10/03/2026
LESSON NUMBER 1
Welfare of the pony.
At all my intoductory lessons the first thing I teach people about … the first priority before thinking about driving ALWAYS has to be the welfare of the pony. So… we groom them for cleanliness and check them over as we do to ensure , especially where harness sits , there are no lumps bumps lameness and shoes are good to go.
A pony , living here , was groomed and harnessed then driven by her owner to warm up prior to a lesson on Saturday- whilst I was coaching another learner.
I hopped off my other lesson and hopped on the carriage to go out with this pony.
We had a bit of ‘freshness ‘ which I told the pony off and we carried on for a lovely drive out.
On our return it was quickly noticed the pony had a mark near her saddle , the owner said she had noticed a scabby lump whilst grooming her. An insect bite in all probability that has started to get a bit infected possibly. She is stabled , clipped , rugged and in pristine condition. Just a little bump under the skin the owner didn’t mention as apparently ‘it didn’t bother the pony’
Whether this spot caused the ‘freshness’ I told the pony off for , who knows? What we do know is when we returned, and the first time it was mentioned to me , it was an open sore rather than a scabby spot.
That was on Saturday, the pony was meant to be driven again Monday which I said couldn’t happen on welfare grounds.
Now nobody can stop horses being horses, nobody can prevent an insect bite , but what we can do is check thoroughly and consider the consequences of putting harness on or driving a pony if everything isn’t right. It may be inconvenient, it may ruin plans and so on but WELFARE must come first, if you compromise welfare you can also in turn be compromising safety of you , your pony passengers , bystanders and property. A small injury causing soreness can cause a big reaction, that can very quickly escalate to danger all around when a pony is in harness.
This is the little bump 4 days later ( the brown is stain from treatment lotion ) still quite tender. The pony is lunged daily in any event.