Connemaras... experiences/opinions

I have a 14 year 14.1 traditional connie . She is super in every way , i would never have anything without a bit of connie in it. She hacks, bombproof. , easy to handle , jumps , drssage , hunts with no fuss. She from the Millfields blood line .
 
Connies are lovely, lovely ponies - though you do get the odd quirky one! They are incredibly intelligent which is great if they're working with you, but not so much if they don't want to do what you're asking - they can be incredibly stubborn (mine certainly was!). If he didn't want to go through a puddle on the way home you would be there for hours and hours trying to persuade him to go through it as the sky was slowly getting darker and darker, despite the fact that the puddle was always there and he'd already been through it on the way out. Perfectly capable of doing things well but only on his terms! He had an incredible jump on him, regularly jumped over the 5 bar gate from standstill when I went to catch him, however would refuse to step over a trotting pole at a clinic. Loved an audience and had a great (if sometimes infuriating) sense of humour - though he was commonly described by instructors as 'an unusual' type so I think I got a dodgy model!
He was however incredibly safe, and over the 7 years I owned him he never once did anything to frighten me - and this is something that I didn't fully appreciate until a couple of nutty horses / nasty incidents later. They are commonly described as confidence givers and he really was, he had his moments but never took his 'bad' behaviour too far and would never have dreamt of bucking or taking off. Connies tend to be really well mannered too - mine was certainly an angel on the ground, incredibly polite and very gentle. He was an overheight one too - registered as 14.2hh and successfully did a lot of county showing in his younger years, however was definitely 15.1hh when I had him! He was the perfect height really as he seemed to suit everybody - I got him as a teenager and would never have outgrown him, adults rode him and felt comfortable on him too. Plus they are always gorgeous!
 
I have a connie x tb. She's a wise old soul, even as a 4 year old. She's fearless and clever and very self assured (with bossy tendancies). She is also very opinionated- if something isn't right, there's no chance she'll just soldier on. I've had a lot of saddle issues consequently! Under saddle she's a real worker and a fab jumper. She is the type who would massively take the proverbial if was allowed to get away with things.
 
I have a connie cross tb, mainly connie. 15.2 so over height. She's fabulous, so clever, brilliant mind and hot but in a very workable way. Sadly off with a tendon injury at the mo, but when she's in work she's schooled to elem/medium. Love her to pieces.

IMG_20150810_112012.jpg


Screenshot_2014-09-06-20-18-51-1_1.png
 
I had a Connie x tb & she was amazing, stubborn at times but schooled amazingly .. 1 & 2 time changes extension etc. Would jump round intermediate xc & 1.30 sj courses so happily at only 15.2

Ive now got a 3 year old pure bred connie, got both sporty & traditional lines, looks more sporty but has a cracking temprament :) shes standing at 14.3 will make 15hh. I broke her in spring & she was an angel. Shes now on holiday till December :)

I also have a 3 year old connie x tb. She's definitely more of a hot head but i have high hopes for her!! She's standing at 15.1 at the moment but growing fast ! Think she will end up at 15.3 :)

So yes definitely a fan !
 
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them! I have 4, one for me and 1 each for my children, all bought in Ireland v cheaply as barely backed 4 year olds. They are the ultimate all-rounders and mine hunt, jump, hack, dressage, show do all the riding club & pony club teams and one of them also started playing PC polo last year with my 11 yr old son who had never played polo before either. At the PC Champs at Cowdray in August they won a big trophy for being the best all-rounder. All of mine are very straightforward to keep as they live on thin air and have feet of iron that happily trot over the horrendous flints we have in this part of the world. My one is 15.2 and built like a Sherman tank and is the most unflappable creature in the world, his 1/2 brother out of the same mare is quite reactive and over-sensitive but very talented. Also quite chunky but would measure 14.2 if we seriously wanted to do workers. The other 2 have the same sire and are the sportier/flashier type even though the sire is a rather plain old-fashioned stamp of a pony.
 
Just researching for a future horse/pony here!. Does anybody have a photo of a adult/teen who is 5ft8 on a 14.2hh Connemara pony they would be happy to share/pm?

They seem to really vary in build, I guess I would be looking at the old fashioned stamp to take up my leg.

Sorry to hijack post Michen.
 
MissMistletoe said:
Just researching for a future horse/pony here!. Does anybody have a photo of a adult/teen who is 5ft8 on a 14.2hh Connemara pony they would be happy to share/pm?

They seem to really vary in build, I guess I would be looking at the old fashioned stamp to take up my leg.

Sorry to hijack post Michen.
Click to expand...

please excuse the fluffy pony ! she is also a 3 year old so not fully matured. 14.2 at this point & I'm 5'7 1/2 haha

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...=93234e7d1fffce48c0ad02c18118eb15&oe=56846867
 
Sadly I bought one that turned out to be quirky, sharp and had boney issues. Now retired at the age of 7. I have actually been put off and wouldn't buy another.
 
Michen said:
You need 5k plus for that sadly!
Click to expand...

You don't. Widen your search, forget about breed and go for a type.

Better to wait a few months and save than buy something else which will be a disappointment. It's only £250 to transport from Wales/Ireland away up here. Daisy was £2600 delivered. And you would not get a more suitable type than she is for what you want to do.
 
