pony took off and my daughter has compound fracture

You might have already mentioned it, but how big is the pony? A small teenager could be ideal to ride the pony :)

Hope your daughter mends soon! :)
 
After loads of lessons and pony club my daughter's loan pony bolted with her on a supervised hack and put her off riding for life, so you are really lucky your daughter is still keen.

I'd say that it is extremely unfortunate that the situation arose, how would you feel about the pony if the same has happened but your daughter had bounced and not hurt herself? I would give the pony another chance, but maybe get in a more experienced child to ride it in the mean time to give you time to watch it and see how it behaves.

I do also agree with other posters who have suggested the crop should go. Some ponies and horses do react and liven up even if the rider is only holding a crop and not using it. If the pony is a bit lazy if she is not holding a crop, does this really matter currently?

Good luck with it all and wishing your daughter a speedy recovery.
 
ponymom, where are you based? let me know if it's in hampshire (or cambridgeshire from october) - i'm 18, been riding all my life and am pretty much a midget so could help you out! pm me. sorry about your daughter, so hard to deal with people you love getting injured!
 
Can I ask....do you ride yourself?
I think that at 8 yrs old and straight out of riding school, a 5 yr old pony is going to continue to be a challenge to your daughter.
Now might be a good time to a) change the pony for something a bit more suited to her abilites, and b) get some lessons yourself, and a steady neddy to ride together with your daughter.... a horse that proves to be a good nanny is never a bad thing to have!
 
Although I think letting your 8 yr old daughter "wear you down enough" to get a 5 yr old green pony when she's only ridden in a riding school wasn't a very good idea. You have it now so you've got 2 choices really:
a) sell it, get something that is more schooled & get your instructor to go with you to the view it

b) get a professional to school it whilst your daughter can't ride. 5 yr old is still a baby & could probably do with a bit more training. Then stick to jumping him in an arena for a while, I'm not surprised he got a bit excited in an open field after only really doing stuff in a school. Even my 13 yr old mare gets excited when she feels grass under her feet!

Also never stand in front of a bolting pony, it will result in the pony shying to the side 99% of the time..very likely for a rider to come out the side seat. Next time (if there is one) tell your daughter sit back & to try to turn the pony in a circle, I have yet to meet a horse that can gallop in a circle! I used to have a pony that bolted every time I rode him into canter when I first got him.. he soon learnt that he only gave himself more work by doing it as I stopped him using this trick & then made him go round again to do it properly.
 
I'd just like to say that my ponies often grazed in my garden and sometimes I rode in there too. We kept them on private land just across the drive, and often brought them over to our large garden to keep the grass down and because it was a nice enclosed space for riding in.
 
Wanted to post to say when I was a child I hounded my parents for a pony, i'd had 2 years lessons and I begged them to buy the first pony we looked at. She was beautiful, every bit the arab (didn't even know what an arab was at the time). Suffice to say she wasn't suitable, we realised this when she had a bucking and rearing fit with me followed by total meltdown, to this day I've never seen a horse so petrified. My dad rang the previous owners who advised that we hit her round the head with a stick and thought they'd like to mention that she had been lunged for an hour before we tried her, poor sod.
I'm posting this so in the hope that you dont feel too bad about whats happened, I know how persuasive I was as a child, dont beat yourself up. I have broken many bones falling off perfectly safe horses and there's is every chance I'll break a few more although this is probably testament to my rubbish riding more than anything else!
We sold the mare, she had a fantastic showjumping career with a far more experienced rider than me, we enlisted the help of a very knowledgeable local rider who found us Freddy, he was only 7 but a saint who I had 3 years of happy riding on.
Whatever you decide to do is your choice but I would get an opinion from someone else you respect as a horseman/woman so you know you arn't making a decision from sentiment (or coercion from your daughter). I begged my dad not to sell Rosie but looking back Fred was the right pony for me at that time.
 
I am sure a lot of parents have read this thread with interest. As an 'experienced rider' and mother I would love my son to ride and bought a Section A last year for him to play with and as a companion to my mare. SO far he has done litle except sit on it and 'brush her', quite deliberately on my part. BUT when he stars riding with any frequency he will be on the lead rein/lunge until he can canter unless in an enclosed space. I know this is a bit 'old style' perhaps but thats the way it will be.

I lunge her, lead her out in traffic on hand, lead her out from my mare and have a lightweight adult who sits on her occasionally, I've even sat on her myself and will continue. His pony is rising 12 now and has done lead rein and first ridden and my son is only two so hopefully she will be growing older with him.

Now I think I've done everything I can for safety short of buying an ancient pony which I didnt want. The pony is sensible, quiet enough to be handled by a child and I'm fairly confident I can help my son enjoy riding BUT the other week we had a mother bring her 'experienced' daughters to come and sit on her ( I had offered her through pony club the opportunity to do some games on the pony.)

Two children arrived, one a slightly older jockey of about 9 who walked and trotted around a big open space without a hitch. The younger child got on and the pony napped to the gate and the girl was simply unable to steer. The pony knew this and was determined to 'come home'. The girl got a bit worried as the pony 'took off' i.e trotted a bit and she struggled to pull her up.

Obviously I didnt let her and dealt with her appropriately (No not beating her senseless and I cant be bothered to explain what I did cos it took twenty minutes but there wasn't a problem at the end). The childs mother didnt know what to do and just shouted at the girl and pony.

Anyway, my point is, now I know she has done this is she immediately unsuitable for my son? No! Of course not, the younger rider was inexperienced and simply not strong enough and the pony could tell. My son will be taught how to manage her and although I am sure he will fall off her he will learn in time to ride her if he is interested enough.

If you have a pony for a young child I really think weekly lessons are not enough and ponies need schooling as much as a horse. In fact since this is our childrens lives we are talking about it is a parental responsibility to ensure the pony/child combo work within their capabilities and the schooling needs to be more regular than the riding with a young or inexperienced pair.

I think the OP was perhaps a little overconfident to assume the young rider/horse combo could cope with working in the way they where but that doesnt make it a crime (or a troll post even).

I wouldnt rush to sell the pony if it is suitable in every other way if all it did is get over keen after a jump (though I may have different opinion iof my son had been hurt) but would perhaps try and find a lightweight and competent rider who can school the pony if you are unable to do so.

To OP I appreciate everyone has posted on this thread which is a bit old now and there is a lot of sensible advice here so you may not read this but I hope your daughter is OK and not put off too much.


I would also perhaps get in touch with the pony club and see what clinics etc they offer so your daughter can satisfy urge for jumping etc in more controlled environment maybe.
 
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