Dear H&C experts,

I have just bought a 13.2hh welsh cross pony for my youngest two children. He's been with us for ten days. He's our first pony, although I had quite a lot of experience riding when I was young. He's six and has done some Pony Club activities with his previous owner as well as a lot of hacking. He's a lovely chap - friendly and willing and well behaved in the arena, but he will not leave the yard on his own. He backs and bucks (I use a stick once I've tried legs) and then when eventually I get him out he repeatedly stops, then more backing and bucking until we're a considerable way from home. This behaviour is obviously dangerous and it's scaring the children. He's fine going out if he's with a person or another horse. He's a gelding and shares his new field with three other geldings. After the usual pecking order fights, things seem to have settled in the field. Help!  Any advice or suggestions appreciated.

Thanks,
Susan.

The answer

H&C expert Jenny Rudall replies:

Hi Susan,

First of all congratulations on getting your pony and as with any new horse or pony, there are always a few teething problems at start whilst you are getting to know each other. It sounds to me like your pony is testing you and working out how much he can get away with. Bucking and backing up can sometimes be due to back or teeth problems but as you say he is fine the rest of the time, it is unlikely to be the case but would be worth checking.

Positive reinforcement

When he is asked to go out alone he needs to have complete confidence and trust in his rider as he is a herd animal and going out in a new place can be scary for him. He is also going to test what he can get away with and see if the rider really is in charge. I would advise not taking him out on his own to start with if it is causing problems, and just build up his confidence in the rider with another person or horse alongside. It is still early days and sometimes we as humans have to compromise and find work-around solutions. When you do start to take him out it is very important to work using positive reinforcement. Praise the good and ignore the bad, so any steps forward are met with praise and any naughty behaviour just completely ignored (I know it’s hard). He will soon learn that positive attention is what he is after and the bucking should hopefully start to lessen. 

I think the key with any new pony is time, and working on what he is good at for now. If you feel that he is scaring your children it might be an idea to find a more experienced junior or small rider to school him for a while to help iron out any problems. 

I hope this helps. Good luck from the H&C team and please do let us know how you get on.

Jenny