My pony goes too fast!!

Question

ok so my pony is perfect in the arena she works on the bit and slows down if i give and take my reins however at one side of the arena the short side where letter c is there is like a forest beside that part of the arena the rest of the arena shows the yard. at the end where the forest is she just speeds into a really fast gallap and leans towards the inside, how can i stop her doing this and why is she? when she goes fast like that all i do is give and take and she slows down but no matter how much i pull back on the reins she wont slow down till she gets back to the corner where the forest ends!! do you think its cuz shes unsure of the forest or another reason? please help, it isnt causin alot of problems but it would be great if i could sort it out! thanks

Answer 1

Well as you know horses cant speak so we can guess and try to find out the problem, ideally it would be good if they could talk so we could help it. Meanwhile you have to be convinced that there is nothing what so ever wrong with it and that you ride through that part of the arena really confidently, so your pony feels safer and more supported. Try to ask for the cantering the corner just before the *bad side* but as you are asking over push with your seat as if you were asking for a really collected canter and when you feel her about to go into the canter half hault but kkeep pushing. If she starts to speed up turn her to your knee nd take her back to where you asked for the canter. keep calm and talk to her, as if she is scared she needs to be shown there is nothing wrong. Also maybe put some poles (4-6) depending how much room you have and do the same but she will be more distracted with something else and wont be concentrating on speeding (a much)

Good luck x

OH Oh and dont carry a crop, bu you probably dont any way.

Answer 2

just as someone said.. use half halts. make them very very evident and sit deep in the saddle and make sure she listens. don't have a constant pull or else she'll just resist and ignore you. little frequent pulls//half halts however will make her listen. and before you even get near c (like at b or e) PREPARE.. get her going slow and listen and start some half halts. good luck!!

Answer 3

It might be to do with the wooded area. This is the same in our sand school and the horses are always more spooky near that end. If i was you i would work her down near the forest. Just walking around to start with, then move in to trot and then canter when shes ready. Keep doing a lot of work down that end to get her used to it. I don't know why she would be scared, could be that she senses something or the light makes it look scary. Just keep working her near it and see if she improves.

Answer 4

She might be scared of the forest. So what you need to do is teach her with lots of patience not to be scared. Walk her out (sitting on her or hand walk, which ever you feel more comfortable with) and go towards the forest. She might try to shy away from it but eventually she will trust you enough to let you take her closer. Show her there is absolutely nothing to be afraid of.

Your pony sounds really sweet by the way!!

Answer 5

Talk to her as she comes round stoking her neck then slowly pull quite strongly but not yanking her mouth on the outside reine. DONT PULL BOTH REINES!!! this is a commen error but it does give them more lead and they get numb mouths to it and poorly respond. Squeezing and releasing on the outside reine makes it harder for them to continue but you do not want them to cave in and change dirrections.

Maybe lead her up and down that part of the arena carming her then when you ride her at that part dont rush her just walk her round  that sie. Once uv got the walk then u can move up to trot and so on. Take it slowly and dont rush her give her time to learn. She probably does this as a bad habit and you need to break her.  

Answer 6

Ok... there could be several reasons why she is doing this.  One..is the wind blowing?  Some horses don't mind wind till they get near a group of trees with the leaves and small branches swaying, and it kind of makes em a little spooked.  Two... is the gate at the other end of the arena, the grassy end?  If so, she could be "going home" or "going to the barn".  That is also a common occurrence.  If your arena has the capability, I would add another gate.  Bring her in one and out the other, and switch off.  Make them far apart as well.  The best way to help her is some ground work near the forested end.  Get off and walk her around half the arena. Do it both directions for about 15 minutes after she does it calmly.  Then re-mount and try it at a walk.  Still working only that half of the arena.   I don't know how advanced you are, but if you are advanced enough, spin her out when she picks up the pace, rather than your tug and pull you've been doing.  That way her mouth stays soft.  I hope this helped.  :)

