| Reluctant
to Go Forward in trot
I
have recently purchased a 13.3h 8 year old Arab X Connemara
Mare pony for my 10 year old daughter. She is a lovely
pony in good shape and was previously liveried in a
riding school environment where she was used for lessons.
She
is an excellent ride out, 100% safe in traffic. However
when is comes to lessons with my daughter she is very
reluctant to go forward in trot (She is not even phased
by a crop!). She will trot no problem if you lead her,
although she will throw her head in the air in protest.
Do
you have any suggestions or tips to help?
Hi
there Peter,
One
of the snags with buying a pony that has been used in
a riding school is that they often become desensitised
to the normal aids. This is because they have to learn
to cope with novice riders whose legs constantly bang
on their sides, with unbalanced riders that wobble about
on their backs and novice hands that pull the reins
and make their mouths hard and numb. They also switch
off mentally because of the shear drudgery of going
round in circles day after day. Add this to the fact
that horses are herd animals, and do not live alone
or roam alone in their natural state, and you can begin
to understand why A) Your pony doesn’t want to
go back to doing what it probably hoped it had escaped
from and B) It is now expected to go it alone having
spent a long time playing follow the leader!
Some
ponies/horses have very little self confidence and are
born followers, and it doesn’t matter if it’s
another horse leading or a human. But with careful schooling
from an experienced rider and trainer, the pony could
learn to be more confident about moving away from people
or other horses. But once a horse had been made dull
and unresponsive to the aids, it is very difficult to
change this. Check that she is comfortable in her tack,
(as head shaking is often a sign of back problems or
an ill fitting saddle) make sure that the rider isn’t
hindering her forward movement by using the reins to
balance with, and is sitting nice and still. Make sure
that the aids given are clear and correct, and at the
right time.
Training
for the pony with a more experienced rider might also
be beneficial.
Hope
this helps,
Sharon Shinwell.
Dip Couns. Dip HP(NC)MNRHP.CCC
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