Out of curiosity - what was your first pony like?

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judy2shoes

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As the title really...

I started riding at a local RS with an excellent instructor when I was about 10, but sadly after a couple of years she left and was replaced by a completely useless woman. Around about the same time my friends parents had bought my friend a pony which after a while she got bored of, friends parents were delighted that someone was still interested in said pony and so I took her on. Pony was intelligent, fast-thinking, nappy, spooky and all legs and teeth. She was difficult to mount, more or less impossible to school (napping, broncing, bucking etc - bear in mind prior to this I'd only been riding once a week for 2 years) and fast and spooky on hacks (back/tack/teeth checks were always fine). Nevertheless I persevered and eventually I had a pony I loved and trusted, and I think she felt the same.

So, this whirling dervish was my first pony. If I were buying a "first pony" for my kids my instinct would be to look for something calm, placid and patient. However, I can't help thinking that "my" first pony taught me far more, especially in terms of respect, than a more staid steed.
Any thoughts? Opinions??

(Sorry this turned into a longer ramble than I'd expected :rolleyes:)

:D
 
Yep, totally agree.
My 1st pony was a 13.2 monster. Couldnt catch him, tack him up, groom, feed (or anything else) without being on look out for the teeth and feet.
He had no brakes, bucked like stink, yet taught me more AND was more fun than anything I have ever had since!
 
1st pony was a 14.1 arab. I was 13. Had been riding for a long time at a RS and on other peoples horses and ponies.
When we got him you couldnt lead him, he would just bolt and either drag you or snap lead ropes and headcollars left right and centre. He was strong as an ox. But with the use of a rope headcollar someone made me i cured that problem.
He was fast, endurance fit, strong as an ox, jumped like a stag, could put in the worlds biggest spook, was a nightmare to ride in company, would buck when excited, but god was he fun.
I used to ride out with some race horses and we (5 of us) went for a gallop along a huge field, one of them said really cockily "we'll wait for you at the end dont worry" to which i replied jokeingly more like the other way round" and we set off and pharoah kept up with and ahead of 2 of them right to the end. I did have to laugh as one of the ones he beat was the guy who had been really cocky at the start!
He turned round to me, still pretty speachless and said "b*gger me that pony is fast, he is unreal" i had the most massive grin on my face the whole way home! He was the best pony on earth and if he was still alive i would have him back this second just to give him the retirement he deserved.
 
The first pony I ever had (and still have) was bought for me when I was only 3 months old. She lets you do anything to her, jump on her in the field, sit between her legs, ride bikes round her, everything! Her only 'fault' is that she is strong. I would say she was a real confidence giver.
 
My first 'owned' pony was somewhat quirky. A 14.2 connemara mare with attitude (strawberry roan!).

Bought off the field with a reputation for bucking and a ban from working in the local riding school!

Utterly brilliant horse, we got along very nicely and she taught me a lot - including how to stay on. In all her time she never left me when I was deposited on the floor including on the top of Dartmoor whilst following hounds. She took me home 8 miles when I was so concussed I dont even remember the ride home, she won me my first hunter trial and that was up against 'proper' horses ridden by adults.

I think we clicked because I had time and patience and I dont think I could have had a better teacher at that age.
 
If I had set out to find the 'wrong' pony for a first pony - then I excelled.

She was a well bred (Cosford) show pony with a fine line in bucking, shoulder dropping and galloping across every bit of grass we encountered. Jumping had no technique, it was all about speed, hunting was terrifying. For the first year I must have bounced off her once a fortnight on average.

It took years for us to have an understanding and even in her 20's she never really calmed down.

I still miss her though:(
 
My first pony was a Basuto Pony X. And she was a shocker in someways. Nipped, stood on your feet purposely, was a nightmare to catch, was terrible in a herd (tiny as she was she was a total cow) and a PITA to load.

