producing ponies for children

[angelish]

hi
that seems like a rather grand title but couldn't think of anything to suit

some of you may remember the welsh one that i bought as a project to play with while my main man was on the injury list
the time has come to part with him i'm gutted but can't keep up with riding, competing and paying livery for two as C is now back in full work ,i have already kept him longer than i intended

so ill get to the point
iv'e sort of sold him to a friend for her children (he's 14'2) but she won't have the money until next year so i have agreed to keep him until then for her as it will be a good home and thats really important to me as iv'e stupidly gotten attached to him

so the new jockey is a lot smaller than me and is a fairly novice rider although she manages him in walk trot and canter she looses her balance a little (he has a massive trot)

she rode him today and iv'e already noticed the canter "button" is in the wrong place for her as i have stupidly long legs and nearly touch his hip when i ask
so stirrups stupidly short to retune canter button but what else should i be doing with him to prepare him properly ?

he's never carried children before but is being very sweet and looking after her and i'd say he is a little too big for her atm
he obviously is now safe in traffic ,alone/in co ,safe for her to catch ,brush ,be around etc and all the usual must haves for an adult ,he even leads quietly from another horse
i don't spend allot of time around children and don't have my own ,so what is important to you as a parent/instructor etc should the perfect pony be able to do ?

any ideas ? i had intended on trying to find him a home with a small adult simply because i didn't want him being past around hundreds of homes when children out grow him but my friends children are never going to be any taller than 5"2 so if he plays his cards right he would have a home for life

this is he

 

[be positive]

I have produced a few ponies and the main thing is to try and not make them too sensitive, they will need to accept the odd wobbly moment, a kick instead of a squeeze, the occasional pull on the reins, however well a child rides or is taught they will make mistakes and a good pony needs to take this in its stride without getting too upset.
Try and ride with a little less discipline, not in the pony but in yourself, do not allow bad manners but give him a little rope at times and see if he takes advantage or stays the same, have a blast once in a while just as kids will want to at PC camp or riding with friends, again insist he stays mannerly and does not get above himself.
Jumping, try not to place him perfectly, think how a novice will ride at first and let the pony learn to look after itself and its rider.
The worst ponies to reschool for children have been the over sensitive, sharp ones that over react to little things going wrong, losing a stirrup sent one into orbit, how many kids will manage to never lose a stirrup once in a while, something else to do with yours.

 

[angelish]

thanks very much

thats very helpful ,i do tend to help him quite a lot, ill try to leave him alone and let him think for himself ,he past the stirrup test today as she had a wobble coming back to trot from canter and he stopped and waited for her to right herself

i can't see a stride to save my life so he has to help me when jumping so he's used to fending for himself then
ill try to think more child like and behave a little differently and see how he reacts/if he takes the micky


i bet that pony lost a few kiddies
i only got the idea mine was suitable when i saw what was out there by means of children's ponies one i tried for her was really nappy and kept rearing it intimidated me let alone a child its amazing what people will try to sell

 

[FfionWinnie]

He is a cracker, lovely pony. I don't ride with stirrups and have tried holding my legs extremely high and actually the button still works, I just think kids don't have the leg strength even for what we would class as very light aids. It would be ideal for this girl to ride him as much as possible while you still own him I'd think. Then she improves and he gets used to her while you are still schooling him correctly.

 

[angelish]

thanks for the input

i didn't think of that ,although i don't kick my leg aids are likely to be quite strong because my other horse is bone idle ill think about how strongly i'm using my legs when i ride him tomorrow

the plan is for her to take him next year about march time and i think a lot of him so i really want it to be the right home so she's coming over as much as is poss to ride him ,ill even plat him up and take him to a show for her to ride
i also have planned to take him to her yard for me to hack out with her mother to see how he copes with a faster road ,i think he'll be fine with this as he's great in traffic but our lorries and tractors slow down ,there's tend to just wizz on past

 

[be positive]

The stirrup test is a good one, a pony that stops and waits is probably going to suit as it usually shows a kind pony that is sensitive to what is happening, not reactive to something slightly out of balance, he sounds and looks a lovely pony, lucky child getting such a nice first pony and she will learn to ride better for having a good one to start on.

The one that went into orbit was sold to an adult for dressage, it was even worse when jumping if the child lost its balance at all, dressage suited him well.

 

[FfionWinnie]

thanks for the input

i didn't think of that ,although i don't kick my leg aids are likely to be quite strong because my other horse is bone idle ill think about how strongly i'm using my legs when i ride him tomorrow

the plan is for her to take him next year about march time and i think a lot of him so i really want it to be the right home so she's coming over as much as is poss to ride him ,ill even plat him up and take him to a show for her to ride
i also have planned to take him to her yard for me to hack out with her mother to see how he copes with a faster road ,i think he'll be fine with this as he's great in traffic but our lorries and tractors slow down ,there's tend to just wizz on past

I think they are very lucky to have your back up

I am bringing on a 13.2 for the future and it has been an eye opener for me as my pony is a lovely safe and forward going easy to ride pony - for me. However two novice riders also ride her now and she is reluctant to move forward for one, bends the wrong way and naps with her and with the other one (adult novice) she refuses to lead on a hack. So while she is an easy pony for me she has a few things to iron out before my daughter has the ride.

To be fair to the pony she doesn't do anything dangerous and it is her standing still and not going, not doing anything bad, it's welsh pony cheek more than anything, but it was quite a surprise to me!

 

[angelish]

The stirrup test is a good one, a pony that stops and waits is probably going to suit as it usually shows a kind pony that is sensitive to what is happening, not reactive to something slightly out of balance, he sounds and looks a lovely pony, lucky child getting such a nice first pony and she will learn to ride better for having a good one to start on.

The one that went into orbit was sold to an adult for dressage, it was even worse when jumping if the child lost its balance at all, dressage suited him well.

thank you ,he is a lovely pony i'm incredibly proud of how he's turned out and very lucky to have had such fun bringing one on, there are going to be a lot of tears when he goes and i really hope he's going to be her horse of a life time

he was that frightened he bounced me off a transit van the first week i had him for him to be so chilled and trustworthy now its hard to beleve he's the same pony but he does have the most amazing temp ,he's the kind that would be heart broken if you fell off

he just had a ruff time and needed to get his confidence

 

[angelish]

I think they are very lucky to have your back up

I am bringing on a 13.2 for the future and it has been an eye opener for me as my pony is a lovely safe and forward going easy to ride pony - for me. However two novice riders also ride her now and she is reluctant to move forward for one, bends the wrong way and naps with her and with the other one (adult novice) she refuses to lead on a hack. So while she is an easy pony for me she has a few things to iron out before my daughter has the ride.

To be fair to the pony she doesn't do anything dangerous and it is her standing still and not going, not doing anything bad, it's welsh pony cheek more than anything, but it was quite a surprise to me!

eeee the cheeky monkey

i just want whats best for the pony ,he got me through a tough 12 months when i thought my other horse's injury was the end of the world and he made me smile a lot i feel i need to re pay the favor

i know thats a bit soppy and i don't expect a garentee that he won't be sold as things change ,but i'd always have him back ,i just can't keep two or he'd be staying

if i win the lotto in the next few weeks there is going to be a very disapointed little girl around here