Would you sell a pony to be an only pony?

WelshD

WelshD

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I have a smallholding with goats, sheep, pigs and poultry. I'd like to add a pony to the mix mainly because I used to have them as a kid and miss having one around but also to ideally break to harness (I dont ride, I am overweight)

I've seen an Exmoor mare advertised locally and she looks lovely.

I have three acres and a stable block so facilities arent a problem

Here comes the tricky part.. I only want one pony my reasoning is:

1) I would be worried there wasnt enough grazing for more than one as the sheep take their fair share and ponies do poach the ground where sheep and goats dont
2) despite earning a good wage and having the necessary financial cushioning I feel that financially I could look after one pony really well rather than two on more of a tight budget - having more than one obviously means more chances of having to call vet out, two lots of insurance etc...

There is a lone gelding in the next field who could provide 'over the fence' company and I guess I could always approach the owner of it with a view to sharing grazing but I wouldnt like to rely on that. Obviously there are the sheep as grazing companions (would graze the goats separately as they have horns)

so.... after a long drawn out explanation my question is - if you were a seller would you allow your pony to go to a home where it would be the only equine?
 
it really depends on the pony and seller; maybe the pony lived on its own before - you dont know. ponys are herd animals and prefer company but if he is seeing a friend often then it could be ok.
 
depending on the horse - sometimes they just like some animal contact a friend of mine has a horse living at home and it has an alpaca for company :D
 
I have had my last two as only ponies ( well one wad a TB who hated horses so suited him fine )

The current bundle of joy did come from a livery home , and I was worried about him being an only pony,,,,, he is happy in his own skin :)

We do however have lots of interaction with other horses , dogs and kids!!!!

Some are happy on their own and others need other horses, but the owner of the horse should know that :)
 
If there's another horse over the fence, I see no problem. My horse is kept at a yard where they all have individual paddocks and he's very happy. I don't have to worry about him being kicked and bullied (as at previous yards where he's had to share fields) plus rugs stay intact.
 
I recently sold my shetland - I had two parties interested but let him go to the one that had other horses as companions.

I felt very guilty to the family who had no other horses as they were lovely, and I am sure would have looked after him well.

However I believe that equines should have equine companions so had to put ponies welfare first.
 
Ideally prefer company but its individual at the end of the day. I have one old boy who is ok on his own he has horses over the fence. I bought a spare and he was a pain in the neck!

I feel sorry for mine when there are flies and no other horse to groom with thats it!!
On his own he gets all the food so no fights etc.

Yesterday I saw a load of tethered horses in Thetford lots of them all about 50 yards apart. Not a herd but just around each other. Tied up at the neck.

That is not kind. Would rather horses looked after and able to freely graze etc.

I reckon a pony that the owner knows is ok on its own will be entertained by the other animals and really at end of day the horses I have more interested in their bellies. You could keep two horses together that fight like mad!

Nothings perfect! If its looked after thats ok dont worry.
 
As others have said it depends hugely on the horse/pony. My cob has always been equally happy on his own or with others; but now he's got my loan mare in with him they've buddied up and he does get a bit mournful if she goes out; she's the same. But neither of them are daft about it.

But I don't think the mare could deal with being on her own, but His Nibs could do quite easily once he got used to being on his own again.

If there's another horse in the vicinity it should help; BUT some horses may decide - especially while they're settling in - that they're going to get to the other horse come what may and you may have problems with fencing/breaking through or leaning on fences etc!!!

But there is other stock on your place so this will help. My first pony was turned out with cows on my uncle's farm and never saw another horse on a regular basis and he was absolutely fine with it; bonded with the herd and thought he was one of them!

But you may have to face the difficulty that you buy a pony and bring it home, and its just not happy on its own and won't settle. I had a pony on loan/trial last autumn - it was fine in every other respect, but wouldn't settle in a field on its own even though there were other horses in the vicinity, literally the next field over. It tried to climb over a metal five bar gate!!! :( So without wishing to be alarmist, do be prepared and have a contingency plan (i.e. borrow another pony or donkey, or summinck), in case of emergency.
 
No I wouldn't, I used to look after a horse on his own and he did appear happy but he completely transformed into a much happier boy when he got a little girlfriend (she didn't like him much though!)
 
