Training ponies...what to do...

[Reddfox]

A friend approached me about helping her with a 13hh, 6 year old pony. I can do in-hand work and longe the pony, but I’m concerned about riding her. Not necessarily in the trot - but I’m worried about schooling the canter when the pony is ready. I’m thinking that I’ll throw off the balance of the pony - I’m almost 5’8".

How do trainers that work with ponies handle this? Do you find competent young riders? Are lighter weight but tallish adults ok to teach first canters as long as the balance and straightness is confirmed before cantering? Thoughts?

[toomanyponies]

Hi, I am a hunter/jumper trainer and i was poking around over on this forum to see if there was anything interesting or useful to me. . . for reference i do a lot of pony hunters and ride the smalls, mediums and larges. I am careful to get on, do what I need to do and get off - maybe 20 minutes. I handwalk to cool out and dont ride on any hard or gravelly footing - even if it is just walking to the ring. Once the ponies are going I also try to only ride them 2 or 3 times/week and let the kids do the rest. I also use the kids saddles when I can on the smalls and mediums. I am 5’ 5" and about 130. FYI, the ponies I do are usually relatively mature - 4 yrs old and up. You should be fine. I can say the ponies, especially the smalls, never feel as stridey and scopey as they look with the kids, so my weight is definately a factor, but the good rides really help the pony develop the way we want them too, and I havent had any soundness problems that could be attributed to weight. Hope this helps!

[Reddfox]

Thanks for the input. I think that some of my trepidation comes from a fall that I had a number of years ago when a large pony that I was riding in the field spooked and slipped. My friend was taking pics and has the sequence and I was sitting ramrod straight trying to help the pony’s balance and she went down anyway. So I think that I always had it in the back of my mind that since I have a long torso - the balance may have contributed even though I was straight as could be on her!
I feel like a lot of times in the initial canters - the horse or pony has a tendency to lean in and I always worry that I’ll cause the pony to fall! But it may just be about getting the horse or pony stronger and straighter for those first canters.

I don’t know why pony training seems to be such a mystery to me. I can only imagine that a competent adult or young rider does a majority of the training before turning the ponies over the the kids so that they develop correctly.

[Corky]

Is the pony super fine boned, TB looking, or fairly standard show-pony type?

At 5’8 I’d say that as long as you are light weight, say under 140 or so, you should be fine. Just stay quiet, don’t throw your weight around at all, and don’t work them too hard/too long. I am 5’6 and about 130 and I can ride a medium easy without throwing their balance. You may need to shorten your stirrup a little to compensate, and do try to use a mounting block so you don’t pull on them while mounting, but I think you’re probably worrying too much. 5’8 isn’t that tall, and 13hh is still a decent size. If you were talking 12hh, thats a little different. But I would make sure you get a few good rides on the pony before putting the kids up. As the above poster said, kids can put on miles, but a pro or really good rider still needs to do the actual training of the pony so it doesn’t become a terror for the poor children! Then make sure the kids aren’t riding unsupervised. Just because its a pony doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be treated with just as much respect and correctness as any other young horse.

[Corky]

Reddfox - just read your second reply there. If you are worried about the first canter and the pony leaning, then perhaps consider schooling the pony free lunging, both with and without sidereins or however you are training, then have someone free lunge you for the first canter. It is harder for the pony when cantering a circle, so as long as the pony is used to being free lunged, then it should be no big thing to have you go large instead of lunged on a circle and you should feel better about the balance thing that way. This is what I do with horses that are really big, or ponies. Same issues I find with the big guys and the little guys.

[ponygrl25]

I am a short rider at only 5’ tall, and I have ridden lots of ponies. They are tough little brats! The best way to find out is to try it. The pony will let you know. I believe that if you are a balenced rider and ‘‘feel’’ right on the pony, then you should be fine. Keep the rides short and don’t ride on hard surfaces. If I am cantering a small pony I usually stay up off their backs in neutral position with a soft back, following hand, and just let them work. Good Luck:D

[Reddfox]

Thank you Corky! I’m 5’8" and about 130. I haven’t seen the pony yet - all I know is that she’s about 6 years old and has no training - she’s been out to pasture for the last 4 years. I’m planning on doing a conditioning program first and longing with and without side reins and doing in-hand work before I ever get on. Then we’ll see how it goes from there. Free longing for the first canters is an excellent idea. I remember doing some stupid things with ponies when I was young! Thank goodness I have more sense now - at least I’d like to think that I do

[keana]

I’d say you’ll be just fine…

I’m a littler bigger and trained many ponys, only one really thin type pony has ever felt my weight was a problem and he let me know from the start, he just felt weak… looked weak also so I skipped training him.

If they struggle at the walk and trot then of course added speed is a bad idea so is just riding …

all the rest galloped around easy with me better then my 15.2 hard mare who finds the canter hard and not a easy gait…

[skyy]

My trainer is 5’6" and average build and she has started plenty of small, medium and larges. Once she gets them going our working student who is about 5’3" and very light takes over. The only time (and I really mean only) my trainer falls off of anything is when she’s on a pony. If they trip hard enough it’s almost a given that you are both going down!

[Reddfox]

[QUOTE=skyy;4545271]
The only time (and I really mean only) my trainer falls off of anything is when she’s on a pony. If they trip hard enough it’s almost a given that you are both going down![/QUOTE]

Oh Geez! Thanks Skyy, that makes me feel better!:lol:
I’m going to see the pony on Saturday. We’ll see where it goes from there. Here’s to not tripping and falling down…

[tempichange]

You should be fine. I’m 5’4, and got on 12.3-13.0 hands before, while I looked silly, no ponies were harmed in the process.