Recently I was at a Pony Club meeting and overheard a well know local trainer
discussing ponies and how shetland ponies are unsuited for children.
That they were bred to pull carts into mines and were not bred for riding.
Part of what she said is true, the original Shetland pony was bred for pulling,
which also meant these little mights were bred with a calm and willing-to-please
disposition. Over the years, especially in the U.S., theses ponies were
increasingly bred to show and respond more like the Arabian horse in the
ring. This was accomplished by breeding back to closely related stock causing
many of the traits for high strung and animated actions to be increased.
I am not talking about these show ponies in this article. Rather, I am talking
about the typical Shetland pony, generally unregistered, that is found in
myriad backyards across the U.S. and Canada. So, with that in mind, lets
get on with it!
Let's think about this:
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Who trains them?
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Who rides them?
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What happens when they don't do what adults think they should?
Most ponies are at least
halter broke when purchased by a family for
the kids. Some have been ridden to some degree. Many have very
bad habits they have learned in order to avoid being ridden and/or handled.
The fact is, most ponies don't get the training a big horse gets. This
is because they are too small for most adults to ride. So, they don't learn
to obey the bit, leg cues, voice commands and the body posture of the rider.
Grown ups often don't take the time to work with the pony, spending time
making sure it knows its job. When the little horse runs off with the
kid and someone gets hurt the loser is usually the pony. Many are abused
out of anger, frustration and misunderstanding. This causes the pony to avoid
being ridden out of fear. As the situation progresses the pony is ruined
and ALL ponies are dubbed "evil".
The solution to this is to take the time with the pony to teach it what
is expected of it. Our foals are imprinted as soon as they are
born. They are petted, loved, halter broke at a very young age. They
are humanely taught not to bite, kick or rear up. We handle them all over
their bodies from the first day. We pick up the feet, lift the tail,
scratch the back, rub under the tummy, touch the ears, look at the mouth.
We do this a lot as the baby grows.
When it is leading well, usually about
3 months, we begin to take it for walks away from the mare. We don't
stay gone long, but be sure that it is relying on us for security.
We reach over its back and touch its flank, let it graze, show it something
new (like a scary garbage can). The baby relies on us for protection because
it trusts us, we are its substitute mother.
At 5 months we put a surcingle or bareback pad on the youngster.
Soon it is used to the feel of the girth. We begin ground driving with
one person leading and one driving. The reins are attached to the side
rings of the halter. After a couple of times the pony will move out on its
own. All the time we cue it by voice and rein. "Gitty up", "whoa", "walk"..."good
baby"...all these communicate to the pony that it is on the right track.
It is important to praise the animal frequently. Give it a gentle rub, a
scratch or kind word.
By 1 year old the pony has been ground driven with the snaffle bit, had a
pony saddle on and never had a bucking freak out. By 2 years the pony
is pulling a light weight cart with the driver walking behind. After 2 years
of age the driver gets in the cart. This pony has learned through ground
work and voice training to obey the person, not its own wants.
At
this stage a rider is put on the pony and led around. This is usually
no problem because the little horse has had all the preliminary work
done. The rider is a kid, usually about 7 years old. An adult leads
the pony and another adult holds on to the child just in case the pony gets
scared. This goes on until the trainer is sure the pony isn't going to buck.
They really don't buck very often because there is a lot of TRUST in the
relationship between the pony and the trainer. When the stage is reached
of security on the trainer's behalf the pony is led around without the
adult holding the child but walking close. Eventually the second adult is
not needed. The reins are turned over to the young rider with instructions
on how to turn and stop using the reins and voice commands. Voice commands
are very important because the pony can be controlled by an adult on the
ground at a distance in case a young rider doesn't know what to do.
Pretty soon the pony and rider are getting along great on their own. The
next step is teaching the pony to neck rein. This is done by crossing the
reins under the pony's chin. When the rein is laid against the neck the pressure
is exerted on the opposite side of the mouth. It is basically the same pressure
as direct reining. The pony is worked up against a fence the same way as
a big horse, using the same leg cues. If the pony is big enough and/or the
trainer is small enough, the trainer can finish the pony quite nicely. That
is what we do with ours.
When we acquire an abused or untrained adult pony we use the same steps,
taking time to earn the pony's trust. We have had a few like this and all
but one turned into a nice pony.
These principles work with big horses, too. Let's give our ponies a chance.
They are valuable friends for children and can be as trustworthy as any horse.
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