Pony sizes vs Child sizes question!

[Crazydancer]

I know this isn't straightforward, but just looking for a bit of guidance please!
We are looking for a pony for a friends 10 yr old daughter. They are not a horsey family (we will be taking care of the pony) and we have never had children with ponies...... so not sure what size we should be looking for.
He will have to be a steady sort and one she can cope with as she's never had her own, only ridden riding school types (and there she has been on all sorts and sizes!) and needs something to build confidence as although she has a nice balance seat she's a bit 'polite' and lacking a bit of confidence.
She's only just turned 10 and is slightly on the tall size for her age but not hugely so.
Would you consider anything under 12.2hh or over 13hh? We don't want her outgrowing him in a heartbeat, but equally don't want her over-horsed. It seems to be quite tricky, we've seen lots of ponies described as 2nd ponies in this range but think they would be too much for her.
Thanks in advance for any advice

 

[Fiona]

My neighbours have a 12yo and a 10yo, the 12yo is riding a narrow 13th, the 10yo a narrow 12.2 and both look fine.

If the pony was chunky, then it would take up more leg..

Fiona

 

[Fiona]

What about a loan of a 12hh for a year, and then buy a slightly bigger and better second pony?

Fiona

 

[PorkChop]

At ten, my daughters were on a 14hh, purely because the pony was the type we were looking for. Equally they would have been fine on something smaller.

I would be look at anything between 12hh and 14.2hh, if the pony is good it doesn't matter on the height. Also the bigger the pony the smoother the trot, generally speaking

 

[mcnaughty]

My daughter's pony is a 13hh Welsh B and she is of average height and weight and would expect her to have him for at least 2 years. He was previously ridden by an 18 year old! Really its more about the pony's temperament. I know horses that are better behaved than ponies but usually something that has a lot of pony in it has a bit more of a sane brain!

 

[alainax]

We have a 12hh fell who is chunky enough for a light adult to ride. He will be ridden by a toddler to a teenager!

 

[FfionWinnie]

It depends on the width more than the size. My daughter is an experienced tall 8 and riding 11hh to 14.1hh very competently. The bigger ones are finer. It's going to depend more on the temperament of the pony and it's build rather than the height. You need a first saintly pony by the sounds of it.

https://m.facebook.com/LLPRponies/

Cover pic is Dutch who is 14.1 and fine, profile pic is Ffion who is 13.1 but chunky, Custard is 12.3 and fine and Teddy 11hh also chunky.

 

[Tyssandi]

I know this isn't straightforward, but just looking for a bit of guidance please!
We are looking for a pony for a friends 10 yr old daughter. They are not a horsey family (we will be taking care of the pony) and we have never had children with ponies...... so not sure what size we should be looking for.
He will have to be a steady sort and one she can cope with as she's never had her own, only ridden riding school types (and there she has been on all sorts and sizes!) and needs something to build confidence as although she has a nice balance seat she's a bit 'polite' and lacking a bit of confidence.
She's only just turned 10 and is slightly on the tall size for her age but not hugely so.
Would you consider anything under 12.2hh or over 13hh? We don't want her outgrowing him in a heartbeat, but equally don't want her over-horsed. It seems to be quite tricky, we've seen lots of ponies described as 2nd ponies in this range but think they would be too much for her.
Thanks in advance for any advice

depends on the height - I have a sharer for my pony who is 11 yo and my pony is 12 hh and a livery has a 12.2hh and her sharer is 12 yo so both ponies have 11 years old and 12 year old children on them, one pony is welsh A and the other welsh B

 

[Peregrine Falcon]

My eldest son (rising 10) has a 11.2h which we have had for 4 years. We are starting to think about getting the next size up, probably a 13-13.2hh. We have a 2yo that's going to make 14hh so we have the next one after that sorted.

As a novice a chunky safe 13hh would be a good choice imo. It really depends on the temperament of the pony though. A lady at our fields has a happy hacking type at 14hh he is as safe as houses. He'd be anyones ride.

 

[Kaybie]

My tall nine year old rides the 14.2 I share. She's still a beginner, but she knows how to steer and can rise to trot OKish. She definitely has room to grow into him, but he's such a gentleman that it works. We're going to be borrowing YOs 13hh Dartmoor for her once she's confident enough to ride out with me.

