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Ideas
Feb 18, 2007 23:10:44 GMT -12
Post by echodomino on Feb 18, 2007 23:10:44 GMT -12
I need some ideas/help lol.
My friend has a 13.2/13.3 Welsh B gelding and he can be a bit of a sod. He's fine hacking but her daughter has lost the confidence to ride him in a field and school him. On a hack she'll walk and trot but in a field she'll only walk, she wants to be able to canter and jump because she wants to start some little shows with him.
I lunged him the other day and he's really quite a sh!t until he's been round a few times - he just runs and runs then stops, bounces and changes rein to run again.
Any way, she asked me to take her into the schooling area we have set up in the field (we have a school sized area fenced of with electric fencing - obviously without the power!) just me, her, her daughter and the pony to watch what he does and see if I can tell why he's doing it. I think it's excitement crossed with frustration at being worked. After speaking to her I agreed to take her in the school today and see what I think, only the daughter decided that she doesn't want to do it because her confidence is low. So I offered to ride him first.
Obviously she is going to have to work on jumping him herself as I am too big for him to carry over a jump and that wouldn't be fair but I think I'm ok to flat school him for her.
What I wanted to ask was for some ideas for getting him to behave. Apparently he either bolts and ditches his rider (he's done this to another friend) or he bucks. The small bucks my friend's daughter can sit but the big ones dislodge her and that's what's affecting her confidence. I'm having a go today, see what I think and I will be carrying a whip just incase but am a bit concerned that this may just make him buck more. I know that pushing him on all the time will help but then I don't want him tanking off.
On the other hand if he's really good for me but then his rider gets on and he's really not good, what do I do then? Ride him a bit more for her or insist on her riding him and put him on the lunge?
She's had him for a year and both her and her mum want to get him sorted now. She wants to be doing more with him. How do we stop the bucking and the bolting?
Any help?
Oh, he's ridden in a standing martingale and I think he's in a snaffle.
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Ideas
Feb 19, 2007 1:03:29 GMT -12
Post by beverley16 on Feb 19, 2007 1:03:29 GMT -12
blimey echodomino that pony sounds a handful! many of the childrens ponies are warmed up by small adults cos they are too much for little riders to get on in the show ring. has his back & teeth been checked? How old is he? he probably knows the girl is frightened of him and is now taking advantage of her. not sure if the standing martingale might make him buck cos he feels he has no where to go. this could be quite a project to get him out of his bad habit just don't hurt yourself in the mean time good luck.
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mrsp
Full Member
Posts: 277
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Ideas
Feb 19, 2007 6:00:44 GMT -12
Post by mrsp on Feb 19, 2007 6:00:44 GMT -12
Um difficult one - but I'm thinking some sort of discomfort(?) He's ok hacking on the road(straight line) but going by your post it sounds as if the moment he is asked to circle/collect/stretch etc it is either uncomfortable or he THINKS it's going to be uncomfortabe.I would consider checking his tack/teeth/back etc
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Ideas
Feb 19, 2007 6:35:16 GMT -12
Post by echodomino on Feb 19, 2007 6:35:16 GMT -12
I'll start with how it went lol. I got on and he had a wobbler, just giddying around so I turned him in circles and he settled down. We got to the field entrance and he stropped again and reared - only small - so I pushed him on and he walked beautifully up the field. We got into the riding area and I walked him around and he went to jog and I stopped him so he bucked then he sort of bounced from his front end to back end. I pushed him forwards and he was fine. Then I tried to trot. I got two strides and he bucked again, apparently they were quite high bucks but they didn't feel like it to sit. I can feel exactly when he's going to do it as well - when I ask him and he doesn't want to. Decided to leave the trot for a little while to get him settled in a walk which he did and he gradually began to relax more. He just wants to run Got a nice trot out of him eventually but found it easier to ask whilst staying sitting and that went well, only did a small circle of it though, didn't want to push my luck He then tried turning in to my friend and her daughter and when I pulled him back onto the track to do what I wanted to do, guess what he did........buck! I walked him until he had settled again and then got off. I put my friend's daughter on him and walked with her holding her reins near his head and he was a bit fidgety at first but started to walk nice enough for me to just loosely hold one rein. Then I told her to get off and leave it at that because