Answer 7

it sounds like shes scared, my horse done the same in one corner, so before i rode her, i lunged her in that corner.

and when i rode her i spoke 2 her alot she soon eased up...

it doesnt work to pull back hard on the reins, that doesnt make you have control, if u pull back to hard the horse will raise its head and it will be harder to control, try using alot of seat :)

good luck xx

Answer 8

it could be shes worried of the forest..so take her inhand and let her have a good look

Remeber to sit deep...and just walk past it ..sit up tall and squeese with your thighs to steady her half halt if she tries to run away and turn circles is she bombs off with you

Answer 9

my sister hasd a young pony like this. but it wasjust as soon as u got in the shool all she wanted to do was canter. our instructor (advased dr rider) said if she wants to canter let her so all my sister did was leave the pony to canter as soon as she decided to herself and make her canter round. as a 4yr old she tiered quickly and it worked a treat.

i also have a horse that was like this on the lunge but all she wants to do is trot round and round! so to get her out i did the same thing and make her trot round and round as that was what he wanted to do. but when she started slowing down and trying to walk i kept pushing her into trot did this a couple of times round to make a point and she got alot better. know when i lunge her she is fine and doesnt do this at all!

try it! it really works!!!

good luck!

xxxx

Answer 10

I think you should just keep going up and down that part where she goes fast making her listen to you and maybe eventually she will slow down or stop when you ask.

Answer 11

sounds like she's spooking. I would know because my pony does this all the time- she spooks at just about everything!

walk back and forward along that side until she calms down.

make sure she realises there's nothing for her to be scared of.

when she tries to gallop, just sit up straight with your shoulders back, keep firm rein contact, and ride on like there's nothing there. If she still bolts then turn her in a tight circle towards the outside.

talk to her in a calm voice, and praise her if she walks along the side- even if she is trying to break into a gallop. once she will walk calmly along, do it in a trot, the canter.

you could also try riding down the arena diagonally so that you aren't going straight towards the forest, then when you turn to go that way, she wont really have a chance to bolt, if you have a firm rein contact and sit up straight.

hope that helps!

Answer 12

I think she is just napping and you need to be firm!  There is nothing wrong with the forest area.  She is just being a pony who wants to go back to the "herd" so to speak.  A lot of outside rein is needed here - and if she does rush off try to get a 20 metre circle - and a lot of outside leg to try to persuade her not to bulge towards the stables.  You might try carrying your schooling whip in your outside hand to back up your leg aids without having to take the hands of the reins.

Keep getting the circle smaller and smaller gradually decreasing until she has to break into a trot.  Gradually push her out again using your inside leg every time you sit to a stride.  Still raising your outside rein to prevent her from going off again.

You need to be very tough with her, but I understand that ponies are stronger, physically and temperamentally than their little riders and you might benefit from a few lessons to give you some more tips.

Keep persevering and she will get the message eventually that she is not to get on and do her own thing.

Answer 13

I have the same problem. I think its because they want to get to the gate near the yard to "go home".  

Answer 14

use lots of half halts and just expect her to carry on as norm. If you expect her to start galloping then she probably will. Maybe she just gets excited or scared.

You should put an interesting object in the direction the forest is and she will concentrate on that instead.

Don`t forget to reward her and don`t work her too hard.

Answer 15

Try taking her IN the forest, if you can. Just lead her around in it for a while.  Sometimes just letting your horse get close and investigate helps them realize there's nothing to fear.  Also, when you're in the ring and she speeds up, pull her around in circles at that end, and keep circling there until she gives to you.  I would start this at the walk, then trot, then canter, as you don't want her lunging to one side of your circle or fighting you through it.

When I first bought my current horse, he was a speed demon in the arena - nothing I did could slow him down one iota.  I started doing small circles - everything we did was circles.  Then when he got slow in the circle, we went in a straight line until he speeded up again, then back into another circle wherever it was that he got faster.  He learned that he wasn't getting anywhere.  He now goes around with a nice western pleasure jog.

Hope this helps!!!