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  Discussion on Pony bolting - fake or real & how do we stop it
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New Member:
hhhpaint

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 5, 2010 - 5:23 pm:

Hi. We bought a 15-year-old pony mare in May of 2008. She had one foal a few years before we bought her. She had been on a pony ring all her life. She was perfectly behaved when our six-year-old daughter test-rode her at previous owner's residence, and is generally very kind and gentle. However, when we try to trail ride as a family, with her following behind our two big horses, she pulls a bolting or a spooking stunt that we have been unable to break. Without fail, at some point in the ride, she will bolt with our little girl who ends up on the ground in tears. There does not have to be a reason for her to spook. Most of the time there is nothing obvious that has scared her. It seems to be a ploy to get the ride brought to an end. The pony does okay if we lead her and walk next to her head while children ride on her. However, she will sometimes do her spooking trick then also, but it is much safer with an adult right there to control the situation. My husband has tried to get on her to straighten her out, but this does not work. She is pretty small (possibly cross between Shetland and miniature horse.) She WILL NOT tolerate an adult on her back. She is very strong and has dumped my husband immediately the two times he tried to get on her. Does anyone have any suggestions for us? Thanks.}
Member:
mrose

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 5, 2010 - 6:23 pm:

Have you tried ponying her, first on the trail without your daughter, then with her on if you have a safe area with no rocks. ( I trust your daughter wears a helmet!) If she tried anything while being ponyied, she'll still have to keep on going down the trail.

Before I ponyed, I would double check and make sure her saddle and all her tack fits right and that she has no physical problems, such as a sore back - just to give her the benefit of the doubt that there might be something that is hurting her.

If everything checks out, I'd be very suspicious that she feels she's never had to go very far and sees no reason to start doing so now!

What happens when she bolts? Does she get to go home? If so, you are encouraging her behavior, as you probably already know. If you make her finish a ride regardless of the bolting, and if you pony her (lead her off another horse) she won't be able to do much but go along with the group. Once the ride is over, I'd make sure she still worked a little more when she got home from her trail ride. Lounge her, ride her up and down the driveway or in a field or arena for another 15 mins. after she gets home. This way, going home won't mean comfort and food.

I'm not a trainer, and I know ponies are very (too) smart. Hopefully, there are others on HA that have some experience and more ideas for you.
Member:
stek

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 5, 2010 - 6:33 pm:

Hi Holly, welcome to HA.

Sounds like you have yourself a Pony with a capital P! To determine the reason your pony keeps dumping your daughter, the first thing I would do is try to get as much background/history on the mare as possible. At 15 she had a lot of experiences before you got her and those surely shaped her behavior. The previous owner might be able to clue you in on why this is happening and if it's an old habit or what.

The behavior you describe could be a couple things. One is Spoiled Pony SynDrOme, in which the pony has spent many years being ridden by beginners and thus has put together a bag of tricks to keep life interesting for her and get rid of riders whenever life gets dull.

The problem could also be episodes of genuine fear out on the trail. Some horses do great in the ring but are very easily spooked out on the trail for a variety of reasons ranging from temperament to vision problems to lack of training etc.

Regardless, while I don't generally recommend giving up on a horse I don't think it should necessarily fall to your 6 year old to try and work through whatever is going on. If she is getting scared to the point of tears on each ride I would expect her to stop wanting to ride soon. (I know I would!) If trail riding is what you really want to do I would probably start putting the feelers out for a good trail pony.

That said, if your daughter is in love with the pony and is not terribly phased by being dumped on a regular basis, some conversations with the previous owner and possibly some work with a trainer might help work through this problem. Many of us have spent our early years riding nasty spoiled ponies and are probably that much better riders for it.

Hmm.. I think I just gave you conflicting advice! I guess the person that really needs to answer this question is probably your daughter..?
Member:
terrido

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 5, 2010 - 7:21 pm:

Hi Holly!!

I agree to check all the tack first and foremost. This is always a factor in "behavior".

You say she had been a pony ride pony all her life? I would imagine that means just going around in a controlled setting for a short while - all her life. Correct? So, going out on trail is new to her then?? This may actually be quite frightening to her. Would explain the spook and bolting.

Horses will bolt from pain, but if they feel they have to leave an area quickly for self preservation... a pony is a horse of course.

How to stop it? Well unfortunately that may take building a trusting relationship, having an experienced person work to help the pony build confidence in herself out on trail, etc.

I like the idea of ponying her, but of course that may also depend on the other horses, as some won't tolerate ponying, let alone something much smaller than they are.

Color me simple, but to me it just sounds like the pony is now entering new and very scary territory. She will need to learn that she can be ok out there and that will take time and of course lots of going out.

I would be curious how she is without a rider going out on a trail ride. She should still spook and try to bolt off even without having anyone on her if it is confidence in being out. Hope I am making sense.

As to having someone else ride her out, since she won't tolerate an adult on her, and I don't blame her! haha Do you know any smallish pre-teens or teens that are really good riders? If not, check with a local boarding facility, your local Pony Club or a lessons place and see if they can help you locate someone that might be willing to try riding out with you on her for a while, until your pony builds her "out on trail" confidence.

Best of luck!
Member:
maggienm

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 5, 2010 - 7:52 pm:

I would second(third) the advice above. I would definately try ponying this mare, without a rider, out on the trail.
If possible have another rider following to observe her behaviour.
If she does try to carry on while being ponied just continue the ride, ignore her antics.
(Be aware she may pull back, try to run ahead or even bump the horse you are riding so make sure the horse being ridden can handle such silliness.)


