stubborn new forest pony!!HELP

[chestnuts4ever]

my pony can be stubborn at times, when i ride him in the sand school he doesnt like going all thw way round so turns in to go back to the entrance gate:rolleyes: he doesnt rear buck etc just stubborn, he also walks backwards....how can i cure this? He also plants himsekf in one place and wont move.
please dont suggest riding with a crop as he doesnt like them and bolts if i ride with one.

hes a 13.00 nf pony

also i free schooled him and he jumped 4ft, thats quite an achievent, right?/

thanks fir the help x

[notpoodle]

teehee, mine tries that as well :D she's gotten a lot better now but we still get the odd 'corner? I ain't going through a g-damn corner' :D i think it's a pony thinng :D try to be firm, get him to look to the inside of the school and make sure you stop him from twisting his neck in such a fashion that you can't steer any more ie try to straighten him up an occupy him somehow by doing surprise turns and transitions.

have fun :D

Julia
x

[albilusitano]

Do you have a riding instructor/experianced hand at you yard ?

Maybe you could ask them to show you how to long rein.....this may help him go forward. Also do circle work decrease and increase the circle and serpentine loop's etc When he step's back and turn and ride him forward praising him.....tell him that he's good and push him in those corners and praise him when he does it. It may give him more to think about.....I jumped a 13hh NF round Tweseldown XC they are stubborn but great ponies. good luck :)

[Bronya]

You're luckier than me if that's all yours does - mine bucks, twists, leaps, is terrified of traffic AND sometimes plants her feet and will not move!

With planting the feet - kick in a rhythm, bouncing your feet off your pony's sides. Be prepared to sit there for some time, kicking. Eventually (in my experience anyway) the pony will walk forward. Alternatively, get a friend to lead you past. The first method's worked for me. The first time I used it I must have kicked for 5 minutes solid. My legs ached sooo much! But with time, a pony that refused to go faster than walk now trots and canters at the slightest aids (unless she's in a mood, at which point it's back to kicking again!).

Edited to add - and the problem wasn't the saddle, we're bareback as all saddles so far slip sideways rather alarmingly, or she changes shape so fast she grows out of them!

[jamsinthecat]

I think it must be a NF thing as my mare does an excellent impression of a statue when she decides she's had enough. Funnily enough though she never does it in the school, only when we are out hacking alone ( I think she does it on purpose to humiliate me!). I have been having lessons and working on lots of up and down transitions and that seems to have helped a lot. I try to use the same tactic out hacking and keep her guessing what I want her to do next. If I let her drift off and stop listening to me that is when the trouble starts. If she does plant I jump off straight away and lead her on. I find that kicking just makes it worse and escalates the situation but if I can get her moving as quickly as possible she seems to get better. She is a funny thing because as soon as I get off and lead her she walks on with very little fuss. I then hop back on and carry on my way. I would recommend getting a good instructer to help you and also to keep your schooling sessions quite short and interesting -ponies get bored awful quick!
best of luck
annabel

[happy highlande]

Definitely a pony thing - highlands do the same. It sounds like he is ruling the roost at the moment and deciding what you can and can't do. You need a good RI to help you.

First of all - check everything - saddle fit, bit, teeth, back, feet - any part of the pony rhat could be hurting. If this is all OK then yep -he is trying it on!

About the riding with a crop. Unless he has been severely beaten in the past - in which case you need a desensitisation programme - then take a RI (or at the least an experienced friend) to the school, get on, and get them to pass you the crop.
If he bolts you have won - he is going forward. And no pony will keep going in a school for more than a few minutes - even though it seems like a lifetime!!!
Just hang on to the saddle/neckstrap any device you can rig up and don't even try and stop him. In fact when he tires, push him on for a circuit or two.

I would bet he would never bolt in the school with a crop again!!!!

(Please make sure he hasn't been mistreated in the past first - that would need a very different approach from a pony trying it on)

Then you can address the not going forward in the school thing. Take him into the school - again an RI would be a help. Take him into the school - and the minute he isn't marching forward, ask nicely - then if he backs off you can ask with a flick of the schooling whip. If he shoots off - again you have won!! Push him into a fast canter for a circuit, then stop, give him a rest, and ask for walk. If he stops you have to keep asking firmly and positively until he goes - then immediatly reward him by stopping kicking and flicking the whip. Going must be more comfortable than planting.

It took 3 goes at this to persuade my Highland that it was easier to go forward properly than mess about!!!!

ALL of this would be best done with an experienced RI who understands ponies, and with you wearing a body protector, (hat of course).

[SA rider]

Its a really annoying habit this, but all those others are right, its a real pony thing so you're not alone.
When mine started doing this I would.. as I approached the gate part of the arena.
1. Remind myself never to look at the gate but look where I wanted to go
2. Make sure I had a good strong trot established so there was plenty of momentum to keep pushing her on past the gate area.
3. Raise the outside rein slightly and keep it strong to block her attemtp to fall out towards the gate.
(Plus use my outside leg in a strong `nudge nudge' movement while passing the gate to stop her drifting sideways towards the gate - use inside leg to push onwards). This way the outside leg is sort of acting in place of a strategically placed whip as it is blocking her exit, just as a whip flicked against the shoulder might do.
4. A good assertive growl of `GET ON' seemed to help as well and then a gentle `Good girl' if I successfully got her past.

Also, Never ever `hang out' in a relaxed way near the gate inside the arena, (shortening stirrups or tightening girth)
I always dismounted well into the arena when the session was over and walk her out to the gate.
Hope this helps

Finally, maybe do some twenty metre circle work with her away from the gate to get her listening to you. Eventually start doing 20m circle work closer to the gate as opposed to going large - Might be a way of changing a habit she has got into.

ps. Re Jasminthecat... If I let her drift off and stop listening to me that is when the trouble starts. If she does plant I jump off straight away and lead her on. I find that kicking just makes it worse and escalates the situation but if I can get her moving as quickly as possible she seems to get better
My pony is the opposite - out on a hack she too will occasionally do the statue thing, hacking alone. However if I let her calmly stand there for a short while and then ask her to walk on I can usually get her going again. It's like she needs time to assess the situation or something.