How do you know when They are ready for their own pony?

[internationalvulva]

Bit of background. DD is 7, has ridden since she was 4, is a member of pony club, and rides once a week, twice on pony club weeks. She is obsessive about riding. It's her big thing, she loves it more than anything else she does and I would love her to have her own pony....but

I'm not sure whether the costs are worth it at this age? We have two options. We have a stable Next to our house Which is vacant and a small field next door that we have been told would be free for us to use. However, aside from a half mile field track behind the house the only place she could exercise a pony directly from here is on roads, and as I haven't a horse I'd have to cycle with her. There is a small possibility of renting a field behind us which is substantial, I'd say a couple of acres or so and she could possibly erect jumps there, so dependant on rental costs this could be an option.

Her riding school is a 6 minute drive away, and they do livery, and have two arenas and three jumping fields. But she'd need me to ferry here there and back to ride.

I'm not entirely sure which would be the best option. I can see advantages of both. If she wanted lessons and wasn't at the yard then we'd have to get the pony there somehow. If she isn't at the yard she can't see it and hang out with it as much as if it's here.

Is 7 too young. Realistically it's going to be me mucking out and taking care of the pony a lot right?? How much time does that take a day? Would we be better with a loan or share pony??

Would love some opinions and experiences to help me make a decision (and then I have to figure out where the money would come from, but hey ho!:o)

That's useful to know,thank you.The bucker we had could even manage it in grass reins.I thought that if he couldn't get her head down,we'd be ok,but she still managed to kind of corkscrew herself and deck poor DD2.Bless her,she got back on every single time though.

Our instructor told us to wait until DD was at least 10 years old. He was absolutely right. When we finally got DPony DD was strong enough to lead her even if she was being naughty, and deal with feet etc without problems on her own. It has made a big difference to us. I think if we had got her earlier it would have been frustrating for all of us.

My dd had her own pony at 7. We kept it at a local diy livery stable and she rode every day. It was the best leisure related decision I ever made for her.That pony was the first of 3 between 7 and 18.She was in Pony Club and a local riding club and represented Pony Club in showjumping and eventing and tetrathlon.
Make sure her teacher is involved in your choice of pony and ask for a trial period.Our first was a 12hh Welsh SecB and was absolutely perfect.