We had one who would go from half asleep to full on bronc across a field with no warning but I don't know his breeding. I know two from Matchmaker's Lad,who are lovely,straightforward ponies,and who do everything. The two I know came from a dealer in Leicestershire, I wonder if its the same one. They weren't cheap either.
 
We had one on loan that was spooky and nervous. It was a great jumper but would chuck in some dirty stops.

That said, I do like them generally. At the PC championships it was interesting to see that tons of the riders in the horse trials were on Connies.
 
Stuck with with the night mare for a while now anyway, so the connie hunt is a no go! I like your mare, she has beautiful eyes. ISE have a cracking Connie up that was sold within about 24 hours of it going on the website!

FfionWinnie said:
You don't. Widen your search, forget about breed and go for a type.

Better to wait a few months and save than buy something else which will be a disappointment. It's only £250 to transport from Wales/Ireland away up here. Daisy was £2600 delivered. And you would not get a more suitable type than she is for what you want to do.
Click to expand...
 
We have two, one was imported from Ireland as a 4 year old, very well bred, 15hh sporty type in looks just nobody has told him he needs to behave like it and another more classic looking 9 year old also well bred, much more forward going but as safe as houses. They are my daughters but I ride them when I need a boost in confidence or mine is lame.

They are the most amazing ponies ever, our family holiday this summer was to clifden show in Ireland for a week. The ponies are good strong hardy ponies and I wouldn't pick anything else. Much cheaper if you buy from Ireland rather than here where they seem to have become very fashionable.

There is a 3 day sale at clifden in October and horse transporters are available to come to the UK on the day. There's a great fab group called Connemara ponies for sale too. Lots of dealers selling direct from Ireland.

Good luck 🍀🐴
 
willowblack said:
We have two, one was imported from Ireland as a 4 year old, very well bred, 15hh sporty type in looks just nobody has told him he needs to behave like it and another more classic looking 9 year old also well bred, much more forward going but as safe as houses. They are my daughters but I ride them when I need a boost in confidence or mine is lame.

They are the most amazing ponies ever, our family holiday this summer was to clifden show in Ireland for a week. The ponies are good strong hardy ponies and I wouldn't pick anything else. Much cheaper if you buy from Ireland rather than here where they seem to have become very fashionable.

There is a 3 day sale at clifden in October and horse transporters are available to come to the UK on the day. There's a great fab group called Connemara ponies for sale too. Lots of dealers selling direct from Ireland.

Good luck ����
Click to expand...

I second Clifden its a lovely place and you can pick up a bargin if you know what your looking for
 
Two of mine have come from Clifden and have been pleasingly cheap! I have never cracked loading pics on here, or I would post photos
 
I have had several, both pure and part-bred.
They tend to have a feral side to them- look after themselves. If you put piles of hay in the field the sport horses will stand back and let connemaras have it all, they can be fairly posessive over food.
I have known quite a lot of cribbers/windsuckers/weavers that are are Con, or PB Con, it seems to be rather common in the breed.
I personally find them rather pony-like and short striding to ride, even the bigger ones. But after all, you would expect that, they are Connemara PONIES! But that does make them clever jumpers.
 
We had one on the yard for a year. Cracking jumper (1m20+), but extremely quirky, and absolutely no brakes xc. Very hot headed, had a melt down at everything. Very prone to getting porky with any reduction in work.

The other one was just as bad, though he is now still competing at 1m10 at 22years old!

Put me off them completely - but I like calm and sensible ;)
 
Our first Connie was bought for my disabled daughter: she was a real confidence giver and did everything - dressage, show jumping, xc, games, M&M showing, whp, PC, RC and RDA dressage. Big sister used to pinch her whenever she could! Then we had a Con x TB who was very sharp, but had a lovely willing nature. Now we have a lovely slightly overheight pony on loan, and I can't fault him!
 
I love Connie's and have tŵo Connie / TB mixes one 7/8's one half and half I loved them both.
They are strong willed self reliant types and some are certainly very naughty when young .
But I think they are great .
 
I bought a little project direct from Ireland (Halston Stud) (unseen! ) end of March this year, he is Connie X Anglo Arab .. he is the coolest horse I have had in a long time, having a great time working with him .. he was supposed to be to sell next year, but not sure if I will be able to :-) .. I am off to the stud for a visit in a couple of weeks .. already got my eye on one of their connie X TBs foals from this year, so my connie X collection may be growing ... :-)
 
The more cobby Connemaras are generally great if you want a safe jumper but they can be quite lazy. The more sporty Connemaras from top breeds will shoot off with you but will bring a lot more rosettes in the showjumping world.
 
I have a 12 year old 15hh Connie X. He is a quirky little character, much loved on the yard for his cheeky personality and general naughtiness on the ground (he thinks nothing of trotting off with you in tow if you stop paying attention for a minute!). However, he is a saint to ride - so willing, jumps like a dream (and I'm a nervous jumper!), turns out a beautiful dressage test, hacks on his own perfectly as well as in company. Last Saturday I took him on our first hunt ride together and I couldn't have asked for him to look after me better. He's my first horse and I'm a true Connie convert! x
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top