daisy rains

[horsey123]

do you think daisy rains will help
when my daughter gose for a hack and we are crossing a feild my daughters pone always puts his head down to eat grass
but he does it very quickely so ellie get dragged down with him and nearly gets a flying lesson over his head.
hes not doing it in a nasty way
he just wants to eat the grass but now ellie is getting verry nervouse when she see grass

so do you think that daisy or grass rains will help???

[chloe]

Tis what they are for

[lolamae]

Absolutely. They won't hurt him until he puts his head down and then it's no worse than you pulling him up, and ponies are smart, he'll figure out that he must have some manners when he's working.

If it makes life onboard safer and more fun for the next generation then there's no harm in it. hardly as if you are tying him up with an overcheck for hours.

[ms]

Agree, they're fine when correctly adjusted so they don't interfere with the bit untill the pony does an unschedueld dive for grass;my friend always uses them for her kids especially in spring, when the best mannered of ponies can be tempted !!

[suzieq]

I've seen very contraversial posts about Daisy reins and yes in an ideal world the pony would be schooled not to do this but most of them are cheeky little wotsits and know how to get one over on their little riders... putting grass reins on Flo changed my little girls confidence completely, it soared!!

[horsey123]

thanks think i am defo gunna try them out

[melissa1787]

I have mixed feelings about them to be honest.
I think that you can use them if the pony is that bad but re-schooling would be better but time consuming. Will have to find out if there is another way for you and get back to you. Will pm you with ideas.
If that is ok?
The horse I ride will try to yank her head down to try and stop the faster pace. But cos I am stronger/older than your daughter I keep preasure and leg on untill she puts head up again.
Tried a Daisy Rein of a friend, but hated it to be honest. Felt it hindered head too much.
Horse hated it too.

[melissa1787]

Can I just add too, that it seemed to slip on crown piece on bridle.
Do not know if that is just that it was not tight enough though.
Goodluck!

[suewhitmore]

I would have no hesitation in using them for small kids - ponies are way too smart, they know the rider's capabilities and will only do it with defenseless kids.

You don't need to buy the reins, try it out with bale twine. 2 pieces, quick release knot to each D, knot the two bits together at the wither and again a few inched before the poll, thread through the browband each side and tie the ends onto the bit.

[KoLaTo]

melissa1787 - I think you have tried the actual Daisy Rein itself which goes from poll/headpiece of bridle to saddle D's, i don't like this one either....

I use grass reins when necessary, made by Libbys i think, 2 reins which are either side of the head, from saddle dee's, up to headpiece of bridle then down alongside cheekpieces of bridle and attached to bit rings, works the same as Suewhitmores baler twine but looks a tad nicer at PonyClub - LOL

Sorry but my daughter has been pulled over the orange lads head far too many times for my liking and she doesn't yank on his mouth to bring him up as he is tres mouth sensitive so the grass reins are far kinder, he can stretch out and relax but just can't get his head low enough to grab grass..... dosen't stop him grabbing trees thou - LOL

[Cheryl Walmsley]

would daisy reins discourage bucking. I'm talking about a small child's pony who has been bucking and the child has lost confidence to get on. all physical/pain issues have been explored. An ill fitting treed saddle has been replaced by a kids treeless but the little girl hasn't now got the confidence to do the necessary ridden work to re-build the relationship. She has been doing lots of groundwork and making lots of progress but has lost confidence riding and I feel as though, if we could attach something which would do not harm to pone and tell her he wont buck with it on, she would be fine. I've got my tin hat ready in case I'm saying something really cruel but I'm only asking a questiion, the answer to which I shall properly heed! :-)

[rach20uk]

Technically yes because they cant get their head down to buck. To start with would she go back on lead for a bit to build her confidence slowly?

Little ponies are just a smart as a 16hh horse if not more so and they are clever enough to know how to take advantage of little riders. Its no easy to teach a child how to reschool a pony correctly.

[Cheryl Walmsley]

She is presently on the lead rein but we are struggling to get her off. My helper is very small and has ridden the pony and done well with him, he hasn't actually bucked now for a while but his owner feels that on the lead rein he wont buck but as soon as he is off she panics. That's why I'm thinking that for her peace of mind more than to actually stop him, it might be better if she felt that he couldn't buck.

[KoLaTo]

The single Daisy rein from poll to saddle dees would help with that Sherb althou you'd have to have it quite short as they don't need their heads that low to buck, have you thought about side reins as well, they would have the same effect if fixed from bridle to dees rather than girth straps and even Monty himself advocates using side reins when lunging/longreining as they can help with one-sidedness althou a tin hat may be needed cos i've said it out loud - LOL

[Cheryl Walmsley]

I did think about that too. I'll have a chat with the farmers wife. Thanks