Moving on to next pony…budget

Just seen a 8yr old 14.2 who has done PC at 100cm and is 35k!! 😳

OP id wait and get a small horse personally they’d be cheaper 🤣
 
Interestingly l was chatting to a vet yesterday about vetting ponies. A very experienced generalist with an interest in horses rather than an equine only vet, and the subject of prices came up.
Apparently a down to earth PC pony is now marketed between 10 - 20k. If you’re lucky you might find one for around 7k that will do the job but probably not pass a 5 stage vetting.
As was stated a vetting is only as good as the day it’s carried out on and really a useful vetting will focus on ‘will the pony do the job you want it to’ rather than is it 100% correct- it’s fine today tomorrow is a different day.
So the pony with maybe a slight niggle but is guaranteed to do what you want it for could well be a better option than the one with absolutely no obvious issues that ‘might’ do the job but doesn’t have as much history/ experience.
 
@tda l agree most M&M ponies will happily accommodate all sizes and ages of riders but the trick is to find one that’s been correctly schooled you should still be able to find one if you look very hard for around 10k maybe a bit less if the schooling needs a bit of work and quite a bit more if it’s ready to collect some pretty ribbons at the bigger shows. I think M&M s are overlooked by a lot of ‘horse’ people but they’ll do the job as well if not better than some 15hh and often with less vet issues.
 
Bobthecob15 said:
A friend who is rather old school is looking for a lead rein pony for her son, hasn’t bought a pony for over 20 years…I sent her an advert for a 15yr old pony for £4000 and she was horrified 🤣 she’s about to have a rude awakening!!
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Sounds like my mother when we were first looking 3 years ago. It’d been 20 years since she’d last brought a horse. Her face when she looked at prices on horsemart for the 1st time… 🤣
 
Fell ponies are fab (yes, I'm biased!). There is a lady that posts in the FP groups that has three! One for her and one each for her daughters.

They do seem to be a bit cheaper than other natives. Average for an all rounder seems to be around the £7000 mark if you're not looking for something to show at higher levels. Show ring superstars are going to be £10000 +.
 
tda said:
I know you said your daughter keeps growing, but how tall is she exactly? You could buy a pretty decent Fell pony for a hell of a lot less than a 15hh, they take up the leg, are generally kind and a lot are good jumpers.
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She’s not going to be as tall as me but her 14hh coblet is starting to look smaller. She has long legs. We have only owned him for 12 months.

He was unfit but he’s as solid as a rock (although he broke out of PC camp after three days as he wanted a night in the field). He cost £7k. He’ll jump 60cm happily (especially now he’s fitter). He’d do 70/80 at a push but there’s no need.

I’ll look into Fells. Is there anywhere in particular they are advertised?
 
The prices are crazy, I was starting to look in the 15k to 18k bracket for my next horse. Hoping the prices go down this winter with the additional costs of keeping horses (due to poor harvests this year) and the proposed increase in income tax. Sadly I think people will be selling horses in vast numbers this winter.
 
Birker2020 said:
The prices are crazy, I was starting to look in the 15k to 18k bracket for my next horse. Hoping the prices go down this winter with the additional costs of keeping horses (due to poor harvests this year) and the proposed increase in income tax. Sadly I think people will be selling horses in vast numbers this winter.
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I think it's happening already, Brecon have over 250 horses and ponies entered in the next sale and entries don't close until the middle of next week.
 

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kaiserchief said:
I think it's happening already, Brecon have over 250 horses and ponies entered in the next sale and entries don't close until the middle of next week.
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It's a shame isn't it?

I can't wait to get another horse but really don't want to pay silly money for one.

I remember when during the start of covid reading about some people that were rehoming dogs from rescue places to sell on for inflated prices on Gumtree.

Sometimes people can be so rotten.
 
Bobthecob15 said:
A friend who is rather old school is looking for a lead rein pony for her son, hasn’t bought a pony for over 20 years…I sent her an advert for a 15yr old pony for £4000 and she was horrified 🤣 she’s about to have a rude awakening!!
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Lead rein only should be achievable for £1500 or so. Then it depends how the child does as to whether they come off on that pony. First ridden ponies cost the actual Earth, they always have. I sold a lead rein/spooky (but steady) youngish second ridden last summer for £1500 with full and complete history of all his habits and quirks! His child has now come off the lead on him - she is brave and can sit the random spookiness.
 
