Calling all connemara people!

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CBAnglo

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Well, I have finally joined the club and have bought a 4yo 14.2hh (well the back end fits a 14.2hh pony the front end needs to catch up) grey (!) gelding ... he arrives on Tuesday from Ireland.

So of course this means shopping! I could wait until he arrives and measure him etc which is the sensible thing to do, but I find myself reverting back to being a 7 yr old girl and I want to buy things now!

He is still growing of course, and needs lots of filling out as he was backed and broken last yr, and done little bits this year but not a huge amount. He is an old/traditional type not one of the newer sporty versions so, if anyone has a similar pony, could they please tell me what size rugs/bridle/saddle they are currently in? Makes would also be helpful as I know sizes differ greatly between makes!

I was hoping he would be a 6'0" in rugs as I have tonnes of 6'0" rugs but looks like he is a 5'6" mackey rug (?). Current saddle is an odd size - a "large" 17"? I only need him to be able to fit a standard 17" so hopefully that will fit. No idea on sizes of girth, bits, bridles etc as havent had a pony is years!

Thanks everyone!
 
How exciting, i love connies :-)

How did you find him? Did you have a trip over to Ireland horsehunting? I've always wanted to do that but fear that i'd come but with dozens.

Can't really help re sizes, our connie mare is almost 15hh & wears a 6ft rug & cob size bridle, she's in a big girth at the moment as rather tubby, but we are working on that :-)

Lots of pictures please when he arrives.

Good luck.
 
My 14.2 connie has a horses body on pony legs :rolleyes: so sizing might be a bit more normal for yours. He has pony sized boots or he cant bend his legs (:rolleyes:) takes a 6' or 6'3 rug, takes a 17'' saddle, the girth is 44'' but was bigger when he arrived as he was sooo fat, bridle is cob sized but any extra browbands are full sized and his bit is about 5'' or 5.25''


Hope that helps, enjoy your new one and make sure you post some pics of him when he arrives. :D
 
Congratulations on your new pony! My Connemara is in either 5'9 or 6ft rugs, 17" Ideal saddle (though saddler tried a few before we were happy).

He's 8 now and has changed shape a fair bit since I got him (as a 5 year old) so regular saddle checks are a must.

Hope this helps and good luck with your boy.
 
PS just remembered my boy was newly imported from Ireland when we got him and wasn't used to rugs. Had to really take my time with him initially - but didn't take him long to get used to it!
 
HazyXmas said:
How exciting, i love connies :-)

How did you find him? Did you have a trip over to Ireland horsehunting? I've always wanted to do that but fear that i'd come but with dozens.

Can't really help re sizes, our connie mare is almost 15hh & wears a 6ft rug & cob size bridle, she's in a big girth at the moment as rather tubby, but we are working on that :-)

Lots of pictures please when he arrives.

Good luck.
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Thank you! I am slightly concerned that he is small and grey as I have only had bay TBs for years. Mostly I am concerned about the cleaning as he is my first grey!

I got him through an agent as I didnt have time to look - she scouted round the breeders and producers and gave me a list of ponies that suited my requirements (I wanted one of the old/trad type not a sports pony type) and then she went to see the ones I short listed and took about 50 pictures and loads of videos doing everything, tied up on yard, picking out feet, in stable, taking up, mounting, lunging, schooling, jumping, on roads etc etc. Since I was buying something that had just been backed and broken, I wasnt so bothered about going and trying him out but if I wanted to, she would have arranged for me to see and try them over a weekend.

She was also there for the vetting and xrays, arranged it all and the transporters etc. I didnt have to do anything. It took about 2 weeks for her to make the list and to get the pony vetted.

She knows lots of producers and breeders so she can tell me instantly what they will have and give me examples of breed lines and what the ponies were like. She buys lots of different horses though, depending on what people want, from ploddy cobs to hunters to jumpers to semi-feral youngsters.

