06.29.07
Ponying the Baby Horse or Green Horse
In my ongoing experiences of raising two foals from birth, I have been a firm believer in very early exposure to things a domestic horse must learn. Having a very sensible, manageable and easy to ride momma mare makes it fairly easy to lead the foal by her side when you ride, so the baby learns while feeling secure. To the baby, all encounters thus seen are accepted as normal and natural, resulting in a much saner and therefore safer horse when he’s grown.
Please see my Horse training disclaimer
Connie ponying 3-month old colt Gilford in Acadia National Park Maine in 2003.
I must emphasize here the importance of having a steady and well-experienced lead horse. A green horse of any age can be ponied by any other horse so long as they get along with each other; however, the green horse will take his cues from the lead horse, so you don’t want him learning to be fearful and hesitant or to run away from threats. Also as the rider you must be confident in and have excellent control of your lead horse.
Ponying requires paying a WHOLE LOT of attention to everything going on, both the horses you are managing and also the environment surrounding you. You must know a lot about horse behavior. You must be aware of your footing at all times, potential scary visual things coming up, and sounds around you, and be able to react calmly to the unexpected. Take my word for it, the unanticipated will ALWAYS happen!
Start first on the ground with leading on foot. Be sure your green horse or baby consistently yields to halter pressure, leads well, and can safely stand tied. The baby might have little patience and a short attention span, but he must accept restraint without pulling back or fighting, and stand quietly at least for short spells. Of course, with the younger foal, always have his mom (tied) in the same area you are working with him in.
Also, you will have practiced leaning your body and waving your arms over the baby’s back and above his head, and gotten him used to dragging a lead rope from his halter, and desensitized him to ropes rubbing and slapping him all over his body and being wrapped around his legs. Teach him to relax and yield each leg to the pull of a rope around it, and to a rope around his rump. Be sure he is used to sights and sounds of loose clothing. Have him in the stall while you tack up his mom, he will most likely be quite interested in the saddle. Mount and dismount a few times so he can see these movements. This prep work, along with moving his body away from pressure, was part of our foals’ ground work from birth; at two weeks of age they were ready to be ponied.
I use a sturdy thick rope lead line at least 6 feet long, with a heavy duty bull snap. For a full size horse I pony with a rope training halter which has the 10 foot rope lead attached. I mount with the ponied horse on the lead horse’s right, his lead rope held in my right hand at the seat of the saddle. I give enough slack not to pull the ponied horse’s head up, but not so much that he can walk off. Be careful not to kick the ponied horse when you throw your leg over the saddle! Be prepared to move off promptly, having the baby parallel to mom facing forward, and cluck to them or say Walk (or GiddyUp or whatever you say) as you start moving.
I steer Willy mom with my left hand and keep the lead rope in my right; I also have the knotted tail end of the lead line in my left hand alongside the reins. I want to be able to allow the lead rope to slide through my hand when necessary, but not lose hold of it. I would never tie the lead rope to the saddle. Steering is easier with a lead horse who neck reins, but you can bridge your English reins and still manage it, being careful not to pull on your own horse’s mouth with your right hand.
The reason to keep your leadline shorter is to correct the baby when he starts to go faster and move ahead of mom, or to lag behind. Gently use pressure on the lead rope to keep his head even with your calf ideally; I use short little tugs if he stops arbitrarily, making it uncomfortable for him to resist. Your timing is critical when making corrections, so you stop the little tugs or release the pressure at the first sign of yielding.
I speak to my guys often because they are used to being verbally praised, also scolded for behaving undesirably. I had to reprimand both my guys for trying to nibble on my half-chaps (highly recommended to wear!) or saddle blanket or saddle or stirrups or breastplate or my boots or nipping at mom. All this stuff may be sort of cute, but trust me, not paying attention to business is a hard habit to break. They might just as well get used to paying attention to what is required of them by people from day one– just don’t make your lessons so long that they get bored stiff!
Both our foals were quite happy to go out beside mom and see the world. Practice a few times in a confined, familiar area at first, teaching speed changes (walk/trot/walk transitions) and stops, standing and starting. I have often gotten the sense of mom mare understanding what this deal is all about; she totally can tell when I’m talking to her and when I’m talking to baby. With a foal, you can allow nursing breaks as needed; both mom and foal will be more comfortable for it. When out, be aware of and warn off strangers, on foot or on horseback, approaching a jealous protective mom.
Being fortunate enough to have a third driving horse, we are able to get babies used to the sights and sounds of a driving cart, and eventually to ponying behind the cart. It takes two people for this training, one to drive the horsecart and the other (passenger) to manage the ponied horse. Here again, the pony person must pay acute attention to the ponied horse behind the cart, regaining his attention as needed, warning him to back off if necessary, cueing before slowdowns and stops, keeping him from running up either side past the cart wheel or from nibbling at the cart or driver. When I am pony person in a cart, I spend almost all my time looking backwards. After a lot of practice, possibly some horses could be ponied simply tied to the cart, but I would be quite reluctant myself to do this (I usually err on the side of caution.) I would pony from a halter and not a bridle.
Our guys have been ponied on trails, streets, sidewalks, woods roads, across streams, through covered bridges, on carriage roads. They have seen barking dogs, cars and trucks, motorcycles and ATVs, snowmobiles, bicyclers, skateboarders, scary flags and mailboxes, birds flushing, deer, strollers, balloons, other horses and riders and carriages, all with a sense of relative security. I myself have witnessed a ponied horse on a hunter pace course, jumping over jumps in sync with the lead horse and its rider. It is amazing how much horses can learn– leading your youngster or greenie beside a more experienced horse can give terrific benefits. Enjoy your ponying excursions and exercise common sense safety at all times!
Search Blog on ponying for several other posts and pictures!
