Ponies and boarding school....

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L&M

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Is it 'do-able', and if so how do you do it?

From next sept my son will be starting at one, and bar 2 exeats and half term, will not be able to ride other than school holidays, so am trying to weigh up whether it is still worth keeping a horse for him (or more importantly, fair on the horse).

The ideal compromise would be he shared mine, but it is a bit too sharp and strong for him, and don't want him to lose confidence, so not currently an option.

Also for those who have had/currently have teenage sons, how many are still riding? The problem is that he needs to move up a size horse and am wary of investing in another, to only find he suddenly finds teenage type activities are more exciting than 'riding with mum'!

Any experiences.....?
 
I used to nanny for a family with two girls who in time both went to full time boarding. Initially when just the older one was there the younger one would exercise both, hers most days and her sisters pony a couple of times a week when the evenings where light enough or I would lunge them both. When the older one was heading into her GCSE year she decided to sell her pony as she wanted to concentrate on her school work, plus the social side of school took up a lot of her time.
When both girls where at full time boarding the ponies where exercised once a week for a while but it wasn't really enough and they only ever maintained a small amount of fitness. They still have both ponies (older one went lame just before advertising but is fine now) but they haven't really done anything with them other than 'getting them fit' all year which is a real shame. I think the girls started to find it difficult and a bit chore like, especially during exeats where they feel like they 'have' to ride even if they don't want to.

The older pony will now be sold and they are looking into putting the younger one at an equestrian college so that he will be kept in work during the term and come home during the holidays. I think this is potentially the best option unless they can find someone to loan/share him from their yard.

Are you able to ride your sons horse to keep him ticking over?
 
I would keep the one he has for at least the first few months, if he finds there is more to do and riding takes a back seat then you are not stuck with a new horse to try and move on, if he has a new horse at this time of year it will be a real struggle to get to know it, I would not think of buying a new one until Easter so he will have the best of the summer to build up a relationship and by then you will know if it is worth getting another, if he is getting too big, unless it is a real concern, it wont do any harm to wait a while.

Just reread to OP and see it is next Sept, not now, so possibly you do need a new one before too long but if you can make do I would wait or buy something that you can enjoy keeping going so at least if you do find he lacks time or interest at least you can ride it until you decide whether to keep it or not.
 
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Hi
have you thought about a school where they can take their ponies with ?
there are a number that take ponies on school livery and have pretty good facilities ...
 
Thanks for all your responses...

3 Beasties - working plus my own horse, I am not sure if I would have enough time/energy to keep another fit, bar the occasional lunge or ride and lead.

Flicker51 - the school he is down for does not take horses sadly, and the fees are bad enough without adding livery into the mix

I do have the option of borrowing a liveries horse for occasional hacking, so maybe that is the way forward.....

Does anyone have a teenage son that is still keen?
 
I know a few teenage boys that are still keen (I'm a teacher, not a parent!) - know more keen on polo than anything else, but a committed handful of eventers. Depending on how keen he currently is, it's not inevitable that he will lose interest, from my experience.
 
I've a 16 yr old stepson. He still rides but it is not his passion like it was for me, he can take it or leave it. He has two friends aged 14 and 16 (boys) that have horses. They all go off for hacks, but have no interest in PC etc. I'm lucky in that when he outgrew his 13.2 aged 13 he could ride his dad's 17h placid hunter. The plan was always to get him another, but he grew so fast he has ended up happily sharing mine and hubby's horses, in fact hubby's horse is more like his nowadays.

I would perhaps keep his current pony over the winter, let him settle at school, see how much he rides and what friendships/interests etc develop. Leave rugs off the pony, perhaps get a sharer to keep the pony trim, then reassess next spring. Otherwise, I would sell the pony and borrow a livery's to ride when he comes home and decide in Spring.
 
The family my sister worked for before she moved to her new job employed her to keep the ponies ticking over- she went up at least twice a week to school them (jumping, proper cantering or flatwork) and then the other groom hacked them out during the week too. By this summer she was there pretty much every day, because she was both very good at keeping the ponies ride-able and also the children loved her. The eldest has just gone off to 'big' school (not a local boarding school, but a proper one if that makes sense!) and I think they're looking to replace Al like for like.

She always found it a bit mind-boggling tbh, although she loved the family and her work with them.
 
L&M - it must be rough enough seeing your son of to boarding school without having to sell his pony too. And pretty rotten for him I should think. My pony was killed on the hunting field 3 weeks after I went to boarding school for the first time so as you can imagine its a subject I'm a bit sensitive about! But having seen several PC mums at our branch with kids in boarding school - it is really difficult, if not well nigh impossible, to keep a dedicated pony for them. You could try to find a sharer to ride in the term - although that isn't likely to be attractive to many. Or try to find competition livery where the pony can be worked professionally?

As a really tiny PC branch we actually have a fair number of teen - and late teen - boys. We have one lad into dressage, one into polo and the other into anything. So boys do keep their interest - and once they figure out that actually it is a great way to hang around lots of young ladies in johds it becomes positively attractive! Might it be worth contacting your local pony club DC and put some feelers out for a share horse for him and perhaps a sharer for his outgrown pony? You might also find smaller jockeys willing to try to keep up fitness for you - but ti will depend on your branch.
 
Oh Shay - thank you for your support and so sorry to hear what happened to your pony. And you are right - I hate the fact that he will be away at boarding school but his father is a Head of Department at the same school, and it is a damn good school, so he is a lucky boy to have the opportunity.

It is a really hard one - he has been in our PC but left earlier this year as was the only boy (as you rightly say may have been to his advantage in latter yrs!!), and wasn't that enthusiastic because of this.

He loves his hacking, fun rides and an odd days hunting, but realistically can I justify keeping a horse for that when I can borrow a horse? I think what he will find hard is not having one of his own, and having to be dependant on someone else's goodwill to ride.

Tbh it would be easier if he lost interest, then decision made!
 
My son is 16 and just gone to agri college .. But we have got a sharer to keep his Polocrosse horse ticking over for the winter... He only rides at weekend, he lives at home.. Have you looked into finding a sharer ?
 
I think it would be worth sitting him down and having a frank discussion about what he feels and explain your side of things too. If he is really keen to continue I would replace the pony with a bigger one of an easily re sellable type. Then look for a sharer or local horseman teenager who would ride during term time. For holidays the new rider has to accept that your son has first call on the horse but allow they some riding too so everyone stays as happy as possible.
 
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