Teaching your horse to pony
While I waited to pick up my children from their riding lessons at the Santa Fe Horse Park, one of the polo pros came trotting by on his plucky little horse, a throng of polo ponies in tow. This was no single-file endeavor. The copper-colored ponies enveloped him and his mount in a flurry of glistening manes, arched necks, flaring nostrils, flickering ears, sparkling eyes, swishing tails like banners. The little herd buzzed past me in a cloud of churning dust. Twenty lively stepping hooves seemed to belong to one creature instead of five.
That pro had a handful! Right now, I’m taking it one horse at a time. My goal is to pack a horse into the backcountry this summer. Here’s what I’ve done so far …
Choose my lead horse. I didn’t have a horse with prior ponying experience. Our Andalusian Caprichosa seemed like the best candidate for the initial ponying job because at 13, she’s agreeable, fairly well-mannered and has common sense. She neck reins well too. I decided to begin by ponying her best buddy, my husband’s Arabian mare, who also has good ground manners. Starting with two horses who are established friends enabled me to rule out any skirmishes or disagreements. Understanding the pecking order of the herd helps.
Think about initial requirements to begin. I’d suggest the following requirements to begin ponying—a good steady horse with prior ponying experience. If you don't have a horse with ponying experience, then consider her personality. You'll need a horse who is capable of handling some resistance to a lead rope dallied around a saddle horn. Neck reining comes in real handy. Your horses should have been thoroughly sacked out and desensitized to the rope. You also need a safe, enclosed space within which to work. It’s always a good idea to wear a helmet.
First steps. We began our ponying training in the round pen. Riding Caprichosa, I held the lead rope in my hand to begin and didn’t dally it around the saddle horn because that seemed a little too committed to me at the onset of this process. I wanted to check it out first and have a chance to disengage by simply dropping the lead rope if necessary. We worked on the left rein and then on the right on an approximately 20-meter circle at a walk, then a slow trot. Because of her good foundation work, my husband's Arabian mare followed along as nicely as if I was leading her from the ground. We did some figure eights at a walk. Despite the good friendship between the mares, there was a little testiness at times! I scolded them and told them "quit!". We practiced stopping and starting.
Lessons from experience. I learned quickly to maintain a little float in the lead rope and to always pay attention to the horse I was ponying. You don’t want the ponied horse to grind to a halt while your lead horse is trotting forward or you’ll find yourself in the middle of a taffy pull. (Although our old pony did get the best of me recently.) Watching that the rope doesn’t get stuck underneath your lead horse’s tail is important too. Although if you’ve done your sacking out properly beforehand and your horse is fairly desensitized to the rope, it won’t be an issue when it happens and you can simply remove the rope from beneath your horse’s tail and proceed.
Safety first. Don’t tie the rope to your saddle in any way and don’t wrap the lead rope around your hand, of course. Wear a helmet and take it one step at a time. Don't leave the small enclosed space until you and your horses feel pretty comfortable with ponying. If you get stuck, go back a few steps, even if that means going back to the basic leading practice from the ground.
We practiced this successfully in the round pen three times over the next week for ten to fifteen minutes each session. I praised both mares and told them both what geniuses they are each time, of course. After that, we ventured out into my fenced pasture. (I wasn’t quite prepared for the wide open spaces yet.) I began to dally the rope to the saddle horn. With experience, my two horses began to figure it out and work as a team.
We are now working on the gentle trails near our ranch. My lead horse Caprichosa has become very adept at this lead horse business and we’ve moved on to ponying our appaloosa rescue horse with ease. It helps that the appaloosa has had previous packing experience and good ground manners. We’ve even had a few good canters while ponying her along.
Out initial attempts at ponying my youngster Percheron gelding have been a little more colorful! Clueless fellow that he still is at times, he nipped my lead horse on the rump during our first attempt, and she put him in his place immediately. This is the type of situation where a little float in the rope is extremely important. And that experience simply underscored for me the importance of beginning in the round pen or other enclosed area.
I’ll never forget the polo pro and his herd moving in perfect synchronicity from field to barn. What an example of working in harmony with your horses. There’s also something pretty impressive about seeing a horseman navigate the backcountry with a string of packhorses or mules. I always have to just stop and watch in silent appreciation.
Well, it’s empowering to take those first small steps towards the goal of venturing into the wilderness with my gear on a packhorse. The possibility of heading into the mountains for an extended stay, far enough away from civilization for comfort, is a little closer than it was before!
Next step—adding the packsaddle into the equation.
