I Need Training Suggestions For A Pony

[erinjograves]

Hi Everyone! As some of you know, I bought home little Mr. Tucker Butt at the beginning of March. I have since done nothing but ground work with him. He walks on the lead very well now and doesnt crowd near as much as he did. He lunges quite nicely and learned very quickly the voice commands. He also learned very quickly that whoa does not mean "hurry up and run to the person at the end of the lunge line". Boy was that fun!

So my next thing is this. I normally work with bigger horses, and for some reason, little guys, like Tucker and babies, kinda throw off my train of thought. I honestly think I am a little more frightened of the little guys than I am the bigger guys. That makes no sense to me, but I guess that is the way my brain thinks. Huh! Go Figure.

Tucker is a beautiful mover and truly wants to please. He would be an awesome hunter/jumper pony. Problem #1 - I am Western Pleasure. I have taken lessons for English in the past and I can walk trot canter with no problem. Tucker is only about 13 hands, so I cant ride him myself.

I guess my question here is...what is the best way to teach a pony you cant ride yourself how to be a hunter/jumper. I still have a ways to go. I would like to sack him out to a saddle and bridle as soon as I feel he is ready and then begin long lining him. I have a small student who is a very good rider that has agreed to come out and ride him when he is ready. But I just want to be sure I am doing things the right way.

What are some of the tips and tricks you guys used on your horses/ponies? I am always open to new ideas and I think with this guy I am gonna need all the pointers I can get. He was severly abused and still has some trust issues.

Any Ideas? Pointers?

Thanks everyone! This turned out longer than expected! Sorry!

 

[Phyxius]

I guess my question here is...what is the best way to teach a pony you cant ride yourself how to be a hunter/jumper.

Get Simply Devine Horse Training to do it for you.


Seriously though, PM devinej here on the forum. She is the hunter/jumper pony extraordinare here in SOMD.

 

[mingiz]

Devine the pony girl

 

[devinej]

haha apparently i'm the pony girl. I'd be happy to help you out.

I like longing, teaching them voice commands walk, trot, canter, whoa, etc. longe them in side reins to allow that neck to stretch out some. longe over trot poles, over jumps if he's old enough (how old?). teach about bending flexing, moving away from pressure. any sacking out is always helpful. get the saddle and stuff on as soon as you can. use a full cheek snaffle bit.
you want a hunter pony to go on forward at all of the gaits. at the trot, look for the hind end to track up into the foot prints from the front feet at least.
its always good to have a pony that will trot if you run while leading it. they need to know how to do that.
13 hands is a medium pony, middle range. a longer canter stride helps for getting them down the jump lines. any stride lengthening and shortening work you can do will help as the pony will have to compete against ponies up to 13.2 hands (2 inches does make a difference in the pony world)
I really like ponies. i hope you are having fun with him!

 

[devinej]

ps. thanks Phyx and Mingiz

 

[BZHorseMomE]

:worthless

Ponies brains are definately different from horses.

 

[mingiz]

ps. thanks Phyx and Mingiz

JUst getting brownie points with ya.... May need ya when I get the Fox Trotter filly.....

 

[erinjograves]

Thanks Devine! He definatly moves out and looks absolutly gorgeous doing it. Why a full cheek snaffle?? Is it any better than a loose ring snaffle?? I have never had any luck with full cheeks, that is why I am asking. I am glad you mentioned side reins, I have them and wanted to use them on him but I wasnt sure if I could or would want to. I am telling you - if this were a full sized horse I would have no issues, but this little man is making my brain shut off.
I havent sticked him yet, so I am not sure exactly how tall he is. I am gonna try to do that this morning.
Pictures.... The three pictures of Tucker by himself are when he was still at his old home. The one with him and Boomer is at my place. They were both still wooly and Boomer was FAT!!! Boomer is 15.3.
Thank you again!
Erin

 

[devinej]

brownie points hahahaha. don't know much about fox trotters. eh but i don't know much about paso finos, twh, or racking horses either and i've been riding them too...i wonder how much i'm doing wrong haha

hmmm can you pretend he's a full size horse?? haha. ponies do have slightly different brains than horses. but it can be a good thing.
i say full cheek snaffle to make steering more simple. generaly hunter ponies esp.. mediums don't need to go on the bit, or have any special head carriage, so a loose ring isn't needed. and kids can pull a loose ring through the mouth, but they can't pull a full cheek through. 99% of ponies at hunter shows will be in a full cheek snaffle of some sort.

with the side reins, you just want to teach him not to resist the reins, and to find longer neck a little bit if he likes to go with his head stuck up in the air. it helps them move a little better, relax the back. but you want to keep their poll at or above the level of the withers and not let their nose get behind the vertical. also consistency of gait.

 

[Pasofever]

brownie points hahahaha. don't know much about fox trotters. eh but i don't know much about paso finos, twh, or racking horses either and i've been riding them too...i wonder how much i'm doing wrong haha
.

My 2 yr old paso does do a flat walk with her head down