HayleyUK said:
Easily £15k plus if it will pass a vetting.

Ive got what you describe, is a literal saint - does a nice test, jumps, water everything you ask and would be competitive if you wanted.

I paid peanuts for her pre Covid and have turned down £20k for her.
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Wow that is amazing, I do feel for kids now that don’t have that sort of money though…post covid it’s becoming so hard to afford horses, I know it’s like anything, property etc but you do wonder how this will continue long term…will the bubble burst? We certainly couldn’t afford to pay anything like that for my daughter’s next pony and she is competitive with the current one.

Blooming nightmare the sport is becoming out of reach for so many!
 
Bobthecob15 said:
Wow that is amazing, I do feel for kids now that don’t have that sort of money though…post covid it’s becoming so hard to afford horses, I know it’s like anything, property etc but you do wonder how this will continue long term…will the bubble burst? We certainly couldn’t afford to pay anything like that for my daughter’s next pony and she is competitive with the current one.

Blooming nightmare the sport is becoming out of reach for so many!
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It has always been out of reach for many. If someone in the family has knowledge and the child has resilience, it can be much much cheaper though.

-In the 1950s having a pony of her own was out of reach for my mother. She rode her friend’s pony.
- In the 1980s having a pony was out of reach for me. I too caught rides on friend’s ponies and eventually had a share and some riding school lessons.
- In 2003, with a small inheritance, I had just enough for a young horse. I chose one with a very very calm temperament, had lessons, borrowed a million books from the library and figured it out over time. The ponies that followed on from her were young, with issues, mostly unbacked - cheap.
- In 2015 my oldest child was ready to ride. We found a share then bought a cheeky Shetland for £850. She taught him to ride - he fell off a lot, but he learned a huge amount. She also taught his sister (she was angelic on the lead rein!). He backed a couple of ponies for friends in 2019 having learned everything he needed on the Shetland. Everything past the Shetland has either been unbacked or has arrived with issues. His current ponies (14hh and 12.2hh) were £100 and £500 respectively. His sister’s (both 12.2hh) were £300 and £450. She is more nervous as a personality so hers are sweet, kind types. He has sparkier ponies.

I hope the OP finds a pony soon - winter should affect prices and with a hay shortage in much of the country there may be ponies coming onto the market that would not otherwise appear for sale.
 
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HayleyUK said:
Easily £15k plus if it will pass a vetting.

Ive got what you describe, is a literal saint - does a nice test, jumps, water everything you ask and would be competitive if you wanted.

I paid peanuts for her pre Covid and have turned down £20k for her.
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Are you selling? 😬
 
I certainly wouldn't discount a pony. I had a 14:2 Dales pony that I never felt too big on (I am 5'8"). I sold him when my step daughter gave up riding about 18 years ago and the phone rang off the hook when his advert went up. We ended up selling him to some-one we knew before his advert was printed and with her he went on to win BE100, BD elementary and BS to 1.10 meters.
 
Really interesting about Fell ponies, I’m looking for a 14.2 when my mare goes and I just assumed they’d be big bucks. Current ponies cost £800 and £900 😁

I’m tall (5ft8) with long legs and I’ve happily ridden my 13.1 for the past decade.
 
Id look more at something stocky to take up the leg. A nice cob who takes up leg can do many adults.

She is still youngyou need something she can tack up, get on and off herself and do pony games etc on. No point getting something she will grow into.

You will often find these on loan as people don't sell and they are for a short period 1-2 years
 
Update: we have found her a 14.2hh cob. The size difference between this one and our 14hh mini cob is noticeable so I’m glad we’ve not gone bigger. We paid £12k in the end for a 12 year old who seemly is safe and done lots although not super competitive, will happily take her out and about doing low level and do a nice clear round.
 
Fizzandfun said:
Update: we have found her a 14.2hh cob. The size difference between this one and our 14hh mini cob is noticeable so I’m glad we’ve not gone bigger. We paid £12k in the end for a 12 year old who seemly is safe and done lots although not super competitive, will happily take her out and about doing low level and do a nice clear round.
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Sensible purchase!
 
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