How old should children be before they get a horse?

I think it completely depends on the experience of the parent. Do you kow anything about horses, do you have your own. Is your son interested, has he ridden before. Pedantic maybe but it would be a pony for a 3 yr old not a horse. :)
 
I don't think there is a correct age - it's what is right for you.

If you are prepared to do all the work, but will get a lot of enjoyment out of it, then why not, as long as you don't have unrealistic expectations of what a 3 yr old will want to do with a pony.

So if it's cold and wet one Saturday don't expect him to leap out of bed, rush to put his muckers on and help mummy muck out and then ride. If he does still want to, then you have a potential rider on your hands!

I was adamant I was not going to get my daughter a pony until she was old enough to look after one. In the end I caved in when she was 4, and I don't regret it although I was occasionally a little too keen, and got cross when she didn't want to ride.

Only once did I do the pushy parent thing: "You haven't ridden your pony for a week, if you don't want him I will sell him". Reprimanded myself in time - it was my choice to get her a pony, not hers, so I backed off and didn't push it, and she got keen again.
 
My daughter had her first official owned pony at 3, but had sole use & care of someone else's shetland pretty much from birth, & full loan ponies up to being 6 when her own was old enough to back.
 
Don't think age is an issue so long as you are happy to take responsibility for care, don't put pressure on said child to ride if they decide its not for them and can give the extra exercise that they might need to keep fit.

There is the option to share or loan as well. I prefer that to buying when they are that age just in case they decide they don't actually like horses or riding and you end up stuck with an expensive field ornament. Lots of ponies out there that are quickly outgrown and not sold on.
 
My 8 year old daughter used to share my bolshy cob when I first bought him. Mind you, we got her something more suitable pretty sharpish - a lovely, kind but elderly arab x welsh who was a little darling, but at 14 hh, he was probably a bit big for a petite 8 year old. Mind you, she had been riding my cob, who really was bolshy and stroppy and a full up 14.3hh with attitude.
 
I got my first pony when I was 7. That was because my mum wanted me to look after it, she had her own horses and couldn't (wouldn't!) look after my pony. Most parents I know look after their kids ponies though and the kid just rides it really.
 
I started riding at 7 when my mum got bk into horses after having us.. I liked it but totally took having a horse for granted, a right little fair weather rider. While the girls I was at school with were desperate to come & see the horses I could take or leave it.. My cousins daughter is the same, takes them for granted because she's so used to having them. Not saying that all kids are like that,, but I know a few that are. My 10 yr old cousin on the other hand has loaned since she was 7 & her patents bought her her first pony 3 months, She's absolutely over the moon & really appreciates him. It always seems that the kids with the horsey parents aren't so interested & the kids who are horse crazy don't have the horsey parents & are desperate for a pony.
 
depends on the child really do you think he is capable and will stick to it? if you have horses you couldtry and see how well he gets on with them if not get a loan pony for him then move onto getting his own :)
 
Hi my kids had there first pony when they where 5 and 2yrs but i have had horses all my life so not a big deal , kids are now 13 and 10yrs and ponies are getting bigger and now have a lorry to take them to shows/pony club and i have 2 jobs to pay for it all :D
 
Ellie get her pony 2years before she was born :D

tbh i know good kids ponies are hard to find so decided id rather buy a foal and "make" one however im small enough to ride him and enjoy ponies so will be staying with us regardless if she decdes she wants to ride or not
 
I bought a young pony for my son when he was about 4, but neither he or his younger brother took to riding, now the same pony is 13 and my 5 year old daughter is very happy to learn on him so he was a good buy in the end :) and even though he is only 11.2 my friend has learnt to ride on him and has taken him hunting so he's managed to become a bit of a star :)
 
I have two sons, one 15 and the other 9. I got a pony when my older son was 3, I already had my own horse at the time. I freely admit that it was as much for me as for my son. Partly because I worked very long hours in the city Mon - Thu and it gave us something to do together. You do need to be prepared though for tacking up etc for just a 10 mins ride. We had a bridlepath near us which led to a park (playground) which was quite useful for getting a 20 minute ride out of him. ;)

