Hi Linda,
There will be many opinions on this.
For me I don't see a problem with a horse stopping for a bit now and then but if they keep doing it and not obey when you lift their head then you have an ill mannered horse,
Back to basics, ground manners. For my horse even when I am leading her from one pasture to another I do not allow her to eat unless I give her permission. The same at feeding time.
You want your daughter to enjoy herself to the full I'm sure and she can.
Another suggestion, shorten the lead rope so the pony cannot bend down to munch until you legthen the lead again, stop, allow the horse to munch, pull up gently, shorten the lead and proceed. He's smart and will catch on quickly.
Have control of this before you allow freedom for your daughter or her experience will be disheartening.
Most ponies will do this, they seem to be hungry all the time.
When I was young, Patches my pony, and I went for a ride I always walked him and let him eat his fill then mounted and had a good time, both of us were content. I would stop every once and a while, allow him to munch, and carry on. He knew when I asked him to raise his head it was not the end of the world, his time would come.
Hope this helps.
Ronda

Hiya Ronda, thank you for your advice. Yes I think we do need to do more ground work with him. He is a very strong pony and between my daughter and myself we can't lift his head up from esti g the grass. He is stopping every minute and he is almost yanking my daughters out of their sockets! It is resulting in tears as she has no control!

Hi Linda - probably a stupid question but do you have a dually halter for your pony? The red one should fit. I would suggest doing some ground work with the dually to promote basic manners. Once your pony is familiar with the dually and responsive to it then use the dually for leading your daughter out for awhile. If she wants to hold reings then perhaps you can attach some to the side of the dually on the metal join just above the correction nose band on both sides. A voice command and a quick discipline pull on the dually every time the pony goes to eat while your daughter is riding should correct this annoying habit. If you don't have the dually then try a rope halter but the dually is much more effective. Once the problem is corrected then you should be able to revert back to the bridle.

I am also having a terrible time with a 12 year old gelding I purchased recently. I believe his first, and only other, owner allowed him to graze whenever he wanted to while trail riding. I have used the dually halter to re-school him on his leading lessons and am wondering if I can use that under his bridle to correct him with the lead rope as we're going down the trail. Does anyone have any experience doing this?

Hi jbreuel,
Sure you can use the Dually under the bridle and remind your horse of lessons you did before on the ground. Make sure the lesson is clear in your groundwork, then transfer it to the saddle. Important is an immediate reaction, so the horse associates pressure on the schoolingband with his putting the head down to graze.
I have used this method with a horse that didn't stand to be mounted, with eccelent result.
Good luck and let us know how you're doing!
Miriam

Hi all
I ride my horse with his halter on all the time, but the bridle is under the halter not the other way around. That way if you tug on the halter it does not effect the pressure on the bit. If you leave the lead line attached to the halter make sure that you do not tie it to the saddle. I just place it under my belt leaving a loop between me and the halter, that way should I need to get off the horse I can have control of his head without using the reins and bit.

Cheers

Dennis and Miriam: Thank you for your information. I've always ridden with a halter under my bridle for leading and tying up if we stop on the trail. But I have never thought of putting the halter over the bridle...doesn't that interfere with the action of the bridle? and would the schooling band get in the way of the bit? I realize I can experiment myself but Dennis, I'm wondering how you've made it work for you. No sense re-inventing the wheel, right?
I love the dually halter, it saved my sanity when it came to re-schooling Tio to lead....he just walked through his rope halter like it was invisible. Now the tiniest reminder and he's walking exactly where he's supposed to. N

P.S. As I sit here thinking about the bridle/halter thing I realize that putting the dually halter underneath the bridle could also interfere with the action of the halter....need to get out to the barn tomorrow.

Hi jbreuel and Dennis,
From what I learned at Flag is up Farms, I can assure you that if you put the bridle over the Dually and make sure that both the trainingrings are either over or under the bit, nothing is going to interfere with the other. Hope you get the picture, try to imagine one ring under and one ring over the bit, this would give a assymmertical feeling to the horse.
It seems like puzzles, but actually it's quite simple!
Miriam

Thanks Miriam this is very helpful to all of us who have not been shown how to do this. I hadn't thought of using the dually with a bridle before!!

Hi Linda,
As kids when we went riding we always had a "grass rein". This is simply a piece of baling twine that goes from one of the bit rings and attaches to one of the D rings on the saddle (the same side as the side it is attached to on the bit). It is loose enough that it only comes into play when the horse tries to put his head to the ground to eat grass. Also, being baling twine as opposed to strong rope, in emergency situation it will break. This is great when kids are learning as the grass rein is always consistent, so the horse learns very quickly that he is not to eat grass when being ridden. Really simple and effective.
Hope that helps.
regards,
Ruth

Thank you everyone for your advice. I will let you know how I get on : )

Ruthy that is fantastic advice.
Even with my vivid imagination I would never have thought of that.
I wonder if they would allow that at renting barns when people, including kids go on trail rides, wouldn't that be a great tool to use on a greedy horse or pony. Everyone would be happy!!!
Thank you so much.
Ronda