ponying

{{Short description|Horse riding practice}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2021}}

File:Sampford Peverell, Whitnage Lane - geograph.org.uk - 148283.jpg

Ponying is the practice of leading one horse while riding another. Although the word "pony" is used, horses used for ponying are generally full-sized, rather than ponies.{{cite web|title=Pony Girl: Ponying Racehorses at the Track|url=http://www.equisearch.com/article/eqponygirl2035|website=Equisearch|access-date=23 January 2015|date=April 29, 2002}}

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,{{cite web|last1=Hill|first1=Cherry|title=Horse Exercise - Pony a Horse|url=http://www.horsekeeping.com/horse_training/ponying.htm|website=Horsekeeping.com|access-date=23 January 2015}} and multiple polo ponies are often exercised at the same time by a single rider.{{Cite web|url=https://sidelinesmagazine.com/sidelines-feature/the-art-of-being-a-polo-groom.html|title=The Art of Being a Polo Groom|date=July 17, 2015|first=Kerstie|last=Allen|website=Sidelines Magazine}} Horses can also be ponied with riders on both horses, a practice commonly seen at American racetracks, where the pony rider assists in controlling the race horse, usually a younger and more fractious horse.{{Cite web|url=https://thehorse.com/171166/the-track-pony-a-racehorses-best-friend/|title=The Track Pony: A Racehorse's Best Friend|date=May 2, 2019|website=The Horse|first=Tracy|last=Gantz}} Strings of packhorses are often ponied from a rider atop the first horse in the string.{{Cite web|url=https://westernhorseman.com/horsemanship/ponying-multiple-horses/|title=Ponying Multiple Horses|date=October 31, 2011|website=Western Horseman|first=Marty|last=Marten}}

The pony horse must have a calm and steady disposition. Geldings are often preferred mounts due to their more reliable disposition, particularly for ponying stallions.

Sometimes ponying is done from a western saddle 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.