Post by Elaine on Nov 1, 2007 9:59:28 GMT
Every so often you come across a pony/horse who is difficult to lead, walks into you, stands on your toes or dives for grass .... none of them very nice for a young rider 
.. but the good news is that you can retrain a bargey strong pony into being a exquisite gentleman or lady.... it just takes a little groundwork, and help from a willing adult 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Firstly... a small (or large for that matter) pony who doesn't want to lead nicely can be as strong as a tank!! If they're not too bad its easy enough to ask them to back straight away and they'll do it, but if they're really strong you might need a a little more help at the start, so rope in an adult whos done this thing before, or who's relaxed and patient (impatient adults are no good for this) and who you'll repay by cleaning your room and doing the washup all weekend!
With the leading, this is the general idea. Ask your adult helper to do all of this first, and then when you see your pony learning and getting better, you can try.
TRAINING WITH THE ADULT AND PONY
1. Put on a hat and gloves and a coat, and good sturdy boots.
2. Walk pony on loose rein (you're probably not doing this at the minute and I dont blame you!), normal headcollar you use & LONG rope (ie about 12 foot) in enclosed arena or small paddock.
3. Walk like you're going to a 50% off sale at your local tack store You can't wait to get there!!
4. Stop dead, pony still on loose rein.
5. Pony will do 1 of 3 things.
Stop dead with you (unlikely). ;D
Walk over you (likely)
Keep walking past you (also likely)
6. See which ones your pony does.
7. One step after pony has gone too far, or has bumped into you, bump backward on lead rope, and make her step backwards a few steps. This is the hard part at the beginning. This is you saying 'no, you can't walk over me'. But it is what will improve your ponys behaviour. Once you've done this (give yourself a pat on the back), as your pony is standing there, rub her and tell her how wonderful you think she is. Her brain will be doing 90 at this stage
8. Then ask her to walk on again ON A LOOSE REIN. She'll think the first time was just a fluke, and when you stop dead, she'll again try to walk over you, or bump into you. Now you need to say no again. Bump lead rope backwards and ask her to take a few steps backwards. Again, when you've one this and shes there looking at you going 'what is she on today. this isnt normal!' spend a minute and rub and praise her.
9. Repeat every time she bumps or walks past you from now going forward, in yard, on lane, in paddock, everywhere.
10. After five or 10 minutes you should start to see an improvement.
TRAINING WITH THE YOUNG RIDER AND PONY
11. When there is a really good improvement, then its time for the young rider to see how they get on
.. but the good news is that you can retrain a bargey strong pony into being a exquisite gentleman or lady.... it just takes a little groundwork, and help from a willing adult ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Firstly... a small (or large for that matter) pony who doesn't want to lead nicely can be as strong as a tank!! If they're not too bad its easy enough to ask them to back straight away and they'll do it, but if they're really strong you might need a a little more help at the start, so rope in an adult whos done this thing before, or who's relaxed and patient (impatient adults are no good for this) and who you'll repay by cleaning your room and doing the washup all weekend!
With the leading, this is the general idea. Ask your adult helper to do all of this first, and then when you see your pony learning and getting better, you can try.
TRAINING WITH THE ADULT AND PONY
1. Put on a hat and gloves and a coat, and good sturdy boots.
2. Walk pony on loose rein (you're probably not doing this at the minute and I dont blame you!), normal headcollar you use & LONG rope (ie about 12 foot) in enclosed arena or small paddock.
3. Walk like you're going to a 50% off sale at your local tack store You can't wait to get there!!
4. Stop dead, pony still on loose rein.
5. Pony will do 1 of 3 things.
Stop dead with you (unlikely). ;D
Walk over you (likely)
Keep walking past you (also likely)
6. See which ones your pony does.
7. One step after pony has gone too far, or has bumped into you, bump backward on lead rope, and make her step backwards a few steps. This is the hard part at the beginning. This is you saying 'no, you can't walk over me'. But it is what will improve your ponys behaviour. Once you've done this (give yourself a pat on the back), as your pony is standing there, rub her and tell her how wonderful you think she is. Her brain will be doing 90 at this stage
8. Then ask her to walk on again ON A LOOSE REIN. She'll think the first time was just a fluke, and when you stop dead, she'll again try to walk over you, or bump into you. Now you need to say no again. Bump lead rope backwards and ask her to take a few steps backwards. Again, when you've one this and shes there looking at you going 'what is she on today. this isnt normal!' spend a minute and rub and praise her.
9. Repeat every time she bumps or walks past you from now going forward, in yard, on lane, in paddock, everywhere.
10. After five or 10 minutes you should start to see an improvement.
TRAINING WITH THE YOUNG RIDER AND PONY
11. When there is a really good improvement, then its time for the young rider to see how they get on