Q&A

Q: We’re thinking of rescuing a donkey. Can ponies and donkeys live well together, or will I need to separate them?

A: Ponies and donkeys can live very happily together, but you need to make sure you know about donkeys’ specific needs before making your final decision, as the needs of ponies and donkeys are not quite the same!

If you decide to get a donkey and home him with your ponies, you need to ensure that you introduce them all slowly, just as you would any new equine. We would advise turning them out in adjacent paddocks, to begin with, rather than just putting them all in together. When the time comes to add the donkey in with your ponies, you will need to closely monitor the herd. Donkeys do not have the same flight instincts as ponies and may not respond when a pony’s body language asks them to move away. This can increase the risk of conflict and injury in the group.

A bray with friends: It is also worth noting that a donkey’s bray can be very scary to horses and ponies. New donkeys tend not to bray when settling in, but horses and ponies can be a little upset when they do start to vocalise!

DID YOU KNOW?

It is always best to rehome two donkeys rather than one, as donkeys form powerful pair-bonds. When they can form these pair-bonds, their health and well-being improve.

Q: My pony is generally very forward going and happy to jump. However, the second you introduce any type of filler, she is a nervous wreck. How can I help her with this?

A: With these kinds of issues, the best advice is to go back to basics.

The first thing to do is practice simple poles on the ground and then turn them into small jumps at the end of a line. To begin with, we would advise starting in the trot, so you trot over the poles and the small fence.

Once you have your pony listening to you, you can gradually introduce fillers below the jump at the end of the line. To do this, get someone to help you to put the filler on the outside of the jump and gradually pull it into the middle and then all the way across the jump.

Once your pony is happy with this, you can swap the trotting poles for canter poles and keep the jump small. You can then begin again to move the filler in from the outside of the jump to the middle and gradually move it all the way across.

It is also worth practising these exercises in different places and with different fillers and poles. This ensures your pony really is okay with the concept of fillers.

Of course, it goes without saying that you will need to ride confidently, and if you are nervous, it might be best to ask your coach to ride your pony down these lines the first few times. If you are worried and expecting a problem, something is bound to go wrong. Instead, set yourself up for success and ride down the line as if you were approaching any other fence that your pony would usually clear without an issue. Confidence is key!

Q: The dressage judge described my pony’s free walk as ‘lacking activity and stretch’. How can I work on this? My pony is slow in the walk and prefers to look around rather than hang his head. Is this fixable, or is my dressage score for the free walk always going to be low?

A: Walk is usually the most challenging gait to work on as it is all too easy for your pony to drop behind the leg and lose the engagement of the hindquarter. It is, therefore, often a sticky point in the dressage test. However, with the proper preparation – mainly a focus on the medium walk first – you can get your free walk looking more respectable for the dressage judges!

Relaxation for the win: Your pony needs to be relaxed to have a good walk. If your pony is not relaxed, work him in trot, or even canter, until he is ready to listen to you. Once he is relaxed and paying attention, make some walk-trot transitions, keeping your pony in front of the leg at all times. Remember that when you are making a transition from trot to walk, you need as much impulsion and energy as you do to move from walk to trot!

Get him moving: To get your pony to march more in the walk, it often helps to ride out with another pony that really walks out. If this cannot be done, you need to ask for energy with your lower leg whilst encouraging your pony to remain in an outline. Pole work can often help with this as well. Once the medium walk starts to march forward, you can then focus on the free walk.

Long rein, not loose rein: Remember that the movement is a ‘free walk on a long rein,’ not a loose rein, and therefore there must always be a contact down the rein. This does make it easier to keep your pony’s concentration and maintain his outline. When first working on the free walk, do not expect your pony to stretch too much and for too great a distance, as he will need to develop confidence and learn to maintain his concentration. Again, pole work can help – gradually increase the distance between the poles, making sure that you retain the increased stride length after you have walked over the poles. The poles will often encourage the pony to stretch the neck and look forwards and down.

Top tip: We would recommend that you work on the walk while out hacking rather than in the arena.