Am I stupid to pay out for hack with DD?

[Winter20245]

I have a loan pony, have lost confidence. Feel like I could get on a riding school pony and be fine but my own im not, even though she is perfectly safe! My DD is small to ride her although when she does they work well.
The local riding school have a hack next week that me and my DD can go on, however it comes as a cost on top of my pony.
Am I being stupid as I feel like I am. I have never taken pony out on hack on her own

If you're struggling with confidence then taking her out with the riding school sounds like an excellent idea. Hopefully once you've done it once with them (and your DD) you'll feel more able to go on your own.

Not stupid at all - eminently sensible! Is there a reason you’ve lost confidence with riding your loan horse? Do you have lessons with her? Is there anyone else on the yard you could go for a hack with?

When you say loan are you sole charge or do you share ? Can you have lessons on the pony or box her to hack in company if you have nobody where you are .

I do hack her out with the other grown ups on the yard when I can.
She can be stubborn and sometimes trips in the menage when not going forwards which has knocked my confidence.
My DD doesnt have a pony to ride on the yard apart from our loan (full loan) and thought it would be nice to go out together.
Its a strange feeling because I wouldnt feel scared on a riding school pony but my pony doesnt really do that much wrong!

I’d be concerned about a pony tripping in the ménage. What’s happening there? Is it because the school rides too deep?

Have you had a vet out to look at her and a saddler to check the tack as ‘stubborn and tripping’ sounds like potential issues .

Has she seen a farrier recently? Or is she tripping simply because she's being lazy and not picking her feet up? Does she trip when out or just in the school?

I used to ride one who was always tripping over his own feet, nothing wrong with him he was just a bit of a dragger. Once you picked up a crop and started working him over ground poles he improved immensely.

Still dragged his feet in walk and just kicked the poles but once you got him trotting over them and engaged his brain he was much more forward and didn't touch them. He just hated boring circles and lateral work in the school. Schooling wasn't his jam. He was a jumper and flatwork bored him shitless. Give him a task, an obstacle to clear and he was interested.

Maybe give it a try, get her to do some trotting poles.

My share horse will trip if he’s not working properly - as long as he’s coming through from behind and thinking forward then he’s absolutely fine. You can’t let him slop along being a giraffe because then he forgets where his feet are ..

Thanks everyone.
We dont have many poles but I do love pole work and it gets her picking up her feet, I have everything checked and nothing wrong. She is lazy in the school and is very hard to get moving forwards. We both prefer hacking but have never tried her out on her own and I would imagine she would be a pain.
So the tripping has scared me but she hasnt done it for a while and I really need to grow a pair and get on with it and stop worrying about the ifs and buts.
Tomorrow I will ride!

Not stupid at all. Most horse owners benefit from riding different horses from time to time. It sounds like it would give you confidence to try something in a safer group which would then make it easier when you try with your loan pony

I don't like the sound of the tripping though. A sound healthy pony shouldn't be tripping for no reason so it's important to find out what's causing that. Maybe video it & keep a note of when/where it happens to show your vet/the owner. Too many subtle pain/lameness issues get dismissed as pony just being clumsy/naughty etc. Could well be a poor surface but also could be pain/arthritic changes.

Not sure about that. The one I used to ride in the school always tripped. He's never been lame a day in his life, he just disengaged and didn't pick his feet up properly when he couldn't really be bothered.

Get some jumps up that he actually liked doing and suddenly he was transformed. He's an amazing jumper especially to learn on as you didn't really have to count strides with him. Point him at it, make it clear you intend him to jump it and then just don't interfere with him. He was a machine and could sort his own feet out just fine. Never tripped once when he was doing anything fun.

So... Yesterday I had an amazing hack on my horse, we cantered through stubble fields (which I would never have done!) It was amazing and I want to do it again!

I have booked me and my DD on a hack at the riding school on thursday so we can spent time together and its her dream!

Aw that’s a lovely update - congratulations! I loan a pony for DD, and she’s big enough that I could ride her. I just haven’t been brave enough. You’ve got me thinking !!

Just an update. I went out for a hack with DD and the riding school, walk and trot.
It was ok but ddint get much trotting as there were 6 of us plus instructor with kids up front that couldnt get their ponies to trot and then the instructor lost sight of us so we stopped and caught
It felt so strange riding something different ( I have ridden different horses on the yard) but not riding school horses for many years!
I went for a hack on my pony the same night, my friends gave me the confidence to have 3 canters, it was amazing!

You can do it!