he was being really good. My friend said that that was the best he'd been in a year and also the first time her daughter had been back on him in a field in a year. So it was successful from that point of view. I asked her how she felt whilst on him, she said she felt fine. She's a good little rider, she's ridden Nelson on several occassions and done everything on him walk, trot, canter and jumped 2ft+ and it'd be really nice for her to do it on her own pony too. She's 11/12yrs old. He's not particularly strong, but then I'm bigger and heavier than the girl who rides him. It seems like he just wants to do what he wants to do and if he cant then he'll have a paddy and try to chuck you off - though he's just found out I don't dislodge that easy!! He's around 8 years old. My friend has had everything checked, that was her first port of call, I asked before I got on and his saddle is new and I was there when the lady came out to fit it so I know that's not a problem. He did gymkhana in his previous home, I'm wondering if that has something to do with it?? And he apparently has 100 points or something to that effect for show jumping in Ireland so he must have some form of potential I think he needs something around his neck because he throws his head up as far as he can when he's having a tantrum. I'm not sure about riding him without one just yet as I've got to get used to him as well. When they went to try him out she rode him in a sand menage and apparently he was as good as gold she walked, trotted, cantered and jumped him, but we don't unfortunately have a proper school and it's in the field that he plays up. He hacks fine but like I said she has decided enough's enough and wants him sorted. I think that he was a bit better by the time we came in from the field and that if we do little and often he will improve. I'm just not sure it's going to be easy and it's certainly going to take lots of work. I'll see if I can get a bit of a video of him next time I ride him and see what you think. I promptly dropped my whip as well as that didn't appear to help at all. He is very responsive to leg and he's not having bucking fits just throws the odd one in when he doesn't get his own way. Ideas still much appreciated, sorry for the whopping great post. Beverley - I haven't hurt myself yet, well I've pulled a muscle in my arm but I can live with that ;D I don't want to make out that he's a monster. He is a nice pony he just needs lots of work.
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Ideas
Feb 19, 2007 21:05:21 GMT -12
Post by dogndobbin on Feb 19, 2007 21:05:21 GMT -12
Cannot offer any practical help to you ED but does sound like you have made a good start. He may have met his match and decide to co-operate. It is so easy to loose confidence and the clever pony probably senses he can get away with playing up his rider. Good luck.
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Ideas
Feb 19, 2007 21:12:47 GMT -12
Post by echodomino on Feb 19, 2007 21:12:47 GMT -12
I must admit that he did start to make me nervous, not because he was trying to get me off - it's not exactly a long way down off a 13.2 - but because the first time he bucked he bounced and me staying on threw his balance and he nearly fell. Which, I think, is why after that he only bucked he didn't mess around as such But it was in the back of my mind, him toppling, and that is what put me on edge. But like I said I didn't get off until he walked nicely so I think you're right DnD he's definitely recognising who's boss. Lets see if he's still talking to me this morning Ponies! Who'd 'av 'em lol
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Ideas
Feb 19, 2007 21:25:22 GMT -12
Post by haggis on Feb 19, 2007 21:25:22 GMT -12
sounds like he is trying to take the pee with this younger girl. is she quite quiet? my sec a used to do this with my older daughter as she was quiet. she didnt do it with my younger daughter as she is very loud and bossy!
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Feb 19, 2007 23:58:06 GMT -12
Post by echodomino on Feb 19, 2007 23:58:06 GMT -12
sounds like he is trying to take the pee with this younger girl. is she quite quiet? my sec a used to do this with my older daughter as she was quiet. she didnt do it with my younger daughter as she is very loud and bossy! Are you suggesting I'm loud and bossy? lol ;D No, seriously I think you're probably right. He's not been in the field to be ridden since June last year when another friend of mine got on him. He did the same to her only he succeeded in throwing her off. He was in such a strop with me yesterday because he couldn't shift me. My friend's said today that she'll give him a few months see how he goes and if he cannot improve enough for the daughter to school in the field then she'll keep him for hacking and buy her another one. Not sure that would be a solution but it's not my place to say unless she asks. I am def. gonna get a video of him being ridden but it wont be until the end of the week because he's thrown a shoe in the field. But I am prepared to help whilst they're prepared to listen.