However, she was also a paragon for a small child on or off the lead, 'caught' you after a jump, slowed down if you were falling and didn't bog off if you fell and was happy standing for hours to be groomed, fussed, plaited and petted. A little girls' dream!
 
My first pony was a 14hh mare - Arab x Welsh. She was an ex-endurance pony and was way more than I could handle at that age / level of experience. Very fizzy!

Replaced shortly afterwards by an 14h NF x TB gelding who was really sweet and I would hack all over the countryside with him - wish I still had him now.
 
Mine was an ex-riding school pony, with a 15hh cob-sized head and body on 13.2hh legs.

He was very determined if he didn't want to do something but totally safe and strong enough for mum to ride too.

I moved onto something with a bit more scope when I was 13 but he was perfect as a first pony.
 
I was 16, short, and my first pony was a lovely patient 12.2 cob who was a total darling. Second pony was a devil though, an occasional bucking bronking napper but he was awesome!

My kids currently have their first, a patient trusting 14hh who is the sweetest bombproof boy out.
 
My first pony ive had for 7 yrs, got him when I was 13.
He is a 14hh Dales Pony he was 4 when I got him, probably too young for me at the time! Napped with me when I tested him out, great start. When we collected him, I put the headcollar on him and he ripped the hair bobble out of my hair, another great start!

He was only meant to be a happy hacker, but we grew in confidence together and jump over 4ft together now! He then went on loan to my best friend as her first pony and given her all the confidence in the world. He does have his moments, he is grumpy and bargy but I wouldnt change those traits at all!

Plus he is also used by the Pony Club and always asked after! I will never sell him and I couldn't have asked for a better first and forever pony.
 
My first pony was a 14hh chestnut gelding called Skippy. He was quite forward and strong, but very safe as long as no one tense or nervous tried to ride him.

My second pony taught me the most. That was Flame who is now 30 and still a little handful. I'm actually hunting for another just like her at the moment. :D
 
My first pony (who I had when I was 7) was a 12hh Welsh section B called Mr Flashman (Flash). Lazy sod who could buck when he'd had enough of anything, but an angel to handle on the ground. Learnt so much from him and missed him terribly when he went!
 
My parents got me my first pony when I was 18 months/2 years old. My mum saw an ad in the paper and hitched up the trailer. She knew we were getting the pony. Pony was in such a sorry state, already 'broken' by the age of 2 by local kids. So, a 10.2hh black mare, shetland type arrived! Mum called her Shambles. Mum paid £50 for pony, tack and harness (yep, broken to drive too). The rubbish tack soon got binned, and re-hab followed. Pony was a saint really, although she did get me off quite a few times over the 7 years we had her just to keep me on my toes!! She was PTS 18 months ago at 28 years old. We always kept in contact with her 'new' owners.
However, Meg is MY first horse.
 
I still have my first pony :D had her for just over 4 years now and can't actually say i have loved every minute of it but she has taught me so much, considering i got her when i was 11 and had only had odd rides on my mums old horse up until then so in hindsight getting a 14.2 arab x welsh chestnut mare was not the best idea being a jumping pony with no brakes, an ugly buck and very dirty stop it wasn't surprising that it took quite a while for us to get used to each other. But one thing that my instructor said that has stuck with me is "if you can ride her you can ride anything." Would rather have saffie than my friends plod who's parents think that saffie is 'dangerous' ;)

although shes not an amazingly bred show pony with perfect conformation she has made winning a rosette all the more special as i know how hard i have had to work just to get round:)
 
When I learnt to ride, I was never allowed to ride the ponies at the riding school, always had the horses I was too tall, so nearly two years ago at the tender age of 33 I got my first pony. oh what I would do to ride him, my girls ride him so I get my fun that way.

Ponies are so much fun and so different to horses, I have three yearlings and you can tell even at that age they are horses, ponies have such a fun air about them, and not forgetting the cheaky side.

even though I would never be able to ride them.
 
