The winsome Welsh Pony and Cob! We are celebrating these ponies as our September Breed of the Month on YourDressage!
Did you know that dressage riders who choose a Welsh Pony or Cob as their dressage mount are eligible for special awards through the Adequan®/USDF All-Breeds Awards program, as the Welsh Pony & Cob Society of America, Inc. is a participating organization?
Here, a rider from Region 6 shares how she first encountered the Welsh Pony breed, then brought one home to train from the ground up.
By Susan Altman
In 2014, my husband and I had to put down his eventer, Tomato, due to neurological issues, and when it was time to add a new horse to the herd, it was my turn. I grew up riding lesson horses, leased my first horse in high school, bought my first horse after college, and after five years of owning horses (with a couple of mistakes along the way), my husband and I bought a horse property and brought my horse home. When Tomato passed, I had two other horses – a Thoroughbred (TB) I had evented, and a Mustang who I had taken from a green-broke pack horse with his previous owner, to a riding horse whom I introduced to “natural horsemanship,” dressage, cow work, competitive trail, and a little bit of jumping. Since I’d enjoyed the experience of bringing along a horse, I decided that this time, I wanted something young and unstarted.
My preference was for a small gelding; though the same height at 15.1 hands, my TB was petite, and my Mustang was beefy. I liked the size and was willing to go even a bit smaller. Since I wasn’t competing, nor had any specific plans to do so, breed was mostly unimportant to my search. I found myself looking at Quarter ponies, Morgans, Connemaras, Arabian crosses, and Welsh Cobs.
That year’s crop of available horses in the two- to three-year-old category seemed almost entirely bereft of geldings. I started with searches close to home, in the Sierra Nevada foothills, and gradually expanded my territory to include all of California. I was discerning in what I was looking for in terms of conformation and my gut feeling, so while I looked at many ads, I only went to see a select few in person, and of that small group, I didn’t find any that gave me the “yes, this one!” feeling. I was getting discouraged.
When I expanded my search territory even further, I came across an ad from a breeder I had known online; we both frequented the same horse forum, and I recognized the name of the sire in the sale ad. The breeder was a dressage rider who was very dedicated to her breed, and she had two young fillies for sale. I did not want a mare, but she was the first horse I’d seen who gave me that happy feeling. I immediately sent the breeder a note, and we started talking about her Welsh Cobs. She described them as “Arabs on steroids,” which I thought was funny, but I think she was serious. She was very selective and careful in her breeding program, and as a dressage rider herself, she bred for ponies that she thought would be successful in the sport.
She sent me a number of pictures of the two fillies, and one caught my eye – Annwylid D’Lite, a three-quarter Welsh Cob, one-quarter Morgan. “Dee Dee,” as she was called at the time, had a presence. Just looking at her pictures and video made me smile. She was special, and she knew it. I bought her without meeting her in person, and my husband and I took an adventurous trip to Arizona to pick her up.
I’d never had a mare before (never even rode mares!), and never had a pony (and never rode ponies as a kid), so a pony mare – let alone an unstarted one- was an entirely new experience for me. However, starting a horse or pony on my own was a goal of mine; I wanted to learn and understand the whole process and know that – for better or worse – I would have had influence on the entire process, from pony-ing, ground work, swinging a leg over for the first time, trail rides, field trips off-property, horse shows, and working with her to decide what discipline she wanted to do.
Her breeder had given her a good start in her first two years of handling – she could lunge, had worn a bit and a saddle – and now it was up to me. First up was a name change. She didn’t seem like a Dee Dee, and I soon started calling her Princess Fancy Pants, which morphed into Princess Pony Pants, and then just “Pony,” so that is what she is called now. Other nicknames are “Little Miss” and “Minty Fresh” (peppermints are her favorite treat). My husband says, “You must tell her that she is beautiful every day,” and so I follow his advice because he is a smart man.
We ended up moving to USDF Region 6 shortly after bringing Pony home, and she was soon integrated with the two boys for turnout. In the beginning, I found out there were things my other horses knew how to do that I took for granted – like standing in crossties, fly spray, baths, and hoof trimming – so I learned how to slow down and introduce things more gradually. I learned that she was very food-motivated, so I used that to my advantage. When I came across a roadblock that I could not address on my own – trailering, for example – I found people who could help me, diligently did my homework, and solved the puzzle.
In preparation for starting her under saddle the summer of her four-year-old year, I had introduced her to ground driving with the help of a trainer, done a lot of general groundwork and hand walking, worked with the bit in her mouth from the ground, taught her voice commands for walk, trot, and canter, and had taken a few off-property visits to a trainer for groundwork/obstacle play dates. One day, after doing groundwork while tacked up, the time seemed just right to sit on her back. She was already tacked up, and I had been walking next to her, working on acceptance of the bit, and steering and moving sideways from pressure where my leg would be. I didn’t have a helper, and my husband didn’t know what I was doing other than Pony playtime. I had already stood on the mounting block near her, so she was used to that. I thought, “I’ll just lay over her back and see how she reacts to my weight.” She had no reaction; it was as if I had done it a hundred times before. “Well, maybe I’ll just swing my leg over and sit up.” Hmmmm, no problem. Okay. “Well, as long as I’m up here, why don’t I see what happens if I ask her to move?” She walked forward. We did one lap around the arena, and I got off. Her first ride was completely uneventful, and we built up from there over a few months. We entered our first league show, put on by the Central Oregon Chapter of the Oregon Dressage Society (ODS) at Intro A and Intro B that October. She was a star. It was so easy… until it wasn’t.
