Have You Ever Dealt with Horses or Ponies Showing Aggression Toward Children?

If ponies had opposable thumbs, they would take over the world.

If you can swing it, find another pony for your daughter to learn and grow on, and keep this one in reserve for when she’s more ready to engage in a battle of wills and wits.

Or find this evil mastermind a new home, where its tricks won’t ruin a young rider’s confidence.

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And they’re short to be closer to hell! :rofl:

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There is a reason people say “pony is a four letter word”.

I had one, a homebred, for 29 years and I always said it was a good thing she was foaled into an experienced home that insisted on manners and that she was NOT expected to be a kids pony.

She was a great driving pony, single and pair, and did spend time as a lesson pony, but always required experienced supervision.

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Agree with others that say your daughter needs a more suitable (read: polite) pony to learn on now.

Whether or not your keep this pony and invest more in it, I think depends on your daughter’s aptitude for dealing with pony attitude. I’ve had small students on full sized horses that didn’t get scared by shenanigans, and every time they fell off/got run away with, they got back on/rode it out, and had a sense of humor about it. I’ve also had students that completely seize up the moment the horse/pony puts a foot out of place and are on the verge of tears.

How does your daughter react when the pony misbehaves? Does she laugh it off and hop back on or does she get scared? At this stage you want to do everything you can to boost her confidence, so if she gets scared (even if she’s only scared of this pony), then I’d say it’s time to move him on and not spend anymore time on him. If she seems to enjoy the challenge of him, and if they seem like they’ll eventually be a good fit otherwise, then maybe keep him around, and find another, larger child to lease him that is strong enough that he respects her and doesn’t pull any nonsense.

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As others have mentioned, it does not appear this pony is a good match for your daughter at this time.

OP, do you have horse experience? If I just take your words at face value I’m guessing you do not, so welcome to COTH! We’re a great source of knowledge… and opinions :sweat_smile:

I want to gently encourage you to examine the words you’ve used here. When I read “aggressive”, I envision a pony running teeth-bared at any small child that wandered into it’s paddock, not a normal pony pulling normal pony tricks.

When the pony “threw your daughter into a fence”, you’re approaching this as though the pony passed by a fence and plotted &/or calculated how to deposit your daughter into it. Ponies (and horses) do not do such things.

I mention this because instances of undesirable equine behavior will continue to occur as long as your daughter is in this sport, and it’s crucial that you understand there are no evil intentions in this behavior.

There may be reasons for the behavior, such as I suspect that this pony is bored stiff with this job, but there is never malicious intent (except in extraordinarily rare cases that you are not likely to come across. Those cases are usually a result of abuse, and “malicious” is actually a fear reaction taken to extremes).

Far too frequently, parents are quick to blame the pony or horse when things go south. This not only means bad things for the equine in terms of reputation and ability to find a home, but also that the rider’s role in the situation is never examined, and thus likely to be repeated with the next equine, and the next one, and the next one… and you see where this is going.

I inherited a copy of Mary Twelveponies book, “There are no problem horses, only problem riders” when I was very young. It made a distinct impression on me and I carry those lessons with me to this day. You might grab a copy of it for a wide-lens view of the various equine misbehaviors out there, and the various reasons why they crop up. This certainly won’t be your last experience with a “naughty” horse or pony!

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I wanted to come back and add- once your daughter has gained some strength and confidence. If she’s a gutsy, bold type rider (and there is NOTHING wrong with not being that) you can learn soooo much from a pony or horse that’s got dirty tricks up their sleeve.

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Same.

If the kid fell off and then the pony doubled back to purposely stomp on her, that might qualify as being aggressive.

If anything, I’ve seen a few ponies over the years that prefer kids to adults.

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Ponies have far more brains than horses and usually have a keener sense of self-preservation, necessary when living in the tough, raw landscapes where they evolved. There are many kind ponies who carefully look after their little riders but there are probably even more who are just driven to distraction by small, uncoordinated humans wobbling around on their back, hanging off their mouth and shrieking a lot. The situation is usually made worse if jumping comes into the picture. Oh so often seen, a child whacking a pony over a jump, whip up and down like a metronome, because the small child lacks physical strength.

If an alternative pony with a more tolerant, saintly attitude isn’t available then find a competent rider, adult or older child, to ride this pony too, providing plenty of regular and correct and varied work. It might well improve the pony’s life experience and therefore it’s attitude.

