Ponying is the practice of leading one

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

while riding another. Although the word "pony" is used, horses used for ponying are generally full-sized, rather than

ponies A pony is a type of small horse, usually measured under a specified height at maturity. Ponies often have thicker coats, manes and tails, compared to larger horses, and proportionally shorter legs, wider barrels, heavier , thicker necks and s ...

. Ponying can be used to exercise horses too young to be ridden, or to provide light work to injured horses or those recovering from illness or surgery. It is a useful method by which a single individual can condition more than one horse at a time, and multiple polo ponies are often exercised at the same time by a single rider. Horses can also be ponied with riders on both horses, a practice commonly seen at American

racetracks A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also us ...

, where the pony rider assists in controlling the race horse, usually a younger and more fractious horse. Strings of

packhorse A packhorse, pack horse, or sumpter refers to a horse, mule, donkey, or pony used to carry goods on its back, usually in sidebags or panniers. Typically packhorses are used to cross difficult terrain, where the absence of roads prevents the use of ...

s are often ponied from a rider atop the first horse in the string. The pony horse must have a calm and steady disposition.

Gelding A gelding (Help:IPA/English, /ˈɡɛldɪŋ/) is a castration, castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. The term is also used with certain other animals and livestock, such as domesticated Camelidae, camels. By compa ...

s are often preferred mounts due to their more reliable disposition, particularly for ponying

stallion A stallion is an adult male horse that has not been gelded ( castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cre ...

s. Sometimes ponying is done from a

western saddle Western saddles are used for Western riding and are the saddles used on working horses on cattle ranches throughout the United States, particularly in the west. They are the "cowboy" saddles familiar to movie viewers, rodeo fans, and those who h ...

to give the pony rider more control over the led horse because it allows the rider to "dally" or wrap the lead rope around the saddle horn if needed to maintain control of the ponied horse.

American racing

Caixa Eletronica in True North post parade June 9 2012

At a race track, ponying is done to escort race horses to the track, to accompany them as they warm up, to assist at the starting gate, and to escort horses back at the end of a race. Some of the riders at race tracks, including

harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australia ...

tracks, are called "outriders" who are there to catch loose horses as well as to help slow down horses after a race and pony them back to the stands. Although ponying is almost universal in American horse racing, it is not common in European horse racing.

References

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External links

Video: Racehorse being ponied at a walk and gallop

Video: An outrider catching and ponying racehorses
Equestrianism Horse training Horse racing terminology