Children's ponies to rent?

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humph

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I remember reading years ago in h&H about a woman who had various ponies that she rented out to families on a loan scheme. Now that we have a 3yr old who would love to have her first pony, and an 18 month old who will surely follow in her footsteps, I thought this might be worth investigating.

Can anyone else remember the article? or, more importantly, does anyone know who does this funny sort of rent-a-pony scheme? We don't really want a normal loan because the idea of this woman having such a large amount of ponies to choose from, all of whom are experienced and proper schoolmaster/mistresses, is what really appeals.

Look forward to hearing any responses!
 
When my pony was on loan to a riding school, the school had an adopt-a-pony scheme for its young riders. They had to be members of the Pony Club and have one lesson a week and then they adopted one of the school ponies. They could come up after school and groom it and muck out and clean tack and ride under supervision. They weren't allowed to hack by themselves but they could go out with riding school hacks without paying extra. The ponies were still on the school so the riding school sorted out shoes, vet's bills and so on and if the pony went lame the child swapped to a different one. Also if the child went on holiday or something there was no responsibility as the pony was still cared for and in work.
The benefit for the ponies was lots of one on one time with a child to come down and love them and groom them and things - I really liked that my pony had her adopters when I couldn't be there. Also from the parents' point of view the children were supervised and learning skills within pony club and practising outside pony club after school so when they did get a pony they were ready for it. Also of course the ponies were great (obviously I'm biased!) Maybe it would be worth seeing if a riding school near you does something like that?
 
I remember the article but it was a lease scheme for fairly high value ponies and I dont think she had loads available as she was very selective when purchasing them.
if I can remember her name I will add it later,I was interested as it was something I considered doing myself,at the time I had several nice ponies and the scheme could be financially good,but was too high risk for me.
Consider the charities they often have small ponies available,or a riding school as already suggested.
If you look around there are plenty advertised.
 
Sadly the riding school adopt-a-pony schemes wouldn't work for us as I would like to have a horse again and so it would suit to have the pony at home as a companion for my horse too. I've had a look at the rescue centres but they all seem to have issues, normally that they are sharp or green. I'm all for a sharp/green horse for me but not for a new to riding 3 yr old!

Like the riding school adoptapony schemes, the idea of this renting/leasing a pony that I liked so much was that you hopefully get a brilliant schoolmaster.

I'd love to know the name of the person that did it if you can remember!

Thanks so much
 
Its Fiona crutchley that rents the ponies out. We have had one or two redundant ones for our riding school and they were fabulous.
 
Don't write off a charity pony, some will have issues, but the ones that have come into the charities care for other reasons, or have all ready been out on loan as a children's pony and are coming back simply as they have been outgrown, may be very suitable for you. I've got one from a local sanctuary that is now retired but has been a fantastic pony for kids in his younger days and we've had several more from the same place through the yard over the years including one now that's doing a good job as a first ridden.
 
There is a pony club riding centre at Putley Nr Ledbury run by a lady called Sharon Pudge

They do an adopt a pony type thing on the yard, and she did lend a few horses out to Hartpury college. Might be worth going down there one evening and speaking to her.

http://www.pcuk.org/index.php/centres/centre_list/9

Either way, they are very capable horse people and her daughters are/were very competitive showjumpers - was doing all the BSJA stuff a couple of years ago when I last saw her.
 
I agree with be positive - from what I remember, the ponies were all high value competition schoolmaster types, and she charged quite a lot per week to lease them.

I thought it was a fabulous idea, but more for rich non-horsey parents who had the cash but no idea. She provided lots of support and back up, and would come round and sort out any problems as part of the deal, and when the child outgrew the pony they moved onto the next one.

So you would be paying a lot for this service, and if you are fairly knowledgeable, would you need to pay for that?

I would also suggest putting an advert on the PC website, offering to lease rather than loan a decent pony and ask for DC and Chief Instructor references. Everyone wants something for nothing, and if you offer to pay, I bet several ponies that wouldn't normally be available will be offered to you.

Or put an ad in Horse and Hound - sometimes families have older ponies dotted around the yard long after their children have left the pony club and they no longer go on the pc website.

When daughter outgrew her last pony, I had people asking if they could loan him and I said no. Not once did anyone have the gumption to offer to lease him - I would have jumped at the chance as I didn't want to sell him on (he was getting older) but he still had a lot to offer!
 
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There is a lady on my yard that has this arrangement. I can find out who she got the pony off for you. She has a nice Welsh Sec D pony, safe and competitive, they pay £250 per month and that covers the pony's insurance. You then have to pay for everything else as if it was your own pony. Apparently the lady has about 40+ ponies/horses and has a very good reputation. Not sure if is Fiona as mentioned before, but I was very impressed with the high standard of pony for what seemed like quite a low price.
 
competitiondiva said:
!!!!!!!!!! £250 per month plus normal keep charges for a section D!!????!?!?!?!?! Is it a county champion/HOY finalist???
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Lol, I see where you are coming from but it is a lease, so they can have for 4 months or 4 years, the people were stung with a purchase of a pony, lost loads of money and nerve. This mare is the sweetest and most bomb proof horse I have ever come across so is perfect for the nervous mother, but she is also very talented competition wise for the daughter. IMO worth it's weight in gold and also they don't have to go through the rigmarole of selling it in a year when she grows out of it. Alternatively, if the mare wasn't any good they can send back and get another, same as if it goes lame etc. They lost last winter with their old pony as he pulled a muscle on his first hunt of the season, this meant box rest and no riding until spring. If this happened with the lease pony It would be sent back and replaced with another so that they could get out and ride.
 