Pony got the winter off, and the next summer, I decided to expand our trail-riding territory. We had Bureau of Land Management (BLM) trails close to us and had mastered a small loop by first hand walking, then riding. We just walked and moseyed along and enjoyed the scenery. It was quiet and serene, and a great way for a young pony to enjoy nature and get exercise out of the arena. Expanding our territory meant crossing an irrigation ditch, which I had done easily on my other two horses. I love trail riding, and I’ve made a few great trail horses over the years, never having trouble introducing anyone to water before. This was the first “hard no” Pony ever gave me under saddle. I engaged my husband’s help by having him ride my Mustang, who was Pony’s boyfriend – surely she would follow him anywhere.
Nope, nope, and nope some more. Her distrust of the water crossing was greater than her desire to be with her boyfriend. It was time to get creative. Armed with a fanny pack filled with more cookies and carrot bits than I thought I would ever need, I put the rope halter on, attached the lunge line, took my flag, put on my waterproof muck boots, and walked down the trail the half-mile to the water crossing. Nope. She was adamant that she was not going through or over that water. I put diligent effort into making this happen, but I couldn’t make it happen. For the time being, I was defeated. We kept going out on the trails, but I had temporarily given up the idea of crossing the ditch to the larger group of trails that were on the other side.
In the fall, after the irrigation is turned off, the ditch is empty and dry. A-ha! THAT was my moment! I loaded up the fanny pack, saddled up Pony, held a coiled-up lunge line in one hand, and hit the trail. The ditch was dry. I got off, attached the lunge line, and presented Pony to the ditch. She walked right in and up the bank on the other side. I gave her a cookie. We repeated this a few times until it was solid, and I got back on and rode home. We repeated this unmounted a little bit over the next few weeks, and then under saddle, right before the snow hit.
Without the water, it was a non-issue, but we’d have to wait until spring to see if it would stick. When spring came, and I presented Pony to the ditch crossing with flowing water, she decided that she would only cross the ditch by jumping. That is an acceptable compromise to me because she is very polite about it – she walks up to the edge (the way it is situated, trotting and jumping it is not feasible), jumps from a standstill, lands, and waits for her cookie reward. Then, we walk off to explore the great beyond. She is a great trail pony and enjoys both schooling out there and just moseying along.
Here’s what I’ve learned about training pony mares. My sample size is only one. It may apply to other Welsh Cobs, or it may apply to all ponies, or no other ponies, but I’d guess I’m not alone in this realization. I’ll say what applies to Pony.
- She is smart. Very smart.
- She is motivated by food.
- She has firm ideas about what she will do and what she doesn’t want to do.
- Her food motivation does not extend to things she doesn’t want to do.
- I must think creatively to solve problems; refer back to #1.
I’ve since had help with Pony’s training from Mari Valceschini at Alliance Equestrian in Bend, Oregon, and clinics with Tina Steward. When I was recovering from an injury, I boarded Pony, and Mari took over her training for a few months. Aside from that, I’ve done 95% of her training on my own, and I’m proud of how she’s progressed. We’ve done dressage shows, jumped, done basic cow work, hit the trails a lot, ridden without reins, ridden bareback, tried our hand at a working equitation clinic (very well-suited to the compact ponies!), and just generally have fun together. Here’s what I’ve learned about riding ponies (or at least Pony).
- Because of their compact size, as a rider, you must be in good balance – too much movement in any direction can affect their balance more so than a large horse.
- The surface area for leg aids is smaller, so your aids must be more precise.
- Their backs can get tight, so working on stretching is important throughout the ride.
- You must have a sense of humor, patience, and creativity.
- Ponies are very handy and super fun!
In 2022, Pony helped me get scores to earn my USDF Bronze Medal, and also toward my Bronze Medal with Distinction, which I hope to complete soon. We did some Dressage Pony Cup classes, which were fun also (they have great prizes!). Pony excels at lateral work and seems to enjoy the challenges of dressage training. While she had last year off from competing, as I was earning my USDF Silver Medal with my other horse, I’ve continued her training and have just started her in the double bridle, which was a non-issue. I’ve been working on teaching her lead changes, and one direction is confirmed at this point – once we get both confirmed, a lot more movements will open up to us, as she already wants to do canter pirouettes, and her half passes are great.
I’ve not ridden any other breed of pony, but I do love the Welsh Cob as an adult amateur pony rider. I find Pony to be athletic, smart, handy, capable, interested in the work, and sometimes an overachiever. She is always a friend. When I open my front door to walk to the barn, she whinnies at me (she also whinnies at me when it is time to come in from turnout for dinner time – she keeps a tight schedule!). If you are looking for a dance partner in a small package, give a Welsh Cob a try – and remember to always bring your sense of humor and tell them how pretty they are.
