Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Would you accept an invite to a pony care party?

83 replies

Playingcatch · 13/10/2018 19:23

This has come off the paint a pony thread. We have an older pony. He adores people and is very gentle. Loves children. I am struggling to pay his stabling costs at the moment for various reasons and have been trying to think for a way to balance the books. I’ve had him for 20 years so don’t really want to rehome him. (Think it might actually break my heart tbh). Do you think there is a market for a few children to come along. Teach them how to care for a pony, groom him, much out, feed etc. Then show them how to put a saddle on etc then each get a little ride. Or does that sound a bit dull for a party? How would you feel if your dc got this kind of invite?

OP posts:
Mrsmorton · 13/10/2018 19:24

I don't think animals should be used for this sort of entertainment tbh.

TheFoodtheFadandtheFugly · 13/10/2018 19:26

It would have to be a small number of children for one pony.

Sickoffamilydrama · 13/10/2018 19:26

The local stable near me do this my DD has been to a party. It could work...what about insurance though? I've been around horses for years and even the bomb proof ones can do something unpredictable. I'd check out your liability before committing to anything.

TheFoodtheFadandtheFugly · 13/10/2018 19:26

Also, would wherever he is stabled allow parties to be held there. What if a child was injured?

Thebeautifullisette · 13/10/2018 19:29

In the summer we paid I think €25 (non-UK) for DD to go to a “pony fun afternoon” on a farm, with a bunch of random local girls who were also interested. They washed and groomed the pony, took him for a walk, learned bits and bobs about horses/ponies and each had a short ride. Maybe 2.5 hours? DD is extremely shy and quiet, she didn’t know anyone else there, she LOVED it and I’m pretty sure the other kids did too.

percheron67 · 13/10/2018 19:29

If the children learn to look after and care for the pony and to handle him correctly and safely .then this is education and NOT entertainment. If the pony is happy with the situation it is a really good idea. The more people are able to see what is involved in looking after an animal the better it is. Good Luck and I hope you can keep your little chap.

user139328237 · 13/10/2018 19:30

No way should an elderly pony that has had the same owner for 20+ suddenly be put into work with different unknown children each week.
If you can't afford his costs any other way it would be much kinder to put him to sleep than to put him into work.

Sickoffamilydrama · 13/10/2018 19:30

Mrsmorton what makes you uncomfortable? I'm asking to understand not to goad.
If they are supervised and learning how to properly care for an animal surely that's good?

Caprisunorange · 13/10/2018 19:31

I think is important to learn the things you mention but I don’t think a birthday party is the time for that.

If my D.C. got an invite I wouldn’t think anything, but I wouldn’t pay for my D.C. to have that party myself if that makes sense

FrancisCrawford · 13/10/2018 19:31

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

lexi727 · 13/10/2018 19:32

Absolutely not

PippaRabbit · 13/10/2018 19:32

I don't agree with using animals in this way at all. I have horses and a few ponies and wouldn't subject them to a group of hyper children. I'm shocked you'd even consider subjecting your elderly pony to a pony party!

UserName31456789 · 13/10/2018 19:34

I would suggest doing a mini course but maybe not a party. The problem with the party is that even if the host loves ponies their guests might not have any interest and will just want the pony to be there for their entertainment.

GiddyGardner · 13/10/2018 19:34

I think you would have to buy public liability insurance for that, and 'parties' might be a little much. But what about a shared loan instead. Lots of parent who can't afford for their children to have their 'own pony', may well consider a shared loan.

TheGreenWoman · 13/10/2018 19:35

Playingcatch - it's not as simple as it sounds, I'm afraid. If you want to do something like this, it comes under the banner of riding school activities I think, so you will need to be inspected/licensed by the council, and also have public liability insurance, as an absolute minimum.

I seriously considered doing some thing similar with ponies, but by the time I worked out the costs, it didn't work out financially worthwhile unless I did it full time, not if you do it properly - and in this climate of liability & suing, you'd have to be crazy to consider doing it without being fully official.

Mamamanatee · 13/10/2018 19:35

Erm my dd has a pony and at pony club they spend ages learning how to groom etc. It's educational. Her pony was loaded and unloaded ten times by ten different children last week, to demonstrate how you safely load a pony into a trailer. He got polos and enjoyed the attention. Noone suggested he should be put down rather than take part in an educational demo

sparklypebbles · 13/10/2018 19:36

I think a lot of riding schools do them.

However, I definitely wouldn't send my children to one unless the person holding it was properly insured and probably wouldn't send them to one where it wasn't a school pony they were handling.
I would also expect safety hats to be provided for children who don't have their own.

Maelstrop · 13/10/2018 19:38

Would your yard allow you to do this? The insurance cost may well cancel out any profit made. I don’t think I’d want an old pony being used in this way.

I’m going to go very HHO here and say if you can’t afford him, have him PTS rather than put him through new and possibly very stressful experiences.

Howmanysleepstilchristmas · 13/10/2018 19:39

Have you thought about loaning him out a day or 2 a week? My daughter used to loan a pony one day a week, tends to cost £10-20 a day. We only stopped because the owner sold him (without telling us 😞)

MakeAHouseAHome · 13/10/2018 19:40

So many issues. 1. Who is liable for the health and safety? 2. Would your yard even allow it (no way in hell mine would) 3. Your elderly pony should not suddenly have to tolerate a pack of kids around it.

Mrsmorton · 13/10/2018 19:41

I agree with caprisun. A birthday party isn't very conducive to calm and attentive children.

Animals, no matter how well known can be unpredictable, especially when getting on a bit.

Pony club is one thing. A birthday party, not so much. IMO. Smile

cheminotte · 13/10/2018 19:46

I think that sounds lovely but the stable owner may not agree so you’d need to check with her first.

SoftSheen · 13/10/2018 19:46

I think there is a market for this sort of thing, and I don't think it is necessarily unfair on the pony, if, as you say, he is a laid back type that enjoys lots of fuss and attention from children. Many riding school ponies do something similar every weekend!

However, your problem is likely to be the cost of obtaining insurance, which would be essential. What you suggest would basically mean setting up a small business which would involve additional paperwork.

Duck90 · 13/10/2018 19:59

Since none of us know you or your pony, the only sensible reaction to you question is, no this doesn’t sound like a good idea (as most people have said).

It could work, but so many unknowns for a definitive response.

HouseOfGingerbread · 13/10/2018 19:59

The stables where we ride do pony parties, which are normally a bit of pony knowledge and quite a bit of riding. When my daughter wanted a party there with friends who have a variety of SEN, I asked them to do a non-riding party. The children groomed a pony, learnt body parts of a pony (putting post it note labels on the world's most tolerant horse), filled feed and water buckets etc. They got the chance to sit on a pony and have a walk round if they wanted to. That all lasted about an hour, then there was food and cake (decorated with icing grass, playmobil ponies). Children and ponies were impeccably behaved. So yes, I think it could work.