my son will be 18 months...is it too young?

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keekee

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My little boy will be 18 months in november and iv arranged to have a small pony on loan for him.... he has sat on my horse and others and seems to love it up there but as he,s my first when i was arranging to have this pony i didnt realise here he would be in his developing stages and altho he is walking running ect his balance up on the pony will not be good enough to lead him without him being held aswell ..should i carry on allthe same just to get his confidence ? or leave it untill he is more stable ? i need to start buying him boots and hats ect so wondered what you guys thought from experiance? xx
 
I wouldnt bother, far too young to understand and comprehend the meaning of a pony. When he's 4 or 5 then he can at least tell you if he wants to ride.
 
I have looked in to basket saddles but with no joy.....im reluctant to buy a brand new one as he will be out of it so soon he is a big lad already thankyou for your advice tho x
 
TBH, I wouldn't go to the expense and hassle of loaning a pony for a child that young - I don't think he will get enough benefit from it at that age. Let him be around horses so he is confident and happy around them, and let him have a sit on friends' ponies if the opportunity arises, so he learns a little balance, but wait until he is older to get him a pony of his own.
 
yes i think your right...... it is a friends pony so i will take him over to ride it and just let him come to the yard with me and help mummy muck out ...
 
Sorry - I have to agree with the guys above - my daughter is 4.5 and I have a Welsh A on the way. Anything much younger and you are at risk of spending a lot of money on an expensive pet that will mean nothing to him.

Keep putting him up on your horse as my two really enjoyed that up to now.
 
I'd agree with the others and think you are doing the right thing not loaning just yet.

We have a Shetland that was safe tiny tots pony before we acquired him as a companion and my year old son sits up on him (and my cob) now and again - being held - but I wouldn't have got him a pony of his 'own' just yet if we didn't already have this pony.
 
my son has ridden his little shetland (iggle) since he was 18 months old. he's now 3 and can happily trot, even pop a VERY small cross pole etc ... all courtesy of his little cub saddle with a strap at the front.

however, i agree with everyone else, don't get a pony on loan for your son yet. iggle was raff's companion, hence we had him anyway. my son rides about once a week for about ten minutes, and i'd say he is far more keen than the average small person. it wouldn't be worth the hassle and expense of having a pony for that level of riding.
 
Mine started lessons at 2 1/2! I was going to leave it until she was about 4, but unfortunately she had other ideas, and I caved in. She had regular weekly lessons until she was seven - and I mean, lessons, in a group, on a tiny RS pony. We had to cannibalise the stirrups off a rocking horse for her! It was a real "old school" tweedy "Miss" who gave the lessons, and she was only concerned that "IT" knew the difference between right and left! She first cantered (on the lead) at three, and was off the lead doing tiny jumps at five. She didn't get her own pony until seven, and it all went downhill from there! ( currently at three, looking to expand!). At the time, I didn't think it was anything unusual, and that everyone got their children on ASAP, now realise that I was barking up a slightly different tree to tthe majority!
 
OK I'm going to be the different voice... I was showing at 2 (and yes there is pictorial evidence at home). By the time I was 5 I'd decided showing was BORING and used to jump off my pony and run over to the gymkhana ring :D
Based on that - maybe give him a bit longer but not necessarily up to 4-5.

We used to use flat pad saddles that were little more than a numnah with stirrups (I seem to remember them being a green furry velcro type surface :confused: although I did have a show saddle too) similar to this:
202-pony-pad.jpg

as they were narrower than a normal saddle - definitely didn't use a basket saddle - my parents didn't approve as they don't teach you to sit up and you can get these with handles on the front to help balance.
We also had little Welsh ponies as they are narrower than shetlands so less likely to make the child stretch a la Thelwell. There are loads of pics of my brother and I competing from really young - Dad used to run and hold a leg to help us balance (and we still used to win - my bro used to kick him to run faster :eek:).

Maybe we were the exception - but it didn't seem like it at the time.
 
Hello,

Saw this post on my usual morning read of H&H and thought I must reply.

My son is now 3 and he has had a little section A pony (borrowed) since he was 2 1/2. He is loving it and rides 3 times a week round the roads with me on foot and has mastered trotting really well (unfortunately it means i spend most of the ride running alongside trying not to run out of breath:rolleyes:). The pony lives out and I also lead him out with my horse to keep his tummy down when my son isn't riding as well as having managed to find a lightweight teenager to ride him a bit to bring him on.
He does get involved with grooming and feeding sometimes but it has just been great for us to do something together as he spends nearly every morning before work and evenings at the stables with me anyway watching me ride etc:).

We have a great fun so far and am looking forward to us both going out together and he is desperate to jump and canter so has definitely been bitten by the bug already:p
 
It's all personal preference My daughter is 2.5 now and rising trot coming on nicely if a little random ! lol - But I was lucky enough to already own an aged Shetland, although at 35 he's fulfilling the need just !! although my Daugher is now doing more than he's happy with ( grumpy old man ) I am getting thinking of getting a more capable pony on loan after the winter ... She rides 3 - 4 times a week for 45min to an hour and we still struggle getting her off - She started at about 18 months ..... .. She pooh picks his field, brushes, mucks out, cleans tack granted I do have to go about it all again after her but we're down the yard in all weathers for hours a day and NO REGRETS this end ! .. GO FOR IT x GL x
 
To help him with balance etc, I'd get one of those like a bike (without pedals)http://www.likeabike.co.uk/ I definitely found my balance from riding bikes, motorbikes, horses etc has helped with other sport when I've tried it eg kayaking and rowing when compared to the balance of other non-sporty type people

No reason it's too young if he wants to and you feel the pony is safe enough, lucky him! My daughter always wanted to ride - we've a RS nearby and she kept on and on about riding each time they trotted past till I caved in aged about 4, now we're 2 ponies and a trailer, and several thousand pounds worse off.
 
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