Do her episodes seem to happen at apprx the same time after the ride begins?
I have known ponies which seem to have a mental clock, 20 min rides only!
Only when trotting? After trotting for several minutes? Any common denominator?
I am sure you have but check her back carefully for tenderness.
A horse that has given non riders rides for years is a prime candidate for a chronic sore back.

Do you know a more experienced lightweight rider who might be able to ride her?
Does the pony act up on a lunge line also?

Perhaps having a trainer give a few lessons so the trainer can observe the pony's behaviour would shed some light on the cause.

just wondering....you said the pony is smaller than a Shetland yet can unseat an adult. She must be ferocious. Does she buck that hard to lose your daughter? If she does I don't think I would put my six year old back on her.
Member:
mysi

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 5, 2010 - 7:58 pm:

Holly,

I remember years ago when my former step daughter use to ride my pony Sweetheart. She was and is an absolute push button pony, never acted up and would travel, go to shows, and was always an angel. Then one Christmas the group decided to go on a trail ride. Sweethearts first with my step daughter. Well...she turned around and bolted and tried every trick in the book. My step daughter was nervous about the trail ride to begin with which I think contributed to the issues of the pony who was likely nervous to the new surroundings. So if the pony is nervous, even with the best intentions it could act up with a nervous rider, plus a pony with the pony attitude is even worse. Either way, a nervous rider and a nervous horse make for a volatile situation. End of story, a more confident rider got on Sweetheart and there was no problem the rest of the ride! Even to this day if a nervous rider gets on her on a trail ride she tries her tricks! THEY KNOW! Some horses are never good on trail rides no matter what. My horse who I have ridden on a thousand trail rides is still a nervous mess every time! I would never let anyone trail ride him that wasn't very experienced. So you may need some trail lessons or a different trail horse. I think trail lessons are great for confidence of riders and horses.
Member:
lhenning

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 6, 2010 - 10:22 am:

Hi Holly,

Welcome to HA. You have chosen a good place to find answers to your problem!

I had a similar situation with my horse. Although he is not a pony, I still went through a time where he would bolt and spook which led to him tossing me. I found it helpful to get off the trail and learn horsemanship skills in the more controlled environment of the arena. It sounds like your daughter could use lessons to help her learn how to keep the pony in her control. When my horse thought he was in charge, it only led to painful moments for me and the bad experiences made me lose my confidence which made the problem worse.

It sounds like your family is using trail riding as a good family outing together, but if the pony is making everyone anxious then that is defeating your purpose. It might help to evaluate if trail riding is the only riding desire you have for now. I have learned that good trail riding horses come from good training - before they ever set hoof on a trail. For a pony to simply go round and round on a circle without tossing a kid off, well that does not sound like much training at all. That is kindergarten stuff to horses while trail riding is like high school. I think you are skipping a hundred steps.

So what I am saying is I think your daughter should have lessons and the pony should have a trainer. If your daughter is OK with keeping the pony and riding the pony, then help her learn HOW to ride. Help the two of them gain confidence in small steps.

It is now several years later and my horse and I are good buddies. I have learned so much in the process and it was really good for me. I would never want to do it any other way.

Good luck!

Linda
New Member:
hhhpaint

Posted on Thursday, Jan 7, 2010 - 3:35 pm:

Wow, what a great response to my questions. Everything that was said is absolutely right on and will help me make better choices here. You know, as I read the responses above, I realized that I am expecting something of my six-year-old child that is unreasonable. I have been influenced by growing up on a farm and being around large animals all my life - my daughter has not, and she is only six years old. An old farmer friend once told me that, "The best way to learn to ride - IS TO RIDE." That way of thinking combined with the fact that my husband and I already know how to ride has caused me to bypass riding lessons for my daughter and training for her pony. I also need to have the pony checked out a little better for a number of issues (pain, eye sight, background, etc.) To answer some of the questions above, the pony still spooks/bolts if we trail her with no rider and no tack. She also gets to the point where we are practically dragging her before the ride is over. This makes me think that much of her problem is attitude. She wants the ride to be over. She feels safer staying home in her pen or just doing short pony rides around the yard. She gets along well with my gelding but not our full-size mare, so we always let the big mare go first on the trail, then my gelding, and pony brings up the rear. This seems to work as far as her relationship with our other horses. She is small but very powerful. I am amazed how strong she is when she is "scared." I do think she does have some legitimate fear, and this is probably due to the fact that she is so much smaller than the other horses on our place. She is sweet and kind in every other way, but I realize I need to get this pony under control before I expect my daughter to want to ride her anymore. My daughter loves this pony and does not want us to sell her, but she is not interested in riding her. So, I need to take the time and effort (and possibly spend some $) to try to improve the situation. I have found it hard, though, to find reputable trainers who work with ponies. Most of them only work with horses. I live in Wickenburg, Arizona (near Phoenix area.) If anyone out there knows of a good trainer who works with ponies in our area, please let me know. In the meantime, I do have a local friend who has an awesome pony she trained herself, and she recently offered to help. We also belong to the local Saddle Club, and we have explored the possibility of having older kids who ride very well take a turn with our little Cinderella "Cindy." Now that the rush of the holidays is over, I hope we can devote more time to this. I want to thank everyone who gave me advice on this. I really needed some perspective on this. I welcome more help at any time. I will log back in and let everyone know how it progresses. Thanks again!
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