When I started riding at 11 we loaned a 13.2hh which was perfect so I would suggest something around that size.

Here's a picture of my daughter from a little hack the other day.

 

[Fiona]

My eldest son (rising 10) has a 11.2h which we have had for 4 years.

Ohh maybe we will have a bit longer than I thought with our 11.2, as son is only 6

Fiona

 

[WelshD]

FW makes an excellent point regarding width, a chunky pony will take up more leg

I recently had a 10 year old riding my 12.2, she was tall for her age but not overly so - she looked too big but the pony is narrow, we put her on a 12hh chunkier pony and she looked ok

 

[Julia0803]

We had the same dilemma a few years ago! Except the just turned 10 year old was tall for his age and dad's family all 6'3+ beanpoles.

Lots of people said go for a 13.2 as a 14.2 will be too big. I was wanting to go 14.2 ideally so that i could also ride (5'4 and about 10st). We found our one in a million coblet who is 14.2 in shoes.

We are almost 4 years on and Son has grown about 7/8 inches! His legs are on the too long side really but as he is still whippet thin it doesn't really matter and he point blank refuses to even consider thinking about moving on.

It helps that pony is XW now too- he rode a friend's much narrower 15h a few months ago and his feet really were almost banging into the back of her legs!

But none of it would have worked unless the pony was as temperamentally sound as he is. He is more than happy mooching about with rains like washing lines, going over the odd cross pole and looking after a small person. Equally he can step it up and do a very nice test, he won the 70cm ODE at PC camp last year etc, he could do more with a brave child- but my son likes to keep all four feet on the ground! (I still think left to his own devices he'd vote to be the pony of a small child, who likes to gently bimble and has deep pockets filled with treats!)

I would put temperament above anything else. If possible get references from pony club, instructors etc who know the pony well and be completely honest about how novice the rider is and exactly what level they are at now.

 

[Julia0803]

https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=3ed3250ac62c072eedaf198b2e9b77d3&oe=59B28930





https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=a02ec342f4cabcb783315707248d99b5&oe=5977E803


Just for fun! First pic is the day we got him in 2013, the second is the pair of them last month.

 

[iknowmyvalue]

We have 2 sisters (8 and 11 I think) who share their 14.2hh. Both look fine on him, though the older one rides him more. He isn't a chunky 14.2 though, and he has a brilliant temperament. Also don't forget not to rule out something older, said pony is 17 but has a long time ahead of him yet unless anything dramatic happens! Something on the bigger side but which is experienced and knows the job could work perfectly.

 

[windand rain]

after the age of 10 size tends to be irrelevant temperament is far more important

 

[Crazydancer]

Thanks to you all for the inputs!! We had looked for a loan but no joy - all the good ponies are like gold-dust..... I had thought 12.2 was ideal but we've already seen 2 that are vastly different builds. She does currently ride my 14.2 ArabxWelsh and he is really a bit too big. We had restricted out search to 13hh but will push that a bit further to 13.2 I think after the replies. We had looked at a few adverts for 12hh but on balance I'm thinking that might be too small. So back to the search, and focus on temperament!! Thanks again!

 

[Peregrine Falcon]

You're not that far away from me actually. I'm on the look out anyway but more for a 2nd than a 1st pony. If I come across anything I'll drop you a PM. Let me know budget via PM if you want.

 

[pansymouse]

I had a 13.2 hh at 10 when I was 5' 6" which I rode until I was 17 and 5' 10" tall. I lost count of the times she tried to kill or maim me. My parents weren't horsey and she was offered to them via a contact at the local RDA where my Mum helped out. She was perfectly behaved with vulnerable riders but as soon as someone who knew what they were going got on her she let rip.

 

[Dubsie]

I think it really depends on the pony! My daughter rode an 11.2 from age 9-10 but quickly out grew so we got a 13.2 and a more stocky 14h pony that we parted with once my daughter got to about 5ft7 or so.

The 13.2 is a complete saint, and currently is on loan to an 8 year old who is very small for their age, so probably the size of a 6 year old