childrens ponies

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ellis9905

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so we've had my daughters welsh sec a for 2 yrs, hes been a superstar- after my dughter had been overhorsed and had lost her confidence, we bought this pony.

he has many many excellent points, is 100% trustworthy and safe, he never does more than asked of him, id happily let a complete novice child ride him- infact hes a favourite with the kids that are normally terrified of riding-this is because his favourite pace is walk, a nice steady walk. he will trot but only when asked, and once the child stops asking he'll drop back to walk. My children (6yrs and 9yrs) can do him totally by themselves- from catching him and bringing in, to grooming and tacking up.
out hacking he'll pass anything and happily give the lead, open spaces= he has no interest in bombing off.


all of this has made me love the little chap- as hes protected my daughter and allowed her to grow her confidence and ability whilst being safe...

now the issue is, my daughter wants to go faster and jump etc but her pony just doesnt seem to have it in him.... he will canter but really doesnt seem to enjoy the faster work :(

do you think i should just accept he is brilliant at the job he was bought for and does so well or should we expect him to step up to the plate now my daughter wants/is capable of more??

i hate the thought of her moving off him :(

when did you know it was time for a new pony? im not sure what i will do with a 11hh pony if my daughter moves on, i dont think i could face parting with him- let alone my daughter

:(
 
If you can afford to keep two keep buy your daughter a second pony and keep him for your 6yo and so your daughter can have her friends round and they can ride together. :)
He's done his job for your older daughter and now it's time for her to get something a little more advanced. You can still find a safe pony which will do a little jumping course etc.
 
Unfortunately 6yr old son has zero interest- no matter how I try to convince him he could b a cowboy/ Indian/ soldier etc :(
 
We have kept our Sec A mare but I have a little boy who is nearly 2 and he will move onto her at some point, but she would have been staying with us no matter what.
You could keep & attempt to find a loaner?
 
a loaner or sharer will have to be a route i look into at some point,

id be interested to hear any views on wether people think i should accept hes good at the job he does and leave it at that, or wether he could be schooled on so that he can do faster work /jump etc??


can all horses do all jobs ( within reason) ??


i want to keep his safety /manners etc just with an extra couple of gears!
 
I think he is what he is, a cracking first pony, & he sounds genuine enough that if he had it in him to move on a bit, he would have already done so as your daughters confidence grew.
My daughter never owned a first pony. She rode/looked after an old steady shettie till 2&1/2, then later had a cracking fr on loan till she was 6. But she always rode a range of ponies, including mine & got a taste for forwards early on. Probably because mine (14.2) & a friends show pony (safe on lr) were forwards but safe, rather than lively & too much. Fr pony was a cracker but 'boring' in that she was too easy by 6. My daughter wanted to have the unbacked pony I'd bought as a yearling, & at the time I thought it was the wrong decision & she'd change her mind. Pony was rising 4, daughter just 6, & even when the pony reaches 30 she will never be a fr or even one I'd call a good lr pony. She's a second pony through & through. But 2yrs on I admit my daughter was right, they're made for each other.
If you can't afford 2, could you either find a loaner for yours at your yard? Or as small jockeys for livelier ponies are in short supply find her some rides on small second ponies? There's loads of second pony types people struggle to find jockeys for, or even lr ponies who need older riders to do faster stuff with. Or, even situations like we'll have in a few years, an outgrown 11.1 second pony we won't part with & no jockey.
 
Would a change in feed give the pony a bit more energy for faster work? I made the mistake of getting a whizzier 2nd pony for my 9 yr old after she found her 23 yr old plod didn't want to go faster, was difficult to get into canter and didn't jump much higher than 18inches. Unfortunately although new pony was very sweet to hack and on ground, in the school and near jumps she was too much for my daughter and started bucking in protest at doing slower work! So she went back, I clipped out oldie, put him on higher energy food, give him a good joint supplement, and they are now flying! Sadly I don't think he will ever jump more than 2ft on a good day but until daughter really is 100% condfident in all situations and the pony really does show reluctance I am sticking with the plod for her.

If you can afford to, why don't keep other pony and get a sharer, and try to loan out a 2nd pony to see how she gets on?
 
If you press on with a pony who doesn't like the job you could end up with your daughters confidence going the other way if the pony gets sour. Genuine first ponies are hard to come by, you could sell or loan the existing pony very easily. I wouldn't be tempted to look for a 'second' pony though I would look fir another first pony who can do the faster stuff
 
If you can afford it, I would keep the pony and get the next step up.

That way, if your daughter struggles with the next step, she can always pop back on the other pony and regain her confidence again

Plus once shes moved onto the next pony, and starts doing more, parting with her first pony might just be a bit easier to do.( for you both:))

Kids and ponies, its never an easy decision, good luck
 
Where are you op? We have a 12.2 Welshie who is stunning looking, very affectionate and gentle (and changes pace to voice commands) but has far more potential than my daughter needs. She's happy to hack steadily and has no desire to do much more at the moment. He never gets to jump or canter off the lunge, for instance. We would never want to sell him but would happily loan him to a home with a keen youngster who could get the best out of him (and if we temporarily swapped for something steadier so much the better)...just a thought
 
Sounds like you have a cracking pony there and think you should keep for a while longer. You will find it hard to find another good one unless you really step up a few levels. Agree with what other person said re feeding up a bit :)
 
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