How to tell a child they are too big for a pony??

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BUCKandREAR

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My husbands cousin has a daughter who is 11 and pony mad and going through a bit of a tough time lately (family issues) so is staying with OHs nan who lives by where my horses are kept. She seems a nice kid and asked me very politly if she could come and brush the horses, so i agreed to collect her tonight (after school from her nans) with my own children (7 & 8) so we got the old pony out and she brushed him and seemed to really enjoy it.
she then asked me if she could ride the pony, well here is where the problem lies, 1 the pony is on loan 2 shes a big girl, around 5ft5/6 and probably weighs around 9 stones, said pony is 12hh sort of a fine welshie type who is in his 20s, my others are not suitable. My daughter was all excited and told her yes of course you can ride the pony blah blah blah..........she was all excited and told me she had £17 pounds saved up so she was going to buy some suiable foot wear to ride in etc......:o:eek:
So what would you do?? i didnt say yes to the riding or no. I know the pony would take 9 stones if rider was balanced but shes never ridden before?
Parents can't afford riding lessons for her neither.........
Any suggestions??
 
If you feel you can't risk the pony (and I agree with trickivicki, how about 5/10min?) then just quietly explain to her. Do it in a complementary way saying how lovely and tall she is but that your pony is made for very little children who are about 5 or 6 years old. You can exaggerate a bit to put your point across.
Horrible situation but hopefully she will understand. Is there anyone you know of with a more suitably sized pony who would let her have a very short ride?
 
hmm I agree with ponies age and her being a complete novice she is too heavy for the pony. I presume pony is ridden by your daughter so you can't claim he's retired? Will any of the others do leadrein? My pony is sharp and I wouldn't contemplate putting a novice on her but my mum begged and actually turns out pony is FAB on the lead rein (I would never take her off!). Can you have a quiet word with her Nan? How much shorter is your daughter, can you explain how shorter riders need shorter ponies and taller riders need taller ponies without refering to weight?
 
Ella19 said:
hmm I agree with ponies age and her being a complete novice she is too heavy for the pony. I presume pony is ridden by your daughter so you can't claim he's retired? Will any of the others do leadrein? My pony is sharp and I wouldn't contemplate putting a novice on her but my mum begged and actually turns out pony is FAB on the lead rein (I would never take her off!). Can you have a quiet word with her Nan? How much shorter is your daughter, can you explain how shorter riders need shorter ponies and taller riders need taller ponies without refering to weight?
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Other ponies consist of 2 unbacked horses and a retired TB with an injury :rolleyes:
I do however have a friend with a 13.2 pony who would be better for her, may have a word as a one off - never thought about that :)
 
Would she really be 9stone? She might be tall but unless shes a bit rotund then its unlikely she would be anything near 9stone. I was a tall 11 year old but I would have weighed 6stone or less at that stage!

I would hazard a guess that a light build healthy 12hh veteran could hold 7 stone comfortably(at all paces) but agree that 9 stone would probably be too much (though probably not fr a walk around on). Im sure he could handle a few 5minute walks though.
 
My sister used to ride my old (as in at least mid 20s) 12h pony when she must have been about 11/12 (I was about 9) and I don't think he ever struggled. My sister was prob about 5'4 then, but she was also a right skinny mini. :rolleyes:

Any chance you coudl ask someone how much she weighs? Might seem rude though! :eek: If she is slim I would think she would be fine
 
I wouldnt think she would be 9stone based on her height unless she is ahem a rather large girl. Im 6ft and I only weigh around the 10 1/2 stone mark and Im a rather healthy size 10. It is a right pickle I feel for you :(. Kids can stick you in right flumps without intending to, bless their innocent minds! I think borrowing a friends would be the best all round solution the only issue being if she wants to continue riding, but so long as you have a very generous friend who will let her ride semi-regularly in exchange for pony treats, the odd bottle of wine or you sorting the pony out on the morn/eve she rides, perhaps you can have a perfect solution :). If not perhaps you have a friend with a sane horse she can do some lead rein etc on? My cousins little boy just adores riding and has progressed from sitting in front of me on my competition mare to riding alone even doing a walk circle on his own ;) and a tiny "jump" in trot/jog :p. However as she is 16hh this is as far as he can go or he will bounce off! and I cant get a pony on loan for him as he doesnt come over enough :(. He was a young 3 in these pics and is now 4.
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how cute? :p

Good luck :)
 
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thanks :) she knows it too ;) Im very lucky with her to have such a fab temperament and talent as well! Will be so upset if I sell her in the spring :(. Will have to get the more recent pictures off his mum from his last ride and his "jumping" lol. I hope so :p mind you I think build wise he may be more Oli townend or bigger (hoping for W F-P riding tho! ;) ) both of his parents are 6ft/6ft1 and his dad was a wasps rugby player before his knee injury. his mum is very wary of horses (when in school one of her horsey friends had a fluke accident, was kicked in the head and died :( ) but she is getting better round ours and now will come near them when tied up or being held just doesnt want to go in their stable or field with them. Im so grateful to her that she trusts me enough with her little lad as he loves it so much, and isnt making him have to not ride because she is afraid :) one of the world's best mums I think! Just makes me think back to when I was a kid, could have merrily lived at the stable block :p :D
 
Awww bless her, try and find something for her to have a go on. She sounds so keen and wanting to help!

FYI my stepson is 5'6 but doesn't actually weigh that much. He would look pretty silly on a 12h pony, but I'm sure the pony would be fine for five mins or so! I actually got on his 12h welsh pony once when it was playing up, and I weighed well over 10 stone - well over! The pony didn't even bat an eyelid!
 
I think I'd take the chicken route and say something like "because you're lovely and tall the saddle isn't big enough for you it will hurt your back and because the pony is so small he can't wear a bigger a saddle because it will hurt his back"
 
Why not say that the pony is too small due to her height but perhaps put some money with the money she has saved up and book her in for a riding lesson! That way she could get a feel for it and when she has sat on a safe schoolie you will be able to judge whether it would be safe to put her on something else on a lead rein.
 
Tread carefully. A woman told me this at a show when I was about 15 on my 12.2 Connemara once. It haunts me to this day (I suspect she wanted to buy him cheap). I think I was about 7 and a half stones at the time and not very tall. Surely a strong native pony should be able to carry 9 stone (if she is that). Otherwise, make up a story about the pony having been sick and needing time to recover before being ridden again.
 
glenruby said:
Would she really be 9stone? She might be tall but unless shes a bit rotund then its unlikely she would be anything near 9stone. I was a tall 11 year old but I would have weighed 6stone or less at that stage!
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At 11yrs old I was 5'5 and around 9stone, I was no rotund either, think you have to take into account people are different. I used to do quite a bit of running and was very fit running around with the horses. Just a point to add here :)

Sorry for your situation, it does sound terribly awkward.
As tough as it is, if you do not feel your old pony is up to it, you need to just say that as he is much older, his back is very weak and you cannot put any children over 7yrs old on him or something.
Then perhaps you could offer to go to a riding school with her and take her to a lesson if she saves up a bit more??
Is this perhaps an option?
 
Ok....prepares to be shot down....

I'm 5ft 5 and about 9 stone ish.

I used to ride my sons 12hh welshie out on hacks ....and jump her....now- I know the issue is that she's a novice and most likely unbalanced ( that said....kids seem to have an annoyingly natural seat) and that the pony is a veteran but TBH.....I don't see what harm 15 minutes of pottering around a paddock on the lead rein will do. Its not like we're proposing a XC schooling session or a pleasure ride.....she could always go bareback if you're worried about the saddle being too small.....
 
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