Could anyone give me advice on how to break a shetland pony to ride?

Shaunni Baihbee..x: Could anyone give me advice on how to break a shetland pony to ride?
I have recently been asked to break my friends shetand pony.
I have watched lot’s of horses being broken and have a vauge idea of what I am doing.
But if anyone has some good tips to help me out I would be very Greatfull.
The pony is a little cheeky and I’m trying to stop her from biting just now.
She is not so good at getting lunged but is getting a little better so any tips on that would be good too.

Answers and Views:

Answer by Mulereiner
This stuff your asking about is basic training. If you can’t get your pony to stop biting and simple lunging, the last thing you should be doing is training her.

You need to get professional help and have a trainer work with you and the pony as you train it. That way you do learn and not by watching others. Theres a huge difference in watching and actually doing it.

Thats the safest possible reason for you and the pony

Answer by Everbely
before you can break a pony to ride you need to know how to train horses in general. A pony is no different from a 17h TB when it comes to training. A “vague idea” of what your doing is unfair to you, the pony, and the pony’s owner. But, some training is often better than no training. I’d certainly advise getting as much information as possible. Go to the library and read as much as you can. Mark Rashid, Bill or Tom Dorrance, Leslie Desmond, Ray Hunt, these are some of my favorites. It’s beyond the scope of this forum for me, or anyone, to give you much more than a few tips. Here are mine.
1. You’re the smart one so try to figure out what the pony is trying to communicate to you before you ask her to figure out what you’re trying to say.
2. Ponies do NOT like being confused. Make sure you’re asking for small steps at a time and that you reward immediatly any tiny desire to do what you ask.
3. Breaking the pony to drive is the first step in riding them. Lots of driving all around while you walk and run behind is very benifical.
4. Think about doing more than you do. Training is a mental game. Use your mind much more than anything else.
Good Luck.

Answer by horse expert12
dont use the term break when u really mean back because when u break a horse u bet it until it hasno spirit left or u use very harsh methonds that involve beating. the term backing is for taking time to gradually get the horse used to having weight on its back and it is much nicer

well what u need to do is hav someone lead the pnoy and walk with ur arms putting weight on her back and the what u should do after like a week of doing that is do it with the saddle pad but the whole time u should put an old saddle in the ponies stall to her used to the sight and smell of the saddlethen after a week or shorter get some weights or some sand bagswiththe same weight on each sige with a thinck strap conecting the bags and put them on her back with the same type of strap as a lose girth and walk her around with that for about a week then move to a saddle with a very loose gorth and then keep tightening the girth every now and then throughout the next 2-3 weeks and the move putting sand bags on her back and then make them heavier until they r her owners weight then get a very light person with alot of expirience to walk her around with someone leading her with a halter then use a rubber bit and just hold it in the pony’s mouth for about 2 mins and in crease the time until the pony like playing with it the move to strapping the bit in the mouth with a peice of strong cloth until she is used to it the u can move onto leading her around with the bridle then fully tacked up the having someone ride her at a walk fully tacked up then work on trotting on a lunge line the riding then u can move on with that but if she bites ignore her or push her away she will mostly only bite u if u always give her a reaction

remember if u keep it nice the pnoy will turn out nicer

Answer by bonnieblue716
if you say this pony is already being cheeky and u’ve only seen a starting process then u need to get someone to back u up and make sure everything gets done right. Horse people may get really ticked at me saying this, but shetlands as a breed are extremely smart and extremely stubborn. If not handled correctly with good sound methdology they get really sour and nasty. Where a horse is generally good natured and willing to please and to learn, ponies can be the excact opposite. They will learn but only if something is in it for them. Only if it’s a fun game and then they speed through training really quickly because they are smart and get bored easily. The way i start young horses is completely opposite from how i start some ponies. I do slow calm reptious work with young horses where i may only repeat an excersise with a pony twice and move on to a different variation to make sure they are constantly learning and not getting bored. It’s best not to start a young horse or pony until you’ve started a few under a trainer or with the help of another horse professional. I was the one to belly over the babies for two or three years before i really wanted to do the whole process myself. Now i start mostly ponies because i’m small and can and can still fit on them.

Answer by fae
It is still a horse, groom all over, feel inside the ears, trim around a bit to get him used to it,lots of handling, get him used to having his feet picked up, with his halter on and lead line teach him to move away from your hand when you push, to step to the side when you apply pressure to his shoulder and to swing his rump away when you push it. Next sink a block of cement with a tie ring in it in the ground and teach him to tie, first just run a long line or heavy rope attached to his halter through the ring and take one turn on a snubbing post aways away and let him figure out to stand, if he acts up let him out a bit and then try again till he gets the idea. Lunge, useing voice cues as you do, use your long whip to frame him between your leading lunge hand and the whip, its for direction and to crack to keep his attention and ask for increased speed of walk or trot as it should be animated with him thinking and respecting your directions–never use the lunge whip indiscriminantly!Practice leading and stepping away from pressure. Next saddle and lunge with saddle on, stirrups up first then drop and let them flop to get the pony bomb proof–also play music have noisy kids around tie plastic bags to the corral or round pen and let them wave and blow by on the ground, let him learn to accept without freaking out. Start leaning over his back and applying your weight gradually and pet him and put him up. After grooming is a good time for laying across him and talking to him. Just keep it consistant so he knows whats coming and learns to take it in stride and trust you. If something isnt being accepted well work more on that but always finish up the work out with something he has mastered and end on a good note. That’s just a start! Good luck!