Those of you who have bought a 'project' pony..

muckypony

muckypony

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Its something I am considering as my share pony has been sold and aftet experiencing a share, I'm not overly keen on doing it again...

So, just a few questions!

When is the best time to buy and sell?
Excluding livery, how much should you budget to keep them until sold?
Will a good pony always sell?

I'm thinking something 13.2 - 14hh as I'm small, prefer ponies and generally think they are more commonly bought.

So, tell me all experiences, good and bad! :D
 
Re your height bracket, I'd go for a 13.2 as I've found people generally want 13.2/14.2 etc
And if you can afford to, get one now, keep it through winter then sell it in spring ready for a new jockey to have. Summer of competing on :)
 
Honestly? Market is rubbish, so if you're looking for a quick profit making turn around- don't do it.
If you don't mind keeping it for a while, and possibly being stuck with it for longer than you expected then go for it. I'd say go for a 14.2hh as they are pretty sellable, nothing too young as parents don't want their kids on young ponies. Gelding, not mares- seem to sell a lot easier. Don't spend more than £1000.
 
my personal view is that a project pony needs to be bought and produced with a job in mind

People dont tend to keep such ponies long enough to make them the bombproof all rounder that many people want so I would suggest aiming at the 'second' pony market with something that will jump, do dressage or show.

Also plenty of kids these days go from a 12.2 to a 14.2 so I would say that a pony 14.1/ 14.2 would be ideal but make sure it wont go overheight when fed and fit
 
I bought one earlier this year, criteria - gelding 5-7 14.2 ish, native type, broken and ready to work on, no vices or obvious injuries/ blemishes, budget around £1k. The idea is to sell in Aug/ Sept having put 4/5 months work into him, get plenty of hacking about alone and in company, start jumping and out to a few local shows.
Found, bay gelding 14.2 6 years very well started but still green, not jumped or hacked alone, reg native x, been in same home since 2 year old, so perfectly fitted criteria, only one I phoned about and under budget.
Going to plan, he now hacks out, alone as well as in company, is proving very sensible, jumping has started nicely he will get out soon.
So far he has had his teeth done £40, feet £20, he was up to date with jabs so that was a bonus. No other expenses so far but will run up some in the next few weeks going out to jump/ xc school when ready plus ads, he is on no feed being a native type .
Will he sell? the market is not great and if he doesn't he can stay until the right home comes along and the right price, good ponies will sell but they need to be safe, that is the most important thing for parents when they buy, it is no good having a fairly talented pony that is too quirky it limits the market, if you are going to buy to sell keep safety in mind, projects do not need to be difficult, green is fine you can put miles on them but something too difficult will take longer to come right and may prove hard to move on at any price.
 
20 years ago I used to regularly buy registered Fell ponies straight off the moors that had had minimal handling and sell them broken to ride and or, if suitable, to ride & drive. I tried to get them so they would hack out nicely on the road and ride well enough to do a ridden M&M class. I never had any problems selling them. However the market is so bad now I'm not sure I'd like to risk it as a pony I had 18 months ago took ages to get anyone to even look at it despite being a trouble free, quiet ride.
 
Thanks all, great advice!! :D

Definitely looking at getting a native and must be a gelding. Would be aiming for it to be a safe pony who can do a bit of everything. Im not too fussed about making money as such, I just dont really want to loose a huge amount!

If I were to buy towards the end of winter, and sell April/May time would that be the right sort of time?

Looking at adverts, it seems that there are a lot of 'cheap' ponies, but the still the ones realistically priced selling ad normal.

Do you have them vetted? And do you have them insured just in case?
 
