What would you look for in a childs first horse?

[MagicMelon]

I am avoiding anything under 6 years old, as I just don't believe that horse that young could possibly be suitable for a beginner no mater how quiet.

I wouldnt write them off. My very first pony (many years ago!) was a 5yo, he was safe as houses and taught me a lot. I bought a 5yo pony for my 4yo son last year. Yes she's very young still but she's on the lead-rein for a good while yet and I'll be getting a bigger rider to bring her on further off-lead to prepare for my son doing so eventually. She's been brilliant, she seems to know when he's onboard and puts up with a hell of a lot. She got dragged out to regular fun events last year decked out in fancy dress and lead-rein jumping and has now started PC rallies. I really cannot fault her. So dont necessarily write them off IMO. A nice quiet willing temperament is the most important thing I think, doesnt matter what it looks like. I look for the same willing temp in a horse for myself so same goes for my son. If their nature is calm and nice then generally they won't be mental to ride!

 

[Orangehorse]

Clearly you've not met my daughter.

Well of course there are always exceptions, but I have had personal experience more than once.

As for the advice for the OP, buying a larger pony that has been nicely schooled is the obvious way to go and often much easier than finding a smaller pony where you just have to find a little saint which is often quite hard.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Sounds OP like what you want is what I had:

He was a darling, bombproof in every respect, little dapple grey man. Hounds could run under his tummy and all the field hoon past him and he'd not fuss, he wouldn't turn a hair. He carried me oh so safely through hunting, pony club, hacking through a working quarry, solo and with company. We had such a lot of fun, he was my best friend.

He was 14.1hh, a good height as I was then able to keep him on into my adult years; I couldn't ever have sold him anyway, but being that height meant that I didn't outgrow him - although if I'd wanted to compete I would have had a dilemma, yes.

When I had him first, he was only 5 and I was just 13. Everyone said it wouldn't work. Having said that, he had, amazingly, been used for RDA in his previous home before he'd come to me, he was just that sort of pony.

Breeding? Gosh, I've no idea, but would guess a fair amount of Welshie and some cob as well.

He was the pony in a million that everyone talks about: and he was mine.

 

[Ladyinred]

Sounds OP like what you want is what I had:

He was a darling, bombproof in every respect, little dapple grey man. Hounds could run under his tummy and all the field hoon past him and he'd not fuss, he wouldn't turn a hair. He carried me oh so safely through hunting, pony club, hacking through a working quarry, solo and with company. We had such a lot of fun, he was my best friend.

He was 14.1hh, a good height as I was then able to keep him on into my adult years; I couldn't ever have sold him anyway, but being that height meant that I didn't outgrow him - although if I'd wanted to compete I would have had a dilemma, yes.

When I had him first, he was only 5 and I was just 13. Everyone said it wouldn't work. Having said that, he had, amazingly, been used for RDA in his previous home before he'd come to me, he was just that sort of pony.

Breeding? Gosh, I've no idea, but would guess a fair amount of Welshie and some cob as well.

He was the pony in a million that everyone talks about: and he was mine.

What a lovely post. Your love for him shines through x

 

[TGM]

I know what you're saying And fair enough but you would be surprised how problem horses can be diguised, videos and all by unscrupulous people.

Oh so true! Not always behavioural, but sometimes soundness wise as well. Some friends of ours were looking for a horse for their teenager and a couple of weeks ago found what seemed to be a lovely one with a good record (and had actually previously belonged to someone who used to post about the horse extensively on here). Sounded fantastic, but I was concerned about a big gap in its competition record recently and it turned out it had had a foal and had not long been back in work. I told the friend that I was concerned that the reason that it had had a foal might be because it had soundness problems. A bit of delving on the internet found a post on Facebook from the seller a couple of years ago saying how gutted she was that she had had to retire the mare due to some really serious veterinary problems, all of which would be aggravated by hard work and particularly on hard ground. Obviously she had finally come sound with prolonged rest, they brought her back into work and did a couple of competitions on a surface, and put her up for sale before she went lame again. The potential buyer had specifically asked about any lameness issues and these problems were not disclosed.

 

[TGM]

I think you need to weed out more from the adverts or talking to them on the phone beforehand. I've only ever viewed one or two per purchase. I wouldn't want to rake around looking at 9 unsuitable ones! Ask them to provide decent videos and if they can't or if they are heavily edited don't bother going any further. Any parent with a child on a pony is going to video them in action if the pony is any good!

I agree with this, when we've bought, we've viewed a maximum of two horses, although I perused hundreds of adverts and contacted quite a few sellers. Often it is what they don't say in the ad that is the key! You also need to be a bit of an amateur psychologist, as you can often tell if they are bit a bit economical with the truth in their answers, there is often a pause or a hesitation, or they phrase things in a funny way. Good internet searching skills are useful too, as per my example above!