Riding Kids Ponies , WHY ????

[ellieraga]

I know this subject has been raised before but !!!!!

We were at a show this sunday just gone and the subject of adults riding kids ponies before putting the child on seems to be getting worse. There was one shp that was lunged for a good hour solid before the adult then got on it and continued to ride it around till lunch time , i understand some ponies do need working in but the ground was rock hard and this pony really was worked hard before putting the child on !!!!!

The final straw then came when a small and it was a small shetland, not well built either, was being ridden round by a adult who was not even a small adult , it seemed as if she was trying to hide what she was doing as she was as far away as possible nearly in the trees, and clearly you could see the pony was struggling,

Is this really needed and at the end of the days if they are true kids ponies then they shouldnt need this, i truly felt sorry for these two ponies

[thecremellosociety]

Mine must be a true kids pony then as gets whipped off and tacked up, but if i rode him he would be flat !!!!!

[apple123]

Goes on at every show - there are no rules against it so nothing you can do about it.

[bowditchblobs]

I watched a show jumper being lunged for over an hour at east of england once, i felt giddy so god knows how the poor horse felt. At another show last year a leading rein sp was in very tight draw reins going round the show ground for hours with a older brat on it, they plonked the small brat- sorry child on it before going in to their class- hey presto up went it's head- ha ha serve em right. You say owt you get a right gob full off them, goes on at every show as apples said.

[poniesrus]

Happens all the time and all the seasoned competitors I've mentioned it to always say it's perfectly normal and that I have unreasonable expectations, expecting a kids pony to be a kids pony and not need 20 hours working in !

Funny though, my own ponies are only ever ridden by the kids and never get 'worked in'. The most they get is a walk round the lorry park on their way to the ring !!!

Had one producer tell me the other week, when I was discussing FR's being ridden in pelhams '' well it's better for a child to be riding in a pelham on a FR and be able to pull to stop, rather than be in a snaffle and have little control and still be going round the showground at packing up time''.

Now, I'm sorry, but to me the above IS NOT therefore a FR pony, as a true FR pony should not need a pelham, in the hands of a 7/8/9 year old, to be able to stop !! But, I'm apparently in the minority ........... working in for hours and putting them in a pelham is apparently the way to go !!!

[nativeponies]

we have ponies who are ridden in various bits, not for brakes but for way of going and happiness of pony, but none of our ponies require riding in at all, we are almost always late for shows and you would probably laugh if you saw me going down the mototway attempting to tack up and get the ponies and kids ready!! got it down to a fine art! then we have to chuck them out of the lorry into the ring...moral of the story, dont presume all ponies with more than a snaffle are bad or bolters etc!! some in pelhams, some in bauchers, some in wilkies and some in good old snaffles, but theyre all great kids ponies...i do not agree a good kids pony should need riding in by adults or bigger kids, however for showing purposes how does anyone expect a tiny lead rein or even first ridden jockey to be able to school a pony to the required standard? even if the pony is super well behaved it still may need an educated rider on board for extra schooling???

[SarahWilkes]

Like you say - unless there is a rule not permitting this, then it will continue, as it has done for many many years.
Although some local shows we have been to, state in their rules that ridden ponies are only to be worked in by the person who is showing it

We are lucky as my daughters 7 year old pony can go up a gear if we need her to, but is a true kids pony. we did RIHS lead rein on sunday, and the day before we were at pony club my 5 year old daughter rides her off the lead, and did flag races, cup races, and one where you had to dismount, count to 5 then re mount with no help. I bet there wouldnt be many ponies we were up against at the show on sunday that you could let a small child do that on.

However, i would much rather see a pony being worked in by an adult if it is fresh and too sharp for a small child to handle. It would only knock their confience or worse they fall and are hurt.

Home produced ponies generally have more time given to them in that owners have them for a few years. Producers generally only have a pony for a season unless they are lucky, and are expected to get good results with that pony from the start. Usually they are freshly broken 4 year olds, and are expected to take everything in their stride from the start.

Our pony was petrified of umbrellas when we first had her, we had the time to get her used to them. Now my daughter can hack down the lane reins in one hand brolly in the other!!!!

[ellieraga]

Firstly, yes i do know there is no rule againest it and as you put it there is nothing i can do about it !!!

I was just giving my opinion that i dont think it is right that these small so called kids ponies are being worked on by adults that are clearly to heavy to be riding them for this amount of time, also with the ground being as hard as it was on sunday they obviousley think more of the colour of the rosette they are taking home than the well being of there ponies

Pollypoppet, i have noticed that some of the smaller shows are actually stating that ponies must only be worked in by those competing them and thats good,

[nativeponies]

Aint showing great everyone!!!?? if my daughter is in a ring on one of her ponies and another is due in a class i work them in, i am however 7 stone wet through and my ponies dont know i am there, i hate to see riders who are over weight on ponies but have no grievances with those, like me, who are light enough to do this, without me my ponies would not get any work all winter! i have to be careful how many cakes i eat, atleast until the kids are riding section c's!! i ride our ponies every day, have been for a good gallop on a 12 hand first ridden today, if she weren't happy sure she would tell me in some way or another, 1 pony on our yard is 13hands and is not a weight carrier, not even tiny me, she point blank refuses to move if i get on bless her so i just dont anymore, have to do lots of long reining with her in winter instead, considering i weigh less than most 12 year old kids i dont see a problem!

