Pros and cons of a child sharing a pony ?

As Kat said, if someone hadn't given a horse mad little girl a chance, I probably wouldn't be riding now.

You just have to find the right person!

well i have found photos, and am about to do her ads, so hopefully she will make someone happy ! She will love it as well, loves being fussed and cuddled ! :)
 
I did it when I was about 12 - turned out I was just getting the beloved pony fit and ready to be sold. I worked so hard on tally. Turned up at the field one day to be told by someone else he'd gone. :(
 
I have insurance on yard and all my horses are covered, but i get them to sort out the child ? i have never looked into any of this as you can probably tell ! :)

They can get it through the pony club or BHS etc but if under 5 they don't seem to insure them so I had to look else where and was recommended this company: http://www.sportscoverdirect.com/insurance/childrens-sports.html/ as it happens they also insure for other sports so its good value if their child does more than one activity in the groups (might even encourage them to try something else). Otherwise you end up at the rough end of a court case if they claim against you for their personal injury claims.

I also found that some riding stables won't take my son for lessons until he's 5 having our own insurance has helped at least get him pony rides.
 
i am a bit worried about parents ! Il take my OH to meet people, he doesn't mind being upfront and telling people how it is, he can tell them my list of rules !

Horseloaner and billabongchick, it was the same for me as a kid, had lessons for a few years, but then got bored as it was the same thing every week, and not cheap either ! The mare is a great pony, not a kick along, but never silly. Just seems a shame to not use her, we bred her, had her professionally broken as she was for the kids, and shes hardly been used since.Nice to see someone get some enjoyment out of her.
Have to find some photos for her ad now ! :)

Do a trial period that way if at the end of it either they aren't taking care of the pony properly or if they are unreliable then you can call it quits without too much hassle. Month to three months is reasonable. You can have more than one sharer as well if you find that someone only wants one day if you get more than one decent applicant take on a second but give them set days with the option of extras with arrangement.

I'd love to move to Wales we visited recently but hubby said he's happy to visit but definitely no moving because of his business... maybe one day :D
 
Shysmum; this has happened to me loads of times and the main reason why we have just got one on trial to buy. I sold mine when I went to uni and then got fed up of putting in loads of effort only for them to get sold (like you say usually without you knowing!) or all the work undone by some other idiot loose jumping them with a lunge whip or similar meaning that what had been starting to come along as a nice calm, trusting green horse was back to square one and nervous as hell! It's definitely a case of finding reliable, truthful people on both sides which is hard but not impossible. I've always had own insurance in case anything under my 'control' had an accident or caused damage. Most rider insurances cover for things like lungeing/handling accidents as well as riding
 
dont want to put her out on loan as she is for my kids, but with work,school and dark nights, they dont get to take her out much ? Any experiences welcome !

Seems likely that work, school and dark nights will apply to any potential riders so not sure if you would get any takers, unless it was at the weekends and then wouldn't your children want to ride? Might not apply in your case but I've had experience of this and when nicer weather came and school holidays the owners children wanted to ride and we weren't all that welcome anymore.
 
Seems likely that work, school and dark nights will apply to any potential riders so not sure if you would get any takers, unless it was at the weekends and then wouldn't your children want to ride? Might not apply in your case but I've had experience of this and when nicer weather came and school holidays the owners children wanted to ride and we weren't all that welcome anymore.

happy for people to have weekends, my kids have hardly got on her, i say she is for the kids, thats the idea, but i bred her and dont think i could part with her now, so would rather someone ride her ! If i find her a good sharer, i wouldnt mess them around, days would be set, and that would be it. I got messed around when younger, you can ride it, now you cant, wouldnt do that to someone ! i can see how that can sometimes be a problem though
 
Yes I can quite understand not wanting to part with your pony, I'm possibly going to be in the same position in the future, albeit with a bigger pony and an older child. If I could find a sensible, reliable and kind person to help me out rather than sell I'd do it but where do you find these people? Interesting to read all the pros and cons on here.
 
I did it, never again. It wasn't just the child and her parents that would come and treat my yard as their own but they would happily bring non-horsey siblings together with a friend or two to occupy them, and cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents all feeling free to nip into my house to use the loo, park where the hell they wanted, pet the other animals, walk round my gardens, poke about in the sheds and garages.

Pretty much this. Nearly got slung off the yard because siblings, parents and dogs were such a nightmare.
 
Thanks everyone for your help ! Will have a look at insurance things, thanks horseloaner. Didnt get around to an ad yesterday, but mentioned it on my facebook, a friend of OHs said his wife has been looking for a pony for their son, has had lessons but wants to teach him more about caring for them, and riding, and the mother has owned her own for years. They are coming to meet the pony later. Going to re-read this thread now, make sure i have my list of rules ready ! :D
 
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