I love my RS ponies and horses.

[eml]

A little bit concerned tonight as first night back after Christmas hols and bad weather so nothing has been ridden for 4 weeks

Don't know why I worried though, apart from a few sharpish canter transitions nobody put a hoof out of place. Amazingly most of them are rejects from private homes for various forms of misbehaviour.

 

[Joyscarer]

Isn't it great to have such lovely characters that you can count on. My Joy is very much like that. She can be a sharpish ride (nothing a competant novice can't manage) and even with having loads of time off she'll be no more challenging or sharp than she usually is.

 

[Innocence]

Awww bless, some of the best horses/ponies are riding school ones in my opinion, although i'm sure there are some little tikes out there

 

[diplomaticandtactful]

I suspect they know they are well off! And don't want to go.

 

[joosie]

We started hacking ours again last week and so far it's going quite well. A few unplanned canters and some bucking fits but nothing out of the ordinary after 3 weeks off! Just one horse left that still hasn't done anything, I'm taking him for a spin this afternoon actually, so wish me luck

 

[Wally]

I had to go to Aberdeen on Monday.

Dropped in to see my Driving Instructor, see if she had anything for me to do while I waited for the boat back North.

She has been under a sheet of ice since before Xmas. So what's the first commercial job her ponies have to do? RDA group.

She too has utterly sensible, willing, reliable little ponies for this. We had to laugh, every time they went from the track to the tarmac, they all checked to make sure there was no ice.

She expected nothing less from her ponies, and I expect you, eml know they will come up with the goods. They do if treated well.

 

[minkersmum]

A little bit concerned tonight as first night back after Christmas hols and bad weather so nothing has been ridden for 4 weeks

Don't know why I worried though, apart from a few sharpish canter transitions nobody put a hoof out of place. Amazingly most of them are rejects from private homes for various forms of misbehaviour.

Can i ask EML ,the rejects from private homes, did you have to do lots of work to get them 'right' or do you think just becoming part of an experienced establishment where there are (presumably) quite few other horses all doing the same job is the biggest factor in them becoming reliable RS horses.

I feel alot of the Rs horses where i ride get confidence from their counterparts and they all follow the others lead. Most of them are quiet calm horses on the whole, some more forward thinking than others, some a little easier to ride than others but i almost feel that doesn't mean if they were plucked from that environment they would continue to be that way.

Am i making sense? I can kind of see that the routine of a RS and the work shapes them to quite a degree and also that they are always handled by a team (small family team plus couple girls who work there) of confident people.

Am i right in this observation do you think? To a degree? I can see that some of the old ponios that have been there forever and who retire and go to private homes may not change to any great extent but i'm talking more about the ones who have been there a couple of years and seem calm and sensible.

If anyone has actually managed to comprehend any of what i was trying to get across then jolly well done, cookies for you

 

[eml]

Yes understood and you are quite right that in general it is an environment of consistant handling, routine insistance on manners, being part of a herd and having a position in that herd and the odd 'sorting' out by experienced handlers/riders.

We have occasionally put a pony or horse out on loan only for it to come home in disgrace after forgetting its manners.. Typically however most have problems stemming from inexperienced owners not realising that allowing your new friend to push you around is going to lead to bigger problems and the usual ones of overfed and under exercised horses. We also get the odd one with major issues such as not being traffic proof or safe in company on hacks, those we can find suitable work for to avoid the problem areas while working slowly on them. 95% of horses/ponies we buy will be in work with a paying pupil by the end of their first week.

 

[laura jeanne]

I love my rs horse too. We have strangles at our barn so everyone has been kept in for a while. Still, he was extra good in my lesson today.

I went over to see him this morning and he was actually out in his paddock. I brought him in and groomed him all over since it is super muddy around here. I went back to the barn this afternoon for my lesson and he had rolled in the mud and both sides of him were covered in mud again. Nicely combed white mane was brown again.