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Posted by Nanci on October 21, 2004 at 08:01:56:
In Reply to: Pony Bucked posted by Debbie on October 15, 2004 at 17:36:55:
: I have owned my 6 year old POA/QH cross mare one year this month. I have never had any problems with her aside from the hard headedness from her heats. But I was riding her down a wash last week end and one of my dogs ran past her and she began to buck. And she farted.
: She didn't act spooked. Just acted like she was full of energy. I managed to get her head back up so I didn't get thrown off. She has never once offered to buck in the year I have owned her. Maybe she never will again. I don't know. I hate to get rid of her for this but I had originally bought her for my 5 year old son but if she can't be trusted not to buck what good is she? What do you all think? I know you don't know my pony. But she hasn't done this the year I have owned her and then all of a sudden this. When I bought her the ad said "Family horse/kid safe." Now this. I'm very disappointed and just don't know what to do.
Hi Debbie - Is this pony getting enough exercise? She needs to be free to run and play on her own as much as possible. You might want to work this pony in a round pen before you ride to take some of the 'edge' off her - she is still young and no doubt she's full of energy. Also, you might want to leave the dog/s home when you ride - having a loose dog is going to present you with some unpredictable situations and those are rampant with horses anyway, so why add to them? What percent protein is the feed she is getting? Anything over 10% is likely to cause her energy levels to be very high, and unless she's working very hard or pregnant she doesn't need more protein than 10%. I certainly wouldn't want you to get rid of her for this one incident. Also, a 6 year old horse is too young for a 5 year old child - neither one of them has enough experience. One of the biggest mistakes people make with horses is buying young ones for inexperienced or young riders - one of the pair needs to have experienced life longer. Any horse will buck occasionally, given the right opportunity - it is their nature and doesn't mean they are bad. Good luck.