spooky pony

[debsflo]

my 13 year old daughter has a 14.3 on loan .she is very sweet but green. originally she was rescued as a 2 year old and has been with the same family for the last 7 years although not done very much is willing. the problem is that she is quite spooky and will sometimes shy at something unseen. no problems when hacked out in company. after last few months of work daughter has fallen off 3 times twice jumping, not at fence but at something in field and once cantering out hacking.i dont want my daughter to lose confidence, shes a nice quiet rider and has regular lessons but tends to tip forwards which were working on. pony seems genuinly anxious not malicious ,how can i improve her confidence and reduce spooking .any advice please.

 

[Walder]

if she tips forward you might consider getting her a balance handle which clips to the front of the saddle d rings - it helps push you into the saddle and stops you tipping (i made a makeshift one with an old flash strap) and i have also put my 14.3 on a calmer it has worked wonders (i couldnt get her out of the yard 3 weeks ago!!

 

[mollymurphy]

i would be tempted to put something 'scary' in a paddock with her and let her get used to it. A couple of mine are 'handy ponies', and if we ever came across something that they weren't sure of, we'd stay with it until they realised it was ok. For example, Murph was once scared of a fake roadworks with a scarecrow and a pram. He wouldn't walk through, so i got off, walked through it myself (he didnt take his eyes off me!), let him have a sniff, then got back on and he walked through no probs!

With dolly, i've tied a plastic bag to a pole in her field and turned her out with it. She snorted and ran round it at first, but curiosity soon got the better of her and she crept closer and closer until she sniffed it, realised it was boring, then wondered off to graze. Laying tarpolin sheets on the floor and asking them to walk over them also works wonders (inhand, on a lunge line at first or turned out loose). I think novel objects teach them how to cope with new things out on hacks. The horse relates it to similar past experiences, and if that experience was ok, the horse tends to be ok.

Can really depend on the individual though.

Good luck with her! x x

 

[riotgirl]

Have you tried a strap around the neck (pony, not daughter

)? Can be useful just to grab on to something to get your balance. Also gives you a bit more confidence.

 

[Walder]

the trouble with neck straps is that they tend to tip the rider further forward - thats why the balance strap is such a good idea as it lets you stay in the saddle the more you pull the deeper you sit

 

[CheekyCob]

Hi There!

I used to be quiet a nervous rider and would tip forward when the horse spooked which made the horse worse as it thought " well, if you're scared AND I'm scared then I had better spook and protect myself" as the horse isn't getting confidence from you. So what I did was have someone with me on a hack and when I would lean forward they told me to lean back and after a while I found I grew with confidence as my horse trusted me more, and spooked less.

Also, where you jump, if it's and enclosed area, if you're allowed try turning your horse out into it and let it flush all the big green bogey monsters out by itself. (I had to do that with mine now she just looks at things). However, if it's not enclosed then every day or so lead the horse around the outside just in walk and when it's scared, let it look at whatever it is, until it realises there's nothing to be scared of. This is a great booster for your horse if it can look at the monster, and if you talk to the horse and reasure it, it will start to listen to your voice and grow confidence from it when you ride - just remember don't re-act when it spooks, if you do it won't help the horse, if you don't it will think " well if you weren't frightnened, why should I be?".

Also last thing you could try (this is getting long now - sorry if all i'm doing is blabbering on) is going out with someone on a bike on a hack. If the bike is infront the horse should follow it and gain confidence as it things it being another horse, also this is good as the bike flushes out the spookies!

Oh, one more idea. Try doing flat work where, there's nothing around all distracting the horse and get it to concerntrate on You. Nothing else, your voice, your aids, and talk to it all the time - doesn't matter how old a horse is, it loves being talked to and loves to know it's not alone.

Hope I've been some help, as all the thing's upbove I've tried and have worked with my youngster who know is pretty much bombproof, except for the odd drain cover and pheasant!

Kat xxxx

good luck!