If you buy at the end of the winter you will probably struggle to find one then that will be ready to sell in April/ May, that is about the worst time of year if they come out of winter looking a bit rough, so cheap to buy but expensive to feed up quickly while you also put in the hard work. If you buy then it would make sense to sell a bit later, end of May into June is when the market starts to get more active with ponies.
You need to be actively looking and prepared to buy when the right one comes along, the one I got was a bit earlier than planned but since then there has been nothing that fits the bill so it was just as well I acted when I did otherwise I think I would have given up by now.
I don't vet but have experience of buying, know what I like and can rule out some issues, eyes and heart are a risk and if I am unsure I will get them checked once home, a receipt stating sold as sound in eyes, heart, wind and limb is not a guarantee but you could then try taking it back.
No I dont insure, if it suffered a major injury or required colic surgery then would probably pts, minor issues can be dealt with sensibly, risk management is key do take care where it lives, mine are not shod so kick injuries are limited.
A native type gelding is a good bet, not too heavy or light so has more options, making something that suits as many people as possible, a decent allrounder will have a bigger market than trying to go for a specific job that it may not actually end up doing well.
 
be positive is pretty much bang on. If Al were to do a project, it would be:

5-8
14hh-14.2hh
Gelding
Coloured, dun or pretty
Solid, connie type but not outright chunky.

Get it about now, do autumn hunting/ winter dressage and then after xmas try and get it out SJ and PC Dengie novice dressage, and some rallies. Then work out a PC pony event plan, aiming for it to be at 90cm for late May events ready to be advertised then, but advertising by word of mouth all along and keeping an eye out for children who'll be moving onto bigger ponies soon...
 
I tend to have one or two project ponies a year.

My advice would be don't spend any more than you can afford to loose. I've never spent over £300 and whilst I have so far always sold on for a profit I accept that when I get the pony I may never see any money back at all. My ponies have always been 13.2hhish, purely because they are very cheap in comparison to 14hh however if you can afford (or find a good) 14hh+ they do always sell well. I tend to produce them for show jumping as I have a few contacts in that area but I also ensure that they are all good to hack, will do a half decent prelim test and have xc schooled. Ditto on what was said about getting desirable colours and geldings. I had the most fantastic chestnut mare last year who jumped like a stag and was completely bombproof/fearless. She had loads of winnings/placings out sj but in the end I had to sell her very cheaply for what she was a nobody likes chestnut mares! I prefer to buy Sept time and sell the following Spring. Good luck!
 
I bought a little 14hh 5 year old mare as a project a couple of years ago. She was a cheapy, had been broken but had next to no schooling put in to her. I think I paid about £750 for her. She was very cheap to keep feeding wise, didn't need shoes, lived out. The type I wanted to be able to keep costs low and get a decent profit. Well ..... When I bought her she would only canter on the right rein, would take off when mounted, terrified of the mounting block! Had a pretty hard mouth for such a young pony, I suppose rough hands broke her in. Her steering and brakes were appalling. But she was very steady and non-spooky, had a decent jump on her. I had her for two months, really took time to get her going well and work through her little issues. Had her out cross country schooling, little local shows, beach etc and at the end of the two months got around £1800 as a good safe, pony club pony. Got a couple of little updates from the kid who she was bought for and it seems like they were a good match. So I was pretty chuffed with what was supposed to be a little fun project but actually did manage to make money, bonus!

I think the key is buying a low maintenance pony, and have a strict timescale for when you plan to be finished the schooling or whatever and start advertising. And have emergency fund ready for in case the pony doesn't sell! Thinking back to that pony I sold your kind of getting me thinking about buying another one to do OP haha! It was so rewarding to bring a pony on and find a great home for her.
 
BroadfordQueen said:
Honestly? Market is rubbish, so if you're looking for a quick profit making turn around- don't do it.
If you don't mind keeping it for a while, and possibly being stuck with it for longer than you expected then go for it. I'd say go for a 14.2hh as they are pretty sellable, nothing too young as parents don't want their kids on young ponies. Gelding, not mares- seem to sell a lot easier. Don't spend more than £1000.
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I have to say I agree. A friend of mine has brought a project on from a foal. She's now 6, my daughters been riding her (a 14hh), she has got a BS record with national qualifications, done all PC & is a true safe allrounder. The time has now come to sell her but she's getting naff all interest even though the price is a very, very sensible one.
 
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