How much do your childrens ponies keep cost you?

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Onyxia

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Must be that time of year again as son is asking for a pony....and I am considering it.

Now,pony shopping has always been on the cards since the first baby scan :D BUT have not done so yet for a few reasons.
However, I really think now that he would get a lot out of having a pony of his own.
The local RS doesa good lessons,nothing wrong with them,don't want to sound bitchy about them,but there is only so much an autistic six year old with poor hearing can get out of them.
Plooding around the woods on lead rein would be much more fun for him,and it woudl be on one pony that he could really get attached to.....
A pony would also give me a chance to brush up on lunge skills in prep for stage exams :o

On the other hand,prices for everything seem to be going up (and up) and obviously the costs of keeping a pony for him would eat into the money for my lessons :(

So,how much are yours costing you,and what would you be looking for in my position?
 
Ours costs a bloody fortune as she is on part livery at an expensive (but very good yard). Kids love her though and we would never give her up. If you son is autistic would it be worth while seeing if he can get lessons with the RDA? I know they are much cheaper than normal (they certainly are at our yard) and perhaps you could find an older animal looking for a quiet semi retirement through word of mouth?
 
HIya got mine on a DIY basis,
costs
!80 for stable and hay
60 for shoes every 8 weeks
Insurance 19 a month
jabs 70 once a year
worming 20 a wormer every 8-12 weeks roughly
feed (very little) 10 every 6-8 weeks
bedding 30 a month
Shows miminum 30 a month
and theres probaly some ive forgotten

you may get away with grass livery if your son isnt doing to much and you get a hardy type which at ours is 86 a month with hay incl.
 
Unfortunately my son's ponies both did better shod which was one of our biggest expenses. I noticed that most smaller ponies at Pony Club were unshod, so I'd try & get one that will go barefoot/unshod.

I'm lucky enough to have ours at home so no livery, but obviously that would be a big consideration.

The 12.2 lives on fresh air & lives out, so that's cheap, but the other (13.3) isn't a good doer & needs nearly as much feed as my TB!

Both are late teens & so I don't insure them.
 
Contact your local Pony Club and see if they know of any ponies for loan that are quiet - perhaps something older who needs to wind down a bit.

I pay £17 per week for stable and turnout - I'm on DIY - I pay £6 per bale of shavings and use 2 a week at the mo as he is in for about 20 hours per day. Out full time in summer. I pay £27 for a large square haylage which last him about 3-4 weeks. Shoes are about £60 every 6-8 weeks, but you might be able to get away with barefoot. Feed prob about £10 per week as he has 3 meals a day (daughter hunts so he needs plenty of food).

You should wait til January now as you are probably busy with Xmas anyway, but you could also put up cars in your local feed and tack shops asking for a suitable pony.

I agree that your son would get far more from walking and trotting on a short hack with you than he would in a RS lesson.

However, do find out about RDA, my friends daughter went as she has epilepsy and loved her time there.

Oh yes - insurance £38 with Petplan equine - a bit more expensive cos we have hunting added on. Don't forget if you join PC insurance is included, but do check what it covers
 
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Thankyou- will definatly have a look into RDA,had not thought about that before :o

Should I buy him one,it will be kept on DIY (having worked at a couple of less then lovely full yards I am very fussy about how they get done) and would be after an older native and would not be seriously looking untill the spring- does not make any sense to take one on in winter when youcoudl be curled up in the warm :p
 
Which end of South Yorks are you? I know of one that might suit that could be up for loan, to stay where it is, with direct off road hacking... PM me if you might be interested?
 
i would contact your local PC as they usually know if a good pony is becoming available. there are many older ponies who go out on loan to younger children. a loan might be good for you. but most childrens ponies dont do enough work esp in the winter so you might if you stick a few ads up at local RC and tack shops find a share pony. that would be a win win situation as pony would get more work, share the costs and looking after etc. and you meet new people.
 
My son is also autistic and has never got much out of riding lessons. We've currently got a lovely first pony on loan (for my 4 year old daughter) and he has taken a massive interest. We got for hacks and 'learn along the way'. We can go at his pace and he has developed a lovely bond with this pony and she is therapy for him. However, the previous pony we had he wasn't interested in riding at all. So, it might take a while to find the 'right' pony.

Costs wise I would say that the pony costs very similar to my horse, although she eats about half the amount of hay and balancer. I keep mine at home too, though rent the field. You need to factor in money for pony-sized everything, although the advantage of a pony on loan is that she came with an incredible wardrobe.

One thing that I've discovered is that many very good and experienced first and lead rein ponies are laminitics and have to be managed very, very carefully which increases costs. Worth bearing in mind when you are looking.

