When you relax, thinking you have a manageable amount of ponies and life is easy…

[maya2008]

it’s never going to last!

We have realised we do actually need another, as my daughter wants to ride more and her little (but beyond perfect and hopefully will last her for many years!) pony is only young, so is still only being ridden lightly. Daughter and husband don’t really like hacking alone either, so I need a spare pony to send my son with them if we have taken his and my ponies out to a show/to arena hire etc.

So… decision now is do we get:
- another small one (big enough for now, easy to handle for the kids and less to feed/poo pick, easy to find within budget and kids will be fine on it now… but will need to be sold on in a few years).
- a bigger one that we can keep for when the kids are bigger and would take me too if needed (kids would need help tacking up, daughter would be on the lead, more work for me… I could sort out any issues though and the kids could get attached without worrying we would need to sell soon). We used to have an older, bigger pony who did this job, but she was struggling increasingly and had to be pts last summer (retirement not being an option for a pssm pony whose body was literally giving up).

My husband thinks we need a bigger one (but he doesn’t pay for the hay or pick up the poo…!). He’s soft and doesn’t like selling on so he would obviously say that…!

I am not sure. Our budget is small, pony would be bought unbacked (would only need to alternate days with my daughter’s pony so a 3yo would be fine). Both kids happily ride bigger ponies, but obviously would need one with a quiet temperament due to their size versus pony’s size and age. I keep seeing cobs that look nice, but all those feathers… my herd live out and we have no running water…it would be a disaster ?‍.

Thoughts anyone? I wish our Shetland was sound and ready to go (getting there after her lami while on loan last spring but not quite there yet) as daughter still just about fits, so that would mean I could pick up a 2yo and just worry about backing it etc next year! But life doesn’t work like that…

(I have seen the perfect smaller one, already backed and in budget but it is 5 hours away…)

 

[cauda equina]

Get a cob you like and whip its feathers off

 

[stangs]

Something on the smaller side that will take up the leg as kids get older: Welsh C, NF? Alternatively, there's only a couple weeks left till Chagford...

 

[Barton Bounty]

Id get something you can ride too ?

 

[maya2008]

Get a cob you like and whip its feathers off

Does that work? Just clip off the feathers and they can withstand mud and wet the same as any other pony? No need for this pony to look pretty or go to shows (the others can do that) just need it to hack reliably and be a nice person!

 

[cauda equina]

Does that work? Just clip off the feathers and they can withstand mud and wet the same as any other pony? No need for this pony to look pretty or go to shows (the others can do that) just need it to hack reliably and be a nice person!

It has for all of mine; I can't bear hairy legs, although I guess it will depend on how much mud you have!

 

[maya2008]

It has for all of mine; I can't bear hairy legs, although I guess it will depend on how much mud you have!

It gets really boggy at the entrance (knee deep in a bad winter), and a bit squelchy on the rest of the end field, but they come off that in January and then it is generally dry. Anything else I would need to know about a cob? I currently have two that are part cob but neither has feathers.

 

[cauda equina]

Cobs will break things you didn't think were breakable, and their appetites know no bounds

 

[w1bbler]

If you view a cob check carefully under the feathers for any sign of cpl.
Google it if you've not heard of it. Not wanting legs touched is a red flag.

 

[maya2008]

If you view a cob check carefully under the feathers for any sign of cpl.
Google it if you've not heard of it. Not wanting legs touched is a red flag.

Successfully scaring me back into the land of native ponies (I knew about the increased risk of pssm and the mallenders etc, but not this one!).

 

[J&S]

N F pony...... Beaulieu Road sales are on line now i believe. I heard they were making quite good money though, the last sale.

 

[sky1000]

I don't know where you are, but would an Exmoor suit? The Moorland Mousie Trust used to loan them out at various stages.

 

[maya2008]

Thanks for all the ideas! Am currently wading through ads and contemplating options!

 

[planete]

There is a nice 3 year old mare on the NFED for a very reasonable price today.

 

[maya2008]

There is a nice 3 year old mare on the NFED for a very reasonable price today.

Can’t find it, but found two others on there to enquire about ?. Have decided I would quite like something around 13hh. Then we all fit, but it’s not too big. Maybe something a little more built for dressage than my current mare, so I can steal it to compete under the guise of training it for the kids (hopeful thoughts…)!

 

[planete]

Look in the Youngstock section. First one in there.

 

[Widgeon]

Get a cob you like and whip its feathers off

You took the words right out of my mouth!

 

[GoldenWillow]

Does that work? Just clip off the feathers and they can withstand mud and wet the same as any other pony? No need for this pony to look pretty or go to shows (the others can do that) just need it to hack reliably and be a nice person!

I'm on cob number three. Two have been heavily feathered the other had a reasonable amount. Two of them I kept their legs clipped and there was no difference to how they coped with mud than others that naturally didn't have feathers. I was on livery yards with these so a good lot of horses to compare with. Number three his legs were clipped when I bought him but I've let them grow out, had him over 8 yrs now, and he copes well with mud. I'd say he copes marginally better than horses I've known without feathers as the mud and wet never get through to his skin but it does mean I have to burrow through hair to check his legs thoroughly.

 

[Annagain]

What's the full list of what you have at the moment, and ages, sizes and competence levels of the kids? Also how big a pony are we talking if you need to ride it? Any of your son's ponies that your daughter could ride?

My answer to your question would depend on these things.

