What is a pony club kick?

Er, no, the pony club neither encourages it nor teaches at - at least they certainly didn't when my daughter was in pony club! It's a joke, really - it means giving the horse a good old wallop with your heels they way kids sometimes do when they're approaching a jump or trying to win a race in the mounted games. No-one teaches it, but it's what a lot of children do! With grown-ups too, when it's about winning, style goes out of the window!

Now, a pony club knot, that's something that is taught, and it's very useful too!
 
I think the 'Pony club kick' is actually about, motivation, inspiration, being positive, having some balls and driving attitude for want of a better phrase or explanation. Yep OK in the old days it got its phrase from being all about the flapping legs etc but I suspect (hope) we have moved on.
 
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This? Well I guess the young kids are not really allowed whips and we all know how stubborn ponies can be. Not sure how much it would hurt, hopefully it wouldn't if done by a little kid?
 
Watched pony club comp last week. They had whips and did not kick. But it is part of the repertoire. When one naughty pony napped and threw in a small buck, the RI told the child to stop using whip and kick him on. This did make pony behave.As owned by chanter says.
I have been thinking about riding that looks bad after videoing our staff. I love the way my fav. escort rides. Another girl rode with kicks and tugs so I deleted the vid. Embarassing. Later discovered that the kicker had won the jumping.
. So was I wrong to think her riding bad?
 
LOL, Frances has some photos that make that kid look as though she's not trying. Come to Shetland and watch the local shows if you wnt to see a log of ill educated legs and ponies!

IME it comes from sour ponies and ill educated kids. If you did that ^^^^(in the photo above) to any of my Thelwell ponies you'd be in orbit.
 
I hate to say but I see a lot of the pony club kick around here and unfortunately its a lot of adults on horses,agree with wally on horse and rider training.
I was very lucky the riding school I learnt to ride at and spent most of my childhood and early adulthood took the time with their horses and pony club kicks were a no go,also riding point to pointers soon teaches you to use you seat as opposed to hands and legs ;)
 
I just assumed it was little kids giving their ponies a huge kick to get a result - some of the top riders often refer to the "pony club kick" proudly. I really don't know why?! I have probably got the wrong end of the stick!
 
The pony in the photo is totally oblivious and is interested in looking at something else.
 
Skib said:
Watched pony club comp last week. They had whips and did not kick. But it is part of the repertoire. When one naughty pony napped and threw in a small buck, the RI told the child to stop using whip and kick him on. This did make pony behave.As owned by chanter says.
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Are you talking about something from another thread, obc hasn't replied to this one?
 
I think ObC mentioned using said method in her nightmare hack thread last night.

I see it as a proper legs away from side of horse boot, to be used in extreme circumstances like napping backwards towards a ditch, for example...I wouldn't condone it as an everyday aid though. And should always be used with hands forward. Nothing I hate more than to see people asking for forward with legs whilst pulling back on reins for grim death!
 
See, when I am round my lot, I demand attention on me at all times, Wembly manners every minute of the day, a loss of concentration to the degree shown in both those pics shows a sad lack of training and respect for the rider/handler.

The next thing is the ill mannered so and so will swing his pants totally forgetting there is a human on the ground/on his back and that's when folk get flattened.
 
Wally said:
IME it comes from sour ponies and ill educated kids. If you did that ^^^^(in the photo above) to any of my Thelwell ponies you'd be in orbit.
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Totally brilliant photo, Ale!

Someone did that, against all advice, to my daughter's 13.2 when we were trying to sell her ... Not quite orbit, but they landed in the hedge. Oops!
 
I use this phraseto refer to the old style of "kick to go and pull to slow" teaching. It applies more in a RS environment I would think, where ponies can be more dead to the leg, stubborn, stale or lazy. (Not always of course, and not all at once, but ponies can be canny and quickly learn to selectively ignore lightweight beginner riders.)

Very occasionally I do it, usually accompanied by a growl. :frown: I know it's not good, but I'm an RS rider of RS ponies. Not everyone rides well schooled, well balanced beasties in private situations. I wish I could do better, and usually do, but I'm not afraid to admit that a firm (not angry or hard) kick is effective at getting the attention of a pony that's arsing around, looking for trouble or backing off.

Bad me...:redcarded:
 
clare123 said:
I think ObC mentioned using said method in her nightmare hack thread last night.

I see it as a proper legs away from side of horse boot, to be used in extreme circumstances like napping backwards towards a ditch, for example...I wouldn't condone it as an everyday aid though. And should always be used with hands forward. Nothing I hate more than to see people asking for forward with legs whilst pulling back on reins for grim death!
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Yes I will admit to 'pony club kicking' Ginger yesterday sorry to all those that have horses that are so well schooled they don't need to use it. but Ginger was being damn right dangerous and is was a him or me. He is well schooled for his age history etc but this was as stated in thread his first hack on his own to a new place.

People deal with napping horses differently, I did not have a whip with me, I had tried standing and waiting this resulted in a rear. I will say now that a napping horse is dangerous and should be treated as such. I will not tolerate this behavior and it needed to be dealt with there and then where you agree with my pony club kick or not.
 
OwnedbyChanter said:
Yes I will admit to 'pony club kicking' Ginger yesterday sorry to all those that have horses that are so well schooled they don't need to use it. but Ginger was being damn right dangerous and is was a him or me. He is well schooled for his age history etc but this was as stated in thread his first hack on his own to a new place.

People deal with napping horses differently, I did not have a whip with me, I had tried standing and waiting this resulted in a rear. I will say now that a napping horse is dangerous and should be treated as such. I will not tolerate this behavior and it needed to be dealt with there and then where you agree with my pony club kick or not.
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This - but I strongly suspect, having seen you ride, your version of pony club kicking is not the same as is being discussed here!!!
 
Obc-i haven't read the thread and it wasn't me who quoted you. I do feel to be honest that quoting what someone says somewhere else is annoying, it assumes everyone has seen the other thread and can also remember what is said.
Someone else referred to it which made me wonder what it actually was and since its called the pony club kick whether its come from them, as in taught.
 
In my mind a pony club kick is something that one would rarely want to be seen doing or need to be doing, but wouldn't hesitate to use in an extreme and dangerous situation as described by OBC.

I recently had a hard time from someone on Facebook (some sort of obscure self proclaimed natural horsemanship bod, who IMO knew very little about horsemanship) - when I described how I had and would again, use not only a crop but also a riding school kick to push a horse forward that was rapidly reversing into traffic and oblivious to all the usual polite asks and aids that I tried. He felt that a horse well trained by his methods (well it would be that wouldn't it?:wink:)would NEVER put one in that sort of position?????? If only they did all behave like bicycles for us eh?:unsure:

If my horse is putting either me or itself or other people in imminent danger I will use (within reason obviously!:rolleyes:) any means necessary to avert injury. Even a damn good and not very nice pony club kick. Not nice I know, but much as I dote on my wonderful horse, I do value human life more than hers.:wink:

I perhaps should add that I cannot remember the last time I had to 'dig the heels in'!:frown:
 
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