Pony Magazine – May 2026

Summary

PONY Magazine May 2026 (Issue 943, £4.49, 29 April to 26 May) fronts a riding-hat giveaway and asks why you should try clicker training, alongside 5 steps to a healthy pony, carriage driving and jumping tips. Assistant Ed Sarah tries clicker training with her horse Prince on page 42.

Alex Bragg, the CCI5* international event rider from Somerset who finished third at Badminton 2024 on Quindiva, writes the cross-country confidence guide. He explains that stress hormones interfere with the brain's decisions, and that fitness comes from small slopes raising the heart rate rather than going faster.

The sleep feature is the science highlight: ponies are polyphasic sleepers getting 2 to 4 hours a day, mostly at night, and entering deep REM needs lying down for at least 30 minutes. Young riders also get spooking solutions, a track system explainer, fibre advice and posters at p33, with UVEX hats and gloves to win at p29.

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Content Guide

▸ Training

p.42 · Click Bait — Have a go at clicker training
Sarah, the assistant editor, tries clicker training with her horse Prince, the cover's promise about why you should try it. Clicker work marks the exact moment a horse does right rather than the moment after. Charge a clicker and treat pouch, then mark one behaviour you already like.

p.8 · Confident and Cool
Alex Bragg, a five-star event rider from Somerset, gives his cross-country confidence guide, noting stress hormones interfere with the brain's decision-making. He builds fitness with small slopes that raise the heart rate instead of going faster, lowering injury risk, and suggests taking the middle of a spread because the wings guide a pony. Walk your course and pick the middle of one fence before you ride it.

p.20 · Polework Practise
The polework page sets a challenge for readers to complete, part of the Be a Better Rider section. Challenges give a rider something to finish rather than read. Time yourself over the poles and try to beat the number next week.

p.24 · Joyful Jumping — Polly preps you for success
Polly the PONY pony prepares readers for jumping success. Having a pony work through the same problems as the reader makes the advice stick. Set up one small fence and let your pony walk it first.

p.16 · Solve Spooking
The spooking page helps riders whose pony spooks, listed in the Be a Better Rider section. Spooking is a pony reading the world faster than you are. Give your pony a moment to look rather than forcing it past.

▸ Care and Understanding

p.6 · Ponies Loves… Sleeping
The reading section opens on how ponies sleep: they are polyphasic sleepers getting 2 to 4 hours a day, mostly at night, and lock their legs through the stay apparatus when standing. Deep REM sleep needs them lying down for at least 30 minutes, and a herd rarely all lie down together because one stays alert. Check your pony has somewhere dry it will actually lie down.

p.50 · On the Right Track
The track system gets its own explainer in the Pony Care Explained section. Tracks manage weight while keeping ponies moving. Walk your field boundary before deciding where a track could run.

p.54 · High Five for Fibre
Everything you need to know about fibre runs here. The issue also notes a pony's oesophagus is a one-way system, so a pony cannot burp or vomit. Weigh your pony's forage rather than guessing with a scoop.

p.42 · Fly By
Fighting the battle against bugs gets practical advice. Flies spread infection as well as annoyance. Put a fly mask on before turnout rather than after the first bite.

▸ Reading and Regulars

p.30 · Driven Adrenaline — All about carriage driving
Carriage driving gets the full treatment, with the editor putting it on her 2026 must-try list. Driving opens the sport to riders who cannot ride for a while. Book one driving lesson through a local club.

ASK THE TEAM: If Our Ponies Were Humans
Polly would be a chief explorer, Sarah's Prince would be an artist who loves being messy, and Alex's Halo would be a detective who can sniff out treats anywhere. The team's answers tell you more about the ponies than a profile would. Ask what your own pony would be if it were a person.

Dream Day With Ponies
Sarah wants a beach ride then fish and chips, Lucy wants a cross-country lesson with her friends, and Emily wants a long hack in summer sunshine. Dream days show what riders actually want from a pony. Plan one of the three for your own summer.

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Editor's Take

The sleep feature is the strongest page in PONY Magazine May 2026, because 2 to 4 hours a day, the stay apparatus and the 30 minutes of lying down for REM turn a cute subject into real biology. Alex Bragg's confidence guide is the best training piece, with the stress-hormone point and the small-slopes fitness advice giving riders something to change, and his Badminton third on Quindiva is a credential young readers understand. Weakest is the middle of the magazine, where posters and giveaways fill the pages between training and care, and the spooking and jumping pages are shorter than the cover promises. The clicker training page benefits from Sarah and Prince trying it rather than explaining it. Buy this for a young rider curious about clicker training or carriage driving.

Strengths
• Sleep feature gives 2-4 hours and 30 minutes REM
• Bragg's advice uses hormones, slopes and fence choice
• Clicker page shows Sarah and Prince trying it
• Track system and fibre pages are practical

Weaknesses
• Posters and giveaways pad the middle pages
• Spooking and jumping pages run short

Verdict: Recommended — the sleep science and Bragg's guide carry the issue.