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>>Ponying-I found that putting a chain over his nose, the TTEAM way -
not directly across the nose, but looping it around the noseband of the
halter and up the side of the halter - fixes this problem. It's not
severe enough to be punishing him, but it's there to remind him to keep
up and not be silly about it. Most of the time there's no need to put
any pressure at all on the chain, but just having it in place seems to
remind him to watch his manners.>>
Another TTEAM tip: before ponying, use a four-foot long stiff dressage whip
("wand") to teach the horse to come forward to a stroke or signal on the croup.
By teaching him to come forward to a tap of the wand while modulating his
forward motion with light signals on the chain (or bringing the butt end of the
wand forward to lightly tap his chest), you can teach your horse to come forward
at the speed you want, thus keeping him "between two hands." It will then be
much easier to translate this fore-aft control when you are mounted and ponying.
You can have a helper on the ground tap him with the wand the first few times to
make the transition and re-establish forward motion if necessary.
Be careful when teaching a youngster to pony not to twist his head around or
constantly drag him along -- this can contribute to crookedness in the neck and
body. The horse should keep his nose level with your hand but should not be on
top of you.
Bobbie L.
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