with Francesca Mulligan
The most important priority when it comes to creating safer partnerships for children and ponies is suitability. When we get a child just starting out or a new student to our program, the first thing we do is assess any previous experience and discuss expectations and goals with the parents. I think it’s important that we teach kids how to ride and face them with ability-specific challenges, but it’s also important to do your homework and make sure that whatever they’re sitting on is ready to do the best job for those kids.
Know Your Pony
Whether a student owns or leases a pony or is in a lesson program, establishing a bond with that pony is an often-overlooked key to safety. I encourage our students to extend their pony/rider relationship to outside of the ring – simple things such as taking them for a hack, grazing them at the end of their lesson or class, or even just spending a little extra time grooming them. At horse shows, at the end of the day I love to see a kid participating in the care of their pony, whether climbing up on a stool to unbraid them, helping bathe them, or even taking a little extra time to clean their tack. There’s nothing I like to see more than a student of mine enjoying downtime with their pony. Every pony needs to understand who ‘their kid’ is and that there’s a time for business, but also a reward at the end of the business day.
I like my students to ride their ponies as much as they can, because the more they ride, the more they get to know their pony. Then they’re in a position where they know them well enough to feel and communicate to the trainer if the pony is demonstrating any changes of behaviour, attitude, or performance. Within reason – and never if the safety of the child is in question – my students need to be able to ride when the pony is not only at their best, but also if they’re a bit fresh, demonstrating some spooky behaviour, or are having trouble with specific exercises. Young riders need to face little imperfections each time to build up their ‘toolbox’ to face challenges and ride through them. No matter how well you prepare the ponies, they’re not robots.
Rules and Routines
It’s our job as trainers to make students observant of their surroundings. No matter how well-trained the pony is, there needs to be someone experienced who is responsible for ensuring the pony is safe enough to be in the cross-ties, tacked-up, and led by a younger child. In the beginning, we teach the basics of general barn safety and an overall knowledge of good groundwork from the stall to the crossties to the ring.
For example:
• We have a policy in the barn that you always lead a pony with a lead shank. All my stalls have a lead shank hung on them, and there is no excuse not to use one.
• From the very beginning we educate kids to be aware of the pony and its body language – paying attention to where the pony is putting its feet and spatial awareness of where it is standing on the crossties. Has the pony backed up and is leaning on the crossties? Has it come forward too much?
• We teach the kids to establish a little bit of a routine – a ‘circle check’ – that includes having the necessary equipment ready such as grooming supplies and tack; special equipment like earplugs; leg wear such as polos, boots, bell boots. (Note: If a child has put on this equipment it is important to have it checked by an adult.)
• When putting on tack, it is important that all saddle pads are size-appropriate and set straight; the bridle’s noseband and browband are straight, all parts of the bridle are fastened correctly and all bridle keepers are stitching-in; and to check the girth before getting on the pony.
Kids are like ponies – they are creatures of habit and if you give them a routine and stick to it, they’re going to thrive. In your program, develop a checklist and a routine and when you’ve completed that, they can do the circle check from nose to tail.
Training Ride Tune-Ups
Training rides on the ponies are really important, whether it is a professional that is pony-sized, a kid that has aged out of that particular size of pony, or even someone at the barn with more experience than some of the smaller kids. I get someone on the ponies once or twice a week, as there are many instances where a training ride from a professional or an experienced junior rider will benefit both the pony and also the pony’s regular rider, contributing overall to the safety of the partnership.
In the case of a green pony just getting some miles, I may have someone get on in the morning at the horse show and make sure the pony isn’t too fresh and is focused before the younger child gets on. Training rides aren’t limited to younger ponies or ponies new to our program, as often the older ones will need a bit of a ‘tune-up’ to finesse things and make it easier for the younger children.
Getting help from experienced riders to get the pony back on track doesn’t mean that the pony has necessarily demonstrated negative behaviour. Sometimes an older or very seasoned pony needs some help regaining their straightness, finessing a lead change, or maybe they spooked at a certain jump. Every once in a while one of my best older small ponies needs a more experienced rider to do a few jumps in the warm-up ring to get him coming off the leg, and then he’s set up for the younger kid to get on and do the best job that he or she can do because he is responsive to the aids.
The two most common issues that benefit from a touch-up from my more experienced riders are straightness and to ensure the pony stays in front of the leg. Straightness can be an issue with kids just learning to jump or steer, especially if it takes a few strides to get reorganized after the jump. The pony should keep its rhythm and, regardless of what’s happening on its back, canter a straight line to the corner. We will use guide rails and corner poles when kids are learning about ring usage and straightness, and we often use objects around the ring as focal points.
One exercise (see illustration) to help younger riders learn stride control is to set two rails on a generic 12-foot stride and give the student three different stride numbers that they have to execute through the rails. This exercise gives the rider an understanding of balancing strides, keeping their canter the same, or increasing stride length if necessary.
Train Like Horses, Teach Like Adults
The common mentality is that ponies are ‘bratty’, which I think is an unfair stereotype. We develop a lot of young ponies and we try to train them exactly like we train the horses, expecting the same from them when it comes to manners and rideability. We work on balance, stride management, and responsiveness, and if I get one in that doesn’t have those basics, that’s the first thing I address. Is the pony well-broken on the flat? Does it respect its rider’s aids? Does it have the ability to manage its stride and maintain its own balance? Does it demonstrate overall good manners under saddle?
Everything I would present to a young horse in their training I do with ponies. When they have matured and grown into themselves at four or five, I do a lot of work on the lunge line and that includes work in side reins, the Pessoa, and even over small jumps. We do a lot of rail work and a lot of flatwork. If these green ponies can handle all of these exercises, they will be that much more prepared to jump under saddle.
We are also huge believers that kids, regardless of their age, want information. I think there’s a bit of a misconception when training children that you have to ‘keep it simple.’ I believe they want to learn, so similar to training ponies like horses, I like to teach children like adults. I give them the same information, but with more accessible language; it’s all about the delivery.
