Leading two ponies

[NFK Dumpling]

At some point I'm going to have to bring both ponies down from the field together, its about half a mile along a private lane.

Bearing in mind one is 19yrs and the other 11mths any handy hints?

[Daftmare]

id put the quieter one on the outside ie nearer the centre of the road and the young one near the kerb make sure you have knots in the ends of your lead ropes so they dont slide out of your hands.
practice first before you try it for real but it is something I have had to do regularly and I have never really had any problems

[NFK Dumpling]

Thanks: that's what I was hoping to hear!

[echolady]

ues lead them round in the field first because echo can be quite temremental with our welshie and she squeels and bucks at him! little madam, however i developed a stratergy to cope with this....... arms length apart!
good luck!

[dollylanedales]

I do as Daftmare says, knot the ends of the leadrope. I regularly move the two oldies together from the hills field over the lane and down the track, and have to take them together as they go mental if parted, but they can do the journey on their own, they have done it many times in 30 years LOL!I do find it hard leading Molly and Oliver together as they think its a race .....Tilly is fine with someone else though.

[NFK Dumpling]

Well hopefully James will be sensible............although he did his best impersonation of a harrier jump jet when OH had hold of him (he knows I don't take any notice)

[cadeby]

I was taught (by an eighty year old heavy-horse ploughman) to walk in the middle with the easiest horse on your left which is usually the handler's least natural side, and the more difficult/spooky horse in the normal place on the right. He told me to concentrate on the righthand horse and just allow the lefthand horse to amble on a slightly longer lead-rope behind you.

I have absolutely no idea if this is SAFE or CORRECT so I'm not recommending you neccessarily try this. I'm just wondering what other people's thoughts are??? We have never been barged or trampled on this way as we find that if they get excited they tend to swing their hindquarters out and away from us.

The other option he taught me was to put both horses on your right with the safer horse on the outside with a longer leadrope. Thread the leadrope through one strap of the inside horse's headcollar near the ring but not through the ring. This works OK for me with my strong Percheron mares but it could be because they are broken to drive and therefore used to being side by side on the pole? He also said this was a good method to use for bargy / exciteable youngsters as the older steady horse would hold them back.

I still prefer being in the middle and am interested to hear other peoples's opinions.

Regardless of what method you choose, have you got a friend who could walk with you the first few times, so that if it gets a bit dodgy, they could step in and take charge of one of the horses?

Good Luck - makes me appreciate my hubbie who always helps with leading if I have to move more than one

[mickey]

If you dont get much/ any traffic Id have the youngster on the right- I usually lead from the left so its far easier to sort.
Is the older one quiet or likely to be the one creating trouble?! Id also use a lunge line on the quieter one- so if the other prats you can let some out and not be dragging it over the road whilst trying to control the other, and if you think it'll be pulling pop a bridle on

[clara]

I would put the youngster on a lunge line I have always found that the extra length allows for my reactions and it would also offer you extra space. If they decide to do something silly you will be out of harms way without having to let go. Could you not get a friend to help you? Sure they will be fine...

[NFK Dumpling]

Will have a go with a bridle on James and a longer rope on Musky.

Unfortunately my horsey friends are at work and no one else will come near except my OH under protest

[sunny]

I used to bring in a safeish arab mare with a not very safeish 16.2 t/b gelding! I found that when he played up and leapt around that if i let her go right to the end of the rope then she just kept herself out the way and i could concentrate on him. I think having a go in the field a few times will give you confidence in a safer space and also get them a bit used to it.... good luck

[sunny]

Ok.. so now i've seen how old this thread is...!!! Doh! So what happened?

[NFK Dumpling]

What happened was......

In the field practising (very short grass) very well behaved and one look from James quelled Musky's more exuberant moments.

So the next time we tried walking along the lane, Musky keen to go, James far more interested in eating what ever he could get his teeth on. Me feeling very small and not in the least in control and in danger of being strangled! Gave up after 100yds and had to drag them both back to the paddock for different reasons. I felt like the meat in a Dales sandwich!

Not to be beaten I decided to have a go at ride and lead and much to my suprise this is actually going quite well (so far!) - saying that will have put the kibosh on it!

I can keep James' head up and out of the hedge on the whole and his weight stops Musky haring along. Not quite sure why this works when I'm in the saddle and not on the ground?
The first time coming back got a bit hairy when they both started trotting but I managed to get it under control before they went too far

This will be fine unless James forgets he is the responsible adult and reverts to some of his less user friendly manoeuvres. Musky has also worked out which bits are not James and so I have to carry a crop to tap him with when he gets hold of the saddle or thinks about getting hold of my leg

[sunny]

Funny! Glad you have cracked it !