Sue
 
We have two one for myself and my child tagged along with me right from the start wanted to come al the time , hes a boy he would ride my 15.1 4yo but in walk only he pesterd me for lessons for months inmean time unless i rode/ride in school hours one of us would walk and one ride so we wouldnt get very far my sons just turned nine a twenty minute lesson at a bhs school was £18.50 plus the traveling time and petrol say five pound and a hour approx traveling i pay £21 per week diy summer months and £33 per week diy with hay and straw adlib so the right animal came up out of the blue bought her he hasnt been able to ride much in this weather but has been all good and shes stocky enough for me to ride as well so thats a bonus shes probs 13.3hh approx unclipped she has her front feet shod but im having these taking off for winter due to weather .For me i was at farm with one horse so might as well with two lol and she s such a easy one as well its hard work in winter but dont regret it but glad i have one a adult can ride as well and hell never grow out of her if he wants a bigger one we can swop -my friend has a autistic boy whos five and shes aware horses help them leaps and bounds ive said in summer her liitle boy can come and ride the pony once a week -i use a bag of apple chaff a month , about six pound i think the pony eats more than my bigger one for some reason as well insurance twentypound per month you have outtlays for wormer as well .Dont forget things like tack and rugs if applicable sometimes these can come with horse ,my sons came with old rugs, and english tack which was a great help .You can buy odd stuff weekly in single items if you think and prepare ahead like grooming brushes, etc ,
On a final note, my other friends son is nine and has autism slightly and rides at a rda centre he has group lesson and a single one every week and costs £50 in summer he has a stable management night at an extra ten pound per week for grooming and mucking out .She can pay £70 for full livery and have full use of horse/pony for herself to ride and her son as she rides in summer you have to weigh up the benefits and financial options , you could go for grass livery in some places could be £10 per week and more in winter to cover hay costs this might be a cheaper option or you could go on assisted livery for a few months then grass livery later .I wish you well my son has probably rode four times in last month due to awful weather but hes been up every day after school caring for her
 
get a nice little welsh sec c type, hardy, dont take a lot to feed and dont necessarily need to be rugged up - can be left out 24/7 with access to shelter.
I wouldnt worry too much about getting lessons at the start of the ownership let them bond, take them out for hacks and let him feel confident and resposnible, then take on alesson perhaps 2 a month or so.

hardy natives will only require trimming rather than being shod, as for worming, i tend to follow an intelligent programme rather than evry 8 weeks or so, regular counts £9 a time and then worm if needs be. xx
 
Bethie said:
Which end of South Yorks are you? I know of one that might suit that could be up for loan, to stay where it is, with direct off road hacking... PM me if you might be interested?
Click to expand...

Thankyou,but ATM I am just thinking the options over so don't want to waste anyones time.
Will drop you a PM when/if the time comes though :)
 
Your idea of a 1-1 pony sounds like a brilliant idea for me. I volunteer with a RDA group and we have had several autistic riders who have really benefited but I'm sure having their own pony would have been even better. My friend bought a lovely 14.1 NFx 7yr old mare last Easter for £700. She was an ex-broodmare and has really looked after her 2 novice boys, taken them to shows and behaved beautifully. She is bombproof on the road so that the older boy is now able to take her out on his own.
She lives with us, so only cost is her keep, worming and trimming
 
Yunalesca said:
Neither can I!
I think I would have killed for the chance of a pony at six :D
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i was lucky i had mine at 10 after much nagging my mom and dad. I can honestly say that my pony was the best present i ever had and i loved him so much, only losing him recently after over 20 years together. xx
 
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I would speak to your local RDA and see if they have a pony your son could share to start off as a half way point or if they would be willing to do a working livery for you to keep the costs down so if your son did not want to ride every day the pony could be used for other RDA riders.

Small ponies do eat less and can often live out which will reduce costs but they still need the farrier, worming, vaccinations, teeth being done, insurance etc which i find are the expensive parts rather than the livery. I am an adult with a 13.2 native pony living out. He eats about 2 bags of chaff a year and 3 bags of mix a year. He also has some hay in the field in the winter and if he is traveling which probably works out about £20 a month averaged out during the year. You could probably get away with less feeding if your pony is only in very light work as a lead rein.
 
Get a pony on loan if I were you so that takes away the initial purchase cost and you can return it when your son grows out of it so no worry of having to sell it on.
All children's ponies I know are unshod so just trimming.
And make sure it is a good doer and they live on grass and hay in winter. Look for a native who can live out too.
Basically feet, insurance, jabs.
And of course shows etc.
 
my daughter is 6 and shares a pony. The original idea was that she would eventually loan him, however he has a few personality quirks which the owner is fine with but that i do not like, also the natives can be prone to lami to just make sure you consider that. Her share pony has been great for her, he has taught her lots about the huge responsibility it is to have a pony and she would never have gained that knowledge in a half hour riding lesson once per week, also its good to try before you buy so to speak. To keep he costs his owner £80per month field, £20 every 2 months trimming, hay £6 per bale lasts 2 weeks, feed £11 per bag lasts 2 months, insuran £20 per month, worming she follows an intelligent prog, teeth £40ish per year, jabs not sure. So actually not too much really'
 
Our sec A didn't cost much at all. We are lucky enough to have our own yard and land. She didn't eat much at all - only a sniff of hard feed - so she though she was getting fed when the others did. One slice of hay a night (haylage gave her laminitus) when in - would easily have lived out if anything else had been living out. Initially she was barefoot - had to shoe her later when my son got older and used her a lot. Never wore any rugs, as did fine without them. Obviously injections, worming and teeth cots. Insurance - we joined the PC, so got free 3rd party with them, or if not it was very cheap to insure 3rd party with a company. For the first year we got full insurance, but it was £300 a year for a £700 pony - which seemed ridiculous - especially as we never had the vet to her in 3 years...
 
No real advice but I just read your post...

My autistic 5 yr old (6 in January) did hippotherapy as part of his OT and really enjoyed it (once he got past his fear of heights lol, but it was quite a small pony). He has a younger sister and its crossed my mind to do as you are thinking of doing :S..... so please let me know how you get on!
 
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