smoothing out the rough spots

[Uthyr Pendragon]

Greetings all
My question is about riding a pony

As you may have read I am a new member, new rider(since May) and new prospective owner. This site is perfect for me. So I have a question for all of you who have a lot more experience with ponies than my 3 days with Uthyr.

I have ridden horses in my lessons from 13.2 to 17.2hh these past months.

The smoothness of the gaits are all different. On Uthyr who is a gem at 12.1hh or was it 2? welsh gelding with an 1/8th morgan his strides are a wee bit choppy.

My trainer watched me go through all the 3 main gaits I have learned up to now: walk, trot and canter with the variance in between. He asked me how Uthyr felt? My reply was:

His walk is strong and we are in harmony
His jog is fast and choppy
His trot is choppier
His canter when I can sustain the request is smooth.

So is the goal for a smoother ride something I can work with Uthyr to achieve or is choppines a ponies natural manner?

[Showjumper]

Most ponies are a lot choppier than a taller horse due to the fact they have shorter strides, but if you can encourage the horse to relax and take longer, slower strides, it does reduce the bumpiness a bit.

[Uthyr Pendragon]

Thank you Showjumper for the encouragment. I will work on your advive

[Showjumper]

Have fun with him! :D

[Fraggle]

You could always go for one of the larger ponies as they might have a longer stride.

I have a 14.2hh Dales pony. Another Dales owner rode him for half an hour recently and commented that he had a much longer stride than her Dales who is 13.2hh so I think it depends on the individual pony too.

I think it depends whay you get used to as well. I used to have lesson before I got Sam and they were on a 16.22hh thoroughbred who had a lovely smooth gait. I used to constantly compare the two but now I'm used to Sam I love the choppiness and they energy I can feel when I ride him. I don't think pony's are designed for a really smmoth ride. It's the difference between a daimler and a 4 x 4 Landrover in cars! Personally I'd ratther go oof-roading in the landrover!!!!

It sounds like you're having fun anyway! :D

[Wally]

We have a 12.2 Exmoor mare, who on occasions I have had to ride, I don't make a habit of it as she it petite, she has the most beautiful trot, long swinging, pointy toe strides.

Our Welsh Cob who we only got in August was so uncomfy with his pottery little choppy trot that he was a chore to re-school. But with a well fitting saddle, and lots of work in the school he has started to swing along and his gait has changed.

Make sure her saddle fits and is a good design & her teeth are fine this can have a HUGE impact upon the gaits.

[Uthyr Pendragon]

Wow
Thanks for the tips! Wally
I had a wonderful ride in both the arena and around the Almond orchards yesterday.
I started to notice that as he realxed his choppy trot became a smoother jog. We were also begining to sustain the canter a wee bit more.
So there is hope.
The saddle I have on him now is a western saddle that I used on a previous arab/welsh mare of 13.2hh I had for 8months. It is synthetic so it is very light. My trainer feels that it works well on him as well.

Any tips on how to lengthen the strides?

[Uthyr Pendragon]

Thanks for the reply Fraggle

I see what you mean about the feel of the pony strides. I think I can really adjust to him.

His height is just perfect for me. His energy is loads of fun. At first when I was told he was spirited and energetic I was feeling worried that it meant he was not a suitable pony for a beginner like me. Just the opposite. He is very gentle but he never tires. He loves to please.

In my 2hrs with him around the stabbles yesterday I was able to do things I had not been able to do before. I was able to go for a trail ride around the beautiful orchards that surround the stables. Open and close gates. It was wonderful.

I am purchasing him today as I could not bare to part with him. The staff and other horseowners who were at the stabbles yesterday just fell in love with him as well.
Any special tips on pony care of this size?

