What was your first horse/pony??.

[rema]

Okay we are off for another trip down memory lane.What was your first horse/pony?.How old were you?.Describe you horse/pony?.And do you owe your passion,experiance or stickability to said horse/pony?.

Mine was a little bay Exmoor pony called Suzy.She was twelve when i got her (i was eight).She was a cowbag and i couldent catch her most of the time.And i dident like going into her field to catch her because the swans kept flying at me when they were nesting!.

 

[Emma123]

14hh called Statie who was around 24 when i got him and was my auntie's pony when she was small. I was around 10 when i got him he was a saint and a bugger rolled into one

! Taught me to stick well and if he didn't want to jump then he'd happily canter up to the jump and throw me off over it

loved him though

 

[lucysnapshot]

my first pony was smudge in my sig i got her when i was 15 still got her now nearly 21 (she's the same age as me) shes 14.2hh JA bay mare who i love to bits, she has taught me loads! she will have a home with me forever. she's expecting a foalie on friday. i wanted to breed from her so when she goes to heaven i'll have something to remember her by

 

[buckybee]

Mine was an 11.2 called Pip. he was a total dude!! About 100 yrs old with a bad knee but that didn't bother him. He was a bit lame most of the time put then suddenly became sound on the way to a show or the meet!

He was perfect for a first pony cos he was a sweetie with babies or novices but then got a bit more challenging when i could ride properly. i can still remember crying in the back of the waggon when he had to go to a new home.

 

[patchandloopy]

Boo, 12hh bay welsh X absolute darling but was a wise old owl and knew every trick in the book-although she never bucked or reared, and put up with numpty owners- bless her heart-god could she bolt!!!!

She was 22 i think i was just 7! I shared her with my sister. I owe her my passion for horses, i had some lovely times with her.

 

[skye123]

savannah a 14hand chesnut welsh sec D.

taught me loads and really increased my confidence in everything except jumping. she was a little bugger to jump the number of times she refused at a jump and i sailed over and landed on my head lol.

now thanks to her i have a mental block over jumping over anything 2ft3

however she did teach me not to lean forward towards the jumps

i had her for 3 yrs but sold her in august cos i outgrew her and she went to a brill home in wales

 

[dozzie]

My first pony was a loan pony. Strawberry roan NF called Forest Venture. He was kept in a field around the corner from our house. There were four ponies in the field and I used to go and see them but I didnt really know anything about keeping them. Anyway one of the ponies died from starvation and all the owners were asked to leave. So this girl turns up on our doorstep and says can she keep her horse in our paddock! So we, in our naivety say yes!! So said girl turns up every few months in her platform shoes and flares to ride horse!!

Fortunately a friend of ours came to visit who is very knowledgeable and took one look at the pony and said " if someone doesnt feed that pony he'll be dead in a month too!!!"

So my parents rang the girl who said she couldnt afford to feed him. My parents said they would feed him if I could ride him! We had lots of advice from friend to get his weight back up. Unfortunately he was the most nappy pony you could imagine- mind you he was only used to going out once every three months and then only went about 300 yds to some grass by the pub!! Hence when I rode him he would refuse to go any further than the pub!!

We were still going to buy him but fortunately I fell off and I broke my arm REALLY badly- (nearly lost it at 14!!) and pony had to go as the consultant said I was not to ride for at least 2 years! In their wisdom my parents bought me a 2 yr old!! (To keep me interested whilst I was unable to ride!)
Fortunately he was the easiest of chaps although quite a lively boy.
I still have him now- he's 31!! I'll post some photos of him once I ve found the camera leads!! He's somewhat grey now!!

 

[JM07]

dartmoor hill pony...wizzy little devil..and jumped like a stag.

 

[Jemayni]

I still have mine, 14hh grey 4yo conne called Sky. Far too much talent & attitude for a first pony; but he is still my baby!

 

[amzy]

I started with a winter loan pony from the local riding school who was 13h and I was 18 years old. A few years later my new boyfriend bought me my first horse - a 15.1 h welsh x arab strawberry roan

About 2 weeks later the boyfriend finished with me!! Oh well, it just meant I had a lot of time with my new horse

I then went on and joined the local riding club and won my first lot of rosettes!

