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Pets

Any horse owners able to give some advice please ...

20 replies

Millie1 · 12/10/2006 20:58

Am thinking of getting the children a pony - eldest is having riding lessons and I've ridden and been involved with horses since I was a tot so it's not a step into the unknown. However, it's a few years since I have had my own horse so i'm trying to do my sums before making a commitment. Gone are the days when we went to the local sawmills and filled our own bags with sawdust (ugh!) and I cannot find any prices for bedding on the net ... so can anyone fill me in please on what I might expect to pay for the pre-packaged woodshavings? Or alternatives.

TIA

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jajas · 12/10/2006 21:08

This reply has been deleted

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Ellbell · 12/10/2006 21:20

Could it live out? I am also considering getting a pony at some point for my two, but could only even vaguely consider it if it could live out all year round. Something fat and shaggy with a leg at each corner will do me fine! (For now... till they start wanting to jump and gawd-knows-what...)

Millie1 · 12/10/2006 21:54

Thanks Jajas ... that's just the sort of info I wanted!

Ellbell ... eeer, normally I'd say absolutely in this case I'm not sure. This is where I really think I might be a really soft touch but the pony I'm considering is around 20 and I'd be happier keeping him in - nights during winter months. I've spent the summer keeping an ear to the ground for a younger (ie. early teens) pony but with no luck. This one has a great temperment and would be a really good confidence builder for the children but the age is the big downside. If we do go ahead, my approach is going to be that we're giving the pony a good home to live out the rest of his life and if the children only get a couple of years riding out of him, well then that's great. Am I mad or what?

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miggy · 12/10/2006 22:02

20 is fine. We have an 18yr old and a 17yr old. I went to look at another pony to buy yesterday, it was 16, they showed me the new bigger pony they had bought for jumping-that was 26!

Millie1 · 12/10/2006 22:05

Oh that makes me feel better Miggy ... i lost my horses at 24 and 27 but hadn't ridden in a few years as I was no longer living at home so I guess they were retired late teens/early twenties. This little one can get a bit stiff behind but I think he's probably being exercised too much at present so am not too worried about it.

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mmmmchocolate · 12/10/2006 22:05

i didn't get my first pony till she was 23 and i rode her till she was 33 ( slow hacks towards end, but first 7 - 8 years she was just as fast and fit as the younger ponies) she is still slowly plodding around the yard at 42. toothless but still happy. x

Loshad · 12/10/2006 22:09

O pay £5.50 a bag for shavings - I've one on shavings, one straw - straw remains cheap for those not allergic to it - pay about £1/£1.50 per bale.
Have fun

Millie1 · 12/10/2006 22:09

That's lovely mmmmmchocolate ... even now 6 years later, I miss my two boys so much so I envy you having a 42 year old plodding around!

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Berries · 12/10/2006 22:10

try this site it's mumsnet on ponies

Millie1 · 12/10/2006 22:11

Straw ... hadn't given it too much thought as shavings are so much faster/less bulky to muck-out but there's a thought.

Ooooh, I'm getting quite excited about this now but had better see if we can get the pony before I get too far ahead of myself!

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Millie1 · 12/10/2006 22:13

Thanks for that link Berries ... it looks great! Shall browse at leisure.

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Ellbell · 12/10/2006 22:15

Oh, I didn't know you had a specific pony in mind Millie1, thought you were just doing that 'vaguely considering it' thing that I've been doing. (Truth is that I don't have the time or money, but I SOOOOO want to do it for my dds... Was never allowed a pony myself as my mother thought they were Dangerous Wild Beasts )

20's not that old. Ponies do go on and on. I know cos I went back to the stables where I used to ride when I was a kid and they still have a pony I used to ride when I was about 8 (over 30 years ago). He wasn't a youngster then, either, so must be well over 40 now. And do you know? He looked exactly the same now as he did way back in the 1970s! But, OTOH, it would be lovely to take in this older pony and really love and coddle him in his - shall we say? - 'mature years'!

Good luck...! Your pony is going to be one lucky gentleman!

QueenQuootieSpookypieBee · 12/10/2006 22:15

£6.50 a bag - use less if using rubber matting. You can now buy hemp aswell, which is more hygenic.

Ellbell · 12/10/2006 22:16

Greedy little ponies are more likely to eat straw, though...! (Depends how greedy your chap is!)

CorpseBride · 13/10/2006 00:00

We also pay £5.50 per bale. I keep 2 ponies out all year but they have a 14 x 16ft shelter that I bed with shavings.

They have haynets in it on winter nights (£2.50-£3 per bale and they can eat up to a bale a day when the grass is lacking) and I supplement their winter diet with hard feed (non-heating pasture mix £4.50 per sack and Mollichaff which is about £3). Each sack lasts about a month.

They're not shod but I have their feet trimmed every 6-8 weeks which costs £34 for the 2.

The DCs are aged 2, 3 & 4 and they love riding, love mucking out (hooray!) and love cuddling them and being generous with my carrots. Enjoy!

Millie1 · 13/10/2006 17:21

Thanks for all that info CorpseBride.

It's not looking good re this particular pony though ... when I phoned the lady seems to have 'forgotten' our conversation just 3 days ago when I expressed a strong interest in purchasing him and asked her to get back to me with a price and she has someone else coming to look tonight - if they don't buy then he's ours if the price is right. Am really disappointed.

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mmmmchocolate · 14/10/2006 22:21

Any news on the pony millie?

Millie1 · 15/10/2006 10:03

Sold - and not to us! Thanks for asking. The lady does know of another pony which may be for sale and would be suitable ... downside is that it's going to be a lot more expensive than this fella would've been but probably a few years younger and may last the children for longer. Don't know if I can talk DH around the additional £s though! Watch this space.

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Mirage · 18/10/2006 23:34

Oh what a shame.When we were kids my dad came home one day with a fat old shetland pony he'd bought for us.I was only 3 at the time,but the pony was about to be sold for petfood & my dad decided to buy him for us instead.I think he cost £20 back in 1971!

He was lovely & was called Tarquin.Me & my cousins used to plod about the farm on him on a leadrope.Goodness knows how old he was when my dad bought him,but we had him for about 10 years.I can still remember the day the knackerman came to put him to sleep.We all stood in the kitchen & cried,even my nan was upset.He must have been getting on for 40,bless him.

Good luck,I hope you find a gentle pony.

Millie1 · 19/10/2006 20:54

He sounds lovely Mirage ... it's heartbreaking to lose them cos they really do become one of the family!

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