 

[maya2008]

What's the full list of what you have at the moment, and ages, sizes and competence levels of the kids? Also how big a pony are we talking if you need to ride it? Any of your son's ponies that your daughter could ride?

My answer to your question would depend on these things.

All help gratefully received - I keep looking at ads and just being unable to decide!!!

We have:
- 14.2hh cobx (my husband’s ride). Lovely, sweet boy who looks after anyone but does need some direction.
- 12.2/13hh NF who is mine because she cannot stand being ridden by children - turns into an angry dragon, trying to rid herself of the tiny pests instead of her usual obliging, safe and sweet self.
- 12hh Welsh A, backed mid June this year by my 10yo son, is now perfect out hacking and in the field, but is just starting to get the hang of sand schools - willing but obviously has lots to learn.
- angelic 11.2hh who was also backed this year, she is younger though and is in light work 3x a week. She’s the most perfect first pony you could imagine, and belongs to my 7yo daughter.
- grizzled old 10.2hh Shetland who started showing signs of wanting to slow down last winter, was loaned out to a lovely family but then went down with lami in the spring and had been recovering at home since. Nearly sound now (is in walk unless on stones, trots on a level surface sound). She can be a right madam off lead (runs off home/to gate etc if in the mood), so even when we get her fit again, she’s not the best option for my daughter (and son is too big now).
- two yearlings who will make approx 12hh (feisty jumping type - was a bogof so not chosen for size or temperament!) and 12.2hh (sweet steady soul who I hope will be my daughter’s next pony once she grows out of this one).

I am small, fit happily on most things 12.2hh plus. Kids are both smallish for age and slim.
- 10yo son who has ambitions to be a horse trainer when he grows up. He’s been backing ponies since he was 7, is quite small so fits comfortably on both the 11.2hh and the 12hh, loves his dad’s pony (although revs him up and then he’s too speedy for nervous dad!) and has done almost everything with 12hh Welsh on his own. He rode our old 13.2hh last summer in a last ditch attempt to beat the pssm, was jumping her over 70-80cm tracks and gave her a last spring/early summer of fun (that she enjoyed SO much) by learning to help her out when ridden, to ride round her difficulties and assist her in having a good time.
- Just turning 8yo daughter who has generalised anxiety due to sensory processing disorder and hypermobility. She loves ponies, adores her little 11.2hh and was brought off the lead a few years ago by our old 13.2hh (who decided that the Shetland was doing an abominable job and someone else needed to take pity on the poor child). She actually has an amazing position, lovely hands etc, but can panic if unsure of what to do and then just drops the reins and freezes. She’s been doing an amazing job with her just backed little pony, hacking out merrily in walk/trot/canter. Has never jumped or showed that she wants to - she loves to hack. I can put her on anything on the lead, or on something steady up to 14.2hh off it, but I need something that will default to following me if unsure, or it needs to be on the lead. Husband’s cob cross is a half brother to my mare (raised in same herd) and they bicker terribly if I try to lead one off the other. I don’t completely trust him with her off lead out hacking because if she panicked, he would have no instructions and then he would get worried too.

Examples of why we need another:
- days when 11.2hh is having a day off and daughter wants to ride;
- days like today when we have taken Welsh pony and mine to arena hire, but novice husband and daughter still need to ride - someone needs to go with them if they hack. My mare can go twice, but I cannot leave my son home alone and if I put him on her she will throw herself down banks/try to scrape him off on trees/rear and try to tip him off/whatever else comes to mind.
- days when my husband gets stuck at work but little Welsh pony and my mare need riding, but it’s not one of little 11.2hh’s days to be ridden. They’ll never get competition fit if we don’t work them! Daughter wouldn’t cope with spooky antics of Welsh (all in fun but she would hate it) and I can’t put her on the bigger cob.

Obviously, if we had a school, there wouldn’t be a problem…!

What we really need is another teenage 13.2hh who will look after them all, but I just can’t take on another older one. I can’t. We lost two this summer and one four years ago. They were my original crew from my twenties, I had had them all since backing and I just need a break from poorly older horses/ponies that I spend too much time worrying about.

Budget small, but if I can find a way to make it through this winter with the crew I have, I could get a 2yo (so more for the money) now or wait and save. My husband does have a point that something we all fit on works well if anything gets a stone bruise/feels poorly and needs time off for any reason.

 

[Annagain]

In that case, I'd go for a 13-13.2ish native type that's done a little bit and has a lovely temperament. Even thought the kids still have a few years on the 12.2s left, if they can cope with something a bit bigger it will serve you for longer, and if it will serve you for longer, maybe you can afford to spend a little bit more on it to get one with a bit more experience?

 

[maya2008]

Well, I did the sensible thing and looked for 13hh ponies…and looked…and looked…and considered how heartbroken little NF mare would be if I sat on anything that isn’t her given this is the first winter she’s had me entirely to herself (old TB only died this summer).

I couldn’t do it to her, I’ll get the sensible option next time.

So we went to see a little Welsh A that was for sale locally, and she came home yesterday. No regrets, as despite being only lightly backed, my kids can manage her by themselves already. My son took her for a walk this morning in-hand and the kids did all the catching, brushing etc with no help from me. She and the old Shetland are good friends already, which is a load off my mind (Shetland can be a bit much personality-wise and her only friend died last summer). So here she is, lying down to eat her hay after a long night chatting over the half-height stable walls.