Until your said there was a lone gelding in the field next door, I thought, definitely 'no'. But I would maybe consider especially as I now feel sorry for the poor gelding! I think keeping horses alone is cruel. Sorry to be blunt.
 
I've been presented with exactly this scenario. The intending purchaser said their last horse was on it's own and was fine so mine would be too. I suggested getting a Shetland as a companion. The reply to that was that they "didn't want to go to that expense". I was pleased to be able to save them even more money by selling the pony to the perfect home (with company!) elsewhere.

Having a pony "over the fence" is fine until the owners, for whatever reason, decide to part with it. I also think other animals would help, but I have to say it would make me hesitate that the purchaser would think the point not important enough to get the pony a companion. Is there a shortage of companion ponies?

As it happens, I sold another pony to a girl who was worried about this very point. She solved the problem by getting two Shetland geldings, free to good home, from the local rescue centre -- so a win-win all round. It is not as if native ponies (let alone Shetlands) are expensive to keep, is it? And if money is that tight, perhaps a goldfish would be a better choice?
 
Depends on the pony!

I knew one once that got turned out in a small area alone for a week, she was overweight so just had a small area to restrict her grazing. The mare trotted around and around the penned off area for the entire week, she came out a lovely weight! She was clearly not happy alone and would not have ever settled.

On the other hand, I know I could turn my gelding out to live alone and he wouldnt bat an eye lid!
 
No I don't think I could sell my horse to somewhere with no company. I know some horses would probably be fine but if I had to part with my horse I wouldn't want to risk her becoming distressed.
 
Sidney said:
I recently sold my shetland - I had two parties interested but let him go to the one that had other horses as companions.

I felt very guilty to the family who had no other horses as they were lovely, and I am sure would have looked after him well.

However I believe that equines should have equine companions so had to put ponies welfare first.
Click to expand...

This.

Horses speak horse language, they have different needs to sheep and goats, they like grooming, playing etc. I am sure some goats play, but it's not the same.

Occasionally a horse is happy on its own, mostly they are not. It might seem happy enough, but at night when the wind blows and the trees creak, and it's very spooky, a herd animal wants the comfort of its own kind.
 
No I wouldn't, I was in this position a few years back and refused to show the horse to a potential buyer.
 
Most liveries these days seem to have one horse system anyway. I would prefer a herd myself it seems impossible in most situations. I think if there is another horse around then it wouldn't be too bad. I'd also consider putting some of your sheep or goats in with the pony. My girl is out with one other horse which I don't like, like I said I'd prefer a herd but in the winter the other horse barely goes out but my girl seems to get on with the pheasants who tittle around with her.
 
No I wouldn't, although the neighbour sharing grazing might be an idea. We have sheep and tbh they don't compete for the grazing, the sheep improve the land for the horses. My neighbour's goats used to eat her horses' tails. I hate to see ponies on their own. There was one near us which spent all its time pacing the fence line, even though there were a lot of horses within sight.
 
No I would not sell to someone who wanted to keep the pony on its own. They have a need for the companionship of other horses which is as basic a need as food water and shelter.
 
No. I don't think ponies should be kept on their own. My shettie lived on his own for a while in his previous home when his companion died and to be fair to his owner, although he seemed OK with the sheep, he rehomed him to us to have company. This little shetland is now distraught to be left alone - he may have seemed 'happy enough' by himself, but he clearly wasn't.
 
Thank you all for your comments, I will sit back and have another think, the pony's daughter is also for sale but I wouldnt really want to take on a youngster having had youngstock myself in the past

The reason for not wanting a second pony is not that I cant afford it (I earn a decent wage) but that there is a definite expense involved in a second pony not to mention the extra time - its two lots of insurance, vaccinations, trimming etc... its not like the costs are minimal even for a small pony, I would rather have just one pony and know that I could afford every eventuality than have two and be in doubt (the rest of the menagerie cost around £200 to keep as it is)

I get what people say about the need for a pony to have a 'herd' so like I said will have another think and if I end up with no pony I am ok with that :)
 
I think a lot of horses/ponies could live on their own/with other animals, but I don't think it's right.. I also don't agree with individual turnout though, I think it's so important for horses to have equine company. My pony was on individual turnout with her old owners, and whilst she was fine with that, she absolutely loves being in with other horses now - as soon as I put her in the field she calls to them and trots over to find what they're doing. Having seen how important the socialisation is to her I wouldn't want to keep her on her own.
 
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