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| SirIan |
on Thu 25 Jun 09, 9:55 AM to SirIan's blog.
Pony Rules & Commands
I have revised these in light of experience and hope they help to give you an insight to what may be required. Everyone is an individual so I will not be arrogant enough to say these are the only way!
I will not claim these are the only commands or ways to do the steps, but they are my way based on my experience. Every trainer obviously has his own ideas. If all you want to do is walk slowly along pulling a cart then great, why not? I like to 'show off' my pony and like the confidence and pride that a pony displays when she knows she is well trained and performing.
With all steps a pony's head should be held high and proud, no looking at her feet. This takes practise to build up confidence to do this, it will not happen in one session.
Whoa! Start with an easy one. Accompanied by even pull on both reins of varying strength depending how quickly I need you to stop! Once stopped this is an 'at ease' position so a small amount of wriggling, foot stamping is permissible! It is a chance to relax and catch your breath.
Stand This command may be added after Stop or on its own. . Likely to be used in dressage as it means stopping immediately and standing still to attention, alert, head up, chest out, looking forward with feet about 12-18" apart.
Walk on Accompanied by a shake of the reins, it is the command to move. This is a steady, graceful walk. Leg is raised so that thigh is about 30-45 degrees (not as high as stepping) lower leg is then 'kicked out' gently with toe pointed as foot is lowered. Always lead off with right leg. Emphasis on style, balance and grace not speed.
Step A dressage step. This is a high stepping move. Thighs raised to 90 degrees, horizontal to the ground, and then the lower leg below the knee is kicked out as in Walk on. It is a slow deliberate and stylish move. Important to try and retain balance and poise. Regain balance before each subsequent step. This step shows a pony's ability and skill better than all other steps and is the hardest to master. Done right, with style, it looks fantastic and is the mark of a skilled and well trained pony. It looks especially good and is actually easier to perform whilst wearing proper pony boots.
Back A command from the stop or Whoa! position, basically walking backwards accompanied by a steady backward pull on reins. The idea, obviously, is to reverse the cart, so it can negotiate an obstacle, go around a tight corner, do a three point turn etc. The pony cannot see where she is going so she must listen to her trainer and obey the reins.
Turn Again from the stop position and used in dressage and accompanied by a short, sharp pull to one side of rein. If the pull is to turn left then right leg is raised and crossed over in front of the left leg before bringing the left leg pulled back behind 1st to return to the stand position. One step at a time, each one accompanied by one pull on the reins. Each turn command should aim to turn about 30°, or about one hour on a clock face. Do not try to turn too much in one step. The leading foot should not pivot once it has crossed over. By only turning one 'hour' at a time permits the trainer to be very precise and accurate, especially if negotiating an obstacle course. The cart should not go forward at all but be turned on the spot. Remember the pony does not necessarily know what the trainer wants her to do so she must not assume he wants her to turn 90ºor 180º, left or right, she must feel the reins. Again it is important to retain balance and poise. The trainer will expect and allow his pony to regain her balance before a subsequent command.
Get On This is the same as walk on except at faster pace
Trot This is effectively a slow jog. Attention must be paid to the ground conditions by the trainer to avoid the pony slipping or stumbling so is only suitable for nice flat level ground only. It also, obviously, takes a lot of effort on the pony's part to both jog and pull the cart and her trainer so is not suitable for every pony. The resultant 'jiggling' of the pony especially if she is naked and wearing bells is very attractive. A very good step for tiring out a difficult or misbehaving pony!
Track Essentially the same as Turn except that instead of moving exactly to the side you take a step moving 45% forward, i.e. diagonally at the same time. This is achieved by not crossing the front leg quite as 'tightly' as in turn so the cart moves diagonally forward. This is not a one-off command so once the command 'track' has been given and a pull on the reins to indicate left or right the pony should continue with this step until told to stop, pulling the cart at a 45°angle. Tricky to master, it requires practise but does demonstrate a pony and trainers skill and understanding. A pony may find this easier to achieve if she can see a fixed point ahead of her at 45° to aim for.
Canter This is a 'skipping' gait. Both feet will leave ground at same time at one point in step. Easy to demonstrate than describe!
Once these have been practised with both voice and rein commands and the pony is used to the feel of the bit the use of voice commands can be gradually reduced and rely solely on reins and bit. The ultimate is adding a blindfold once you have total trust in your handler!
Some of these may appear simple but try doing them with your hands clasped behind your back as you will not have the use of them to balance when in pony role. Do sets of 100 on the spot. Particularly pay attention to retaining balance with head up. When you can you 100 easily and balanced do them with your eyes closed. Practise makes perfect!
