To buy or not to buy?

nicolenlolly

nicolenlolly

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I need some advice please.

I have an 11.3, 5 year old section a who has been a wonderful lead rein pony for my 5 year old little girl. He has not been perfect but she has learnt to really ride very well as a result, he is rather spooky, quite stubborn and takes an assertive rider off the lead and in the school. Hacking he is wonderful, a little forward and not keen on dogs chasing him but other than that, lovely.

My daughter turns 6 in August and wants to do more and now we are finding he is holding her back-his napping is awful, she wants to start cantering off the lead and popping little cross poles and he just doesn't want to play ball. I will work on him on the lunge and I have a 14 month old little girl who loves nothing more than sitting on him so he can wait and be her lead rein pony.

So now I get to go pony shopping :) I want something a bit taller as lolly is in age 7/8 clothes she is so tall. I was looking at a school master that is 19 but have been advised to avoid as its too old :( shame as he is gorgeous! I'm hoping this pony will need to be with us for a good while so I see her point...but...I can't help thinking older is wiser?!

Any advice would be appreciated.

Many thanks xx

This is the pony I like
http://www.horsequest.co.uk/advertisment/70351
 
Tbh age wouldn't put me off if he is the right one & I would go & try. I would get him vetted before buying though. My friend had the exact same problem with her daughter. She bought a younger pony who turned out to be much too sharp for her, so she sold that & ended up buying a 19yr old. The daughter is having so much fun now & her confidence has gone through the roof :) xx
 
I would certainly not be put off by age when buying ponies. Proper schoolmaster ponies hold their price, I sold a 14.1hh that was in his twenties last year for £1500.

The pony you are interested in looks lovely, the questions I would be asking would be - when was he last ridden/handled by a small child? Are there any management issues, ie stiffness, laminitis etc? What does he do when his rider falls off?

Good luck with your search, its so important to find the right pony.
 
I know a really really nice 12:2 strawberry roan section B gelding for sale. 10 years old. Absolute confidence give without being boring x
 
I don't have a problem with age, so much can happen to any pony at any age. My daughters 1st pony is now 10 but was only ridden for a year and is now a field ornament due to field injury. I'm not sure I'd pay that price but with tack maybe (depends on the quality of the tack) I'd question the size of pony though. I went for 13h initially for my daughter when she was 7, if you are going to go to any shows for fun, lead rein and 1st ridden in my experience the pony must be 12.2 or smaller. My daughters next pony we bought is 12.2hh my daughter is a tall ish ten year old (in ten year old clothes) and is fine, certainly not too big for another year or 2 yet (there's a photo of her riding on my profile page) just something to consider. All the best in your search
 
Loves cobs I didn't think of that thank you. Gwena could you pm me some more info please, looking to spend ideally not too much more than 2k but it needs to be right and there is always the credit card :)
LJR it is still being ridden at the moment and is doing a rally this week
 
The age wouldn't put me off at all, just make sure he is vetted. A healthy pony will happily keep going long into their twenties. May need a tad more care such as use a joint supplement etc but nothing drastic.
 
From the advert and after reading your OP, the pony looks like a huge step up for your daughter at her age.

It's not the age that would bother me, it's the difference between what your daughter is doing currently and what the pony looks capable of.

I would think a question to ask is when was the last time the pony was ridden by somebody very novice.
 
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