Do you share a horse with your DC?

[Str1p3yl3af]

When I was 15 I shared my horse with my mum. It was a great arrangement. Lasted for 25 years (eek)

I'd like to do something similar with my dd now, but she's much younger. Than I was. She's 7, so couldn't be responsible in any shape or form yet. Very much lead rein level.

If you do something similar, can you tell me honestly how it works?

I'm thinking of a 14.2hh native. I'm 11st but 5'8" tall. I think this might be too tall, but although I suit a 15.2hh this is much too big for my dd.

I work part time. I'd expect to do all the work, but really is it a stupid idea?

[Sierraspider]

I don't think its a stupid idea. I share our 13.2hh extremely stocky cob mare with my 4 year old. She grooms and helps poo pick/ make up feeds and I do everything else. Our mare is a one in a million pony and very safe, could not fault her at all. She's 9 years old and only used for happy hacking/ plodding around the lanes so hopefully this arrangement will last as long as yours did :-)

[Str1p3yl3af]

Oh lovely. How does a 13.2hh feel to you to ride?

I don't think I've ridden anything smaller than 15.2hh for a long time.

[shinydog]

I think it's a great idea. I share a 14.1 cob with my two 7 year olds and it works well. He is so good for them to ride on the lead rein or lunge, and is happy to go hacking with me when they are at school. The only problem I found was that he is a bit too big for them to handle properly on the ground, and they can't reach to tack up/put headcollar on etc. So we now also have a 12.2 for the kids!

[Sierraspider]

13.2hh feels fine for me and she rides big anyway, but I'm just short of 5'2! Ide love to get my dd a standard Shetland but I just can't afford 2 ponies at the moment.

[Str1p3yl3af]

Yy to the fact that anything that's big enough for me to ride would be too tall for her to manage safely. Although she's only going to grow taller so an ever decreasing problem really.

[backinthebox]

Personally I think that the kind of horse that is suitable to carry an 11st adult experienced rider is not the kind that would be suitable to carry a 7 year old beginner. You can put a small child on a large pony/small horse, but don't expect them to be able to control it for at least another 5 years, and definitely don't expect the child to learn to ride on it. A horse capable of carrying an adult is too strong for a novice young child - it will either be too difficult for her to stop if it is in the slightest bit forward or to get going if it has the vaguest inclination to be lazy. Even if you should find a horse that will do exactly as your daughter wants, she'll probably find its movement to much for her to ride beyond walk. (I have video footage of my friend's 11yo daughter, who is a fab little rider, nearly being bounced out of the saddle when she cantered my 15hh horse for the first time!)

You could get a 13.2hh, but I think you'd be getting something that was neither one thing nor another - you'd find it too small (I'm 5'8 and didn't intend to buy such a little horse, but somehow ended up on a 15hh cob, and I feel quite big on him,) and it would still be too big for your daughter. My own 7yo has just moved up onto a 12.1hh, and he's just about right for her.

[Str1p3yl3af]

Mmmm yes you might be right. Thank you for your post.

[RedRugNoniMouldiesEtc]

I shared a 13.2 and a 14.2 with the dc. I'm 5'6". The 13.2 was as big and stocky as you can find at that height. The 14.2 is Arab native x (currently up for sale ) the 13.2 actually felt a better fit than the 14.2 but that's more about the build - I like 17hh draught types so the 14.2 felt a bit narrow to me. All my dc rode the 14.2, from my 10 yo riding her bareback in a rope halter to my dd jumping novice three phase oh and frinds ds learnt to ride on her. I hacked her. These types are few and far between but they are out there. If you have a healthy budget then I'd look for something like that. You can do what you want and the pony will go through all the stages with dd. Be prepared to take your time and be very picky. It took us a good two years to find our mare.

[Pixel]

Depends what you are thinking of doing really. I agree a small child would not be able to ride a bigger pony properly, but if you are imagining leisurely strolls in the woods with you walking beside her then sharing a steady pony would be fine. Your dd might well be happy with this level for quite some time, some children are, especially if you are on a quiet yard with mostly adults rather than ultra-competitive pony club children. If she gets terribly keen and wants to progress further then you'll have to think again! .

Btw I still share a horse with my mum and I'm 48 ha ha.

[Str1p3yl3af]

Thanks everyone. Still reading... Still thinking...

[notquiteruralbliss]

I am 5 ft 7 and have ridden DCs 13.2. Though from about 11 or 12 they have been happy to ride my 15.2. The main problem is that my horse expects to be ridden in a classically correct way, so the learning curve, when coming from a more relaxed pony is steep.

[Jackanory1978]

At our yard there's 2 mother/daughter share ponies. Both are native breeds; 1 is about 14hh & ridden by granny, mum & 2 daughters of ages 7 & 11. The other is 14.2 & ridden by mum, & 11 & 7 year olds. They seem to have no problems. The 7 year olds are still at leading rein stage, & the ponies seem calm & ploddy for them, but I've also seen both fly around a set of show jumps with the older children. One of my own ponies is only 13.3. & I'm 5'8 (but I'm slim & she's native) & I have no trouble riding her.

[piebald]

I share with my daughter,but she rides lot s of other horses too. I was just thinking today how good our 15.1 cob is he can adapt from being a happy hacker for me , a cross country jumper for her and about once a year a show pony!

[piebald]

We have had him for 10 years ( bought as a youngster) and the balance of whose horse he is has gradually changed - more her than me now i think

[PoshPenny]

If you can find the right pony, then no problems. I've just this past weekend had the revelation that our little 13.2 mare has been hiding her lights under a bushel for many years with my daughter. I put in in a show ridden by a friend of mine whose pretty good, and she absolutely sparkled there's no other word to describe it, free of the responsibility of having to take care of her rider. It was a complete surprise to us that she could go like that, and would have won the class if she had been a little less fat, so we had to settle for second.

[Scoobydoo494]

How keen is your daughter? If you think she will stick with riding id be tempted to get her a pony that you could ride. 14.2hh would be way too big for her to do anything herself, learning to tack up etc and might be difficult for her to handle unaided. At 11st you could probably get away with lightly riding a very stocky 12.2hh native. If you can afford the upkeep of two horses then you could loan a 12hh for your daughter and buy one for yourself? Or perhaps buy yourself a horse and see if anyone at the same yard will part loan a little pony to your daughter? Sorry no definitive answers really! It's a tricky one.

[Fluffy24]

I think if its more than the of 'pony ride' your DD would have much more fun with something the right size for her, I had great fun haring about on small ponies as a child and think it's a shame when kids can't get on themselves or go off on their own etc.