With the exchange rate and the fact that horses are cheaper in Ireland (but not as cheap as they one were) with transport costs, 5 stage vetting, xrays of hocks and stifles on both sides (I wanted these the vet saw nothing wrong with the horse), agents fees etc the price I paid for him was the same as what I would have paid for the horse here, and I would have had to spend weeks looking for someone, finding a vet, attending vetting etc etc.

Connies are a dime a dozen in Ireland, so it made sense to go somewhere where there was infinite choice, rather than to spend time driving hundreds of miles around the country to find one here. The only problem was I wanted to buy about 3 and almost ended up with a 2nd but I saw sense and only bought him!
 
dafthoss said:
My 14.2 connie has a horses body on pony legs :rolleyes: so sizing might be a bit more normal for yours. He has pony sized boots or he cant bend his legs (:rolleyes:) takes a 6' or 6'3 rug, takes a 17'' saddle, the girth is 44'' but was bigger when he arrived as he was sooo fat, bridle is cob sized but any extra browbands are full sized and his bit is about 5'' or 5.25''


Hope that helps, enjoy your new one and make sure you post some pics of him when he arrives. :D
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Hope mine ends up the same size as yours - I have all of the above from another horse! Of course I will still find a way to spend obscene amounts of money even if the pony already has everything!
 
Broccoli said:
PS just remembered my boy was newly imported from Ireland when we got him and wasn't used to rugs. Had to really take my time with him initially - but didn't take him long to get used to it!
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He's grey - he's wearing a rug!

It has been absolutely tipping down in Ireland so he knows what a rug is thankfully but thank you for the advice. I am sure lots of the things I take for granted will be new experiences for him (I dont think he has ever worn boots or bandages - poor pony wont know what has hit him!)

I bought another 4 yr old from Ireland several yrs ago but he had been pretty much house trained (so knew about rugs and how to eat from a feed bowl!). He seems like a sensible chap so hopefully he will take new things in his stride.
 
CONGRATS!!!

Connies are fab :D I bought my little guy when he was rising 4, he came over from Ireland. I've had him 15 years as of the beginning of this month and he has been a fantastic horse for me, cant fault him at all :D

My boy is the proper old fashioned type (pics of him in all his chunky glory below!!), Dunlewey bred and he is officially 14.2, managed to get him measured down to 148cms for BSJA but only just :D lol He's probably closer to 14.3/15h in reality. He has a 17" albion saddle, 5.25" bit, cob bridle and 5'9 rug :)

He didnt finish growing upwards til about 6yrs old btw, he was just under 14hands when I got him.

Baby Charlie, just arrived from Ireland
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Competition Charlie:
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And retired Charlie:
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little_pink_monkey25 said:
my wee Connie is the old traditional type he's 3 14.1/14.2 and takes 5 ft 9 / 6 ft rugs
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Thank you - I am going to restrain myself from buying anything other than a lightweight until he gets here (3 days to go!) just so he can still go out (if) it rains. I think most people have said 5'9" so that means rug shopping!
 
Mine connie is the sporty type but he is 14.2hh and wears a 5'9 rug so u might be lucky with a 6ft. His saddle is 16.5 medium (rider is 13), bridle is
 
UnaB - your boy looks fab and it looks like you have had many happy years with him! I love his colour - I am partial to a bay! Unfortunately all of the 3 and 4 yr olds that were available and with the breed lines I wanted were a variation of grey.

New boy is steel grey with dapples but I think he will grey out as his face is quite white. Am shuddering thinking of all the white hair that is going to get everywhere. and all the grooming and bathing. sigh.
 
Jojo_Pea4 said:
Stupid phone- bridle is cob and boots are cob.

Our is from ireland knew what everything was.
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Thanks JP4 - I think he is going to be a cob sized bridle as well which is a shame as I have 3 full sized bridles not currently being used. Oh well, yet more shopping!
 
