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Post by lookingforadvice on Sept 13, 2018 12:33:42 GMT
Hi, just looking for a bit of advice really, my pony has been sent away to be professionally backed recently (first time for me) i was just wondering what people expect as in progress week by week? hes a 4 year old that has been lunged and started long reining before he went.
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Post by catkin on Sept 13, 2018 14:40:36 GMT
I think it depends hugely on the animal. The progress very differently. If all progresses well and the pony is having attention each day, I would expect a couple of days to settle, a few days for the 'breaker' to establish what you have taught the pony in terms of lunging, long reining etc. Week two start to lean over, etc. Week three, riding around on the lunge, week four riding away. But it can be quicker and it can be slower.
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Post by tabbyx on Sept 13, 2018 18:36:41 GMT
I agree with catkin, very much depends on the animal in question, I had one that took me nearly 5 weeks to get on as it was a complete start from scratch job, he'd never been lunged or long reined, couldn't trot in hand etc so we had to teach him everything and long reining was a massive issue. I had another pony that by week 6 was going sweetly in walk, trot and canter on both reins, hacking out alone and in company, working over trotting poles and popping a small fence. Some ponies take longer than others to get to grips with everything, some progress very quickly to start with then stall at a certain point and others take a long time to get through the early stages then everything suddenly clicks and they rapidly improve. I'd say as long as the person breaking the pony is pleased with how they are coming on and they are getting attention and doing something every day then I would be happy.
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Post by gillwales on Sept 13, 2018 21:35:32 GMT
This is something you should have asked before sending your pony away. What do the people say where you have sent him? I would expect breaking to take roughly 6 weeks, it is better to take things slowly than to rush. Even if you have taught him to lunge, long-rein and bitted him he will need to get used to the other people, their voices and the new surroundings. Also if he has not been worked on recently he will need to get a little fit to take the weight of a rider. Ponies are not robots and do not do everything at the same speed. Just remember 6 weeks is for breaking, you will still have a very green pony who still has a lot to learn, it is only the beginning.
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bugs
Junior Member
Posts: 121
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Post by bugs on Sept 14, 2018 7:05:49 GMT
I had my pony straight after being backed, the first one I have had this young. It has taken so long to get her working properly and settled, we are at the 3 year mark now but pony has always been immature. I’ve got really worried looking at photos and watching at shows seeing 4-6 year old winning everything worrying what I’m doing wrong. But I’m now seeing that said pony was just Slow maturing, it is all coming together. Just be patient as slow and steady is def worth it in the long run.
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sarahp
Happy to help
Posts: 9,510
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Post by sarahp on Sept 14, 2018 7:39:12 GMT
I haven't actually broken many myself, but have had my homebreds done over the years and would reiterate the need to go at the pony's pace. I've found that some of mine, having been brought up in a one woman home all their lives, can find it very unsettling indeed changing places of residence and the humans handling them and need time to settle in before anything new is asked of them. And even then, once settled they still have their own pace of improvement. Many of those showing very young ponies under saddle seem to have forgotten that it does take time to build up the muscle required to work correctly too and nothing can hasten that. I do appreciate that taking longer will cost more if you are paying someone else to do it, but I suppose it depends on your aim for the pony - the one done slower may well stay sound longer into old age than one rushed.
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Post by catkin on Sept 14, 2018 7:48:26 GMT
Yes, I agree on the 'maturity' point, both physically and mentally. Animals differ. In an ideal world, I like to teach them a bit in the early summer of their third year. Mouthing, leading (from both sides), roller then saddle on and perhaps even a little lunge. Learning to stand still in a training environment etc, etc. I might even lean over one. Then I turn away for the rest of the summer and start again in October. It is amazing how much they remember and you can usually then progress well. Also, I like to do 10 mins twice a day rather than have a marathon session. Sometimes you come against a training 'issue' that you need to work through, but on the whole, I think the short and sweet, little and often works well.
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Post by cmnli on Sept 14, 2018 8:06:35 GMT
Totally agree with catkin and other comments above, ponies are not robots and some will be quick to learn and others will take a long time. I think it is important you trust and respect the person you have chosen to break your pony and also clear on expectations, in terms of do you want pony just backed or are you prepared to leave it for schooling on. We would never send our young ponies anywhere else but where we send them to be backed because we know they are all treated individually, not rushed and allowed to mature. Like catkin we usually have them back to turn away for the summer on grass maybe with a spot of hacking and then bring back into work so they usually don't start showing until they are 5 years old. Sometimes it can seem a long wait but the key thing for us is to have a pony who is then happy in its work, has matured physically and mentally and because we know they have been started well will also have a lovely light mouth. In our experience if done badly and rushed the work needed to undo that is longer than waiting for the pony to come right slowly and carefully. Good Luck with your pony.
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sarahp
Happy to help
Posts: 9,510
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Post by sarahp on Sept 14, 2018 9:09:24 GMT
Reading catkin's post above gave me another thought. It's useful for the breaker to know what has or hasn't been done to the pony before they get it. On a personal level, I do quite a bit with my foals in their first winter, when I have them in at night and do little and often, so by they time they are turned out in the spring they should lead, catch, tie up, and maybe load on a lorry. Leading involves forwards, backwards, turns on the forehand and standing still for as long as asked as well as standing as required for showing - but because of my arthritis they are only led from the near side (lousy left shoulder) and won't have learned to trot in hand (I can't run). Both of which I do warn anyone else who has them to deal with. I do also lean over them without putting weight on them and pat the offside (I only have As now!). No rugs, but some traffic proofing as they will have been in the fields alongside the drive and I stop the car and chat to them through the window, or get out if I have time. We also have a keen (pedal) cyclist living up the drive so lots of fast bikes whizzing past. I do get them in for farrier and worming, rather than doing it in the field, which keeps those skills in play anyway.
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Post by the showing register on Sept 14, 2018 14:28:24 GMT
I actually think you need to talk to the person breaking your pony. Horse gossipers can offer opinion but you have confidence in this person or you would not have sent it so get a good relaitionship going with them and visit the pony often.
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Post by honeypot on Sept 17, 2018 18:55:30 GMT
I my experience the person you send them away to has their way of doing something and your animal has to fit to their way. I like mine done with just the basics, I do not want a pony drilled in circles and bored out of it brain. I want them hacked out, front behind, cantered in straight lines and hacked along the road with company. This takes more time than 'schooling' for half an hour, so I find is now rarely done. So find someone who give your pony time.
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Post by bigmama on Sept 25, 2018 15:08:06 GMT
A young pony, if handled regularly and correctly, builds up trust in his handler/s. If you send him away to a strange place with new people, horses, sights and sounds, it's a lot for them to take in and they need some time to settle and build up trust in the new people in his life backing him. I have heard of so many people who sent their beloved horse or pony away only for backing only to be disappointed. Were they expecting too much in a short time? Possibly. For these reasons, we decided to back our own youngster (Welsh D) this summer, something we haven't done since our days with small ponies many moons ago. Having owned him since a foal, he has had firm but fair handling (and lots of love too) on a daily basis over the past three years. We have taken our time with backing, sometimes my daughter (rider) has been away on holidays and has a busy work schedule so he has, on those occasions, had a week in between being ridden but he has not minded in the least. He is now riding away in walk and trot both reins, figures of eight and a few twenty metre circles thrown in here and there. He is now ready to ride in the company of another pony in the menage and once he is settled in that, he can start hacking out in company. His field runs alongside a busy country lane with all manner of vehicles, cyclists and people and prams going past whilst he grazes so is well accustomed to those.
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