Those of you with forward going horses

[AngieandBen]

Do they ever tire? I'm riding my daughters 12.3hh NF who she used to race and do gymkhana on, he's very very forward going, totally bomb proof and never spooks; but, he is so damn fast and strong! He just never tires out, even after a three hour hack with lots of gallops. H tends to jog a lot on the way home, not as bad as he used to, but at the age of 49 its very tiring for me!

So what I think I'm asking is do you mind the jogging/going fast all the time ( he will walk on the buckle going out on the ride! ) what do you do to controll the speed it if anything and how do you stop when running out of space!

I used to have lessons on him a few years ago and after 6 months he calmed down enough for me to canter at a reasonable pace in the school, however hacking, he is always the same.

I am loving it, he's a very comfy and fun ride

 

[Spyda]

Both my first ponies were like that (a Welsh Sec B and an Arab). Never tired outwardly, ever; they'd just have kept on going until they dropped if allowed. Both were anxious types with dubious pasts, and I think it was half to do with temperament and half due to past experiences, with mine.

 

[Trolley Hunter Type]

My 13.2 SHP is the same, shes 23 now but still a spring chicken, safest pony ever but never tired out, she would gallop and jog everywhere.

When I was 11 this was fun, now at 23 myself and bigger boobs jogging is not so much fun ; )

I think they do have to listen when told to walk, I used to make her halt every time she jogged and let her have a reasonably loose rein.

Strangely taking my feet out the stirrups also made her walk

 

[JenHunt]

hills is what you need! Ron gets like this at this time of year when he knows hunting is round the corner, and we do laps of the hills until he needs to be encouraged to canter rather than trot, then we call it a day. Problem is he just gets fitter! He's also not fed any cereals!

 

[MrsMozart]

Lots of schooling and lots of not 'letting him get away with it', in whatever way you need to do for him.

Grey Mare can be a bit, um, forward going and joggy. D1 has to hold her with a steady contact, not give to any of the tugs she does with her head or the jittering she does, then the moment GM relaxes she gets a reward of a soft hand and a stroke. Takes a wee while, but she does start to relax and chill, then gets to the point where D1 can ride on the buckle .

Dizz doesn't jog, but can produce a massively long walk stride, which eats up the ground and leaves everyone else behind. Half halts and leg yields (where it is safe to do so) and she goes much steadier

Hate jogging. Too much of me is still going even when the horse has stopped

 

[wyrdsister]

In my experience, nope! Some can be schooled into better behaviour, others, well...good luck if you give it a go

I had a mare in her early thirties on loan when I was a kid, she never ever got tired and didn't know the meaning of the word 'walk' unless she was in the show ring. She was an absolute sweetheart most of the time, but on one memorable occasion I came off her in the snow up on Dartmoor and it took me 3 hours to catch her, most of which she spent galloping around in full 'wooohooo!' manner. I was shattered when I got her back. She jogged sideways all the way home. Another, also on the moor (there is a theme here!), she heard the hunt and I spent 40 mins galloping in a circle because she wouldn't go stop or go home and I wouldn't let her go with them! She'd had a great life, was always well looked after, never had a lame or sick day (save during the brief spell we tried retiring her), and up until the day she died had no concept of what 'getting tired' meant.

I also have a 30 year old that I've had for fourteen years now. He'd had his wind touched and, at 20 developed a heart murmur. I retired him at 28 when he started showing signs of getting tired - and looked stunned by it. He's now field boss at the retirement centre and still first to lead the whole herd off on a merry gallop!

Enjoy it!

 

[AngieandBen]

yeah I do enjoy it, its keeping me fit, I've lost over half a stone in 7 weeks!

He lives out, never rugged and has just a handful of HH and the right weight.

I had lessons on him, every week for 6 months, and he was fine in the school! I do make him stop and breathe when he jogs lol, that does work.

We have hills, masses of them, can't go outside the house without going up or down one! it certainly helps to contol the speed. We went to Holkham beach a few weeks ago, the ride to the beach was 6 miles then he must of galloped for miles and miles when we got there, what an experience though!

He is 18 now, had him for 10 years, would never part with him, people do smile at me when I'm hacking " aww cute little pony!

wyrdsister, your mare sounded just like Turbo, never been lame in his life, don't suppose he will change now.

Its weird how safe I feel on him, even galloping down a slight hill, I trust him so much. My other pony who is 14.1hh and 20 is soooo slow but is quite jumpy which makes me more nervous!

 

[AngieandBen]

Forgot to add, we bought him from a riding school 10 years ago, They were going to get rid of him as only my daughter could ride him without pulling his mouth so we bought him.

His past, as like yours Spyda is very uncertain, he will not let anyone other than myself or my daughter catch him, he is still a litlle headshy ( has lots of scaring around his head ) although no problem to put headcollar on or bridle. He's very loving to me and some females, men he will not let touch him.

Wish they could talk!

 

[PingPongPony]

mine is a bit forward going and joggy. i know this will sound weird but all i do to stop her from jogging is: hold reins by buckle, but all my weight into my bum and heels as to make myself heavy, and say to her ''can you stop jogging please'' in a calm voice, she then does, to which i say ''thank you'' and then after a max 10 strides of walk we jog again so i repeat it all to stop after a gallop if all else fails is to turn her sharp into a hedge she stops then just make sure that said hedge is large enough that they won't attempt to jump it! nope she never gets tired either another thing that i do is not hold her back when we gallop, start pulling up when you want to but don't hold all the way through as that just makes her determined not to stop.

 

[AngieandBen]

yes thats exactly what I do! have a fairly loose rein ( this takes some courage to start with! ) legs forward heels down and squeeze bum!

I always let him go when cantering and galloping, then think about stopping near the end.


This is us on the beach lol, great leg position eh? he was very excited !