Agree with Llewellyn that it is worth investigating a lease from a private owner and contacting your local Pony Clubs would be the best way to locate a super little schoolmaster. People tend to assume that leasing is just for top competition animals but we actually leased out our schoolmaster pony for a while and I know of other Pony Club ponies who have been leased.
 
lochpearl said:
Lol, I see where you are coming from but it is a lease, so they can have for 4 months or 4 years, the people were stung with a purchase of a pony, lost loads of money and nerve. This mare is the sweetest and most bomb proof horse I have ever come across so is perfect for the nervous mother, but she is also very talented competition wise for the daughter. IMO worth it's weight in gold and also they don't have to go through the rigmarole of selling it in a year when she grows out of it. Alternatively, if the mare wasn't any good they can send back and get another, same as if it goes lame etc. They lost last winter with their old pony as he pulled a muscle on his first hunt of the season, this meant box rest and no riding until spring. If this happened with the lease pony It would be sent back and replaced with another so that they could get out and ride.
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That has got to work out to about £5k PA before you take it out to the shows if it being kept on livery as well (bloody-hell lol !!!!)

You could buy a lot of bomb proof pony for that sort of money if you are keeping it for 3 or so years.
 
theres a yard close to me where one lady owns all the ponies/horses and loans them to children/teenagers... they pay a certain amount to her and she still feeds and keeps involved! they can either have them a couple of days or full time :) its a good idea i think to get children involved who otherwise couldnt afford their own ponies!!
 
Ashf said:
That has got to work out to about £5k PA before you take it out to the shows if it being kept on livery as well (bloody-hell lol !!!!)

You could buy a lot of bomb proof pony for that sort of money if you are keeping it for 3 or so years.
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I agree but the OP isn't looking to buy a pony they were looking to lease. Surely if the OP has the funds to do this then it is up to them? And as I said about the people on my yard, they did spend a lot of money on a bombproof, schoolmaster, winning at HOYS for years on end etc. The pony turned out to be a nutter and not only did they loose all their money on selling it, they had to go through the stress of getting scared of it, having to send it away to be sold etc and it was a horrible experience for them. This way, although it will cost them if it all goes wrong, they can send it back!
 
lochpearl said:
I agree but the OP isn't looking to buy a pony they were looking to lease. Surely if the OP has the funds to do this then it is up to them? And as I said about the people on my yard, they did spend a lot of money on a bombproof, schoolmaster, winning at HOYS for years on end etc. The pony turned out to be a nutter and not only did they loose all their money on selling it, they had to go through the stress of getting scared of it, having to send it away to be sold etc and it was a horrible experience for them. This way, although it will cost them if it all goes wrong, they can send it back!
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So the horse can be passed from pillar to post? Up to every 4 months or so?
How lovely and what a settling affect that must have on it :rolleyes: And if you think £250 per month (working out at £3,000 per year , assuming they keep it that long) ON TOP OF livery bills , feed, hay, shoes etc is reasonable then you have more money than sense!

OP-I remember the article as well , and begging my mum for one of the ponies :D I don't think loaning from a charity would be suitable as when pony is outgrown you can't switch it out for another one , it would have to go back to the charity? You could try searching preloved , freeads , horsetoloan, equine adverts for ponys to loan , although private loans can be fraught with difficulties so PC , local riding schools etc are probs your best bet :)

Good luck , let us know if you find anything!
 
lochpearl said:
I agree but the OP isn't looking to buy a pony they were looking to lease. Surely if the OP has the funds to do this then it is up to them? And as I said about the people on my yard, they did spend a lot of money on a bombproof, schoolmaster, winning at HOYS for years on end etc. The pony turned out to be a nutter and not only did they loose all their money on selling it, they had to go through the stress of getting scared of it, having to send it away to be sold etc and it was a horrible experience for them. This way, although it will cost them if it all goes wrong, they can send it back!
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Take a horse out of its herd and bounce it around a few different yards and you are going to have a basket case on your hands before long.
It takes IMO at least 6 months for a horse to settle on a new yard, and you certainly won't see the best of it before having it for at least a year. If they are out of their comfort zone, then all horses from my experience/ownership/loaning can be fairly unpredictable.
The bombproof bit comes from trust and that is a 2 way street.
 
Beyond_Birthday said:
So the horse can be passed from pillar to post? Up to every 4 months or so?
How lovely and what a settling affect that must have on it :rolleyes: And if you think £250 per month (working out at £3,000 per year , assuming they keep it that long) ON TOP OF livery bills , feed, hay, shoes etc is reasonable then you have more money than sense!
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No one is saying that the pony WILL go back after 4 months, but that the person renting has the peace of mind that, should anything go wrong, it COULD go back. A sane pony from a responsible yard should stay in a home for a much longer period. It's not much different from LWVTB and far too many people buy the wrong horse, or buy a horse without fully understanding what they're getting into and sell it on sooner than that OR chuck it in a field and do nothing with it for ages, if not neglect it. There are FAR worse scenarios IMO and a respnsible leasing yard will vet the people who take their ponies before handing them over.
 
Fiona Crutchley rents out pony. I have rented a pony from her recently. He was A1 and well worth the money. He was exactly as she described him and I had no reservations about the service which she offered us.

She is based close to Newbury and her mobile number is 07774 764434.

Good luck.
 
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I part-board a couple of my ponies, that is, people pay a set amount per month and in return they have use of a pony for 3 days (only a couple of hours at a time) a week. Is that renting? I make no money out of it, that is not the purpose, but the ponies help pay for a little bit of their keep.

I do, however, have quite a few rules in place, my ponies are rescues and often elderly, and to begin with I do supervise, and show, often completely novicey families, just what to do and how to do things.

The amount they pay is less per month than 2 hours lessons at riding school. I think part-board, renting, whatever you like to call it is an excellent idea. Children get a taste of having their own pony without the expense, and ponies that have a lot to offer to small children have an easy job and something to do.
 
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