Thoughts re prices of ‘perfect’ ponies for novices or first ridden for kids

[oldie48]

The trouble with buying safe sane first ridden ponies is that you just never know how quickly the child's riding will progress. We were lucky enough to have a RS pony on part loan, he was used for lessons on a Saturday and Wednesday evening but was ours for the rest of the time provided we gave him one day off a week. He knew his job and for the year that we loaned him, he was exactly what my daughter needed, she gained so much in confidence and experience. He was somewhat elderly, we needed to be very careful with him and understand his limitations but he did his job so well that after a year my daughter needed to move on. There was a queue of children waiting to loan him. That first year or two of first ridden is so crucial and if you are buying it's a temptation to want something that will last your child a few years so I do understand why parents shun older ponies but they are generally just what the child needs. We bought a rising 6 connie mare to move on to, daughter coped fine even though pony was green and forward going but she needed that year on the old pony first.

 

[Wishfilly]

You are probably right but therein lies the problem.People want five to 6 years for very modest sums of money.They then can't understand that they may struggle to hack out alone/load on a trailer or get wired up at a show because they may never have been to one.If you haven't got the ability to bring on a youngster (and be honest with yourself,ask a decent trainer if in doubt) and haven't got the money for a really well trained five to six year old consiider a sound horse in its teens that has been round the block several times.

I definitely agree with this. For me, if I did have children, I wouldn't consider a 5/6yo for a first ridden pony, and probably not for a second pony either. I'd be looking for something in its teens which had been and done the job I wanted for several years!

I think the problem is a lot of people with children ponies want to use the sale of the first pony to finance the second one, and so on- so they don't want to buy something that may have lost a lot of value in a few years time.

But I know a lot of people buy ponies for their children that just aren't suitable because they're young, or cheap, or they want something their child can "grow into". I think it's really important to buy the pony you can handle safely and your child can ride now- and if you want to compete/show, then I think buying something with competition experience is a must!

 

[Wishfilly]

The trouble with buying safe sane first ridden ponies is that you just never know how quickly the child's riding will progress. We were lucky enough to have a RS pony on part loan, he was used for lessons on a Saturday and Wednesday evening but was ours for the rest of the time provided we gave him one day off a week. He knew his job and for the year that we loaned him, he was exactly what my daughter needed, she gained so much in confidence and experience. He was somewhat elderly, we needed to be very careful with him and understand his limitations but he did his job so well that after a year my daughter needed to move on. There was a queue of children waiting to loan him. That first year or two of first ridden is so crucial and if you are buying it's a temptation to want something that will last your child a few years so I do understand why parents shun older ponies but they are generally just what the child needs. We bought a rising 6 connie mare to move on to, daughter coped fine even though pony was green and forward going but she needed that year on the old pony first.

I definitely agree with all of this- but I think this is why people should be more willing to consider loaning/sharing their child's first, or first few ponies, especially if they don't have lots of money to spend!

I agree so many parents give into the temptation to buy something which will last for a few years or longer, and end up over horsing the child initially and scaring them- and sometimes the child is put off riding long term.

I know it's difficult and there are lots of things that parents have to balance/manage but I think being patient initially and looking for loans/shares or just having lessons for a bit longer often pays dividends.

 

[Bernster]

I agree with every word you say there.Had friend who did some breeding for sale at one time.She said people will spend £20.000 plus for a box or an arena.£4000 plus for a saddle and want to pay no more than £3000 for the horse.

Hadn’t really thought about it like that but when you think about it, it is bonkers! Horse prices dont seem to be based on the cost to produce or the ‘overheads’ up to the point of sale. price v input and costs are generally way off the mark!

 

[Lex2009]

Wow a bit judgmental not everyone has tons of money to spend on a horse I bought my first horse for €2000 and she was a brilliant horse and taught me a lot. You can say the same thing about people selling horses for 10 thousand that’s green and have no talent. There is a lot of sellers who overpriced horses

 

[maya2008]

I guess the question should have been - in today’s market where training a ‘first pony’ isn’t economically possible for a pro or financially rewarding for a child as a hobby (because you would spend more in keep than you would get back at point of sale), what magical stork delivers first ponies or nice all rounders for older novices?

Ponies that aren’t in their teens/twenties, that is?

 

[buddylove]

There are a few producers I have noticed that have jumped on the business of a shortage of first ponies. They are buying them, getting a child to ride them, then selling them on as children's ponies with mega price tags. Yes they been schooled by kids, but have had limited life experience, and very specifically produced for the market. These are the ones I steer well clear of.

 

[Wishfilly]

I guess the question should have been - in today’s market where training a ‘first pony’ isn’t economically possible for a pro or financially rewarding for a child as a hobby (because you would spend more in keep than you would get back at point of sale), what magical stork delivers first ponies or nice all rounders for older novices?

Ponies that aren’t in their teens/twenties, that is?

But you are saying this based on your own experiences of training only. I agree it can be hard financially, but I do know someone who makes money on producing ponies (although this isn't the whole of her business), but crucially she doesn't (usually) buy direct from breeders and she doesn't keep ponies for years in order to produce them. Some of them are first ridden, some are not and she markets them for what they are suitable for.

It's also worth bearing in mind that keeping e.g. a Dartmoor hill pony, or welsh cross is usually significantly cheaper than keeping most larger horses.

I also think people who want a nice all-rounder for a novice but also want a 5/6yo essentially want the impossible- I'm not saying it doesn't exist, but it really is pretty damn rare.

So maybe (some) purchasers should be more realistic about the age of horse/pony they want to buy?

 

[buddylove]

My requirements were minimum age of 8, no upper limit, ended up with an 11 year old, perfect! My other daughter's first ridden was 15 when we bought him, perfect ages.
I'm sure there will be queue around the block at PC when they are outgrown!