Question about breaking my pony?

Question

I have a 11.3 hand POA thats been previously broken. He did fine the first few weeks my little brother who has had no riding experiance rode him. But now he's taking off with him. One of my friends little sister has been wanting to ride him but i'm affraid he'll take off. He has an 80 pound wait limit so I can't ride him. any ideas on how to get him to stop?

Answer 1

  Esp since the pony was okay to begin with...sounds like lil bro has gained too much confidence...

Are you SURE your little brother is not telling the pony to go faster? By mistake or on purpose? Beginners often lean forward, kick by mistake, hold the reins too high ,holler ,bounce, jerk on the mouth and so on. The pony may have had enough of this and has simply found a way to get it to stop.

Get lil bro some lessons. Pony sounds fine.

Answer 2

You first need to teach him to do a one handed stop. You can teach this on the ground.Start by teaching him to flex at the poll. Use a rope halter if you have one are regular on will work also but rope is better. Attach a lead rope to the halter.  Stand next to your pony at about his midsection facing him. Pull his head towards his side holding the rope tight. His nose should be close to his side. Hold the rope tight until the pony yields to the pressure by turn his head closer and dipping it. As soon as he does this release. Keep doing this on both sides of the pony until he easily bends his head and neck to release the pressure. The next step is to use a dressage whip. Have him flex and tap his hip until he moves his hindquarters. His legs must cross each other if he is doing this right. Keep moving him around you can make him move in a circle. Be sure to praise him as soon as he does anything right. Do this on both sides of him. Once he learns this with the halter, do it with the bit.  You will be teaching him two things. To turn and to move his hindquarters. When you turn his head easily he won't be able to run. Teach your little brother to stop him by pulling one rein back. This will cause him to turn his head.

Answer 3

You need to train your horse voice commands. This can help really well. Right now I would just train him Whoa. Train him on the ground. You don't have to be in the saddle. I think it is pretty self explanitory on how to do it. but email me if you need help. for now i wouldn't put anyone on the pony. Maybe your little brother to keep him excercised. But i would lead the pony when your brother is riding. Don't let him ride without a leader. A possible reason that the horse goes into a trot is because maybe your little brother is squeezing wiht his legs to much. When the pony goes into the trot your brother may tense up and get scared making his legs go tighter around the pony which leads to trot. So that's about all my advice. I don't think a bit would be the reason especially if it is harsh. Could you explain what kind of bit it is? Anyway that's about all.  

Answer 4

like emcsuper said. if you are just over the limit, ride him for very short periods of time. or lead him around at the walk/trot with a rider on and u leading so he knows to stop. and lunge him before they ride, he may just have lots of energy.

if that doesnt work, try finding someone who does weight the limit, or close to it, and knows how to ride, and have them try and help you out

Answer 5

if you are only just over that limit then you can ride him for a short time (10 mins or so) a day. You could also try him on a leadrope. It may be because he has too much energy, so give him a quick lunge first. I think you gotta figure out why he keeps doing it. Is it because hes being naughty/ hes scared/ he has too much energy. Also, does he always do it in the smae place? Is it because the rider is scared, so hes sensing this, and then listening to his instinct that is telling him to run. The obvious solution would be find somebod experienced who is under the weight limit to sort him out.

Your first port of call should be lunging him first. It maybe because as he is ridden more, then he is getting fitter, so he has more energy. Have him canter on a lunge for 10 mins (5mins warm up 1st) then see how he goes.

If he continues you could also get a vet to look at him and check all his tack is fitted properly because he may be trying to tell you that his saddle hurts, so he runs in an attempt to get it off, but knows it is naughty to roll/ buck to get it off. Thr vet should check he is not feeling any pain in his back.