Pony tanking off...

[lottiemoo]

Hi,
Looking for some advice. I have recently started working with a pony who tanks off in the school - his owner falls off when he does this so has lost confidence in the school. Out on a hack, she can trot and canter him and 99% of the time he is good and she can stay in control, and he has been fully checked and vet/farrier/saddle/teeth etc.

When I first started working with him, he couldn't trot in the school very well and often broke into canter on the corners, therefore I think it is because he finds working in the school hard, and lacks balance. After several weeks we cracked the trot and he is now happy on 20 m circles on both reins.

However, when we try canter, even on the long side he just tanks off. I do not want to punish him for this because he is finding the arena work hard, however for his owner, it is dangerous and she often falls off. I have tried letting him run until he calms himself, and then rewarding him. This was mildly successful but he is older and not too fit, so I do not want to over stress his joints, and once, he became so fast that he was stumbling round the corners and getting in a bigger pickle, so I used a one rein stop to put an end to the situation. After a canter, he then becomes hot and silly, and only wants to canter and we loose the nice work we had before.

I want to keep the sessions short and make him safe enough for his owner to ride confidently. I am reluctant to swap to a stronger bit because he is light in his mouth in walk and trot and his owner's hands are not yet quiet enough (I am also giving her lessons on a school pony).

Any ideas on how to move forward with this?

 

[Goldenstar]

Well my first thought is that the pony may have a soft tissue issue that makes being in the school painful .

 

[windand rain]

He has either soft tissue damage or it is a habit formed after either a fright or he has learned that tanking gets his rider off and he gets to stop work. Keep it slow only do one or two strides of canter before going back to walk then slow work before one or two strides of canter. Contraintuitivly you could contain him by bending his head to the school wall or fence. But firstly get the soft tissue checks sorted.

 

[RHM]

I think you need to get to the bottom of why this is happening? Such as pain, anxiety or as you mentioned maybe just unbalanced? The solution will obviously be different depending on the cause.

Mine would occasionally do this when really anxious about a situation and again only in the school. I will say that she very clearly had been ridden in a saddle which didn’t fit in the past. What helped massively (touch wood now seems to be cured) was to create a safe space in the school. This started on the ground, I created a area with a cone and when they were getting anxious they could go to the cone and have a chill out. It’s really quite difficult to teach a horse to calm down without them using you as an emotional crutch but now everyday she is getting more and more confident. And it goes without saying that she now has a saddle that fits and gets regular checks.

 

[paddi22]

what's the surface of your school like?
my first guess would be arthritis in the hocks or an SI issue that makes pushing off from the hind for canter painful. the fact it only happens on a deeper surface and not on hacks would make it more likely to be a physical issue

 

[ownedbyaconnie]

Unfortunately it could be as others suggested either pain, schooling or habit. I’d first eliminate pain. Then tackle schooling which will inadvertently tackle the habit if it is a habit at the same time!

Does the owner need to canter in the school? At the moment they’re just reinforcing the habit (if it is a habit) whilst destroying their confidence. I was very nervous of my mares unbalanced canter in the school so I worked mainly on suppleness in walk and trot (which then improved the canter) and saved the canters for hacking!

 

[Zibby]

Does he also do it on the lunge?