My younger son has I guess ridden since he was very tiny, but for one reason and another including relocating (where my horse and pony were left in full livery at their old yard for nearly two years an hour and a half's drive away), he has only really started riding seriously (several times a week) the last year or so. :)

TBH, and I hope older son doesn't read this, younger son is probably a better rider than older son at the same age. But older son had a horrible fall at 5 and broke his arm, requiring two lots of surgery, a week's stay in hospital and numerous physio sessions. So he did have to regain his confidence. He does still ride at 15, and is still accident prone. :rolleyes:

Be prepared though for boys not to like grooming and fussing their ponies. I know it is a massive generalisation, but I haven't met one yet that did. The young girl that comes and rides one of our ponies a couple of times a week probably gives them more fuss in the couple of hours she is here than they get all week from the boys. They do love them, just in a different way. :p

Hope that helps a bit. :)
 
Daughters first pony bought when she was about 6 months when we had horses at home.
It was more of a pet and she did her first fancy dress competition at 9 months.
Never pushed her and she has never been pony mad as she grew up with them.
Daughter now 16 and on her first horse after 9 pony's
 
Nikicb that is so true :) my 13 year old son go's in the stable to groom pony comes out looking like she's just come out of the field (mud) and my daughter's pony come's out looking like we are going to a show with hoof oil and everything :D
 
I'm very close to seriously considering getting my four year old daughter a pony - but then selfishly I quite like my horses being my "me" time!

She can borrow my friends Exmoor whenever she likes so I think I'll stick to that for now :)
 
Irishbabygirl said:
I'm very close to seriously considering getting my four year old daughter a pony - but then selfishly I quite like my horses being my "me" time!

She can borrow my friends Exmoor whenever she likes so I think I'll stick to that for now :)
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J - come and use Mills. He's fine with regular work, I don't mind lunging him a couple of times a week if he is getting ridden, but at the moment there's no point so he's enjoying a sort of retirement. x
 
I got my eldest daughter a pony when she was 6 months old, I used to take her for walks on him, a substitute pram really.

It's whatever suits you. It's your daughter, your time and your money. They are only little once.
 
Tuffles 23 said:
Nikicb that is so true :) my 13 year old son go's in the stable to groom pony comes out looking like she's just come out of the field (mud) and my daughter's pony come's out looking like we are going to a show with hoof oil and everything :D
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The other day I was in a hurry so got son to brush off and load Cam for me to take him to the local equestrian centre to school. He looked quite clean when I closed the ramp. Of course I didn't look at the other side of his head and neck which was filthy!!
 
My parents are non-horsey and after much persuasion, my sister and I got our first pony to share when I was 10 and she was 8. We had to convince them that we were capable of looking after said pony - I am now 15 and am onto my third horse. I don't think my parents knew what they were letting themselves in for ;)
 
I bought my daughters ponies when she was almost. They were 2 so needed everything but I figured she could build a bond on the ground with them first. It worked a treat and although she only rides the one she chose as hers maybe 3 times a week she has a lesson every day on our neighbours pony that she shows. I have told her if she wants a day off to tell me but all of a sudden she loves it. She was 5 in August. She is a cracking rider too with a very sticky bum, fabulous balance and posture and buckets of confidence in fact I wish I could have her attributes in the saddle, I would be a better rider for it!
 
Bloomin phone that should have said almost 3. The boys came together and now the spare is ready for her sister who wasn't even conceived at the time bit is 6 months old now. Bizarrely, the pony for her is infatuated with her and stands and stares at her for hours so hopefully the partnerships will work :)
 
We have a lovely little pony for my son. He was nearly 2 and a half when we got Honey (aka Genghis :D ) in March this year. I also had a pony when I was two so it seemed natural and my son was pretty obsessed with my TB. It all fell into place when we moved house and my TB came home to live - he needed company.

I have never pushed Jacob to ride and at this time of year with limited facilities options are limited, however over summer he was riding 3 or 4 times a week and we went to a couple of shows too which he absolutely loved! I do most of the work with her but Jacob is starting to want to groom and he tries to tack up too :D He does mix feed for my TB in return though ;) As he gets bigger I will encourage him to do more.
 
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