thoughts and suggestions please.

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riding_high

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i'll try and keep this short but with as much detail as i can think of.

i've had a nice family come and view my pony (3 times so far) with the hope of taking him on loan, he's very green but is obliging to what's being asked of him. he's about 5.5yrs old.

when the people came to see him on thursday he was very well behaved and well mannered, the girl rode him in the outdoor arena, through a few fields and then back to the indoor arena, i've done this with him a few times so it's not new. he was ridden for about 40 mins. when i turned my back to put some trotting poles out he went down for a roll with the girl on top, she got clear in time and everyone laughed, she got back on and i walked him around, when we got to the end and talking of leaving he went for another roll, again the girl got clear of him.
now i put the rolling down to him getting a bit hot and sweaty, he was wet from the rain and also he is normally allowed to have a roll AFTER he's been untacked in the school, this is the first time he's done anything like this.

they came up again and he was ok, but we only took him in the fields, then again today and we walked around the farm boundary (a long way) and just as we were preparing for a trot (on the lead rein) he dropped to the floor again for a bleeding roll. the girl got clear (again) and got back on and we pushed him forward more so it didn't happen again!

so any thoughts on why he's doing this, i have a couple of ideas why but would love to hear from others.

second problem is that he's taken to scratching his back legs with the opposite one and stomps alot, he isn't a hairy pony but all i can think of is maybe something like mites??? his legs are very clean (no cuts etc) and mud seems to jump away from him as well so not sure what to do about it and is it possible it's to do with his rolling?

just to add that i rode him this afternoon and gave him free rein just to see if he would try and roll with me but he didn't while out and about but thought about it in the school until i told him to get on and behave, so i did some repetition work with him at walking then standing etc and after thinking about it the first time he didn't try it again.

chocolate biscuits and wine for reading, thankyou.
 
Not sure about the itching/ rolling link, but I never let any of mine roll in the school at any time, especially ponies, they learn so quickly and I had one here that rolled when ridden, he got worse despite strong riders trying to prevent it, and had to be rehomed as a companion in the end as even tried when on the lead rein.
 
yeah the indoor school is sand so it might be that but also i think he knows the 'new' jockeys were nervous so wouldn't be able to stop them (2 sisters), he's never done it with anyone else which is why i was so surprised by it. i'm going to keep working on getting him to just stand around on a loose rein and hopefully he will learn not to do it with anyone.
i was thinking mites or similar, he's never had them before and he's not overly hairy.

what's the best treatment for them if it is and would it harm if it's not mites?
 
My guess is that he learnt very quickly that his rider gets off when he rolls. Has to be nipped in the bud otherwise his little habit becomes downright dangerous.

The itching could be mites. Invermectine usually gets rid of them.
 
classicalfan that's what i was thinking, he's a smart pony! only thing is that he's had a few people on him (little riders coming to try him) and he hasn't done it with any of them. even my kids have ridden him and they aren't ever paying attention yet he doesn't do it with them. just very strange he's doing it now with these 2 riders. they aren't very confident and are a bit worried about kicking him on but like i said my kids are the same.
i'll keep doing the stopping and waiting thing in different places and ask a few other people who are lighter (more like little jockeys) to get on and do the same, at least if he tries to roll they can stop him and hopefully put a stop to his nonsense, failing that i'll have to lose enough weight for him to become my little riding pony! lol

can i get invermectin from tack shops or do i need to get it from the vet? gonna phone my vet in a bit about something else so will ask for his opinion. thanks
 
be positive said:
Not sure about the itching/ rolling link, but I never let any of mine roll in the school at any time, especially ponies, they learn so quickly and I had one here that rolled when ridden, he got worse despite strong riders trying to prevent it, and had to be rehomed as a companion in the end as even tried when on the lead rein.
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ditto this
 
Amymay he's got a trace clip at the moment, would rather not clip him right out if it can be avoided but i guess if that's the only option then i will do it for him.

he's been ridden for nearly a year by quite a few different people and he's never done it before, also when the hunt is in the area the only place the horses can go for a bit of a leg stretch is in the arenas so they all roll in there when they are in there (rightly or wrongly) so stopping him from rolling full stop in the school is not going to be easy.
 
riding_high said:
Amymay he's got a trace clip at the moment, would rather not clip him right out if it can be avoided but i guess if that's the only option then i will do it for him.
Click to expand...

You don't have to clip him out - just take more coat off. So a higher trace clip with a half neck - or a blanket clip.
 
riding_high said:
can i get invermectin from tack shops or do i need to get it from the vet? gonna phone my vet in a bit about something else so will ask for his opinion. thanks
Click to expand...

Most well-known wormers contain invermectin (spelling is probably wrong though). Easiest thing to do is worm him. It gets in the bloodstream, the mites suck the blood then die. You may need to do it a couple of times in order to break the mite life cycle.
 
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