[apple123]

I'd stick your suit of armour on nativeponies!!!

[fox111]

this is why i decided to keep my sec a he may only be 4 yrs but needs no working in and my 7yr old daugher is doing fyfr on him fab!!

and i would never consider sitting on him poor little man.

[nativeponies]

apple123 i think i might have to!!! ;D

[nativeponies]

there's a girl near me who must easily weigh 13stone, she was riding her section a's as yearlings! in fact we fell out over it. Was blooming awful

[SarahWilkes]

Oh Nativeponies - i so wish i was 7 stone, we have 4 beautiful ponies from 11hh to 13.2hh. I so so wish i could ride them - My daughter is very lucky, and will be very busy in 12months time when they are all old enough to be ridden.

Luckily my horse is quiet so i can ride and lead from her to save time on exercising in the winter.

[nativeponies]

sometimes i wish i wasnt 7 stone, i keep getting peoples naughty ponies to ride!! lol it does make life easier though pollypocket, it means mine are always fit, sometimes too fit! chuck, some ponies are just not happy or built for it, if it had back problems surely your pony would |"let you know" whether it was a small or large rider on its back, one on our yard is a 13hand sec B, our smallest is 11.3 sec A, he carries me easily, my horse is 16hands, but wouldnt happily carry over 10 stone, all depends on the pony. dont think i'd be a weight carrier either, reckon i'd throw em off!! ;D

[thecremellosociety]

i think i was prob 7 stone when born

[nativeponies]

lol, please no one think im some mad dieting anorexic though because im not and am very muscley, prob from all the mucking out over 25 years, all the chocolate cakes will prob catch up on me in later life!! but by then my daughter will be in large breeds so not to worry!!! lol ;D i could probably get away with riding our small breeds in the ring, but will leave it to the kids for now!! got stopped for i.d in the shop half an hour ago for cigarettes!! i nearly died!! maybe try the first ridden class if thats the case ;D

[sho]

I think Show ponies are not really breed as primarily kids ponies but as an exhibition animal as they are breed to look pretty and move well and as they are light they often have a lot of TB or Arab blood which tends to make them fizzy. A show pony is breed to win shows and that does not necessarily mean it is a first pony for a novice kid.

The show pony is often not a kids best friend who they can drag out of the field and spend ages grooming or fussing over, and it does not go to pony club or hack out. You can't leave it unridden for a few weeks and then pop the kid on it without worrying about it. The kid may only see the pony at shows if it is being produced.

The quiet genuine kids pony probably will not have enough prescence for the show ring or be too heavy to be considered as a childs pony unless it is a M&M.

To get the show ring sparkle the pony may have to live in alot of the time and be feed conditioning feeds that contain cereals which might fizz the pony up.

[nativeponies]

I have a show pony, one of the few good ens! she had last week off, maybe 10 days in fact, we brought her out of the field saturday bathed her and showed her sunday and never put a foot wrong, reserve ridden champ!! our section A lives out and retains his sparkle, that was the hard thing, finding a pony with enough sparkle but not a maniac, there is a very fine line with kids ponies, doesnt help when mini thoroughbreds. aka show ponies are locked up and corned up to the eyeballs and only ever schooled, it is a dangerous mix and i would never subject my child to that! fine if theyre bred for in hand classes, not fine if supposed tobe ridden by tiny tots!

[nativeponies]

To add to that most ponies who are happy in their work, i.e not bored, not stuffed full of sugar and allowed to live out and to gain experience in all aspects of life can become a childs best friend, it is alot down to the way the owners treat them, let them have some time in the field and some hacking out, IT DOES make all the difference, i know, i have done alot of work with mini thorughbreds!! they dont have to be off their heads to go well, patient and proper training can achieve just as good results.

[ponymum]

nativeponies - i agree with most of your points, our ponies (7) all at some time or other live out in the field throughout the year, it gives them time to chill and just be a pony...we like you can drag them out of the field, get them ready and go to a show if required...our fr has been out since december 10th, my daughter caught her 2 weeks ago, tacked her up and rode her...for the 1st time in 5mths! No adult riding in required!!!

[nativeponies]

ponymum, they are the best ponies in the whole world!! i sold my daughters first pony last year, he has a 5 year old rider, his owner is so happy knowing how good he is, the child went for a ride with some friends, the new owner said other parents were worrying telling the kids to hide their ponies behind hedges if tractors came etc, but she said she had no worries at all with our pony, made me so proud, ours live out but are kept fit so they can still shine in the show ring, and that they do . i couldnt dream of locking my ponies up and feeding god knows what for the show ring, when with correct training they can be just as good. enjoy your little darlings! p.s our kids had great fun in the snow on their ponies! headcollar and leadrope and bareback round the fields was fantastic to watch, reminded me of when i was little!

