AboutChristine Dickinson Expertise can answer questions on training and showing, ring craft, english style riding, and dress for the sho ring
Experience been riding since I was 2 years old, qualified as an instructor more years ago than I care to remember and has owned ponies and horses all my life, shown and won extensively
Question my little girl has a welsh mountain pony Jake 12.2 hand and 4 years old. he has good and bad day. on good day he will be great with the kids they will brush him walk and ride on lead rein but not of lead rein. why? on a bad days he will nip charge at you and very territorial. i am now finding the bad are rolling from two to three and four days. i have tried re-lung him again and he will not lung he come to me and some time rearing up at me. he will not always allow you to leave the field and hes are always flat back. he never like his head rub/stroking or his hears. and i don't have a round and cant afford to buy one to do join up. can you help me or know someone that can.
Answer Hi Rebecca
Ok Jakes being a pain then............ well theres a few things. Firstly it sounds like Jake is trying to see just how much rope he can have before you give up on him. Sometimes if a pony is naughty then the rider will put him back in the field or stable and then he has won, he remembers this (as they are sneaky little sods at the best of times) and he tries it againa nd again until it becomes a pattern........... and then Jake is still a baby really, he is still learning.
It definitley sounds like he is trying to get the upper hand by trying to scare you and trying to dominate you, in this case you and the girls ahve to take that back off Jake andmake him realise he is not the herd leader he is just a pony who has to be taught what is and is not acccptable behaviour.
ground work and playing games is ok, and you certainly do not need a round pen to do the join up exercises, I haven;t got oneand do join up all the itme with mine!
Ok next time, go into his field, but don;t make any attempt to catch him, just walk quietly round the boundary and comeout again, and leave it, he will be slightly puzzled with this and wonder what is goingon. Later go back in and repeat this, and I can bet that he starts following you to see what he is missing out on. Kepp it up and when he wants to come to you then thats the time you know you are winning, it might take a few days but it worls. Horses andponies are nosey creatures at the best of times and I can bet that Jake is just the same as the rest of them. Play some games with him, theres some good books that don;t cost the earth or go on the BHS website they have some good pointers there as well.
Now the charging at you, again he is trying to intimidate you and establish his leadership, this is not good. This calls for some tough love. Next time he does it, just stop the lungeing and then just one little flick of the lungeing whip to make him go back to where he should be. Nothing too heavey just a little flick to remind him that he does not at any time (unless you give him permission) invade your space. He has to respect your space as you have to respect his.
A few reminders is all it will take.
Again get him checked over in case theere is anything puhysical bothering him, like back or teeth problems. You say as well he isn;t keen on having his head touched, has he ever been hit on head before he came to you? Might be worth checking that out as well.
At the moment he is just a baby and he is learning where the boundaries are, but you also have to teach him not to cross those boundaries............. patience and time is the things to give him now, it will be worth it all in the end.
