not sure what to do

[tinycharlie]

Hi there, we have a pony that my daughter rides, she's 11,pony is 6 and 12 hh approx. ( haven't measured lately) we have someone come and ride the pony and when she rides he behaves very well, he naps a bit but he walks,trots,canters and she even had a little jump out of him yesterday. When my daughter gets on the pony takes the mick as my daughter lacks the confidence to kick him on so he just stands there or drags himself along. He's not very good off the leg and the rider has to use a lot of leg and voice to encourage him on.
The rider is giving my daughter lessons as well as schooling the pony but I'm not sure it's benefiting my daughter as much as I would like.
Do I get her lessons at a riding school to improve her riding on a different pony? Do I get a different rider as I don't feel he is being schooled as well as he could be, shes not teaching him to go off the leg lightly so it can be transferred to my daughter when she gets on. Also he is quite strong so the napping can be more of an issue when daughter is on,he doesn't do anything just pulls to the gate.
We do have an instructor nearby with a school so I might enlist her help.
I'm just not sure what to do, part of me thinks I should sell or loan the pony and get my daughter riding lessons for a while before getting something more suitable but I'm torn as while I don't mind loaning I don't want to sell him and not know where he ends up. He is a very kind loving pony just green and inexperienced. I can't afford right now to send him away unfortunately
Wwyd? Please help

 

[be positive]

You need to find someone who can ride the pony and school it properly to improve the way it goes for your daughter, it sounds as if this rider may not really be experienced enough to get it going the correct way and transfer that to teaching your daughter, if it is not improving the situation it would be worth looking for someone more qualified, by qualified I mean experienced with small ponies and young children, before you move the pony on.
The pony is very young and may not have done much in the past, many small ponies are not properly started, if they are quiet a child gets popped on and led every where, pony just learns to go on the lead and the transition to going off becomes an issue if a good rider is not involved at that stage.
Loaning may be ok but your daughter will probably be too big to ride him in a year or two so you will possibly have to replace him or end up having him out on loan for many years.
I would find a good instructor that is experienced with ponies/ children that can really help with going back to basics, getting the pony more responsive, building your daughters confidence, not every one that rides or teaches has the skills to do both, it is really worth investing some money in his schooling now, even a week in a good yard could have a huge impact.

You could be involved, some long reining and lunging to get him going forward, if done correctly, will improve his way of going, help him become more responsive to the voice, he would really benefit from going back to basics, get him out hacking as well to make going forward more fun for him as well as your daughter, if you walk with them he should be happy enough and it will all be adding to his education.

 

[Midlifecrisis]

Morning tinycharlie -I have been in similar situation so here are my thoughts for what they are worth:-
Children always benefit from riding different ponies and success elsewhere can boost confidence with own pony.
Having other people ride your pony sympathetically can also help but if you are not happy with current rider then do find someone else.
Length of ownership makes a difference - taking time to bond on the ground and making sure pony moves willingly backwards/sideways/forwards for your daughter will help their partnership.
My daughters pony is nappy and will stand still or stop at gate or people he wants to "hang" with so when he does we make it "uncomfortable" - we jiggle our seat--wobble about and gently shake the reins and as soon as he moves we sit still. We also use an "encourager" a plaited soft rope with huge tassle on end(a natural horsemanship tool) to slap the shoulders rather than whip to tap behind girth as the whip made our pony try to buck.
Will your pony lunge - if so let daughter ride on the lunge with you so you can stop the napping to gate and daughter concentrates on leg aids and moving him forward.
I assume the person giving the lessons is not an experienced instructor - if so and you aren't happy then definitely find an experienced instructor to teach both and keep looking until you find someone you and your daughter likes - its your money.
Its taken us 7 months to bond and work through "issues" with a pony that wasn't supposed to have any so if you love him ..keep going.

 

[tinycharlie]

Thank you for your advice
I'm a bit annoyed with myself in a way as they did have a lesson in an outdoor school with the instructor up the road and it went quite well but I didn't carry on with the lessons when I should have really. I'm confused as what to do most of the time, do I get him schooled on his own,do I get them lessons so they can be taught together. It's really hard to know what to do for the best coupled with the fact that my daughter is losing interest because it isn't fun some of the time and because I lack confidence with him as well and also because I work quite a bit I feel guilty as hell that I don't always have the time or energy to devote to their partnership. What I could do with is a helpful friend lol to do things with them when I can't

 

[Pearlsasinger]

The pony isn't taking the mick, he is responding to your daughter's aids, or lack of them. The pony isn't a mind-reader, why wouldn't he stand still if your daughter doesn't ask him properly to move. Ponies which guess what their tiny riders want and do it are worth their weight in gold - and usually much older than 6.
I suggest that you speak to your neighbour and ask for more lessons and some help for your daughter - I'm guessing that this route will cost more than the rider that you have atm though.

 

[FestiveFuzz]

Thank you for your advice
I'm a bit annoyed with myself in a way as they did have a lesson in an outdoor school with the instructor up the road and it went quite well but I didn't carry on with the lessons when I should have really. I'm confused as what to do most of the time, do I get him schooled on his own,do I get them lessons so they can be taught together. It's really hard to know what to do for the best coupled with the fact that my daughter is losing interest because it isn't fun some of the time and because I lack confidence with him as well and also because I work quite a bit I feel guilty as hell that I don't always have the time or energy to devote to their partnership. What I could do with is a helpful friend lol to do things with them when I can't

I doubt this will be what you want to hear but really you should be doing all of the above. If he were mine I'd have a professional schooling him that can also give your daughter weekly lessons therefore helping transfer what they are teaching the pony into how your daughter rides him. Granted this won't be cheap...but it would give both your daughter and the pony the best chance with their partnership.

 

[tinycharlie]

Thank you all for your advice, I am I think going to get the rider to ride him and include my daughter once a week and then get her a weekly lesson with our neighbour also. I need to get off my backside and take them out on hacks too, I need to exercise more myself lol the house work can wait 😏