Pony threatening to bite and kick daughter

My family and I did exactly this, we had a ex RS horse on working livery at the RS and decided to get me a pony and move 200 miles away to our new house with our own land. We were clueless, we got the local PC instructor (who only lived about 5 miles away) to come and help us with learning how to tie up and lead etc, because the RS had done it all before hand. My sister knew how to do some things, such as tack up, lead, tie up etc, the basics, and she managed to help me. But we were 6 and 9 at the time. I also had no riding lessons until I had had the pony for about 6-8 months, when we finally joined the PC. So I've been in this womans' shoes before. We were completely stupid to go it alone after such a short period of time, but it also taught us a lot in a much shorter time than having someone else do everything for us.

My advise, from being in your shoes before, is for you to lead said pony, as you are doing.

Don't be afraid to give it a slap with the end of the lead rope or a hand if it tries to bite/kick/barge. It has to learn it cannot get away with it.

Stop feeding treats

Get a small shetland, mine both cost about £200 each and cost us £15 every 12 weeks for a trim and wormer, v. cheap little ponies to keep (just don't give them too many carrots and too much grass). Horses are herd animals, if the pony doesn't get on with said company, you can sell a little shetland pretty quickly as a companion :)

And keep getting an instructor in to help you.

You're heading in the right direction, you just need that little extra push to get on track with the pony :)
 
Where in the UK are you Dottee? Perhaps someone on here can spare an hour to come and help you?

Ponies are big heavy animals. They need discipline. When my horse oversteps the mark eg. intruding my personal space, pulling, being bargey etc. I give her a little smack and go "Riiiiiiiiiiiiight". Now when my horse starts to pull all I have to do is go "riiiiiiiiiight" and she knows she's crossing the line. I understand not wanting to hurt her, but a little smack is much better than her becoming completely dangerous and possibly causing injuries to herself or your daughter.

Pony needs a friend. Absolutely needs it. Perhaps long term loan an older horse that would be a safe hack for you?
 
DottEE said:
Yes I used to work at the stables when I was younger.

We only give her treats when she is being good and show her our empty hands when we have ran out.
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I always showed my mare my empty hands if she had mistakenly thought I had something that might be tasty in them. Makes perfect sense to me. The best treat is a pat and a good girl comment though.
 
fatpiggy said:
I always showed my mare my empty hands if she had mistakenly thought I had something that might be tasty in them. Makes perfect sense to me. The best treat is a pat and a good girl comment though.
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Sorry if it upsets some posters her, but I also hold up my hands and say "All gone" if I haven't got anything or she's had them all, and she'll shrug and walk away. Works for us!

OP please consider getting two (you need two more because of separation issues if you take one out of the paddock) horses or ponies from a rescue centre if you're looking for companions. There are so many horses out there desperate for loving homes, and you'll get the support of the rescue organisation if you need it!
 
My Welshie was a complete nightmare when I bought him and for several months after too! He was a little angel in his current home but when I bought him and moved him to his new place he could not cope with the change and reverted to what can only be described as a wild thing straight off the moors.
He was scared and confused and his way of showing this was to be barge, rude, nippy, pulling and running away, a nightmare to ride and just about scared of everything...totally over the top reactions to things he had been fine with in his previous home.
It took a fair bit of work and patience to see things through because we are talking about half a tonne of rock solid welsh section D flinging himself about here!
I could just about control him and maintain things but did get the help of a good instructor / handler who helped me with methods, body language and his manners - or lack of them!
She really helped and showed me the right way to deal with his behaviour, whilst remaining calm and firm at all times.
This really helped him and for a period of about 8 weeks I worked with him in hand to get him over his fears and get him back to how he should be.
I would recommend that you get some help - even just another experienced person to cast an eye over things and see if there are any changes that need to be made in the handling or management of your pony. Dont struggle on your own, especially with a child also.
 
Thank you to everyone who has given me advice and taken the time to send me private messages. I shall choose to ignore those who have been calling me a troll and taking the mickey out of me.

I have spent the day phoning round livery yards and we are looking at some at the weekend. Our plan is to put the pony back on livery where we will have experienced help until we learn a bit more. Once we are more experienced we will move the pony back home with a companion or two.

I think some of you need to have a good think before being so rude to other posters on here. It has certainly put me off starting a thread on here again and I will be deleting my account after this.

To all those who have been helpful, thank you very much, it is greatly appreciated, we all have to start somewhere right?
 
diamonddogs said:
Sorry if it upsets some posters her, but I also hold up my hands and say "All gone" if I haven't got anything or she's had them all, and she'll shrug and walk away. Works for us!

OP please consider getting two (you need two more because of separation issues if you take one out of the paddock) horses or ponies from a rescue centre if you're looking for companions. There are so many horses out there desperate for loving homes, and you'll get the support of the rescue organisation if you need it!
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Gosh, I always said all gone too! She never ever checked with her teeth, just scrubbed my hands with her top lip. Now she is all gone too :(
 
DottEE said:
Thank you to everyone who has given me advice and taken the time to send me private messages. I shall choose to ignore those who have been calling me a troll and taking the mickey out of me.

I have spent the day phoning round livery yards and we are looking at some at the weekend. Our plan is to put the pony back on livery where we will have experienced help until we learn a bit more. Once we are more experienced we will move the pony back home with a companion or two.

I think some of you need to have a good think before being so rude to other posters on here. It has certainly put me off starting a thread on here again and I will be deleting my account after this.

To all those who have been helpful, thank you very much, it is greatly appreciated, we all have to start somewhere right?
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great decision, well done you! Here's to many years happiness ahead for you all with your pony.. or possibly ponies!
 
Glad you've got it sorted now Dottee! It'll probably be quite nice for your daughter to have company on a livery yard at her age really. I keep one of mine at livery and two more at home including the kid's pony, but I think my DD (who is 5) can get a little bored at home as there's less going on and we don't really have any facilities.
 
DottEE said:
Thank you to everyone who has given me advice and taken the time to send me private messages. I shall choose to ignore those who have been calling me a troll and taking the mickey out of me.

I have spent the day phoning round livery yards and we are looking at some at the weekend. Our plan is to put the pony back on livery where we will have experienced help until we learn a bit more. Once we are more experienced we will move the pony back home with a companion or two.

I think some of you need to have a good think before being so rude to other posters on here. It has certainly put me off starting a thread on here again and I will be deleting my account after this.

To all those who have been helpful, thank you very much, it is greatly appreciated, we all have to start somewhere right?
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Good decision and thank you for taking the time to post again in this thread.:)

In the meantime be firm but don't match aggression with aggression because if the behaviour is fear based, it's just going to make things worse.
 
Well Done Dottee,hope you do stay around here.It is surprising how quickly you can learn to deal with ponies with a little help.We kept ours on a private yard at home,with experienced help on hand at first and were able to move them onto our own land after 18 months.

I hadn't been around ponies for over 30 years when ours arrived and if I can do it,you can too.:)
 
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