I was 13 and he was 15.3hh ex-racer, who'd been there, done that and had about 20 t-shirts. He had been kept as a bit of a pet so was extremely friendly to both humans and other horses.
He taught me everything I know now and, while a patient school-master, would sometimes get a bit fed-up with me and turn into a spirited 2-year old!
We had a gallop track at our yard in Johannesburg and he made every horse we raced against eat his dust!
When he died of natural causes in his field at the age of 21, I felt like a part of me died too. I was a socially inept teenager and for a time he was my best and only friend.
RIP Sun Brilliance
 
He was a 13.2hh Dun cob called Rusty Nut.... I cried when my mum told me she had bought him for me, I thought he was ugly- he had massive feet, a short spikey standy up mane, and looked like he cantered with both hind legs together!!! After some massive teething problems with us as a partnership (think dumping me in Bushy park and running off down the middle of the road- Hiding in the woods in the field when he saw me coming, consistant jogging the list goes on!!!)
He was the most amazing pony ever- we won all manner of things at pony club, and he truely taught me to ride, and how to look after a pony--- if you wer doing it wrong he let you know!!
 
Gorgeous.

She was a 13hh Strawberry roan mare. Really kind and genuine. The ideal all rounder who had manners and didn't take the p*ss out of children, like so many naughty ponies often do.

Unfortunately she broke her leg in the field due to completely freak accident and had to be PTS there and then. I cried for weeks afterwards, and I still swear that I knew when it happened. I still maintain (30 years later!) that I was my history class, which was the last lesson of the day and I suddenly had a feeling that something wasn't right. I don't believe in that sort of thing, but I've never been able to explain that feeling I had that day, before we found her.

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i didnt have a pony, i was 15 when i got my first horse... and he was nuts.

totall wrong for me but taught me to stay on lol.
 
The first 'pony' I ever owned (had had loans before that) was a 17hh 14yo ISH. I was 13, a cr*ppy rider (no change now then :D ) and 5'1 at the time :rolleyes: :D
He was a failed eventer, then a failed hunter, then a failed riding school horse. I didn't really have a choice (not that i was complaining, i was desperate for my own!!) as he came up for sale quite quickly, and my older sister had ridden him loads and loved him, so my mum bit the bullet and bought him, on the condition that my sis and I would share him - I rode him for the first time once we had bought him, and he ran off with me, lol.
A year later, my sis basically lost interest and gave up riding, leaving me (5'2 by this point ;) ) to carry on with him.
He was a lazy, stubborn g!t most of the time, but got very strong in open spaces and when jumping, . He had the dirtiest, craftiest stop I've ever seen (and I wish I could say it had taught me to sit tight, but it didn't, I just fell off a LOT :D ) which he would employ at inconvenient times, like when I was showing off to my friends, or at a competition ;)
He was awful to load, and knew how to throw his weight around, but most of the time on the ground he was very kind to me. :) I had him til the beginning of 2009, then gave him up because he didn't want to do the stuff I did, like lots of competitions- his various careers had had an impact on him, and he was athriticky and creaky :rolleyes: He's now having a nice, relaxing time, hacking and gentle schooling with a couple who are learning on him, while I bother some other horses ;)

He was also (IMO!) very handsome ;)

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You're totally right OP :)
My first pony, when I came fresh out of riding school after 4 years, was an 8 year old 13.2hh Exmoor lookalikey gelding.
He was a typical first pony, very good to a point with new riders but he was also a little s*d if he knew you could ride!!!
He was a bit grumpy in the stable, he bucked if overtaken on a hack, he jumped like a little trooper but he did like to rodeo! He would take grooming boxes/vets boxes/farriers tools and throw them around the place, he wouldn't be caught!
One day with his other owner, they qualified for a big show at Birchingley Manor and he rodeoed around the whole arena and wouldn't jump a single fence so she brought him out and waited outside with him to calm down - however, when the winner was announced and she was brought into the arena for her lap of honor, Rebel shot off into the arena bucking and was also flying round to 'Simply the best'!
But, what he taught me about respecting horses and how I rode was priceless and I would never have got it from another horse, I was so lucky to have the opportunity to spend so many years learning from him :)
 
Grey (white) sec A that had been with a pony club family since he was a 6 year old and seen all 3 of their kids thru and I got him in his early 20s (I was 4 at the time) one of those miracle ponies that did everything you asked of him but would be a dope on a rope with a beginner. Mother's dream and I loved him to bits... died of a heart attack at the age of 28 - he was a star.

