Bucking Pony

Question
Hi:

We are leasing a pony for our daughter.  She rides at the D2 level in pony club and does dressage and stadium jumping.  She had her own pony until recently, so this new pony is an interim solution due to a move.

The problem we are having is that although this pony is well behaved most of the time, sometimes he bucks, and whoever is riding him ends up on the ground.

The current owner of the pony had warned me that the pony will buck sometimes, although she is perplexed as to why.  They thought it might have been a sore back, so they got a better fitting saddle, a gel pad and have been doing stretches and massage with him.  She warned me that he will sometimes buck if the outside leg is too far back on a canter lead.  Otherwise she doesn't know.

My daughter has only rode him 6 times, and for the first 5 he was well behaved and she had no problems.  However, he bucked her off twice in the period of 1/2 hour last weekend at a small show we attended, and both times it seemed more that he just didn't want to do what he was being asked... it was a protest.  He was very strong at the mouth, and did not want to listen to the aids he was given... He was being ridden in a D-ring snaffle and was recently switched to a D-ring snaffle with copper rollers, but no difference was noted.

Are we just dealing with protest... don't want to do it (hot day, too many people in the warmup ring... ??), or is there more to this.  My daughter wasn't badly hurt when she fell off, but she could have been had she landed on the jump, and I don't want her to be hurt in the future.  On the other hand I think it is good that as a rider she learns how to deal with such a scenario.  

Can you suggest how to diagnose or begin to address the problem.  The only other thing I can think of is that perhaps his girth is bothering him... he has a girth with fleece backing, with elastic on each end and it really has to be tight to stay on.

Many thanks for your advice,  

Lori.

Answer
Hi Lori!

Unlike the owner of this pony (who is outright lying to you to keep you leasing or is just utterly mindless) I am not "perplexed" at all as to why this pony is bucking.

First, I feel your daughter is riding a horse that is either too un-trained or too well-trained for her.  Either way, I suggest finding her another mount before she does get seriously hurt.  Ponies will escalate in danger once they know they can get the rider off.  Fits will comer sooner in the ride and more closely placed together.  No one failed in this (her or the pony) it just isn't a good match sometimes....finding a good pony is harder than finding a good man!

Second, as I said, this pony either has large gaps in his education and does not understand fully the cues for the gaits and acts out when he is confused.  Training must be put on a pony that is so ingrained in his head through consistency that he will always perform...no matter the rider or riding situation.  Good ponies like that cost in the tens of thousands of dollars.

Or, this pony has solid training and a bad attitude that wants only the absolute correct aids and your daughter is too inexperienced to properly ride him and he acts out from anger and confusion.

Which is it?  I cannot say from where I stand.  Literally.

Why try to force a square peg into a round hole and make everyone unhappy and possibly put them in danger?  Give up the lease on this one and look for another one that better suits your daughter's skill level and riding style.  Keep her in formal lessons with a reputable instructor/trainer who encourages her to be a better and more varied rider.  Then, that instructor should be able to recommend a decent and acceptable mount for her to lease or purchase.


Riding partnerships are difficult enough to form on their own, we should try to remove all the obstacles we can  :-)

Good luck and remember to always wear an ASTM/SEI approved helmet!

Solange