 

[passie]

14.2 called Diamond. Tried to kill me. I had him for 18 months and he used to buck you off, then go for you. the only option was to get back on quick! Alot of people offered to ride him and noone managed to stay on! One day I was knocked out when I came off and was on my own. I woke up with hoof prints all down me and no horse in sight! He was swiftly sold by my Dad after that. Much better luck with following pony, who also used to buck me off, but stopped and snuzzled you after, so it was all OK.

 

[Marbs]

I got my first horse when I was 13. Recently backed 4yo cob mare. Was looking for an early teens schoolmaster so not sure how that came about!

I owe a heck of a lot to her. She got me all my confidence back and made it so I could ride the more difficult horses, instead of bricking it when a horse asked a question (had the usual kiddy bravery, but when I was 12 I lost a lot of confidence after a string of horses that had no place in an RS). She also helped make me a better rider. I had my first real taste of dressage and xc on her, and gave me my first taste of eventing and got me hooked. Wonderful wonderful mare and I could not have wished for a better first horse! Unfortunately I outgrew her, and also wanted to compete at a level higher than she was capable of (she was most happy at around 3ft max, although she would never say no and would try her heart out at anything you asked of her.)

 

[smokeybabes]

Mine was a little black Shetland called Blackberry!
Was quite sweet but also had its cheeky shetland side and i fell of many times!

 

[passie]

Wow Deeble, I wish my boyfriend would buy me a horse! (he's looking over my shoulder saying not likely at the moment!) I think you got the good deal there.

 

[RachelB]

I'm going to cheat and say there were four stages of my "firsts"!
First first was a RS pony I had on "loan" one day a week. He was a tiny little Shetland X Welsh I think, looked like a mini version of It's Otto. Fab little pony, I used to love riding him. The best thing he taught me was to keep my toes out of the way... he used to drag me up the grassy bank outside his stable and stamp on my toes if I tried to pull him away!
The second first was the first pony I had to look after, she was on loan though. She was a 13.1hh bay NF called Fleur. She was a total b****, Poor thing was weaned at 6 weeks old so had no idea how to behave properly. She was broken in for me but I was too young to bring her on really. She taught me to flippin well sit up when she reared!
The third first was my Welsh Cob Lily. She was fab til we both lost confidence and scared eachother witless! I learnt a lot from her though, as I frst started doing dressage on her when we got too scared to jump. I was also very impressed with myself when I got her over her fear of water!
My final first is my first horse, Maiden. She has given me so much confidence in the last nine months, even though I've probably only been able to ride her for five of those! I'm hoping she'll give me enough confidence to do some small PC events by the end of this year.
Sorry, I cheated a bit there!

 

[rcm_73]

An albino Welsh Mountain gelding called Simon. I was three when I got him and kept him until he was hopelessly outgrown when I was 13, he was about 16 when we sold him. He was perfect to catch, keen but safe and with excellent brakes! I had great fun galloping up and down fields, hacking and popping small poles with him, he taught me a lot, he was particularly good at whipping round for home when cantering across open fields! Not brilliant in traffic, but not silly enough to be dangerous. Fond memories!

 

[amzy]

Passie... We were watching a programme on telly one evening where a man bought his wife a horse and I just said 'wow, I wish that would happen to me' and he said O.K., I'll buy you one if that's what you want!! The horse was mine not long afterwards

Mind you, I always thought he was a bit strange

Didn't even give me much of a reason to finish with me either.

 

[Parkranger]

Had a series of loan ponies (arab/anglo arabs/connies) and my first horse was a 15.2 saddlebred.....

 

[Santa_Claus]

9h2 ish shetland called Tricky Dicky who I still own now 23ish years later!

He is grey (read white) very fluffy and very cheeky but love him to bits and even at 30 odd he still has all his character!

 

[Bex7]

The one have now, at the grand old age of 28!

