From: Susan
Hi Jessica, Looking forward to seeing you in October. I have a question for your newsletter.
I have had my horse on a conditioning program for the last few months. We ride 5 miles a day, rain or shine. It has done wonders for his condition and I believe he has lost some of his extra pounds. He looks very good.
One of the other horses here could benefit from some exercise too but I only have time to ride one horse per day. A friend suggested taking the other horse along on a lead rope when we go trail riding. I have never done this and am wondering if you would recommend it and if so, what training/safety issues should I consider before doing it.
Both horses are older, well broke and calm. The one I would be leading can have a tendency to spook at times. The one I'm riding is very calm. Both are well trained in leading with the halter. The trails we ride are not on roads, mostly loggin roads and forest trails. Thanks for any advice you can give me. My main objective is to give the horses some exercise, have fun and stay safe for both me and my horses.
See you in October, Sue and Sunny
Hi Sue! I'm glad that you and Sunny are enjoying your time out together. I'd advise against ponying, though -- that's the term for leading one horse from a ridden horse. It's not a very good idea, for all sorts of reasons.
1) Ponying doesn't allow you to focus on your riding, your position, or on working with the horse you are riding. The horses may get a bit of exercise, but not much -- you'd do better to take each one out for half an hour's work alone. You and the horses will all get more out of it.
2) Ponying requires that your "pony horse" -- the one you're riding -- be absolutely dead calm and reliable, not just about being ridden and neck-reined, but about ropes and weights and pressure AND the sustained presence of the other horse. If your horse is an ex-roping horse and did very, very well in his former career, then he MIGHT be a good prospect for ponying -- and we both know that Sunny was never a roping horse.
3) Safe ponying requires that NO bizarre or strange or unusual or sudden events occur that could possibly spook either the horse you're riding or the one you're ponying. And if that leads you to conclude that there's no such thing as safe ponying.... well, I'd have to say that your conclusion is correct. ;-)
4) You'd better be tacked up for the occasion: strong gloves for you, because even a small lead-rope-burn can hurt for a long time, and a good, fully-rigged (flank cinch and connector attache) roping saddle for your horse, because you don't want to have to fly into the air OR end up on your horse's side instantly if the led horse stops whilst your horse is still moving. Don't think that Sunny, for all his bulk, could keep that other horse from pulling you out of the saddle -- even a foal can do that, at the right speed and angle.
5) Until you've become tremendously proficient at ponying, don't even THINK of going faster than a walk.
6) When you've become tremendously proficient at ponying, you can ask for a more energetic walk, but stay at a walk. ;-)
7)
8) We live in a litigious society. There are risks worth taking, and risks NOT worth taking. If you fall off your horse and the horse gets loose and runs off into a real road (or into someone else who is riding or running on the logging road) and causes an accident, you may have a chance to come out of the resultant lawsuit with your finances relatively intact: accidents DO happen. If, OTOH, you are ponying another horse and THAT horse gets loose and runs off, etc., you're going to be in a very shaky position, because you were taking unnecessary risks...
9) If you want to try ponying just for the experience, do it at home in a pasture, so that you can safely drop the leadrope if you need to, without worrying that the suddenly-loose horse will end up in the road or in someone's yard or careening into another rider's horse. And don't do it when you're alone.
10) Don't try it on the trail. If you're out on the trail, you'll try to hang onto the other horse, and all that will happen is that you'll get pulled out of your saddle and, quite possibly, hurt. At that point, you could lose both horses -- and your health or your life. It's just not worth it. If you MUST pony, do it in an enclosure so that you can safely drop the leadrope and save yourself.
11) If you're not sure what the other horse will do -- and you are NEVER sure, believe me -- then you should take every possible precaution.
Double-check your cinch before you mount, and again before you allow anyone to hand you the leadrope. Remember that once you begin, you will not have a free hand until you finish. If your nose itches, good luck! ;-)
12) The leadrope should be attached to a longeing cavesson rather than to a halter, so that you'll have a little more control and run less risk of damaging the other horse's outside eye). With the other horse on your right, with its head level with your horse's shoulder, you should have the leadrope held in your right hand, and your reins (and the end section of the leadrope) held in your left hand. It's just like leading a horse from the ground, or walking a dog on a leash: right hand holds the middle of the leash, left hand holds the end, and NO part of the leash (or leadrope) is wrapped around ANY part of your body.
I've done a fair amount of ponying, but only under special circumstances when there's literally no other choice (e.g., an excitable youngster too immature to be ridden must be (post-surgery, for instance) given walking exercise on long straight lines). I do this only on very reliable, experienced horses that are familiar with (and higher in the herd hierarchy than) the horse I'm ponying. And even then, I pay close attention and I always have a plan: I'm always aware of exactly where the other horse is and what he's doing, and I'm always ready to drop the leadrope in an instant.
And I could still get hurt. All it takes is one second of panic on the part of the other horse, or a moment of dislike or disrespect for the horse you're riding, and a close-range kick intended for the horse you're riding could easily break your own leg. It's happened before, and I'm sure it will happen again. The horse doesn't mean to damage the human, but that's the result.
So, in conclusion, I'll say YES it's possible to do it, but it's not worth it, so please don't. I want to see you and Sunny cheerful and intact when I come up in October!
Jessica
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