A Pony That Won't Go

[JulieR]

I am taking a pony on loan to school for a friend. She is a highland who plants her feet and will not move so will be very hard to put on loan ! She is 20 years young, fairly fit and able but has learnt to whoa with amazing resilliance. I have a large number of ideas but wondered if anyone has any other ideas! Wish me luck!

[Heather]

Hi JulieR,

Having worked with, and owned a number of Highlands, I know what they can be like- too bright for their own good usually!!

I have usually found that preferably having an assistant to begin with, to swish a lunge whip round the backside, gets them motivated as they dont know where it is coming from!!

Once the pony goes forward each time from the lunge whip swish, substitute it with a long dressage whip swishing it behind her from the saddle, whilst also closing your lower legs. This invariably works and the pony gets the idea of going forward from the closing of the calves. I have succesffuly used this method with a number of reluctant equines!

Heather

[cptrayes]

Hi Julie,

Heather's method is great but you need another person and I never seem to have one handy when I want one!

My solution in that case with "planters" is to rock them sideways. If you can rock them off balance they are forced to move one foot and once they've moved one, more follow more easily. At that point you need to accept and praise movement in ANY direction, not necessarily the one you wanted ! Probably not for the faint hearted, but then the faint hearted wouldn't be doing this on their own I guess.

Hope it helps anyway.

C.

[Cobstar]

Redbloom has made an amazing difference with Chunk who was a very backward thinking boy, inclined to stop and refuse to go forward. He's a much happier, forward thinking individual now.  Hopefully she'll be around later to give you a summary of how she's got to where they are now.