A nervous pony – what’s going on in that little head?

I have bought several horses and ponies over the years from dealers. It’s not Ace.JPGrecommended, especially if you’re buying your first horse, but it does have advantages for me. The animals are usually young and, while they may require schooling, they haven’t fallen into too many bad habits. My best show and dressage horse came from a dealer when he was a five year old and he certainly needed a lot of work to get him right but turned out a Championship winning gentleman. The problem is I can sometimes feel sorry for an equine I don’t need to buy.

In an act of pity, I acquired a pretty Connemara type pony from a dealer who had previously been bought by a man for his six year old daughter. This man had him for an eight weeks trial, then decided to keep him and paid a good price for him. Within four months he was sent back to the dealer as unsuitable. I had admired him before he was sold and agreed to take him when he was returned but I paid half the price.

When I got him home, I discovered he was terrified, would shiver all over if I put my hand on his back and was also extremely difficult to catch. When I lunged him, he tore round in circles flat out and would drip with sweat in five minutes. I rang the dealer and pointed this out. She said he had never been nervous when she had him but something must have happened when with the six year old girl. I told her that no six year old would be able to manage this pony. My husband was, by this stage, beseeching me to send him back but I still felt sorry for this 12.2 hh dapple grey gelding with the big, sad eyes. I felt he had been let down in life and I didn’t want to let him down too.

I had never come across a pony with no time for humans before. He just wasn’t interested. Even food couldn’t tempt him to leave his field on occasions and there were moments when I really dispaired of ever progressing with him. To make matters worse, I had no child of the right size to ride him and had to rely on visitors – my friend’s daughter from the UK and two French students who come in the summer to learn English, as well as a school friend of my son’s.

The little pony has gradually improved and is well behaved once an experienced rider is on board but he always panics when the rider first sits on and shoots forward like a racehorse. He is very honest and jumps everything put in front of him including cross country fences. The older children love riding him but he is still unsuitable and too nervous for children the correct age for his height. And he still sweats badly and wears himself out. What to do?

The latest thing I have tried was suggested by a friend with many years experience with horses – cranial osteopathy. This is, the osteopath explained to me before he proceeded to work on my pony, a biodynamic treatment which involves putting hands gently on the pony and feeling areas which are ‘blocked’ and then helping to free them. I have no idea how it works or whether it works but thought it worth a try as my friend’s horse had been ill, lost a lot of weight and was almost a right off. After being treated by this man, the horse was putting on weight and seemed happier in himself. (The horse has been checked by a vet) . The osteopath had, apparently, calmed down her very lively pony as well with long lasting effect. Now I am a sceptic, I admit it, but this friend of mine is a sensible, horsey woman.Aceoverlog.jpg

The man knelt in the stable and kept his hands on my pony for a long time. At times the pony closed his eyes, looked like falling asleep and then woke again and started fidgeting. I did the same as I waited at the end of the lead rope for the session to finish. When it finally ended, I was told that my pony didn’t ‘finish out’ as well as the osteopath had hoped and that he had some sort of injury to his poll. He was not to be ridden but has to go back for more treatment in two weeks time.

My friend’s husband thinks this is a load of nonsense and suggested his wife ‘might as well be throwing holy water ‘ over her horse. And my husband agrees. Am I wasting my money or will the nervous little pony improve? Only time will tell.