We are two novice riders who have had our loan pony for 3 months now. He is a Fell gelding 12 years old. We were aware when we got him that he can be very strong and bolshy. he is ridden in a pelham and we were advised never to hack him out in anything else. We also know that he can be unpredictable with large vehicles. J spends much more time with him than I do (I see him most weekends, she does the day to day in the week). We have been working on his manners - he now backs up, waits for his food and has nearly stopped dragging us round the field. We haven't done much riding due to the weather but we have taken him out with other horses on the road with no problems and on his own with some napping problems - planting up and refusing to go forward, circling and backing up which we have generally managed to overcome. We have only walked and a little bit of trot, neither of us is brave enough to try canter yet.
3 days ago he bolted with J and she came off in the end. She said she had absolutely no brakes even in the pelham. They were walking on the road, there were old people and kids around, and suddenly like a switch being turned on he just went and he was totally oblivious to everything around him. J managed to turn him but he simply picked up speed again and galloped in the other direction, this time along the verge of the road. She turned him back onto the grass and just as she thought he was slowing he did a massive jump to the side and she came off. She managed to hang onto the reins but he continued to buck, rear and canter around her. It was a very very frightening experience for J and dangerous and she has now totally lost confidence in him and is not sure she will ever be able to get back on him. there was no apparent reason for it except possibly the presence of J's daughter and her friend on their ponies a short distance away cantering through puddles on the grass.
We are both the wrong side of 45, we cannot risk having a pony that isn't safe to hack out. We don't have a school and hacking is our only option (and it's what we both want to do anyway). We are devastated by this turn of events and really not sure what to do. I rode him the next day and took him the same route with a friend on foot, as we approached the same place he went very tense and light in the hand with his head right up and I felt he was going to go. Although I tried hard to remain relaxed I was scared so before he could do anything I turned him around and started walking back towards home.
His owner is a friend of ours and very experienced - although he is known to be strong and can be spooky he has never done anything like this before. She will help us, but I wondered if anyone had any immediate advice or experiences that might help us deal with this situation?
Oh, he is barefoot and unclipped, lives out most of the time and has a small handful of Happy hoof with supplements twice a day. His teeth have been checked and he has seen the vet recently to check his sarcoid.
Do we persevere or admit that we should have seen the warning signs (pelham, known to be strong, has been known to rear, not good with large vehicles etc) that meant he is not suitable for novices like us?
3 days ago he bolted with J and she came off in the end. She said she had absolutely no brakes even in the pelham. They were walking on the road, there were old people and kids around, and suddenly like a switch being turned on he just went and he was totally oblivious to everything around him. J managed to turn him but he simply picked up speed again and galloped in the other direction, this time along the verge of the road. She turned him back onto the grass and just as she thought he was slowing he did a massive jump to the side and she came off. She managed to hang onto the reins but he continued to buck, rear and canter around her. It was a very very frightening experience for J and dangerous and she has now totally lost confidence in him and is not sure she will ever be able to get back on him. there was no apparent reason for it except possibly the presence of J's daughter and her friend on their ponies a short distance away cantering through puddles on the grass.
We are both the wrong side of 45, we cannot risk having a pony that isn't safe to hack out. We don't have a school and hacking is our only option (and it's what we both want to do anyway). We are devastated by this turn of events and really not sure what to do. I rode him the next day and took him the same route with a friend on foot, as we approached the same place he went very tense and light in the hand with his head right up and I felt he was going to go. Although I tried hard to remain relaxed I was scared so before he could do anything I turned him around and started walking back towards home.
His owner is a friend of ours and very experienced - although he is known to be strong and can be spooky he has never done anything like this before. She will help us, but I wondered if anyone had any immediate advice or experiences that might help us deal with this situation?
Oh, he is barefoot and unclipped, lives out most of the time and has a small handful of Happy hoof with supplements twice a day. His teeth have been checked and he has seen the vet recently to check his sarcoid.
Do we persevere or admit that we should have seen the warning signs (pelham, known to be strong, has been known to rear, not good with large vehicles etc) that meant he is not suitable for novices like us?
