A WWYD - Offered a pony as a gift

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HaffiesRock

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I've just moved to a new yard. YO is lovely but is well and truly over horsed!

She has 6 but wants to downsize to 3. She has 2 little Sec A's who she used to show but hasnt for a couple of years as she has no transport.

Anyway, she has offered me one of the little Sec A's as a gift. Comes with tack and rugs. He is 9, was backed 2 years ago but nothing has been done with him since. He is a sweet little thing and i'm thinking some inhand showing then get him rebacked for my niece.

Am I mad? Yard is cheap and pony is a good doer so additional costs wont be too much. How much extra work will a second pony add?

I reckon my friend would be interested too for her little boy who is pony mad, so could share the work and cost.

What do you think? x
 
HaffiesRock said:
I've just moved to a new yard. YO is lovely but is well and truly over horsed!

She has 6 but wants to downsize to 3. She has 2 little Sec A's who she used to show but hasnt for a couple of years as she has no transport.

Anyway, she has offered me one of the little Sec A's as a gift. Comes with tack and rugs. He is 9, was backed 2 years ago but nothing has been done with him since. He is a sweet little thing and i'm thinking some inhand showing then get him rebacked for my niece.

Am I mad? Yard is cheap and pony is a good doer so additional costs wont be too much. How much extra work will a second pony add?

I reckon my friend would be interested too for her little boy who is pony mad, so could share the work and cost.

What do you think? x
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Hmmm- I wouldn't for a couple of reasons. Might be cheap on this yard, but what if it doesn't work out (you've not been there long) and you have to move? What if, given that you maybe don't know the yo too well, she gives you the pony, you pay for its upkeep but she interferes and still wants a say in how its cared for etc? Sorry to be the bearer of misery, but I'd personally avoid it :o
 
Thanks horseatemymoney, everyone's opinion appreciated.

To be fair he's just stuck in a field so I doubt she'd care what I did with him :)

Ill have a proper rational think tomorrow while i'm stuck at work xx
 
HaffiesRock said:
Thanks horseatemymoney, everyone's opinion appreciated.

To be fair he's just stuck in a field so I doubt she'd care what I did with him :)

Ill have a proper rational think tomorrow while i'm stuck at work xx
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You could offer to trial for a month or two- to see how the yard pans out, and what she is like to deal with- I assume she'd give you a small livery discount for taking one of her ponies off her hands? ;)
 
If you do decide to go ahead, ,my advice would be to pay a pound for the pony that way in 2 years time when youve put all the work into making this a good childs pony she doesnt want it back and sell it for 1000's good childs first ponies are worth a fortune.
Get her to write a proper receipt for the pound you pay. Ive seen a few people have there fingers burnt with gift horses/ponies.
 
I'd also think very carefully.

You have a nice simple relationship with this yard currently. the last yard got very complicated for you I think, best to keep this one straightforward maybe?

When I went from one to two I was not surprised by the extra costs but they were very noticeable, things that are one offs like changing over the passport and freezemark registration plus insurance and injections plus you'll have two lots of feet trimming etc it all mounts up to a significant amount when you think about it
 
zoelouisem said:
If you do decide to go ahead, ,my advice would be to pay a pound for the pony that way in 2 years time when youve put all the work into making this a good childs pony she doesnt want it back and sell it for 1000's good childs first ponies are worth a fortune.
Get her to write a proper receipt for the pound you pay. Ive seen a few people have there fingers burnt with gift horses/ponies.
Click to expand...

Yep def pay a pound and get a proper receipt. It will protect YO and you by making it clear that ownership has passed over.

Personally I wouldnt take on more than one horse unless I owned the land. (I did have two in livery but that was cos one was youngster being broken in prior to moving up to property with land we already owned.
 
Dont worry, i'd definitely pay the pound and make it a legal transaction.

Maybe I should just leave it be for now. She's in no rush to have rid of him so can always think about it properly. Dont want to be lumbered with a pony I cant do anything with. xx
 
As others have said, get a receipt - and also perhaps say to YO can you give it a month or so before confirming as obviously the pony is not going anywhere in a hurry....

I do urge caution tho, make sure you know pony 1st, check it out - a freebee can sometimes come with problems that an owner may have forgotten.
Things like summer lammi, sweet-itch, may be a pesky pony for escaping, might have stable vices, or any other 'issues'.
Who did the backing, were there issues there, hence WHY it hasn't done more?

Good luck in whatever you decide :)
 
No I wouldn't. If she doesn't want it she should look at selling / loaning not trying to palm off on the first person that comes along.
 
Section a's that aren't already ridden by kids cost peanuts, its the whole difference between a basically worthless too small for a jockey to bring on pony, & a good kids pony. So by the time you've invested the time & money to make it suitable for your niece you might as well buy a proven kids pony. Of course if niece already rides well & its not a first pony you are after, & niece will be doing the schooling then the included tack makes it an ok deal.
 
Could be a good deal.

Could be a nightmare.

Id be cautious with an inexperianced pony and young riders.
Will pony make a good first ridden?

Will owner butt in and try and control things and what if you want to move yards?

Ask lots of questions
Get a reciept saying what is now yours if you do go ahead.
Change passsport details and keep it in your pocession
 
I have the impression that you are quite young. Having 2 ponies to support may make your life more complicated when you want to support your own acccommodation . It is a struggle for young people these days- so only if you really want the pony and would be prepared to sell if life gets in the way.
 
Do you WANT a second pony?
Can you afford a second pony if you end up at a different livery yard? What happens if you can't and you need to move?

If it was me, I probably would as I've debated getting a small pony for nieces and I prefer a project to an already produced pony. I would think it over very carefully though and not just jump in.

Good luck if you do go for it.
 
If you can I would hold off for a while, see if there is a sweet itch problem or lami in the summer. Even then I would get it Vetted being a born sceptic. Do you NEED another pony, not just fancy but need.?There are always going to be costs some large & unforeseen plus YO will be getting another livery fee out of it which for her equals a win win situation..
 
A bargain is only a bargain if you want it, do you really want it?

Sec A's are 10 a penny at the moment, specially those that are similar to this one being offered. Unless you are a small lightweight person or you know one that can ride, bring on & sort out the pony then don't go there as there are loads of ponies like this around in similar circumstances & their lot is not going to improve. Children, who will be their riders, don't have the ability to sort out, school & bring on this size of pony. You could be getting a problem that you won't be able to fix.
 
What are her reasons for downsizing? If it is simply that she doesn't have time for them all and thinks they are wasted could you perhaps offer to just pay some attention to the pony and do some inhand with him and get him out and about but without taking on the costs (am thinking more vet fees than livery which is a bargain). It also depends on your circumstances and whether it is the doing something with the pony you are interested in and if you have the time.

There is a lady at our yard whose teenage daughter has a horse but mum loves the horse care side. Our YM has her grown up son's retired jumping pony who wasn't getting a lot of attention apart from sporadic use as a lead rein pony this lady took her on and treats her like a little pet. It's lovely lady gets loads of joy from it and the pony gets lots of love :)
 
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