I often see ponies that have been a bit man handled throughout their lives. These ponies are the ones that drag little kids around, yank them out of their saddles to eat grass, step on your feet, be hard to catch, and are the ponies that give ponies a bad name. They weren't born this way. They were man made.
One way to avoid that is to TRAIN your mini or pony. I know I talk about training a lot here. And I'm sure some of you are tired of me saying it. But it is SO important. Take the time now to train your pony, so later your life, and your pony's life, is easier.
I know sometimes people think it's faster to just push them into line, yank up their feet and then wrestle them to put the harness on, pry their mouths open to put the bit on, corner them in a small pen to catch them. They just want to get on with things and don't think the foundation is worth the time. (I have actually had people SAY this to me.) But let me tell you, taking the time to train them from the beginning to be a pony with manners, will save you time in the long run. Because when you are still chasing your pony around to catch him, I will be out driving mine.
