A very excited young horse

[charliejonny]

Hi i was wondering if anyone had any adv for me,i have a gorgeous 6 year old standard bred ex pacer,we have had her since march this year,we have schooled her and is now doing well,the only problem we have with her is she tends to take off and shes very hard to stop,we can be in the menage trotting and she just goes into a canter and she cant be stoped or if we go out in the field she will trot for a few seconds before launching into a canter and im sat there pulling like heck to slow her down but not a chance.shes not nasty with it i think shes just excited,we do lunge her before we ride her which does help but are there any other suggestions for me which could help,like a stronger bit maybe?
:)

[SA rider]

Hi I wouldn't go for a stronger bit just yet until you know her even better. The reason I say this is because I recently rode a colleague's horse, a beautifully trained dressage horse, but extremely sensitive. the horse immediately bolted with me and when I asked why the owner was laughing and said "serves you right pulling on his mouth like he's some cowpoke pony!":)
Anyway after a few minutes of clear instruction from the owner I had him under control, on the bit and it felt like I was riding a CLOUD. It was heavenly. The horse just had been trained to be ridden in a very sensitive/elastic way and became very distressed if you pulled back even a little on the reins.
The owner rode him with plenty of leg, a kind but balancing outside rein and very little on the inside rein.
I don'tknow if this helps but I just wanted to emphasise that maybe you just need time to understand how the horse has been ridden in the past rather than put a stronger bit in.
What advice do others have?
Oh almost forgot, my pony is normally a sweetie but can go daft and excited if other horses leave the menage when she is in it. I deal with this by immediately making her work on a small circle doing intensive leg yield exercises or work at getting her on the bridal. The intensity of the exercise distracts her and the pent up excitement actually adds something to her work - so I kind of channel that energy into the exercises. This really works well and I feel like I'm back in control again until the moment passes.

[colettybetty]

Hi and welcome to the board ! Think SA rider gives good advice there. Just to add my two- pennyworth.. Does she respond well to voice aids when lunging ? If she does she may settle when you ask her to 'steady' if this is the term she's used to. Perhaps she is misinterpreting your aids, you could try a neck strap to give you security when she ups the pace, which will save you pulling her mouth inadvertently and a moment to ask with your seat for a slower pace.

[charliejonny]

Hi all thanks for your advice,i didnt want to get her into a stronger bit so im glad there are other options,she is very good with voice commands when i lunge her so ill try that,i think the neckstrap might help but as you say its all about getting to know each other,she is so soppy untill you sit on her then it ears pricked and dying to go but shes not nasty with is shes just gets excited,i find lunging really helps but ill deff try what uv sug and ill let you know how its going.
Thanks.Charlotte.:p