Would you sell your horse to buy a pony for your child?

Would I sell my horse to buy my child a pony? Nooo way! But I only have one and if I had two I would think myself a little selfish if I didn't sell one to make way for a keen child.

As for four being too young, I bought my daughter's pony when she was two and a half.
 
After the fight my 10 & 7 yr old just had I would sell both of them for a horse!!

Seriously at 4 she is a little young to understand the commitment but lessons etc and if in a few years she is still serious then yes get her a ponio!! Like others have said I am sure you can find a share for her!

Xxx
 
Like a lot of others in this thread, I'd say 4 is too young. At 4 mine had to make do with riding my mare (generally sharp but like most horses v careful with little ones on board). We used to go out for walking hacks with me ambling alongside. My 8yo still doesn't have her own pony & has to cadge rides on my horse / her big sisters ponies.
 
No loan one .My daughter had 3 which she outgrew.The first horse that I bought specifically for her I now ride :rolleyes: .Daughter is 17 and has lost interest.
 
No chance.
I would go get a loan pony,maybe a section A or one she can grow into whilst learning to ride. At least with a loan pony, the good thing is when shes outgrew it you can pass it back to its owner. Worth thinking about!!!
 
Yes def. loan ponies and riding school / ride a friends if you are happy teaching her / she is happy to learn from you!
I didn't have my own til i was 14 but was riding from being 4 and had non - horsey parents but it meant that i knew all the neccessary stuff (seeing as i needed to knowing my parents didn't have a clue!) and liked the riding but wanted the responsibility - at 4 you just want the riding and not the committment!
 
Well yes, I did sell my Fell mare who I had owned since birth a few years ago to finance my daughter's 14.2 actually. But by then we'd had a string of ponies 11.2, 12.2 and 13.2 and I was pretty sure we were going to go the whole hog with the riding thing. It was also obvious that I was never going to get to do what I wanted at the weekends with my mare and that my daughter had no interest in showing and was just set on eventing.

So my Olympia M&M dreams were shelved for her to follow her Badminton ones. I have had a huge amount of fun and thoroughly enjoy her chosen discipline, eventhough it wasn't what I had planned for her (my dreams, not hers!). If I could go back I wouldn't change a thing, although I still have a soft spot for black hairy Fell ponies.

I've become interested in sport horse breeding, and when she heads off to university and I'm back in control of horse choice I will concentrate on that. I had always planned to go back to Fell ponies, but her going off into eventing has changed my ambitions too, and I'd now like to breed a Badminton winner please (although you'll never get me riding one!!!).

If you have your own land I don't think it would hurt or cost much to find a good 11.2 pony on loan that could live out on thin air. You don't need to buy - a lot are loaned as they are family favourites. Try asking your local pony club? They will also be able to tell you whether they have much on for tiny members - some branches are better than others in this respect. She's only 4 though, so equally it's really not going to hurt her to wait a year if things will be easier then.
 
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