[ponymum]

nativeponies - our darty will do a lr show will jockey onboard in the field with no tack or lead rein....he's so cute Oh its his birthday today...bless him . Happy Birthday Linny xxxxx

[nativeponies]

Happy birthday to your little star! was our ponies bday monday, another year older and another year of pleasure, plenty more to come im sure ;D

[dizzydora]

No matter what type of pony you have whether it be a show pony, m&m, arab etc, it should be allowed to be a pony and not treated any differently like its some loon or something. Ive had show ponies all my life and ones that are bred to show but they were all allowed to 'be a pony' live out, get mucky, have fun with etc.
People often think that arabs are fizzy scatty things, well i can honestly say that its not always the case. i had a purebred arab that was the most laid back thing ever & she wasnt a plod, she was a topclass mare that went to hoys & beat the opens in her novice season etc & we treated her just like any other type of horse which i think is important. we also had an anglo arab mare and when we first got her she was a bit of a moo because she hadnt had much done with her but after she'd been with us a while she chilled right out and you could do anything with her, she was so laid back that all she got fed on was naked oats and topline and that didnt really have much affect on her either lol.

i think that sometimes people get confused about 'sparkle' in the showring and think that if a pony is going quietly and sweetly its not got 'sparkle' but i know for me personally i notice far more the quality pony that is sat there quietly going round staying out of trouble and not the one that is constantly extending its trot and going round at 100mph because people think that that is what the 'sparkle' is.
I think it is very wrong to say that a true childs pony doesnt have enough presence for the showring as 'sho' who logged in as a guest said. I think there are some gorgeous true childrens ponies out there who do brilliantly so well done to all of you who have them & good luck for the season!!

[nativeponies]

dizzydora i agree on every single word you just said, sparkle is sometimes confused, i know what i prefer to see whether it is an adult or child on board, and that is the happy pony who goes welli is willing to do its job, can perform extensions when required and show itself for what it is meant to be, i have known some lovely sweet show ponies in my time, they are schooled properly, not forced to "perform" by being locked up/corned up etc, i'd have no stables left if i locked some of mine up and our sec A often bursts through his door if left in at night (mainly so he can visit his girlfriend in the night) makes my life, the ponies and childrens lives alot easier if they are allowed to be ponies, mud n all !!

[tabbyx]

i work mine in myself obviously i didn't when i first started because i was 4 so not really capable(i was tiny). buti work mine in myself now as everyone gives him to much work. i just walk him round so that he can see everything then get him working properly. last weekend he was pretty fizzy so i gave him a bit more work. i would have given him a bit of a canter but there was actually no where to work in. got a little welsh A that i'm doing novice riddens on next year. he's 11 hands and im 5ft but i look about 4ft on him because he takes up your leg. lead rein,first ridden and ridden pony!

[thecremellosociety]

Saw a pony recently ridden from dawn(6am!) till lunch then lunged and then was overheard the adult saying he was lacking sparkle in ring and to push it on !!!! Poor thing was knackered, yes kid rode it herslef ut rode it literally into the ground, in my opnion that is not a true kids pony, it cant be happy and with all that work will get fitter and fitter and more of a problem i would think !!

[hopeteam]

Right, The Dream of these People & Thier ponies is to qualify for HOYS, Right ?

So They qualify after being worked in by adult etc etc.. They get warmed up by an adult at HOYS etc etc. Then they enter the Charlotte Morgan CHILDRENS!!!!!! Riding Pony Of The Year. Ok So the judge doesnt judge on whether the kid warmed it up or not, But Obviously if it needs a stronger, longer, faster better or whatever kind of jockey it IS NOT a pony suitable for a child!

Sorry Rant Over, But I know when I had a Welsh B, he would quite often be cheeky warming him up but i was 8 and my sister was 13 and she helped me warm him up very nicely, without hours of lunging or big people climbing on him first.

[tabbyx]

I have a welsh B and a welsh A who i'll be riding in next year and competing. the welsh A has plenty of bone and can easily carry my sister who is 22 5ft 4' and about stone and carries me as if there is no one riding him he's only 11hands aswell! i think that some ponies so need working in by an adult say if they're bad travellers and get stressy on the lorry,have never been to a show before or are just a bit to fresh for the child to ride in. we're hopefully getting another lead rein show pony next year for me to produce and friends daughter ride so i'll have the duty of working in whilst mum gets the jockey and herself ready. never ride in in draw reins they may have a different bit on to work in in(eg shows in a pelham but worked in in a snaffle). some friends of ours bought a pony advertised as a childs riding pony so Vicky and her mum think it means a pony that a child can ride everyday straight from the field rather than a childs show pony! we did try telling them but the will not be told and then they wonder why its very sharp(its only just 4)
ok rant over