Hi i have a newly backed pony,He will be coming back to me next week and i am very excited, any ideas or if you have been there, let me know what you think and your experiences would be very helpful thanks rachel. PS i am new on here

You don't say how old he is. Most people on here think you shouldn't back till 4 or 5. If he's been backed as 3 year old I think we would all advise turning away over the winter to grow on a bit more. Probably not what you want to hear!! Double lungeing can be great fun and is enormously educational for the horse and yourself. If in the older age bracket be aware that you may have to change the saddle several times over the next two or three years - some equines, foresters in particular, tend to get flat over the withers and then peak up again which requires at least two different saddles. We've gone through about 5 with two youngsters and have ended up with a torsion on the younger one because we couldn't find a good wide fit for her and don't want a made to measure yet (she's only 5). Otherwise ride intelligently - you are doing the teaching this time! Have lots of fun and good luck!

without wanting to start an argument we have just backed our boy and hes a 3 yr old ,he was long reined for quite a while and my daughter rides him .(shes very slight in weight!)
hes been on the forest about 3 times in walk, hes been schooled to trot and hes been fine we did wonder about turning him away for the winter but he seemed bored in the field so hes going to carry on his backing thru winter as in maybe once a week and some walking out as weve moved to a new place and want him to get used to his new surroundings.
speak to the person who broke your pony in and maybe take their advise rather than on here as they will know your pony.
good luck i hope you have a great time with your pony

my daughter backed her 3yr old this year, rode him a handful of times and has turned him away for winter. he will be schooled in the spring and in the mean time will carry on with long reining. we have just moved and have miles and miles of off road hacking and new places to explore with the babies, its exciting!

rachel have you not been riding it there i wont let any of my breakers leave my place untill the owner/rider has ridden it in the school and out on the roads several times and that myself and them are happy

my 3 yr old was lightly backed in july and he has been untouched since and will be broken and schooled on in january

IMO all babies regardless of age need to have a "mental" break regardless if they look bored in the field,my 3 yr old is very bored but i know he needs the mental breakdown break first

ETA i agree with sally anne also

As Sally Anne says in her post its really important that you ride him where he is before bringing him home- he'll need to adapt to your different feel on top and you'll need tips from the person that is riding him now as to how to ride a baby. Once you've got him home I would do just enough to 'gel' together a bit- for a 3 yr old even 10 or 15mins ridden can be plenty. He would then benefit from being turned away until the spring. You will be amazed at how his 'learning' continues to be absorbed while hes turned away and provided you have your experienced helper when you start him again in the spring you'll find that he 'picks up' his ridden work further ahead than you left him.

Our 3 year old was lightly backed this year, my daughter went and rode her about 4 times where she was backed, she has a lesson once a fortnight with the lady who backed her, whilst I have my lesson, most of it is sitting around watching Mac and me. This is also dependent on the weather as the school gets very slippery when we've had alot of rain. In between these lessons Daisy may ride her once for about 10 mins in the school or we may take her for a couple of walks in hand, I don't think the ground work should end just because you can now ride them. Sometimes she may have a couple of weeks off in between being ridden.

We're not planning to get her out and about or anything more than that until next spring, but we are going to be keeping her for ever so a few months of gentle time may mean Daisy can ride her longer at the other end of her riding career and I believe a safer horse at the end as she has been allowed to take her time and mentally prepare herself.

When I had my older horse backed 4 years ago, I had to go and ride her at least 5 times before I was even allowed to think about having her home, The riding her also entailed going out on the open forest with her as well, not just riding around a school. I have to say it was the most amazing experience of my life, we have such a strong bond between us now - 4 years on - that I have another youngster now who will be 4 next spring, and I shall be going down the same route with him as with my other one.
I would like to stress that if you do ride where your pony is being broken, make sure you go out into the wilderness with him/her, as the school can be a very 'safe' place for a young pony and when it does come to going out there it can be a totally different ride & pony to the good one in the school!!!!

agree with shelby our boy has walked out on to the forest didnt put a foot wrong and got used to all the new sights and sounds that wernt in a school. our other pony is a completely different pony in the school( cos she hates it!) but get her onto the forest shes a lill darling safest pony going!
i will carry on doing what im doing as ive got advise from people who know our boy thats what i suggest you do go back to the person who broke your pony in and get advise from them they know what he is like some people can give advise but it could be wrong for you pony if no one has seen him let alone know what hes like