to be honest. She didn't know how to walk in a straight line!

BUT! I got her going after just three lessons (and a lot of work at home). You will be a better horse rider for it, believe me! We went on to win a ridden coloured class the same summer and believe me, if I can do it, so can you.

Best of luck, let us know how you get on.

 

[wench]

You dont have to canter to school him - there is loads you can do in walk and trot. Sounds like you are going along the right lines. Lunging/long reining will help him as well. If you are going to ride him in the school, there are books 101 schooling exercises, and similar, that will give you ideas of lots of things to do with him!

 

[Bathnewrider1]

Thanks for all your advice. An outside instructor was recommended to me by someone at the yard - this instructor looks at me and my pony to identify the issues we have as a team. I have had a lesson with her on him and we have agreed to concentrate on getting him listening at walk and trot as he can be pretty hit and miss even at these paces. We are also concentrating on building my confidence and teaching me to ride a "real pony" in the school rather than a riding school horse! He is a bit spooky in the school but I think this will improve with time spent working in there. My new RI has advised forgetting canter for a few weeks until we have the basics sorted which has helped me relax already! The good news is she thinks she can work with us and that we can solve this over the next few months. She thinks by then my competent 9 year old will be able to ride him too. Also good news - his shape has changed and he has much more muscle along his back by being ridden regularly and trotting up lots of hills! The saddler is coming out to refit his saddle!

 

[Bathnewrider1]

Meant to add that it's odd that he was so good in trot in his old home in their tiny sand school, no spooking or mucking around but I guess that may also be a settling in problem.

 

[Apercrumbie]

This sounds great, well done and stick with it. I think you're going to end up with a great pony!