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By: no name
on September 11, 2009
in Polo Questions
Rating: 0
so i started playing polo back in may the problem is the only horse i have that is trained in polo and doesnt spook while playing is my 17 hand thoroughbred. i train with Erica Gandomcar ( 5th ranked polo player in the world) and she says he would be an amazing polo pony if he was shorter now i play pretty well on him but theres been a lot of pressure to just keep himas a jumper and use one of the polo ponies at my barn im really not sure what to do
Follow your heart. If you can play polo on him and you enjoy working with him... do that. I ride a 17 hand horse too and if you can work from that vantage point, do it! It sure gives you a perspective advantage!!!!
Depends on how serious you are at polo... and jumping. If you want to take jumping with your TB seriously, you can't really risk his health playing polo... I understand it can be quite dangerous. Also, the way the horses are ridden for polo is not the same as a jumper should be ridden, and it could adversely affect his muscle build up... if you just want to jump a bit here and there, no problem. But if you take it really seriously, you can't really take those risks.
The same thing with the polo... if you really want to take it seriously, you should probably ride trained polo ponies.... they are built and trained for it. Also, don't you need more than one horse for a game of polo? But again, if you just want to play a bit of polo once in a while for a bit of fun, no reason not to use your TB...
There's a saying in polo that the best polo pony is a 17 hand horse that thinks he's a 14 hand horse. If he turns nicely, a 17 hand horse is definitely an advantage! Change your playing strategy. Play his height to your advantage. Position yourself to bump EVERY defensive play because you know you'll always win the bump. If you have other players on your team with faster, handier horses, you can play the back position and dominate the ball.
Any other questions or comments please feel free to ask :) I hope this helped.
Lorena
