If the pony is that lazy, they need someone who can command energy in the saddle. A tentative rider with a lazy pony is not a good combination, IMHO. The rider lacks the will to motivate the pony and the pony knows it. Pony needs training, and it’s not your daughter who should be doing it.
StG
I disagree. A lesson horse’s job is to ignore 90% of the “aids” the kids are giving them. A beginner rider isn’t going to keep their leg still, they’re not going to keep their shoulders back, or their seat quiet because they’re learning to do all that. Those horses don’t need training, they kind of have to be desensitized because if they were sensitized, the pony would accelerate when you don’t want it to.
Now I just wouldn’t be waving a whip at the pony to get the transition faster. I’d just let the pony scramble into the canter… the transitions don’t need to be pretty at that point. It sounds like the trainer got impatient with the canter transition and applied too much pressure too fast and the pony was offended.
On the lunge the horse should be perfect before adding a rider. The lunge whip is not used for transitions. The horse should transition to canter from voice aids alone.
Later from the aides of the rider but not from the whip.
At our riding school we have mostly horses who do adult and kids. They are looking for a smaller mount but they are not as suitable as most horses.
The kids are in group lessons to their ability, so there is a lead horse and the other horses follow around the arena. All horses are well trained and I would not call them lazy.
They have idiosyncrasies of course, like Ken going into the middle until the rider is assertive enough to keep him on the track, etc.
The trainer just goes to hundred right away… There is no asking for the canter. It’s straight to using the whip pretty aggressively. Lol. And apparently, this time the pony hadn’t been turned out for a few days because of weather. So it was the perfect storm.
I do agree the horses don’t need to be super responsive. But out of all the lesson ponies/horses, this one is far lazier. I still think there are better ways than going crazy with the whip on the lunge.
My daughter actually did ride another horse at the previous barn that was much more forward and sensitive. She did pretty well with her. They told me she did better with my daughter than the other kids, because her seat was farther along, leg still and all that. But should she have cantered that horse? I don’t know. A laid back horse overall seems a better choice for sure.
when we were looking kids mounts we settled on two breeds known for basically having good behavior with kids Morgans and Connemara… ended up getting Morgans
I think it takes a special type of horse to be a good lesson horse and they are worth their weight in gold.
All of the best lesson horses I’ve worked with have been former (or temporarily on sabbatical) successful show horses who also have the right temperament to also do lessons. It’s important, IMO, that the horse be sensitive and responsive to the aids so that the student can get the feel of receiving the right response from the horse when they ask correctly, but not so sensitive that they’ll respond to incorrect cues. What I find interesting about the best lesson horses I’ve worked with is that they’ve been able to figure out the difference and are tolerant enough to ignore miscues. And all the best lesson horses I have used are routinely ridden by skilled riders to keep them tuned to a certain level.
Granted, I don’t think I’ve ever known a horse who can show successfully at a high level and give lessons at the same time because they do need to be a little less responsive for beginners, but it usually doesn’t take much to get a good, well-trained lesson horse back into show mode.
I’m so sorry your daughter is having confidence issues but I have to admit that this thread reminds me fondly of the best lesson horses I’ve known. I don’t teach anymore but Beau, Blue, Mystaire, Tara, Rosie, Summer, Dusty, Cody (all barn names, of course! 
) … really, really exceptional horses. Hopefully you can find a barn for your daughter that has one like them.
I’ve gotten messages in to a few places, some come highly recommended by horse people that have been in the area for over 20 years. I know we will find the right fit. I think I will try to watch them teaching kids to make sure they will be a good fit. And safety aside, I want my daughter to be involved in telling me what program feels right to her. Safe and fun!
Well as you know I grew up on horses as did both of my kids. We’ve all had our falls and that includes my daughter while on the lunge line. I have to agree with several of the others who as I did grow up so horse crazy that a fall didn’t prevent us from climbing back on and going for the gold. That ‘desire’ or ‘lack of fear’ was also fueled by two things: (1) tough love from my father who made it clear that if I didn’t get back on the pony was gone and (2) I never considered it ‘getting hurt’ though bruising of ego and body occurred. This fact made it VERY difficult for me to relate to fears/concerns that either of my children might of had while riding. Fortunately I recognized this very early on and made sure of a few things:
My daughter after many years of riding and at the age of 16 got dumped doing something very stupid on a horse. She broke her back. Of course it was many, many months before she ever got back on again. Five years later she earned her bronze; but, it was a long time for her body to heal and for her to work her way back mentally. Again this was a set back that I made sure someone other than I was giving her advice, bolstering her spirits, etc. All pressure was taken off and she came back on her own initiative.