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Ideas
Feb 20, 2007 1:50:49 GMT -12
Post by beverley16 on Feb 20, 2007 1:50:49 GMT -12
what does she feed him? it probably has nothing to do with it but its an idea. sounds like a few ponies/horses are getting fed up with stable/confined living and become misbehaved & unresponsive. Do they have super nanny for naughty horses? why hasn't he be ridden for a year? did she have this problem with him before?
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Ideas
Feb 20, 2007 3:40:58 GMT -12
Post by echodomino on Feb 20, 2007 3:40:58 GMT -12
Sorry, must be my typing lol. He has been ridden normally but only hacking. She's not taken him in a field to school for nearly a year and an other friend rode him in the field last June but he dumped her.
He has denjie lite and pasture mix - I *think*
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Feb 20, 2007 22:39:19 GMT -12
Post by beverley16 on Feb 20, 2007 22:39:19 GMT -12
he's is just being a little bugger!
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Ideas
Feb 21, 2007 6:36:30 GMT -12
Post by echodomino on Feb 21, 2007 6:36:30 GMT -12
Yup He's making good progress. I can't ride him again until Friday but I went in the field with them today to lunge him. The daughter led him round first and every time he got @rsey she just turned him in a circle and carried on, didn't speak to him, and he walked around beautifully and starting to relax. I walked him around too on both reins and only had to circle once. Started lungeing and everytime he came in I told her to shoo him out - it worked eventually when he'd stopped stropping, and when he pulled out/away I told her to give him one short pull and firmly say "here" and that worked too. He went really well walk, trot & canter. And I didn't have to intervene whilst he was being lunged, her mum and I stood talking and only spoke to her to congratulate or if she needed to shorten/lengthen the line. Her mum was really pleased too because normally she gives up on him lungeing if he plays up too much. He only did 20 mins then we called it a day again. Lets hope he's as good on Friday
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Ideas
Mar 3, 2007 0:53:10 GMT -12
Post by echodomino on Mar 3, 2007 0:53:10 GMT -12
Just a quick update! My friend came over today to see what she thought, she said when I get on and he plays up he's objecting to the weight lol she said it's not that he can't carry me, he just doesn't see why he should. He walked nicely up the field after his initial spinning fit and once in the riding area he relaxed nicely. We decided to keep him down one end as it is quite wet and it's easier to hear what people are telling you when they're closer. I asked my friend what she wanted to see me do on Taz, she said if I felt he was relaxed enough and I felt happy enough ask him to trot. Bear in mind the first time I asked him to trot he tried to throw me off!! He had a minor wobbly and tried to canter but I just stayed sittting and he gave up and went really well - he even outlined lol. I kept him going on both reins then did a lot of walk/trot trot/walk and he did it all off of voice ;D ;D Vicky got on him and walked around and had a small trot but he got fidgety for her as she's not very confident so she put him back in to a walk and did lots of walk/halt halt/walk then near the end my friend asked her to trot from one corner to the other and then ask him to walk - and she did and he did it really nicely, so we finished at that and Vicky was all ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D And guess what? ................................. NO BUCKING!! that's 3 days in a row now ;D My friend said the same as me, it's all strop but she says he's young enough to be saved ;D He's no longer allowed carrots though and his feed has been halved. Just thought I'd let you know how we were getting on ;D Oh and that's only after 5 days of being in full work ;D ;D
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Mar 3, 2007 2:21:36 GMT -12
Post by beverley16 on Mar 3, 2007 2:21:36 GMT -12
well done you must be really pleased.
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Mar 3, 2007 5:25:22 GMT -12
Post by hornby on Mar 3, 2007 5:25:22 GMT -12
Sounds good....more work and less food is often the answer to naughty behaviour!
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