Had another great trail ride on the QH this morning. No spook at all. I’m going to keep riding her alone for a bit, further and further, and eventually try ponying the Arab in the paddock. I worry he’ll try to get ahead of her because he’s trying (really, really hard) to be the leader. I’ll have to see how he does in a safe area before I take it outside.
Also, I think that after a few more rides, my daughter could easily ride the QH. That way, I can ride the Arab and we can go together.
I have ponied a lot - and all of my different horses, as well as friends’ horses. I’ve never had any problems.
Alpha in the pasture has nothing to do with alpha on a ride, or with ponying, really. My mare is very submissive in the pasture, but she is definitely in charge on trails. My alpha in the pasture is a follower on the trails. You just can’t tell.
Good to know katyb! Maybe it will work. The QH is definitely the quieter one.
Good luck! Sounds like you’re making progress. When you pony the Arab and he tries to move in front, be forceful about slapping the lead rope in the air near his face to set him back. He should learn quickly that he can’t come further forward than your knee.
No one seems to have mentioned the dreaded rope-under-the-tail disaster. Work with a soft lead rope on the ground to help both horses get accustomed to the feel of a rope under their tail. Every horse reacts differently at first, but the important thing is to get them VERY desensitized to it before you start ponying. When the pony horse spooks and goes the wrong way, you need to be able to turn your riding horse INTO the rope to get loose. If the riding horse clamps its tail down on the rope in its butt, you might have a runaway, a buck-off, or get tangled in the rope and get dragged.
I have a mare who, despite being outfitted on for years, will still occasionally clamp her tail down on the rope and spin. It’s never a disaster, but at least we know how she’s going to behave and can be prepared for her random reaction. Most horses get used to it quickly-- use a crupper if you have one. Good luck!
Agree that it makes the most sense to ride the QH and pony the Arab. YOU are the leader of both horses! The Arab has to listen to YOU, not the QH/wind/whatever. Personally, I just treat it like I’m walking the dog.
Ponying is not hard, just get in a good rhythm and go forward. Some horses pull and need a chain over the nose, other horses lag behind and need a whap with the lead rope to keep up. I try to keep the ponied horse beside me, with just a bit of slack in the lead rope so it can only get so far in front of or behind my knee. If your trails are narrow, it’s a little trickier because the ponied horse has to go behind, might try to switch sides, get the lead rope under the other’s tail, etc.
I pony over jumps, through water, open/close gates, everything I normally do with one horse I also do with two.
Way back when when I had my QH and TB, I didn’t always have enough time to ride them both so I would trail ride one and pony the other. These rides were: 1) on trails that were (obviously) wide enough for two horses and then some, 2) trails that the horses had been on themselves many times before, and 3) both were great trail horses in their own right.
The first time I ponied was the first time I ponied. Honestly, I didn’t even think of it. I got on my QH, took the TB’s lead rope and off we went. I had no troubles with it at all. I didn’t find it to be relaxing, though, as there was always some sort of obstacle to look out for (turn in the trail, joggers, bikers, other horses, people walking dogs, etc.), so I didn’t stick with it as a long-term solution.
With my current riding horses, a mustang and a four-year-old pony, I started ponying her before I backed her (so at three years old). I wanted to be able to do inside turns, outside turns, have the rope go over my mustang’s butt, under his tail, him stand and her move around him, her stand and him move around her, etc. These are useful things to practice and that’s where I’d start if I were you.
From the sounds of your descriptions, I’d be riding the QH and ponying the arab. But I’d sure as heck do lots of homework before going out. Going out with two antsy horses isn’t a good idea. Making a good trail horse is just as much hard work as making a good arena horse.
What I’d also do if I were you is make a tie spot (patience pole or some other) where you tie one horse while you ride the other. This isn’t hard-tying them to a solid object like a wall, but having a line hanging from above so that if they want to move around they are going to bend and step under themselves and get themselves all nice and flexible. And pretty soon they’ll learn to just stand there and chill out.
Also, ditto on the ground work and preparing your horse before you even go out on the trail. On a nervous or jiggy horse, I wouldn’t just hit the trail. I’d do ground work first. Then I’d ride in the arena. Then I’d use the trail as the cool-down place where life is nice and mellow and they don’t have to work (provided they are behaving). I’d then gradually move to an equal part of ground work, arena ride, trail ride. Then I’d do ground work, a little arena ride, more trail ride (starting to “work” out on the trails). Then I’d do ground work, trail ride. Then maybe just trail ride, depending on how my horse has progressed.
If you don’t have a horse who is already good on the trail, you need to train it just like you would train a horse for any other discipline.
A good trail horse is a MUST for me. I work on making them that way because I enjoy trail riding and think it is good for their brains and their bodies to get out of the arena (actually, most of my riding is on the trails and not in the arena!).
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