To me it sounds like you need a different trainer and a different pony. It also sounds like she needs to be in a program where she can just be a kid that tools around with other kids focused more on games and things that don’t require cantering until she decides it’s time to try. Seeing other kids her age riding and cantering without issue (and having fun) will likely get her to a point where she will want to try again but on her own timetable. I also would consider that the first time she does try again it’s done in a round pen so that the area is confined and only on a very easy to canter mount…one that doesn’t take a ton of effort to canter and does so on verbal cues.
I rode Ken under a different name. The horse was called Stella when I was on her. She excelled in going to stand right by the instructor, in case she (the instructor) wasn’t paying attention. I was a much older student and absolutely mortified. There is nothing like the pity of six-year-olds to galvanize you into gaining control of your pony.
I imagine that there must be at least one Ken in every lesson barn.
our horses were shown in Class A and used by daughter to teach beginners. The horses would basically change gears to rider’s ability
this is daughter using her Sport horse for a school horse (that little kid is now twenty something and still riding)
same horse at the same time period
Yeah my daughter is one that can take things too seriously and get frustrated. She’s an overachiever type if that makes sense. So I do feel it’s extra important to make things fun and not to pressure her. She really wanted to progress and had a few different goals that she wanted to accomplish this summer. She’s pretty much accomplished them all in 3 months. But dealing with a bucking pony was not one of those! Of course they are animals and stuff happens but I do think it was really unfortunate that it was her first ever canter transition. I’m pretty surprised that we didn’t have too many nerves right after that. I think it was luckily she wasn’t hurt, she some how landed on her feet.
She continued to canter and enjoy it until this last bucking spree. But this one hurt even though she stayed on. She was halfway off and pulled herself up. The instructor had the pony turning toward her and then pony got nervous with a few more (smaller bucks.) It knocked the wind out if my daughter. She couldn’t breathe and jumped down once pony stopped. She couldn’t talk for a few minutes. She got back on and trotted but her back hurt for a week or so after.
So we definitely need to make it fun again. I think she needs to remember why she does this…
@Lunabear1988, does your daughter have a safety vest? Might that be a good addition for her to ride in?
No, never thought about it but might add security.
I recently asked instructor how their recent pony camp went. She said it was the best one yet, first year no one cried. 
This sounds like an attempt at humor!
No… She said that the young kids (6 to 10) usually one cried so she dreads doing that age group.
Hearing this cements my opinion that teaching kids just ain’t her wheelhouse. No shame in it. Takes nerves of steel & a lot of patience & humor to be able to kids + horse = success
I second the safety vest recommendation. I got one for my daughter after she had her first couple falls. It helped her mentally and eventually she stopped wearing it.
In my experience, kids have their most falls as they transition from beginner to more advanced beginner. Things get harder, horses change and there is a lot more to remember. I’ve seen it happen with many kid riders.
Also, beginner safe horses does not mean they are good for a first canter. There are many horses who are beginner safe at walk trot but have more challenging canter transitions. You need a first canter horse. Then they can go back to the safe horse with not quite as nice a transitions and ride.
Quality lessons horses are tough to find and many lessons barns are not going to have upper level school masters stepping down for every kid to learn on. Im sure some $$$ barns do but not going to be the norm.
Yeah I think she enjoys young teens and up.
She seemed a bit annoyed when I told her my daughter was a bit nervous and not wanting to canter. I think in part, it’s because my daughter has progressed a lot in the last few months. And she actually handled the bucks very well as far as the riding them out. But it’s mental and we have to respect that. Plus I don’t want her to get seriously injured.
I contacted someone whom I’m told does great with kids and nerves. So fingers crossed that she might be a fit. It’s super close to our house too!
I believe this to be true. My now 14yo had a month or two where there were a few multi-fall lessons. Hoping I don’t jinx her saying this, but she seldom falls anymore. Or not any more so than the average rider at her level.
@Lunabear1988, the trainer turning the horse in towards her might’ve been part of the problem. When my daughter was first starting out we took some lessons at a Western/Saddleseat barn owned by a cowgirl/mom who was married to a horse trader. She had what she thought might make a suitable trail horse for my daughter come in. Popped her up on the horse on the lunge line. All was well until the canter depart, when the horse bolted forward. My first instinct would’ve been to haul in on the line as hard as I could. Fortunately, trainer was very experienced at lunging horses with a rider. So she did not haul in on the line with all her might. Instead, she sort of half halted the line while talking daughter through the bolt. After horse was stopped & daughter safely remounted on a trusty school horse, she explained to me that as daughter was actually riding through the bolt fairly well, her experience informed her that hauling the horse towards the center was only going to yank it out from under her.
Definitely one of those “Huh? Hmm. Oh, yeaaaaah…now that I reflect on this that actually makes sense.” moments in my riding career.
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