I have a pony that in temperament i know is not right for me*sob* but i dont want to give him up. i cant...?

Question

He is a dominant gelding , very hot headed, and spooky. i have very little confidence and i need a push button pony that is not agressive but isnt afriad to give a little buck in protest. i was thinkning of leasing Romeo out, and Leasing another push button to gain my confidence back. i have been riding for a couple of years, and im not afriad to tell a pony what to do if he is throwing in a little buck here and there. what do you suggest i do? i will not sell Romeo, as i love him to bits, but i need a pony to get my confidence back on.

Answer 1

I agree with lizzy or you could also do the leasing thing but make sure you have a good contract to protect your baby my friends leased their pony out and the person didn't feed her well and she got all skinny...

Answer 2

Sounds like he is dominant and disrespectul and running the show.  You are low on the totem poll of the herd group so he's going to push you around.  You can get some training for the both of you to work on together.   If the training is not an option, it would be best to pass him on to someone who could help him.  Good luck

Answer 3

Have you tried hiring a trainer to teach you how to manage Romeo?

If you can handle a "little buck" from a pony, why can't you find a way to deal with him?

If your methods aren't working, find a different way.

Try:

Desensitization and positive reinforcement.  

If he's dominant, learn his ways and adapt.

It's a horse!  I'm confident you can find a way to deal with him, train him and make him the best horse you've ever had.

It's been proven the smartest, most dominant, hard-headed animals make the best workers/pets.  You just have to learn to deal with them.

Answer 4

Loose school him to tell him who's boss!  If you aren't confident he will sense that, and try to dominate you.  You have to be his 'leader'..look up 'loose schooling' and 'joining up' if that helps

I recommend hiring a trainer to work with both of you.  You could TURN him into a push button pony with help you know!

Answer 5

You need to get rid of this pony for BOTH of your sakes!!

Answer 6

Consider taking TTEAM lessons. Edie Jane Eaton and Robyn Hood (I'm not kidding) will be teaching out there soon.  Go to www.tellingtontouch.com.  It will teach you a different way to work with your horse.  It is not a riding class but will show you how to be confident around this animal.

Best of luck.

Answer 7

You could donate the horse to a therapeutic riding program that helps children or disabled people!  There are a lot of good programs out there.

Answer 8

hire a trainer (especially one who is good with natural horsemanship) because my saddlebred was exactly like that, and after a few lessons both my and my horse's attitude changed and i now know how to deal with my horse's little quirks

i strongly suggest hiring someone that can help gain your confidence because i know you dont want to sell him

Answer 9

it may actually help to ride another horse for awhile. it works for some people.

but when i first got my horse, he was dominant, nervous, hot headed and very easily spooked. what helped us was to spend time with each other, whether i was riding or not. bathing him, tallking to him, hand grazing him, and best of all, lounging him. the lounging helped with his attitude towards me because i could correct him without being nervous since i was on the ground. with a lot of patience, time, and effort, i finally got him to listen and respect me.

confidence was also a problem with me because my first time riding him went terribly. he spooked badly and bucked. i stayed on for awhile, but then he did this 'whiplash' thing and i fell *HARD* on the ground, and i took a month to heal.

so i worked on trust-building. i touched him a lot, sometimes just running my hands along his legs and neck, and i talked i a low soothing voice. whenever i rode him i lheld the reins loosely, but ready to take them up quickly if he tried anything.  if he ran away with me or threw me, i punished him and then got right back up, because if i didn't he might learn that if he threw me it meant the end of the workout.

it took 2 years for me to get where i am with him, but now you can find me riding bareback, playing tag with him in the pasture, or him following me like a puppy. he is still hot-headed and spooky, but now it's not so bad and it actually adds some excitement and fun. i love my crazy horse, and i would never trade him for a calmer one.

i think you should give it a try with your horse. both of you would definatly benefit from it, just remember: be gentle and kind, but firm. always love him, and be paitient and as trusting as possible.

so in all, i think you should keep him and work with him. and trust me, you'll find your confidence again. at least i did. :)

i wish you the best of luck with your horse :)

Answer 10

Well....

a lot of pones tend to be hardheaded...

if you know anyone else who ride you can ask them if they would ride him for a while to get him out of the way for you can get your riding together with another horse.

then maybe later after you are ready for Romeo you can ride him again.

Answer 11

i used to have a pony which i leased for 5 years, she was 20. i took her to pony club and she loved it there. she never trusted any one because when she was at her old home, she was beaten up, bashed, abused and everything you could think of. i was at the sales with my riding teacher and she said you can choose a horse for my riding school. she needed one which was trust worthy and would be good for the kids. i chose the abused one. her name is polly. we bought her back and she was shaking. her neck was bleeding and she was very frightend. she had the worst temper ever and i thought with that temper of hers she could of killed someone. when i first saw her i looked straight through her. we started from scratch and i became her best friend. i see her 3 times a week and now she is 25yrs old. i have stopped leasing her. she is one of the riding school ponies and all the kids love her!

we looked at some other horses and i lost my confidence on them. i was jumping on and he stopped before the jump and i went over it. i have know moved on to a 15.3h horse. who is a x-race horse. 8 years old. chestnut throughbred. i was pretty nervous around him when i first rode him. but i got used to him. ive been riding 12 years and ive never really been nervous around a horse. i took my new horse Slim (17.3h) to pony club and he tried taking off on me a couple of times because im new to him and he is new to me. all horses will try things on there owners and new ones to, even if you have had them for 20 or more years. i got a bit scared and i asked a teacher and she gave me very good advise. she  said this saved her daughter from getting thrown off so many times because she breaks in horses. and she said if your horse goes to throw you, rear, take off, or anything dangerous or bad. put you right hand or left what ever you prefer behind your back (pretty much on your bumb) and make his head bend so he's nearly touching your leg/foot. he will probaly turn around in circles if he doesnt stop pull tighter till he stops. make sure when he releases let his head go and move on with what you were doing. if he trots off and you wanted him to walk to the exercise. he will learn he does what you say. because if you just pull on your reins the bit will poke them in the mouth and that can cause damage. make sure when you do this exercise dont forget to do both ways. once you have been doing if for a while when you turn him tightly to your leg your horse or pony should stop straight away. i have broken in 6 horses. 3 brumbies, 2 arabs, and one throughbred. 2 brumbies are bomb proof horses and my family friends kids 5 and 9 own them. they are both 15-16h's. you will get your confidence back. just try out romeo and do the exercises. show him that he can have a friend with out being mean.

alot of people say they need ponies to get there confidence again but you dont. a girl at the riding school i work at fell off and never got on again. i said to her you have to hop on again other wise you will always have a fear. she hoped on my arab (15h) and i gave him to her for a little bit of money, and shes riding again. just trust your horse and he will trust you. it may take awhile but trust me it comes around. everyone loses there confidence then gains it. thats one thing you have to live with hanging around horses.