Question for a friend about her pony

K

Kola Bear

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 April 2011
Messages
196
Location
Essex,UK
Visit site
My friend has a 20 year old ex riding school cob. He has recently started napping at a corner in the field and school when ridden. He has had back, teeth, vet check ect and nothing showed up. she is having a lesson on saturday but asked me to post on here for any advice
 
Does she vary his workload, does he hack, jump etc, or just she just school? This tends to happen a lot with ex RS as they just get sour after time.
 
She used to ride him in a school and he was fine didnt nap and when she rode him in the field he did- now shes moved yards there is no school and she only hacks which he is fine and in fields he naps badly- she recently took him to a indoor school to try him and see if he differs- he napped
 
So basically he's always napped in the field when ridden, she's latterly only hacked him and therefore hasn't challenged him over it because he doesn't nap when hacking and now he's sussed that she has no tools to deal with it so he naps in the school as well?
 
Carry a dressage whip in both hands and when he naps crack him wit the outside whip followed with the inside one without taking hands off the reins and rive him forward fast. Do it every time he even thinks about napping and he will soon stop.
 
OK so it's a longstanding problem he doesn't display hacking.

What did she do to overcome it on the hack and has she done the same in the field? What happens with another rider on?
 
Right, if he's an old riding school lag he probably goes "la la la I can't hear you". Whilst I don't advocate beating a horse I'd be inclined to give him one HARD smack behind the leg and see if he took any notice.

Alternatively, stick him on a trot circle in the middle of the field/school and get him leg yielding in and out to make it smaller and larger and get him concentrating on his legs rather than on where he's going to nap, then move the circle round the field getting closer to the corners he's inclined to nap in but keeping him going through it.

What does he do with a different rider and what have they tried?
 
kicking or using a whip would cause our nappy pony to rear

I have found useful disengaging the hindquarters, so ask for a lateral bend on the say the inside rein, (can be either), tip his nose towards you a little, move your inside leg back behind the girth and ask his hind leg to step under (yield), for a couple of steps, (must cross - in front of the outside hind leg)

this helps unstick the pony, then in a flowing movement ask the pony forward in the direction you are now facing forwards and with lots of impulsion

if the pony naps repeat, eventually, if you do this the pony soon stops napping or sticking, useful for any pony that is stuck, will not go forward, focus on the forward in any direction, rather than the direction initially
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top