Looking into getting a horse/pony... just after some advice!

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jill5529

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Hi guys

I'm new to this forum, have just joined to get some advice and opinions really. I've not had my own horse for 5 years now, as couldn't afford to keep my mare after the birth of my son and then almost immediate departure of his dad. Before that, I'd had horses for years and always kept them on a livery yard.

Now I'm in a position financially and timewise to look at getting another, and have been offered the use of a farm 5 minutes away, which has 20 acres of grazing, a few stables, tack/feed room and an outdoor menage.

I have a couple of issues - one is that ideally I only want one horse, but reading the other thread about keeping horses on their own, I'm wondering if this would be wise. There are horses in adjoining fields but might have to look into taking on a companion or field sharing. I'm just a bit concerned about lack of funds to keep 2 horses :confused:

Other thing I'm wondering about is what to get. In the past I've always had TB types; my last mare was a 15.2hh ex-racer, but I'm fancying a nice stocky cob type this time round, and the thing I'm wondering about is size. I'm 5ft 6 and about 12 1/2 stone. I recently rode a friend's 16.3hh sports horse and felt massively over-horsed and not 100% comfortable. I've also recently ridden a 14.2hh heavyweight gypsy cob and felt completely at home, although I was worried I was too heavy for him! What sort of weight should something like that be able to carry? I'm talking hacking and schooling mainly as I detest jumping, so nothing too strenuous, and I'm a fairly "light" rider. Would something between 14 and 15 hands be ok for me? When I had my 15.2hh TB I was only a stone or so lighter and didn't even give it a thought, but at the minute I feel fat and unfit lol which is why I'm worrying!

I do know though that I will lose weight as soon as I start riding again regularly, so would only be an issue for a short while! Anyway, any opinions would be gratefully taken on board :D
 
Something of the size you are wanting sounds fine to me. You need to feel at home on what you get and I think you will get a feel for it as soon as you get on board....enjoy the horse hunting!!
 
A 14-15hh Cob sounds a very sensible and ideal purchase. Easy and (should be) fairly cheap to keep.

If there are horses in adjoining fields you should be ok. Plenty of horses are kept on individual turnout.
 
You would be fine on that sort of cob you are thinking of. If you are used to TBs, which are very forward going, you need to get a cob that walks out well. They are also the sort to live on fresh air! If there is good shelter they could live out all year round.
 
Congratulations on getting back into horsey life. I think you are wise to be wary of keeping your potential horse alone, a companion or two would be a good idea. Options would be to have another owner to keep your horse company, and perhaps be someone to ride with. Or it may be simplier to just go to a livery yard where you'll have a bit of a support network while you get back into it all again and settle in with your new horse.

Size wise, the size of cob you mention would be fine, plenty of girth to take up your leg but take into account, the length of back. Some cobs are porportionally short coupled which would mean the size of saddle you need could be too long for the horse.
 
Thanks for the input :)

It's realistically going to be a few months before I actually take the plunge and buy a new horse, as the farm I've been offered belongs to my partners brother and has been stood for a few years doing nothing, so needs a bit of work on the fencing etc before I can even think about putting a horse in there. I did think about a livery yard, but that's just another added expense when I have all that lovely land that I can use for free, so I might look at renting out a stable or two so as whatever I choose has some company. I have a while to think about it!

In the meantime, I'm planning on getting as much hands on experience round other people's horses as I can, cos to say I'm a bit rusty would be an understatement lol I'm just getting excited looking through horses for sale at the minute :D
 
I'm 5ft 6, 13st and ride my daughter's 14h NF who lives on fresh air and a bit of hay as we don't have much grass. If we had 4 acres of grass I think we'd be self sufficient for grass and hay for our two. He's quite deep in the girth and hides long legs (daughter's are long for a not quite 12 year old). He certainly doesn't struggle with my weight (I don't jump, just hack a bit and the odd lesson here and there), but he is a solid leg at each corner type, not a dainty sort.

I do think a companion would be a good idea and wonder if a small semi retired lead rein/first ridden pony might be useful company, just in case your son decides he'd like to ride too? Or if someone could share the 20 acres, this could help with sharing the chores on site for times eg when you/your son is ill?

Either way it's a LOT easier if you have a matched pair of natives - we have a skinny, hard to keep on weight, older show pony as companion to the NF. Means we waste a bit of time morning and night keeping him seperate to feed him a bit extra - he's a very slow eater. The lady round the corner has a similar problem with a TB and a greedy SecA, I'm sure we'd both be better off with a swap!
 
Dubsie said:
I do think a companion would be a good idea and wonder if a small semi retired lead rein/first ridden pony might be useful company, just in case your son decides he'd like to ride too? Or if someone could share the 20 acres, this could help with sharing the chores on site for times eg when you/your son is ill?
Click to expand...

Yes I did wonder about getting something smaller for my lad, possibly a little Sec A or something. Not a Shetland though! Been there, done that and NEVER again!! The only thing I was concerned about with having two is them getting too attached and thus having separation anxiety issues, as I've had that problem before, but I guess that depends on the individual horses. There is a block of 4 or 5 stables so I could realistically sub-let (if the owner lets me of course, but I think he's just happy to see the place being used tbh), and still have plenty of grazing to rotate.
 
Two horses can get incredibly attached to each other. I've been there! Unless they are going to go everywhere together, I wouldn't have two alone!

Letting out a few stables would be the ideal. I'd fence the paddocks so that you can have yours seperate if you want as well.

Exciting times!! I had a 10 year break once. Welcome back!
 
More questions.... lol

How much grazing do you guys have your horses on? I'm thinking with 20 acres to play with, I could realistically split it into 10 x 2 acre paddocks, which then means that if I can find 2 people to share, we could have 3 paddocks each on a rotation with one spare, and that way the grazing will get a chance to rest. Does that sound reasonable??
 
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