[Steve.R]

Between the Shetlands (9.3hh) and Rupert I have five small ponies! My experiences lead me to say - keep him entertained and working and you will have a very very rewarding companion. The only times I have had any problems with mine (physical/emotional) is when they are bored and/or don't feel appreciated! The smaller the pony the more alert the brain in my experience (I don't want to cause trouble here - I am not inferring that anyones horse/large pony is thick!) and they like to have lots to keep them occupied. Mine appreciated a 'horseball' with a flavoured lick in it hung from the ceiling of their stable when they had to be inside. Except they worked out how to pull it down within two days and had eaten all the lick, but then had great fun playing football with it and tug-of-war with the rope! (They are small enough to go two ponies to one stable).

He sounds lovely though, I bet he is not as naughty as mine are - they have even taught Rupert their naughty games now! (such as untying knots, opening bolts, picking peoples pockets, stealing grooming brushes out of the box and running off with them etc etc)

[Uthyr Pendragon]

Hi Steve R.
I kept him!!!!
This morning before my friends came over to the stable I went to the bank and depositied the rest of money and ever since I have felt like I am the lucky one.

We had 4 in our party and went to a lovely low hilly park close to me and Uthry surprised us all. He loved it. He immediatly took the lead. He acted as if he had been here a hundred times. He was never hesitant and was the most sure footed of all the horses. We walked, jogged, troted and cantered. He was so happy as was his new companion. After 3 hours he was still full of energy.

I will take your advice and keep him entertained. I now have to get a trailer so I can take him out to the park and beach etc. But while he is in the paddock I love your ideas of the ball. Now how do you put a lick on the ball. Um forgive my ignorance but what is a lick?
Any advice that you can think of no matter how small please pass on so I can give Uthyr the best of a happy life as I can muster.

Thank you

[Showjumper]

Firstly, congrats on being a new pony owner!!! :D

I play football and chase with Dolly. Just make sure he respects your space and won't barge you or get silly or these games can get dangerous.

For football, I have a slightly deflated leather football, which I kick in her direction and she picks up in her mouth and throws back at me (VERY cute!) and for chase, I run towards her, then spin away and she follows, and if she gets too close, I spin and chase her away a few steps then run on again. She loves both games and we can spend hours just playing together and doing a spot of mutual grooming (where I scratch her tickly spots and she nibbles my jacket in return).

I also do loads of clicker training with her, and we love playing the Touch It game, where I tap something and ask her to "Touch It" and if she touches it with her nose, she gets a click and a treat, so it's great motivation for her, and also teaches her to trust me as she knows that if I'm not scared of whatever it is, she doesn't need to be spooky either.

It's definitely helped us to bond.

[Uthyr Pendragon]

Great games
I have a deflated basket ball hmm I'll give that a whirl. I am familiar with the clicker but never thought of using it as a game. Ok I'm off to the stable to groom and play
Thanks a bunch

[floppy]

congrats on your new pony

my pony runs off with the balll and doesnt give it back :(
she also likes running aroudn with branches and knocking the other horses out :o

[cvb]

Uthyr/Deb

The ball thing Steve described is something you can buy in UK. A 'lick' is exactly what it sounds like - a block the horses can lick. Often you get salt licks for livestock. You can also get ones with minerals etc in. Make sure they are for horses tho' as the mix changes depending on the animal.

The ball Steve talked about has indentations to put some of these licks in - they are called Likits.

You can also buy bigger Likits just to hang up, without the ball.

How are you doing with lengthening the stride ? With my old 14:2, it was about getting him to relax and lower his head. If their necks are up and tense it blocks the forward swing of the shoulder. For this you can massage the neck (while you are on top) at a point about a hand span down from the poll. Try it at halt/walk first in case he doesn't like it !

More generally you can use poles on the ground to help lenthen stride. Even just a single pole, where they stretch down to look and then stride over can help. With more than one pole, you can make a fan shape where one end is closer than the over (but use more than 2 or they can try to jump both at once). With a fan you can vary where you ride so the gap between the poles varies. This helps the pony learn to adapt their length of stride.