 

[Skhosu]

He is(still have him) D, at the time a 5yr old connemara. NOT best suited to a family of 3 young children with unknowledgeable parents and a bit of an annoying YO.
We ruined him by overjumping, but he has recently come into his own. He is a sweetheart, with a stubborn cheeky streak but I love him to pieces.

 

[spooks]

12.3hh strawberry roan exmoor x dartmoor, very cheeky and would behave if a complete novice was on him, would try it on with more experienced riders. he was sold to us by YO on condition that we sold him back to her ,which we did, he died of old age a few years ago and the most embarrassing photo of me and my sister with him age 10 and 12 at the time (im now 39) appeared in the local paper as he was a bit of a legend around our area!

 

[Hattikins]

I owe my stickability and determination to Scampi. She was a 12.2hh bay exmoor X. She was 8 when i got her and i was 7

She had a fettish for long grass

she was unbelievably lazy and used to frustrate me beyond belief. But she gave me my best ever 2 days hunting

and she earned me the affectionate name of "bostik bottom" due to the stickability i needed to stay on her when she stuck her head down half way round a SJing course or when she took matters into her own hands and carted me round the 2' jumps instead of the 1'6'' jumps at camp!! LOL

She truly was lovely - we only sold her last year aged 16 - and i really miss her - but i do love having wizzier ponies now - but her lazy streak did keep me safe

 

[kayleigh_and_rocky]

My first pony

Reg "Telynau Regent" welsh cob sec C, from the synod dynasty. Got him as a 5year old, was gelded a week before i got him, i was 9 when i first got him, he was 14hh and i was tiny....we had many an accident, many a time, but he taught me how to stay on and at the end of our 6years together we were out and about winning everything, such a star will always have a place in my heart

Photo was taken the year i sold him - to a very nice pony club family

 

[clipclop]

Patch a little Shetland pony.

He stayed with us until he was PTS.

Great pony with a horrible sense of humour but he taught me a lot!!

 

[Cobland]

My first horse is the one I have now!! My mum was against horse riding, thought it was too dangerous.

Mae is a 4 year old gypsy cob, she has just gone up to 13.3hh but even though im 5ft10 i dont look so big on her as she is so wide lol.

Always said i was never getting a horse with 4 white socks, that i was never getting a mare, broke those rules!

She was pregnant when i bought her, i wanted something bigger but i fell for her charms, vet thinks she might make it into the 14hhs - woohoo lol

 

[magicchett]

My first pony i looked after was a welsh x, she wasnt broken and i just spent the whole time walking her down to the shops with a saddle and bridle on, grooming and rasing her foal.

We were very close and unfortunaly due to my father moving jobs we relocated to sunny old Hampshire! For two years i visted my bay girl until she was loaned out to a riding school where they backed her.

She was there for two years, and after my 18th, my dad said I could finally have a horse of my own (provided i support it); and of course i had to get Polly back!

As Polly was too fiesty she was put out in a field until i came to her rescue!!

So now she lives 2mins down the road from me, spoilt as hell, and has little sharers to come play with her!

 

[madhector]

my first pony was Flash,

12.2 welsh x, 5yrs, a complete monster, bought unbroken from the sales by my stupid sister, but who turned into the biggest star, he would jump anything, and was my best friend,

very sadly outgrew him after only a few years

 

[SouthWestWhippet]

My first pony was a little 8yr old Dartmoor X Arab called Falcon. He was 13.2hh, bright bay and he was a naughty little sod but also a super gymkahna pony who loved his jumping. I jumped him over a single barrel (about 1' wide) in the riding school gymkahna once.

He hated hacking on his own though and would go about halfway down the road, stop, turn round and trot back home with me helplessly hauling on the reins and trying to turn him round. He also used to take off at every opportunity and the only way to stop him was to hurl yourself over his shoulder, at which point he was screech to a halt, and turn round to look at you on the ground as if to say "what are you doing down there, we were just getting to the fun part???".

I sold him to my friend when I grew out of him and then he went to her friend where I think he lived out his years getting fat in their field

 

[Nic]

Toby a 10.2 Welsh A, I got him for my 4th birthday and he taught me everything. He stayed with us until he was PTS age 24.