Mine is an over height jobby, 15hh so he takes a 6'3 rug as he is longish in the back, bridles are a nightmare, he has a cob/pony size head piece but needs a horse size browband, but then that is an excuse to by some bling for him. Mine is really a clean boy which is handy but I do full clip all winter which helps to avoid the mass of moulting white hair (it's not the only reason I clip BTW). I wouldn't worry too much about rugs just yet, mine is naked all the time to keep the fat off!
Oh and he is flying the flag for Connies on p.54 of this weeks Horse and Hound ;-)
 
CBAnglo said:
UnaB - your boy looks fab and it looks like you have had many happy years with him! I love his colour - I am partial to a bay! Unfortunately all of the 3 and 4 yr olds that were available and with the breed lines I wanted were a variation of grey.

New boy is steel grey with dapples but I think he will grey out as his face is quite white. Am shuddering thinking of all the white hair that is going to get everywhere. and all the grooming and bathing. sigh.
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Charlie's dad is grey but seems to produce almost entirely bays, i've only seen one or two greys from him :D I do love a dapple grey though, bet your boy is stunning, cant wait to see pics.

I've had about 5 greys and if you keep them rugged in winter its not TOO bad. The poo stains from the stable are the worst :D lol
 
Laafet said:
Mine is an over height jobby, 15hh so he takes a 6'3 rug as he is longish in the back, bridles are a nightmare, he has a cob/pony size head piece but needs a horse size browband, but then that is an excuse to by some bling for him. Mine is really a clean boy which is handy but I do full clip all winter which helps to avoid the mass of moulting white hair (it's not the only reason I clip BTW). I wouldn't worry too much about rugs just yet, mine is naked all the time to keep the fat off!
Oh and he is flying the flag for Connies on p.54 of this weeks Horse and Hound ;-)
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Ok I confess that we bought him a cob sized bling browband last weekend ... before he had even passed the vetting on Friday ... along with headcollar, leadrope, feed buckets etc etc but in my defence, these could have been used for any other pony or even one of my other horses.

Think I will probably end up with a jeffries bridle to match the event saddle I already have - I have a matching IR bridle but it is full sized so wont fit (was for a 15.2hh TB) so I shall buy another in pieces I think as that seems like the best solution, provided the event saddle fits.

The bling browband I bought is or his dressage bridle (which I dont yet have, nor a suitable dressage saddle).

The list is getting scarily long now!

Will run off to look at pg 54 when I log off!
 
UnaB - He will be rugged to the eyeballs and clipped. I cant stand poo stains on a grey, I am probably going to go into heart failure when I see what he ends up looking like after a night stabled in winter!

Broccoli - he is Earl of Castlefrench / Carna lines with Abbeyliex and Ashfield lines in back breeding. I have been told they usually have exceptional temperaments and are very talented? Not had much experience of them myself, the connie we had yrs ago was unregistered and he was golden dun (he was lovely - wish I still had him but sadly he was on loan and he had to go back once we outgrew him).
 
Thank you, I hope this one works out. I have had so many problems with my horses over the last 5 yrs, I just hope I can get a normal one and remember why keeping horses was fun.

He gets here on Tuesday and one of the others is up to Newmarket on the following Monday for scans to get to the bottom of his mystery lameness - the words kissing spines have been mentioned unfortunately.
 
I'm jealous too. Mines 14.2 but looks 15h. She's x tb but to look at the only difference is her legs are a bit longer than a pure bred & a finer coat & mane & tail. Also being 23 she was out of an old fashioned mare. She has 6'3 rugs, can wear either cob or full size head collars etc. I have her in a 16.5" old jefferies, but had 17.5" albions in the past. Boots cob or full. Bits 5& 1/2. Numnahs etc cob or full. Cob or full depends on make & what I have to hand really, I would guess a 14.2 purebred would be on the cob side. Girth usually 46", but depending which holes & time of year worn 44-48 before.
And no help on the keeping clean, mine was so dark she looked black at 2, so I gradually got accustomed as she faded over years. Now 23 & flea bitten so let me know if you ever want cleaning tips!
 
