Why
pony a horse?
You
have a fresh horse when travelling, as it is easier for a horse to run
along than carry a rider.
Young horses that are being started learn how to work, and to see the environment along with an older horse (and if the younsters spook, they usually spook less, and no rider gets off balance).
It is more fun for a bored/lazy horse, so it often gets more enthusiastic (barn-sour horses usually like to go with a friend). This can be said about both the hand-horse and the riding-horse.
It is a good way to build up stamina and strength in a horse, and you train two horses at the same time.
If you only own two horses, you don't have to leave one of them alone at home.
It is good for a horse that has had some sickness, to be trained again in this relaxed way.
How to learn to pony a horse.
The best way is (like with almost anything conserning riding), if possible, that you ride first with two horses that know how to be ponied. Then you can get the feeling, and experience some small-scale problems and get immediate success when you do the right thing. Teaching and learning ponying at the same time can become a bit frustrating prosess, if your horses aren't very cooperative.
How to pony a horse.
If you are teaching a young horse to be ponied, put a halter on it, and connect a leadrope or a rein to the ring on the halter that is nearer to you.
If the hand-horse is too forward going wearing only this, you can put a leadrope with a chain on the end on the horse. Then put the chain through the ring on the halter that is nearer to you, then over the nose of the hand-horse, and connect the chain to the ring on the other side of the halter.
Take care that the halter fits well, is neither too big nor to tight.
Older horses that know how to be hand-horses, can be ponied wearing a bridle, and the rider holds the reins of the ponied horse. The bad things about using a bridle is that a horse can start putting the tongue over the bit, get sore in the mouth, and it is a bit tiring for a horse to wear a bridle all day long. So take care about these things, and if the horse isn't completely steady being ponied in a bridle, use the halter.
Put a few knots on the leadrope you use to pony, it helps you to carry it along with the reins of the ridinghorse. Even put a knot on the reins of the riding-horse, if it helps you control the spaghetti of reins and/or rope.
Never
forget you are ponying a horse, so you can prevent problems.
I
can mention a common example: You are ponying and holding on to the
reins with a strong grip, and your ridinghorse goes into a creek, your
ponied horse does not want to do that and stops. Suddenly one horse
is on each side of the creek, but you sit in the middle of the creek.
Another
common example is if you ride on a narrow trail, but the ponied horse is
jumping over obstacles because it is outside the trail (then you have to
slow down so as to prevent exhaustion and problems).
Do not ride faster than the hand-horse can handle. If your ridinghorse can for example trot fast but your hand-horse not, you can't expect it to keep reasonably up if you allow the ridinghorse to trot fast.
It is really nessesary that both horses understand verbal commands. If they are walking, then you say "trot", both horses know they are supposed to trot. Then you say "walk" and both horses know they are supposed to walk. It prevents the hand-horse from always being a bit late in responses, either being dragged behind or jerking forward when you do speed changes. It also helps the hand-horse not become frustrated (out of not understanding the rider).
Teach the hand-horse to be in the right place. It should ideally be alongside your ridinghorse, so the nose of the ridinghorse is one "head" in front of the riding horse (and the nose of the hand-horse beside the neck or the withers of the riding-horse). If it is too much in front, you run the risk of the hand-horse bending in front of the ridinghorse, and chaos follows. If it is more behind, you run the risk of dragging the hand-horse behind, and the hand-horse is even suddenly on the other side of the ridinghorse. And a horse that is on a short lead is also always with a bent, strained neck, so if possible try to train the horse to stay in place with a long enough lead so that it can move with it's body straight. Try to find the best place for your horse, where it is most stabile.
What horse you are riding can make a tremendous difference. The ridinghorse has to be calm and friendly enough to tolerate a horse by it's side without getting too goey, spooky, starting to bite or other problems. If either horse is afraid of an older bully, they are not a good combination for this work, nor if the ridinghorse is the lowest in the pecking-order. If you are ponying a very young or difficult horse, you need a very strong and trustworthy ridinghorse.
If possible, allow the hand-horse to have a bit of loose rein, so it can trot/tolt with it's body straight. If you have the rein too short, the hand-horse has to bend it's neck towards you, and it is straining to run for long distances with a bent neck.
You can carry the ponying-rope and the reins as they were one rein if the hand-horse behaves. If you expect it to jerk, carry the ponying-rope in the hand that is nearer to the ponied horse, and control the ridinghorse with the other hand. You don't want the ponied horse to jerk, through your hands, on the mouth of the riding-horse.
Never wrap the reins/rope around your hands, or try too hard to hold an objecting hand-horse, both thing can lead to accidents.
Ideally a horse should learn to be ponied from both sides of a riding horse, as it can make the horses stiffer if they are always ponied by the same side.
When you are teaching a horse to pony, having another rider (or walking helper) behind the hand-horse, that gives verbal clues and other encouragement (taps with a crop for example), helps tremendously.
When teaching a horse to pony, start in an enclosed or quiet area, and practise stopping, speed-changes, turning, letting the hand-horse walk behind the riding horse (nessesary on narrow trails).
Avoid by all means pulling on the hand-horse, it often responds by putting more breaks on. Encourage a stopping hand-horse by voice, a soft tap on the croup by a crop, or a helper.
For experiensed ponying-people.
When you, and your horses, have learned the ponying-prosedure, you can ride wiith 3 horses (ride one, pony one on each side).
If
a horse is very difficult to pony, we have one extra solution, but then
you need two stabile horses, that know the whole procedure of ponying.
Special girths can be bought, that go around the waist of a horse.
What you do is:
1.
Saddle up a stabile riding horse.
2.
Put the strong ponying-girth around the waist of a strong, older horse,
that knows how to pony superbly.
3.
Put a strong halter (NEVER a bridle) on the horse that is going to learn
to be ponied, and tie it (with some quick-release gimmick, in case of emergency,
like rearing) to the ponying-girth of the horse nr. 2.
In this situation, you can become in the situation of simply using the
horse nr.2 to drag the horse nr. 3 along. This method is violent
and shouldn't be used without knowing exactly what you are doing.
A helper on another horse behind the hand-horse helps a lot.
Using the ponying-girth in a more friendly way, you can use it to pony more horses (only if they know how to pony). You can sit one horse, pony two horses (that have ponying-girths), and have two horses tied to their ponying-girts (remember to have some quick-release gimmicks). Ergo: You are riding with 5 horses. You'd better not meet a car on a narrow road then : )