Blitz
 
This has bought back many happy memories!! Tommy was my first pony, he was recently put down at the grand age of 36 give or take a few years! He cost my parents £80 including tack and transport (on a lorry) from Inverness to Suffolk (this was now 28-30 years ago!) He was approx 10.2hh and was grey with a brown head and a wall eye. He had the thickest mane you've ever seen. My plaits used to look like footballs running up his neck. I was most disappointed at pony club when I was informed that he was "odd coloured." He served myself and my sister and 2 brothers then another good few families in our area all from pony club. He then went to Devon and lived with a cousin where he was stag hunting until about 5 years ago. The only thing he'd never let us do as children was catch him if we were wearing our hats and carrying his bridle, then it was Mum's job to catch him! What a complete legend he was, be him "odd coloured" or not. RIP Tommy - too many happy memories to ever be forgotten.
 
Oh dear were do I start :D, my first pony was a 12.2 dark bay, in all fairness I could not ride, didnt know the back end of a horse from the front :( sadly the lady talked my mother into buying him, I had gone for a lesson and finished up with a pony :) If there is anyone on here who had horses around 20 years ago in liverpool area will know who am on about she was notorious for her ways. I had him on working liv cause thats what she said we should do, he was a star but only cause he was so dam tired, we moved him to another yard a few months later.
What a difference he went on DIY and would bolt and nap. I just had no control whats so ever and to try and catch the flippen boy was a big no no. :( He had one super jump on him and prob would have made a great pc pony with the right person and time :). I had had him about a year and the yard I was on had local shows so I went in the jockey and groom class, before we even started he bolted up the field back to the yard :eek:
He ended up bolting onto a main road while I was riding him, mum spoke to YO who took him off us and exchanged him :( Looking back, realistically he should have been PTS or at least ensured he went to a home with tons of ex but hindsight is a great thing We were just so clueless :eek:
 
My first pony (on share) was a calm 32 year old mare. She taught me everything I know about horse care. But riding wise? Not much.

My first owned horse was also calm and steady, easiest thing in the world to ride. She taught me patience and calm riding, instead of the get angry and beat the **** out of it riding that some friends use.

My now pony is a nutjob, with no brakes out hacking and a wall of death whilst schooling. He has improved my riding and confidence no end. We are also now slowly working through the brakelessness and really coming along. :D

I've read most of the posts here and it does seem to me that although a nice calm plod is, in theory, the perfect first pony, a nutty beast seems to improve our riding immensely and give us hours of lols when thinking of falls and other iffy moments.

Not that I don't have thse with my old horse...they seemed scary then, now bombing off at 80mph seems hilarious! :D
 
my first pony was good but strong and fast, she taught me alot but in a good way, when ive got older the horses ive owned have been difficult but learnt and so have i, but when i have kids and bought them a pony i wouldnt want them to be scared of there pony even though it will learn them alot, i would rather them learn on something they could rely on and i could also then go on to something abit more fresh then go on from there.xx
 
My first pony was a hairy 1/2 shetland bay of about 12hh. He was the naughtiest pony ever. He wouldn't jump anything and if you did get him over he cat leapt into orbit. He was nappy, would only be caught if he felt like it and quite liked a good buck. He was also fantastically cuddly, loving, loyal and amazing at games and would put up with all sorts of manhandling that he got from me and my friends. He also was missing 1/2 an ear.
I kept him for twenty years and loved him to bits.
 
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