help and advice needed please - dont want to lose more confidence

[sugar4eva]

Have bought a pony this week .She has just come over from ireland were she had been ina field for some weeks in a yard but did not sell.The owner a reputable dealer brought her back and she was settled as we think she recognised her new home.One one occasion she had been owned by children who only rod at weekends and she does hunt for snacks all the time.She also moves around a great deal on the
ground whentied up outside stable- she is not really still and she also paws with her feet.The dealer was honest about this and siad that she has been passed from pillar to post recently but that she is likely to keep doing the moving thing.In the school at the yard she had just come back to she was brilliant- nicely in a shape ,all good transitions,jumping well ,forward going but not too stong .My DD siad she could cope with the moving about.
We got her home y day.She seemed v happy in the field.We took her there and let her look around sat with her a bit and then went back early evening as the dealer said to ride her to start as mean to go on.She had been to the yard bit before she went out to field .She constnatly moved .Wea sked her to stay still firmly and with praise.We did not expect her to be totally still but stiller for her if you see what i mean.We constantly moved and my dd could not get on.As we saw she had been fine in the prev school but twitchy tied up on yard we took her to the school to see if would help matters.It did not.So we gently walked her round.A horse was calling to her nad she was calling to him all the time and semed vey hyper.My Dd eventually got on .She did a smalll rear.Could not settle.So we rode her back to stable.She dida near vertical rear.We took her to field .We talked to her in there patted her gave her treats.Then took to yard moving a lot,Spinning and small rear on way back to field as if she could not hear us just the horses.

She has come into season - heard they can do so with change enviroment?.I wonder if going back to her old yard and suddenly moving is causing all this.We knew she was hyper on the ground when tied up but no history of rear exepft for a small one when being transported.
She seems well schooled and just what dd wants.I was TERRIFIED when she did the vertical rear she could have fallen back on herself and dd.dd did amazing to stay on.My question is how on earth do i know if this is just new anxiety and testng this out without putting my dd at risk.If a horse rears like this in fright is she unsafe.Ive seen a friends horse do similar at a show and he seems fine now but i dont know how to move on.Our instructor is comming tomorrow to try to help.

apologies for silly typing was rushing !!!

Don't panic although I know its hard especially when pony is rearing. Well done to your daughter for staying on. When she is tied up can you pillar her somewhere as in tying her up with 2 ropes so she can't move as much. And maybe tap her leg with a whip if she starts pawing? With regards to exercise I would lunge her in the school to see whether she settles. I am sure she will after a couple of days. Hope your instructor helps tomorrow

Sounds like you need to let her settle in. Does the tack you have fit correctly?

You need to let her settle for a week before you make any judgements. It can take months to bond properly with a pony. However rearing would worry me.

Rearing is an incredibly dangerous habit. A horse that loses its balance rearing can fall over backwards on its rider which results in very dangerous injuries. I apologise for worrying you but you should be worried.

Has your instructor assessed this pony as suitable for your DD? I would never buy a horse without input from my instructor, it's always wise to have a second opinion from someone experienced who is on your side.

Did you have the horse vetted?

You have two options:

• cut your losses and return to the dealer asap for a refund. From what you say the pony does not sound like a very good deal, e.g. out of work for a while, difficult to handle, etc.
• deal with the issues.

If you decide to deal with the issues, check some basics: is she out 24/7, is she on as little food as possible? Does her tack fit? Handle her yourself until she settles. Lunge her to get rid of excess energy. Don't feed her treats for no good reason, especially if she looks for them. Do reward good behaviour, such as standing still, with treats but teach a 'leave it' command first (as you should always do when working with animals and food).

I would also suspect you are winding her up a bit by going from the field to the stable, to the school, to the stable, to the field, to the stable, etc. If you want to ride her, then bring her in, ignore the moving around, tack her up quickly and quietly and then ride her giving her a job to do so that she concentrates on the rider (she may need a more experienced rider than your DD though, at least for the first few times). Then turn her out.

To be honest you sound a bit inexperienced in your post (apologies if I misread your post!), and this does not sound like the right pony for you.

Just to add in case your DD rides again before your instructor comes:

To avoid a rear try getting the pony moving forwards into a brisk trot. If she stops and naps, try small circles with the head well to the side (ask gently but firmly).

If the pony does rear your DD MUST push her hands forwards releasing the reins. She must NEVER pull back on the reins as this pulls the pony backwards. If she can she should grasp both arms around the pony's neck throwing her weight forwards.

If the pony does rear and start falling backwards the rider should try to take her feet out of the stirrups and throw herself to the side, although this is very difficult to do in the heat of the moment.

Lunging and a wk to settle in

This pony has been from home to home, has travelled across from Ireland and is probably extremely stressed. Turn her out, and leave her for at least a week.
Go in, speak to her, get her used to you and DD, touch her, and after a few days, start trying to catch her, lead her a bit, give her a brush and let her go again.
IMO, food and treats should NEVER be used to catch or bribe a pony, especially by a child, and should be saved for after interaction, and not fed from the hand. Mine never get treats, ever.
Give her plenty of time to adjust to her new surroundings and become comfortable with you and her new home, then, tack her up, walk her about, and if she seems happy, then let DD mount, preferably in the school or a small safe space, on a lead rein, and see how they get on.
Mounting and launching into a smart trot won't teach a childs pony anything that will do it any favours.
Do not over feed, as this wont help her mental state. If she lives out, I wouldn't feed her anything.
Basically, give her time, be patient, and try to see things from the horses point of view.

How are you getting on OP? Is the pony more settled?

Our pony has been known to rear. When he is really angry about something. It has been a long time since we upset him badly enough to make him rear thank goodness.

Hopefully will be the same with this new pony of yours and all will be good in time once she understands the routine and so on. I hope you're not pumping her full of hard feed, might be best to give her no feed at all at the moment until you know where you are with her.

Hi ALL - we just wanted to say a huge thankyou for all your support.She seems to have settled !!She came from Ireland to her old yard and the n our yard and i wonder if it messed up her head.She has been jumping now and loving it .She does not like fuss just get on ride ,some hay and out to field.Thank again all it really helped.

So glad

Great update! So glad she's settled and you're all safe! Have a great time with her!