Step #2. Go Forward
Ask your pony horse to walk on with your usual rein and leg aids. Include a voice command so that your ponied horse also hears the cue. As your pony horse moves forward, your ponied horse will feel the rope's gentle pull. He should understand these go-forward voice and pressure cues, because he's halter broke.
If your ponied horse doesn't follow along, don't try to pull him forward; you don't have enough strength, and the attempt could wrench your back or pull you off your pony horse.
Instead, stop your pony horse, and take a half-wrap on the saddle horn, holding both ends of the rope in your right hand, down against your leg. Then cue your pony horse forward, and let his body weight pull your ponied horse forward. It's pretty easy for the ponied horse to pull against you, but he won't pull long against the pony horse's weight.
Caveat: To successfully pony a horse, you'll need to have the skill and concentration to deal with two horses at once, such as asking your pony horse to slow down while asking your ponied horse to come forward. Not all riders are ready for this kind of challenge. You might forget to stop your pony horse. Or, you might get pulled off your pony horse by a spooky ponied horse. If you plan to pony a young or unseasoned horse, first practice these initial steps with calm, easygoing horses.
Keep the ponied horse close in at your pony horse's hip so the horses can't step in different directions around a small tree or other obstacle.
Practice walking while maintaining these lead rope and rein holds. First, walk straight ahead, then gradually add turns to the right. Turn only to the right until you're comfortable handling the rope and you can trust your ponied horse to follow. When you turn to the right, you turn toward your ponied horse, enabling the rope to stay in position easily.
Turns to the left are tricky if the ponied horse isn't keeping up. Before you turn to the left, make sure your ponied horse is in the correct position; if he falls behind, the lead rope can droop (Photo 1B), touch your pony horse's tail, and even slide up under it, causing your pony horse undue stress and a possibly creating a spook.
If the lead rope droops, turn your pony horse back to the right to prevent the rope from wrapping around you; drop the rope, if necessary.
Step #3. Correct Poor Position
If your pony horse falls behind (Photo 1B), simply gather your fingers along the doubled rope to shorten the line, and pull him forward with a bumping action. Your ponied horse should respect this correction, because he knows how to lead on the ground,
Note: Don't allow your ponied horse to move forward so much that he's in front of your knee (Photo 3). You won't have enough leverage to control him, and he can start to lead "the herd" instead of naturally following your pony horse.
If your ponied horse moves too fast and is too forward, pick up your rope-holding hand and jerk it back, pointing the rope in the direction you'd like your ponied horse to be. A quick bump from the rope halter's knot will correct your ponied horse just as it does during ground-work sessions.
The best pony horses are often good teachers. Goodnight's pony horse, Dually, knows right where her ponied horse should be. Dually will turn his head and threaten the ponied horse with his teeth if he moves up too far.
Step #4. Move Out
When your ponied horse learns to follow along in formation, moving with your pony horse without needing constant corrections, begin asking both horses for gait changes. Put your horses to work as they transition from walk (Photo 4A) to trot (Photo 4B).
Each time you cue your pony horse, use your verbal cue or a bump of the rope to spur on your ponied horse. Soon, your ponied horse will keep pace, move in step, and easily stay in position.
