Opinions on ponies that pop a nick when asked for canter !!!!

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mulledwhine

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I was told today I should sell him , mini would never do any good on him :(

Am I on my own , thinking that he is developing her seat??? She is not afraid , and is a rider not a passenger ?

Other than one buck when asked for canter, that is his only fault :(

I was just taken a aback :(
 
TBH, he's been consistently quite tricky for her from your posts so I can see where they're coming from...

At 6, her seat should be developing by her being able to learn to trust the pony to behave while she finds her balance and how to steer and kick and sit nicely. A lot of children who have 'learnt to stay on' have learnt to stay on by holding on to the mouth or ramming their hands too low and legs too forwards... Speaking from mine and my sister's experience on such ponies.

There's time for the naughty ponies later, when they've got it more sussed IMO.
 
I understand that :) thank you :)

She is a good rider, enjoys him ( except for the bucking )

Her riding instructor is now coming to help her control it, she test ' drove him ' and made him stop it!!!

She thinks she can help , would that make you keep at it or not ?

He really is part of the family now :( don't want to sell him, but if push came to shove , it might come to that :(
 
Have you tried long lining him? Titchy has gone through a rather difficult period and long lining him has really helped. We used a dummy as well.

Why are you thinking you might have to sell if its someone else saying it?
 
Trust me , selling is the last thing on my mind :)

I suppose I just felt a bit ganged up on, the person was quite aggressive :(

Long reining is taking place, now that I am if sound mind I know that he is taking the kick and knows that mini is not quite big enough to tell him to stop :(

Thank you for putting my mind at rest :)
 
The family I used to livery with put up with an instructor that hated their pony for a very long time. Vile woman spent most of the time criticising the pony and calling it a 'nappy little *hit' and telling the girl to kick it. Changed instructor and the pony became a dream.

Not suggesting this IS the same as the wee one IS bucking, but maybe it's not the pony that needs changing :p
 
I think as long as its not affecting her confidence then I wouldn't worry too much. Yes we'd all like the perfect child's pony but they are few and far between, he doesn't sound like an evil little git or anything. Hopefully the instructor will be able to help you and it will all smooth out.

I didn't think it was the instructor saying it just some nosy parker, Billie?
 
Mmmm mixed feelings but my big question is how does your daughter feel? Yes it can cause problems with children hanging on with hands but if daughter has quiet independent hands and good instructor i would say hang in there and try and work through it . my daughters pony from time she came of lead rein was a little s**t but by heck 20 years later she is a beautiful rider with sweet sweet hands. she always says he taught her so much :)
 
I dare not lunge him with her :(

Only because I am mostly on my own .

Thank you for the replies, I am going to stick at it :)

He loves her and she him, and like some one said, that is his only vice :)

She is a fab rider because of him :)

Thank you xxx
 
My daughters first pony bucked in the first canter and it was making her lose confidence - I know how you feel watching it! After checking the pony's saddle, teeth and back to get over it we asked her old owner and her friend to come and ride the pony through it so that cantering wasn't so exciting. I also lunged the pony and would warm down and stop after the first canter without a buck. This worked brilliantly as the pony was intelligent enough to connect not bucking with a reward and the pony is now a saint. My child was 7 at the time and I thought it was worth carrying on and not selling as the pony was bombproof out hacking and good for my daughter to catch, handle... so ticked a lot of other must have boxes. A word of warning - we still have the pony even though my daughter is 14 and a little too tall but not too heavy to ride her but refuses to sell her as pony is such fun.
 
Better the devil you know than the devil you don't! That would be my thought if he is so good in every other respect. Particularly with such a young rider.
 
Are we talking a full on buck or more of an excitable one legged kick out?
It's just that I remember riding one like this, and although it left whoever was watching me biting their nails, it really didn't feel as bad as it looked - and I did get used to it.
But if its knocking her confidence...what does your daughter say about it?
 
We are talking about a full on , sometimes , vertical buck!!!

As he Mary poppins ( practically perfect in every way :D ) we are going to stick at it :)

Spoke to her today, and she defiantly wants to keep him, " as he will be a good show jumper " her words :)

Thank you for your replies :)
 
I know how you feel.It is hard watching a young child on a pony that is taking the pee.My youngest is 8 now and her previously saintly pony has had a bout of tanking off when asked to canter,which has knocked both of our confidence in him.She had 2 weeks when she fell off 5 times.

However,she loves him,and we are presently working through it,lessons on the lunge with no stirrups or reins have helped no end,the last time he did it she stayed on.It is a fine line between teaching them to deal with the odd hiccup/naughtiness and deciding enough is enough and the child losing confidence.

Good luck,none of them are perfect and better the devil you know!
 
What Blond1 said sounds very sensible...

I take it you've had pony's back etc checked? And it is old/experienced enough to be balanced going into canter?

What happens if you lunge pony before daughter rides?
 
Would a daisy rein stop him getting his head down to buck? A few people suggested an anti bucking strap to me, but I haven't been able to ascertain what one is!
 
A bucking strap is literally a strap that attatches from d to d ring on saddle for rider to hold for security....

Naughty Titchy:rolleyes: I think the smaller they are the bigger the attitude - if if was me & I think our daughters are the same age, Id try to get the habbit nipped in the bud.. a small lightweight teen that will teach the pony that thats not on would be work a try possibly? as you dont want her to loose confidence, the odd buck doesnt matter but everytime she asks for canter is a diff story..
BTW your daughter is fab, very gutsy to get back on & crack on ... :D

FfionWinnie said:
Would a daisy rein stop him getting his head down to buck? A few people suggested an anti bucking strap to me, but I haven't been able to ascertain what one is!
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No this was definitely something that supposedly stops the animal bucking and involves their head not getting down. Titchy has a (home made:o) daisy rein on so he can't get his head down anyway so his bucks weren't as bad as MW's pony sounds like, but as my daughter is only 4, there was no way she was staying on. He is reformed now tho, see my recent thread!
 
showpony said:
A bucking strap is literally a strap that attatches from d to d ring on saddle for rider to hold for security....

Naughty Titchy:rolleyes: I think the smaller they are the bigger the attitude - if if was me & I think our daughters are the same age, Id try to get the habbit nipped in the bud.. a small lightweight teen that will teach the pony that thats not on would be work a try possibly? as you dont want her to loose confidence, the odd buck doesnt matter but everytime she asks for canter is a diff story..
BTW your daughter is fab, very gutsy to get back on & crack on ... :D
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No, a buck stop is a strap that goes over the horse's head, it's a Monty Roberts thing, and I have seen it work on naughty ponies.
 
mrhsaddler said:
Have you had the saddle checked as if it is lifting at the back in trot. It could be giving the pony a sudden smack as he goes into canter and that could be the reason for the buck
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Daughters pony started throwing a buck in when asked for canter had the saddle fitter out and it was pressing on his withers had it reflocked plus a couple of physio sessions and back to his normal self.
 
showpony said:
I would get an older stronger rider to try to ride him through it,
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This is what I'd do if it was my kid. I wouldn't let my child keep getting bucked off, it'll ruin her confidence very quickly. Definately try getting an older rider to try and school the pony, it may take a while but get the buck schooled out of it completely before letting your child canter it again. If it kept bucking after that (perhaps knowing when it was her in particular on it) then I'm afraid I'd probably look at getting another pony. At her age, she needs to be gaining confidence and having fun.
 
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