Pony coaching is a practice by which horses are taught to perform certain behaviors as commanded by a person. Horses are trained to make it easier for us, humans, to handle them and to make them perform useful activities. They are trained for different purposes including everyday care as well as for equestrian activities.
Some people, like equestrians, train horses for pony racing activities and other sports. While for folks with disabilities, horseback riding can be therapeutic.
It is the responsibility of human to think about tactics to effectively communicate with them as horses do not have thinking ability as that of a human. It is in the nature of horses to follow a certain leader because they are social herd animals. This makes coaching a pony easier.
Horses have a biological reply to acute stress, meaning, that they react to threats by fighting or fleeing.
It is better to teach a young pony than an older one because a young pony, like most animals, can simply conform to human. This is the reason why handling of the pony from a very early age is suggested. Others leave the young horses for its first few hours or days to permit the foal to bond with its mother.
A foal is halter damaged during its first year, meaning that it is trained to permit a halter placed upon its head. A halter, which is also called a headcollar or headstall, is a headgear that is used to lead or tie up a horse.
Walking, running, stopping and standing are the basic skills that a pony must learn because it needs to be calm for basic grooming and veterinary care. Another significant thing is that it must be exposed to noises and uproar of ordinary human activities in order not to be afraid of them. Examples are noises coming from vehicles, radios, etc.
Common ground coaching includes liberty work or free longeing, longeing, desensitization or sacking out, ground driving or long-lining and bitting. Young horses are also introduced to a saddle, bridle or harness, which is done without actually getting on the pony or hooking up a cart.