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Definitely not aggressive, just pony tricks, as everyone else has said.

If I were you, I’d look for a SMALLER pony. I got my first pony at age 7. Patches was 11 hands, part Mini, part Shetland (we think, anyway), but even though she had some dirty tricks in her repertoire, I was able to handle them because she was small enough for me to do so. I still got dumped a few times, don’t get me wrong, but it was a lot less traumatic!

At 13.2 hands, your pony is just about big enough to be perfect for a small adult who wants a smaller ride (or even a driving pony). If you can’t afford two ponies right now, this might be an option.

Also - those perfect first ponies are almost never advertised for sale. You find them by word of mouth. They are worth their weight in gold, too.

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I think the perils of ponies have already been adequately covered, so I’ll just offer some advice on how to move forward, based on my personal experience.

My first equine was a pony. My Grandpa bought him for me for my birthday. His name was Rebel. He dumped me so many times I lost count and absolutely destroyed my confidence.

After about a year of that, my parents bought me a horse. A small horse of indeterminant parentage who was so old that no one knew exactly how old he was. The vet looked at his teeth and pronounced him “aged.” He was too old and tired to be naughty. :slight_smile: He had clearly raised a multitude of small children and was an absolute saint. After a year or so of riding Ned, I regained my confidence. Your daughter needs a Ned. They are not easy to find, but they are out there. And as someone above already mentioned, word of mouth is the best way to find one.

If I had been forced to continue riding Rebel, I have no doubt that I would have ended up quitting riding lessons and sticking with dance instead of the other way around.

For those of you who might wonder what happened to Rebel, I have a younger sister. She is mean as a snake, tough as nails, and as stubborn as our Dad. :slight_smile: Always has been and still is. She and Rebel were two peas in a pod. She kept him until he was nearly 30 and had to be euthanized.

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That’s a good point. A fine boned 13.2 may be pushing it but if he’s a decent build you may be able to find a nice adult to half lease or free half lease. They get a ride and the pony stays tuned up.

Smaller is definitely less intimidating but the trade off is few barns have a scrappy tiny rider to tune up if a 11 hand one decides to be a little feral.

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Ponies need special tack so they don’t take advantage. Daisy reins, a kimberwick, or a 10 ring martingale are all your friend for rooting.

Also a lungeline.

And remember we don’t fix rooting with pulling - you fix it by kicking the pony forward.

A what, now?

Probably a German martingale.

A 10 ring martingale:

https://www.sstack.com/premier-10-ring-training-martingale/p/01442/?srsltid=AfmBOorstByG9ptQB1WE1wH0Pdt1sLilfC-zfjrqyzuKoUmcIq3bk2Bl&variant=true

Not the same thing as a German martingale.

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OP, this pony is not a suitable mount for your daughter. Period. I would move the pony on, retire it, return it to the seller, whatever you need to do. Your responsibility to your daughter and her confidence, learning and safety is the priority here.

As everyone else as similarly concluded, the pony does not sound aggressive. It has an ingrained bad habit that makes it unsuitable for a smaller child or inexperienced rider. The behavior is not purposeful in the sense that the pony is trying to hurt or threaten anyone. It just doesn’t want to do the job.

Don’t feel badly about this–there are a lot of ponies that aren’t suitable for children or inexperienced riders. Finding the right pony for your kid can require some trial and error.

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Interesting, thanks. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a thing.

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I have not either, seems to be some show Arabian type gadget?

I would not want my reins that attached to anything like that, but loose, even if passing thru some loose rings, like regular running martingales.

I agree this pony is not a good fit.

Most kids at that level I know use regular school ponies before they get one of their own.
School ponies are managed more tightly and working harder keeps them honest.
Private horses tend to work way less and get fresh easily.

Time to go kiss more frogs to find your prince pony.

They don’t. I own a pony, and he is fabulous. He’s always used standard gear, such as an HS Duo bit or a Happy Mouth. No Kimberwick has ever touched his mouth.

They require proper training and a good rider just like a horse.

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Re: 10 ring martingale - A trainer might work many horses a day, having that martingale allows them to switch easily between horses without constantly readjusting the martingale. It’s generally used with a snaffle bit. Yes, it’s common in Arab barns. I ride with one at home when my horse needs a little extra “support” aka first thing in the spring when he thinks yahoo! is the answer to every question.

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