Difficulties With Ex Lead-rein Pony!

[abi king]

Not sure if this is a rider or horse training question!

I have been very kindly lent a little 12hh chap to ride, who hasn't done much lately due to no rider and has predominantly been a lead rein pony. I really like him, he's a real little character, and it's great to be able to meet and ride with Dolly's Mum (waves Hi to Chloe )

however it is becoming clear after 3 rides that there are some areas that may need addressing:

1. as an ex lead-rein pony he isn't listening to my aids, but goes and stops according to what Dolly does in front!

2. He's very nervous alone and won't go out on his own.  

3. When out with Dolly, if he gets left too far behind he panics and runs as fast as possible to catch up! If I try to control him he bucks and fights me. I've tried to use my seat and back, and to flex the reins alternately, but end up having to pull hard, especially if we are on the road, just to try to regain control (on saturday we had cantering and bucking in the road - eek!) I'm sure some of this is due to the fact that my seat is not as independent and secure as it could be, and that on these occcasions I focus on safety first before nice riding!

I'm thinking that as he gets to know me and gets more confident by going out with Dolly, that some of this may resolve itself, but I'd be very interested in any opinion / advice on how i might tackle some of this and what schooling I might do?
Would it be worth starting with some in-hand work?

Thanks
Abi

[abi king]

Somebody?


Anybody..........?


help...........................................  

[lmevans]

Hi Abi,

first off, how old is the pony??? and just how long are we talking about as a lead rein???

I had an ex-lead rein as a teenager that I prince philip cupped with, he was 11 and had been lead for his whole ridden life, i had to basically treat him like an unbacked baby and start from scratch. As a lead rein pony they are taught to follow the leader's movements without getting in front or left behind and travel in a pretty but unsubstancial outline with a tiny and ineffective rider! So bottom line, he's probably never felt a seat aid or longer legs or even a contact on a rein that was supposed to mean anything to him!

Go back a step and teach him about his mouth on the long reins and think of him as a green baby. He needs some schooling to help him understand what you want, long reining is great as it will help him to learn some independence about going forward by himself without needing a lead (either human or equine!). Start off with short trips to keep his confidence up and lots of  praise to help him stay willing.

best of luck, my little boy was one cracking games pony by the time I'd finished with him! but would revert back to little angel as soon as you clipped on a lead !

Lucie x

[Tiber]

Don't worry about the safety first thing - I do EXACTLY the same with Honey when she decides to throw a wobbly. If I end up on the floor we're both likely to get hurt!

[Cloud_cirrus]

I've got one of those and he has got better.  Luckily as an adult rider you have an advantage of a more complex thought process than a child, these ponies can be very quick and challenging!

With Charlie we did a lot of in-hand work, both lateral and lunge work, including lots of verbal/voice commands.

We never let him get in the situation where the panic button would get pushed, so don't let another horse get ahead, unless this is what you have planned to work on at that time.  Instead ask him to go ahead for a short period of time, or try and increase the distance between you and the other horse a bit, but without getting to the panic reaction.  You need a good hacking partner for this.  If the horse in front goes back to walk, ask for a few extra strides of trot before you let your horse come back to walk.

We actually found it was better to deal with Charlie on his own, he would cling to a walker as much as another pony, if he got 'stuck' Lucy had to keep turning him, even if she could only move his front end from side to side.  Try not to focus on moving the head, but instead to move the shoulders, once you have 'knocked him off balance' so to speak, the rest of his body has to move.

Keep these sessions short and don't think of it as a failure if you have to get off and lead, then jump back on again.  If you do get stuck and have to get off, ask him to move his shoulders to get him to move forward, rather than dragging him forwards from the bridle.  Back this up with a verbal command.

Although Charlie is still ridden with us walking out with him, this is because he is ridden by a 13 year old who we wouldn't allow to hack out on her own anyway.  She can now trot or canter ahead of us in the woods, go off and jump a log and then canter back past us, turn round and walk back to us on the buckle.  It's taken a long time and it's only since Lucy could understand the techniques she needed to use that he's improved.  She also needed to think quickly, and for herself, by the time I had shouted a command to her, the moment had passed.  This is where an adult brain helps I think.  Course now she has outgrown him completely so we have to start all over again!!

Good luck, it will be a good skill to learn as it's easier to deal with these issues on something 12hh than 16hh, a lot less scary I think!

Tracey

[epona]

I also think groundwork, especially long reining is an excellent idea   My horse will follow me anywhere when being led but lacks confidence when Im on board - although she is fine when following another horse!

I find long reining is good as the horse / pony has to go out in front and be going forward, but in cases of sheer panic (like for sale boards <_< ) you can quickly come to the front to give them a bit of confidence.  It has definately helped my mare trust me although she cant 'see' me  :lol:

vicky

[hinny_heart]

I also would confirm the usefulness of long-reining in this sort of situation; as well as the horse learning to go forward on its own, you are adding to the value and usefulness of a little pony if it is half-way trained to drive - and of course long-reining plays a very important part in that!

I always think that small ponies should be broken to drive at some point by a caring owner  - who knows what the future may bring for any of us, and a pony which can be used by a responsible adult is more likely to find a good home than one which appeals only to a hopeful child.

[abi king]

Thanks everyone

Tracey, what you say is intersting as it totally backs up my experience with him. When I tried to take him out alone, and he wouldn't walk on, the only thing that worked with me still on board, was me stopping the emphasis on forward, and working on getting him to yield his quarters from my leg. He then would walk forward a bit before stopping again.

i also found getting off and leading him for a bit worked, but then worried that it would teach him how to get his rider off!

it's interesting that when riding out with Dolly / Chloe, initially he absolutely won't go ahead of her, but then as we progress he gets more confident and will take the lead for a bit.

Unfortunatley he gets left behind due to the fact that Dolly is bigger and strides out. He will then choose to trot to catch up. Should I just go with that or try to stop him? I wanted to try and get him to wait until i signalled, but that's when he bucks.

But I do try and ask him to trot on a few paces up alongside Dolly, beyond the point he would normally have stopped, and he will, and the trot becomes more balnced instead of a full-on RUN!

Long reining sounds good, nut I've never done any and wouldn't know where to start!  :(  

[epona]

Long reining sounds good, nut I've never done any and wouldn't know where to start! 

Start in the school or small paddock first while you practice getting co-ordinated :lol:   If pony gets spooked and runs off, drop outside rein and use the inside one like a lunge rein until he slows up   This is much better than them running around the school with two lines streaming behind them (as I did :blush: )  Just practice, you'll soon get the hang of it!