I fit lots of Connies and find almost all will take a 16.5" or a 17", the saddles I fit are relatively compact. They can be VERY flat but even those with a hint of wither or curve to their back may need flatter saddles than you think - if the width is right and there is any lift at the back in rising trot then the saddle is too curvy, very common. Most common is to fit an XW, then wides and XXW, of which I have a few on my books, the "no wither" versions :D. Even a very chunky overheight one I am currently waiting on an ordered saddle for can only take a 17" with a short panel.

Most would take cob size bridles, though not as wide as some other native breeds.
 
Can't wait to see pictures !

My boy is 6 years old, 14.2 hh and wears 6ft and sometimes 6ft3 rugs, he has a t4 thorrowgood 17" saddle in wide and a full size bridle as he has quite a big head.
Boots are cob/full and the purple shampoo is a must:p
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I know the nose band doesn't look right but he broke it that morning and we had to bodge it till it was mended !!
You might not want to see this picture ....
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How exciting! Make sure you get us pictures :D

My dun connie is 15hh - He has a full size bridle, noseband and browband on the cob size was too small and the full fits him really nicely.
Bootswise I think connie's can get away with either cob or full size.... depending on the make, he's either cob on the front & full on the hinds or full all around. His woof brushing boots are full all round, tendon/fetlock boots are full, over reach boots are medium, travel boots are full but he has worn cob ones before and they fitted fine.
His headcollar is full, our other horse is cob sized in everything and his headcollar won't even do up on my boy!
Bitwise he's 5 1/4" or 5 1/2" depending on the bit.
In rugs he's usually 6'3", though in Amigos 6'0" will fit him nicely.
Numnahs are a mixture of cob & full size , his saddle (i think) is a 17" wide? He's not tubby but has no withers and a very flat back!
 
BB - your boy is lovely he's the just the sort I was looking for, hope mine ends up looking like that in a few yrs. The second pic almost sent me into heart failure. Is there any way I can shrink wrap a pony? Have added purple shampoo to the list!

Starryeyed thank you for that useful info - I normally use bandages for schooling but I will be getting him some xc boots and boots for jumping so I will need to investigate sizes but I think I will try cob/medium and see how that goes. I cant see him being a pony sized anything!

I have pics on photobucket - I am not sure how to upload them though?

sbloom - thanks for advice, I am going to see what he is like when he gets here.

Littlelegs - thanks for the tips, seems like a huge variation in sizes. I have loads of 6'0" horseware rugs so hoping they will fit as I find they tend to be on the smaller side. I have full everything else, so perhaps I should wait and try all of that stuff on before buying cob sized stuff. But there are soooo many pretty things!
 
I event a 14.3 (just!) connemara, he has 5'9 rugs, 16" saddle. You may not have to despair on the bridle front, mine has a deceptively large head! He and my (admittedly small headed) 17hh TB have had to share in the past when I forgot the pony's.
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Willy is by a more traditional type stallion, he just happens to be quite sporty ;)
 
I too have an Irish Connemara, short coupled chunky Abbeyleix Fionn/Village Boy breeding. My now white pony is a total muck magnet/mud monster and despite being covered from head to foot for a show still manages to get poo down his eyeholes in his hood or up his bottom so best of luck with that one!
I'd be a bit concerned that if yours is 14.2hh now then he may go over height, many of the Irish ones do which is why they end up over here. My lad is easily full up but he's 12 now.
He takes a 6 - 6'3" rug, 17" Glen Native pony saddle, 44" girth and a mish mash of cob and full bridle parts as they tend to have broad foreheads and a 5.5" bit.
Whilst he jumps like a stag and will go anywhere he is wary of false going underfoot such as an arena surface and spends his working in time staring at the floor while trotting round, wondering if he is going to sink. (I think he may be a Bog Pony.......!) He's great fun though, I hope you enjoy yours as much.

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