Arrrrggghhhhh ... will never find a pony!

[fallenninjastrikesback]

DS(7) has outgrown Stupidpony horrendously and i have been searching pondering getting him a pony to ride at home instead of just having riding lessons. So ive been looking for something on loan. Found what seemed to be the perfect horse, and been to see it today but its got boxed hooves!

Grrrh .. Im sulking because until I get DS a pony I cant get myself the horse Ive got my eye on! Ive got happy dreams of the 2 of us riding through the forest in slow motion but there seems to be no first ponies to loan.

I feel your pain.We've been looking for a 1st pony for DD2,who is 7 and have been looking since Sept.I've put adverts up,been to see all sorts,but with no luck.

We might have found one to loan,but they are struggling to find a replacement for him,so until they do,he isn't available.Last summer we had the same problem and ended up getting a safe 13hh for the girls to share as we couldn't find anything as reliable but smaller.DD1 is 8 now and I'm glad we got the pony we did,because she is just the right size for her now,but she is still a bit big for DD2 and sharing isn't working-we do hacks with one on a scooter or bike,and then swapping half way,I seem to have spent the past 12 months looking for ponies and it is very frustrating.

Whereabouta are you and what size are you looking for?

Im in Staffordshire. Well he rides a 14.2 at the stables, but thats a bit big for him, so im thinking about 13hish.

See weve been to see quite a few as well but non have been just right if you see what I mean. This one today was perfect almost, and whilst at the moment he would only be doing light hacking, so vet said she would be OK, there seems little point getting him the pony if he can never move onto pony club etc with her.

Sigh ....

Ohh,there was a 13hh for loan,it has been on the Pony Club website for a while so don't know if it has been loaned out yet though.If you look on the Quorn Hunt Pony Club website under wanted/for loan,it is on there [not the 'classified' bit].We are in Leics,so don't know if it will be too far.He had hunted,done camps,PC everything.Might be worth looking at.

Well, to give you both some heart for an ongoing search I've found a lovely first ridden for DD. We have him on 2 week trial, the first week is over tomorrow. So far he is lovely and brilliant with DD. So there are nice first riddens out there, though they are rare and I realise how lucky I am to have found him so quickly.

Have either of you tried Preloved? It is where I found DD's pony, and where I found someone to loan her lead rein pony so it might be worth a try?

Glad the new pony is working out Callisto..

Yes,I've had 3 wanted ads on Preloved and all I got offered were 3 year olds! I went to see 2 ponies who were being advertised on there and the poor things seemed on their last legs.I've had ads on the PC website,was offered one pony that was 4 hours away and we had no transport,had ads in all local feed store and tack shops,not one phone call from them.

However,I saw the owner of the pony we are hoping to loan today,she is going to see another pony tomorrow,so am keeping everything crossed that he/she is suitable.

Ohh Callisto lucky you - guess I need to just keep looking

Ive been offered some very odd ponies, given my advert quite clearly states that it needs to be a first pony!

By boxed hooves do you mean upright? If the pony is fine otherwise, it would be worth getting a reliable carrier to take a look. I can tell you from personal experience, that farriers can do some shocking work on ponies. We started trimming our own feet because most of our local farriers are shit. I've seen many sets of truly appalling feet on ponies round here. shod and unshod. Being owner or part owner of many slightly wonky or defective ponies, please bear in mind that the strange crooked ones can be at least as worthy as the perfect ones.

Upright feet can often be corrected with a few careful trims.

Agree boxy feet might just be poor shoeing. We had a horse on part loan who sometimes appeared lame on a circle. When he eventually became ours and our farrier managed to get his hands on him he was horrified by his feet as his shoes were too small, hence boxy feet. Soon he was wearing shoes 3/4" bigger and was completely sound from then on.

This pony you are looking at is on loan, so if it's otherwise just what you want I'd be inclined to take the chance.