Buying four year old pony

[CountryCob]

Hello all, I am considering buying a four year old heavyweight pony, I know the breeders well and it has started in work. Have owned horses before and ridden youngsters but never had one all to myself. What do people think? Would being worked 5 days a week be enough or should they be doing something small everyday? Also I work all week so during the week it will be schooling with the light on. The main reason I am thinking of a youngster is that I know and trust the people involved and want to do things properly so that I get a well adjusted pony for life is the dream, I have taken over other peoples problems in the past and do not want to do this again, I would be having lessons about once a fortnight too. One final compliation is that we have been ttc for two years so in theory baby could pop up any time, due chlomid (if that is how it is spelt) this month but have decided can't put life on hold just in case that ha

.... Happens, pony would be very close by and am DIY anyway so know score there but am aware baby plus baby pony may not be ideal at times. Overall think that could be riding this pony in 20 years time though and don't really want to give up having a horse or pony especially when not even pregnant. Also expect current horse is going to be pts next month after 6 years of dedicated ownership for a bundle of painful reasons including his serious injury and ongoing issues with that and - believe me I have tried am am no novice - insurmountable issues in ridden work which are dangerous and have seriously hurt me in the past and very recently resulted in a week off work which I cannot afford to happen again, he is 18 please don't judge me I am in bits over him, is this pony a good idea to try once things have calmed down?

I think you should go for it! If the pony has been started off well it shouldn't be too daunting a task. I would have thought riding 5 times a week would be plenty. Have you got a plan in case you do get pg though? I wouldn't put life on hold, but it would be worth giving some thought to how you would manage baby and horse.

Thanks for the reply- that became a bit too stream of consciousness when I read it thought about deleting it only didn't know how! I am going to come up with a plan just need to get through this month, really love my crazy horse just come to end of line, sometimes horse ownership can be heartache as we all know, we must be mad

Hi there OP, I've been thinking that I will eventually get a young horse to bring on when I am ready, and there may be some questions you might think about when contemplating this:

Have you had any experience with young ponies/horses at all? Teaching them the ropes and how to be a well socialised pony is what you are going to be doing a lot of in the first few years. Will you be sufficiently firm with a young pony to set good boundaries so it will turn into a good pony citizen?

This sounds like it will be the first pony you will be bringing on - do you have a support net work around you (vets, farriers, instructors, who know about/have brought on young ponies/horses) that you trust and can go to at any time for advice?

Often when ponies/horses get to 5yrs of age, they go through a 'teenage' phase and really, really, start to test their rider/owner. You might get all sorts of shenanigans from pony. Do you have the nerve and bravery to ride through/manage that? No matter how quiet pony seems now, most horses seem to go through this.

These are just a few of the things I have been thinking about and how I am going to over come them when I eventually get a young horse, although I am aiming for something a little older than you describe. I am sure those who also have young horses will weigh in with more considerations for you.

HTH.

Yes I agree it is not something to be entered into lightly, I have the experts around and last year was very involved in backing a pony and did first poles, log jump, hack out etc, think with me the main problem coming up is daylight hours as don't think continual schooling is the right thing for youngsters they need more variety but during the week it is schooling in floodlights for me once the days get short for weeks, think am going to focus on my horse for now and have a good think, I am used to my own horse and want that really in an ideal world but in the meantime an lucky that have friends and family who are happy to let me ride theirs so going to have a break and a think, can't imagine going from horse twice a day on DIY to no horse but do need a rest and to build up some savings if being sensible...

I thought you were going to buy your 4 year old a pony! was going to say that was a bit extreme!

Personally I think a 4 year old + potential pregnancy is an excellent combination! Seriously! Here's why: bringing a young horse on requires a lot of thought, brain power and learning (much like children) - horses (imo) fare extremely well if they learn a lot and then are turned away 6 mos - 1 year to "have a think" about it all.

I am sorry to hear you are having your horse PTS. It's a very emotional and difficult time for any horse owner.

I understand the motivation behind avoiding an older horse with someone else's problems but another way of looking at it is that the person who created these problems probably didn't set out to do so. They probably set out with good intentions just found out along the way that the reality of bringing on a young horse is quite challenging.

For a young horse you need good facilities (including hacking because I do think you are right you can really bore a young horse with too much schooling), regular access to an experienced trainer (I would say budget for weekly lessons and for short periods where the trainer takes on the training full time to bring the pony onto the next level of training), time and patience. It may be quite difficult to combine these things with a pregnancy/young baby and it may be more difficult to find a sharer or loan for a green young pony than for a more established pony.

Why not buy an older pony without the problems? They are out there!

Yes I think you are right booboo thanks for your comments finding this pts buisness heartbreaking going to have a break and am lucky to have two guaranteed rides and three other possibles, used to ride lots of different horses when I worked part time at a yard about ten years ago so going to go back to that, I know there are good horses and ponies out there it is often so hard to find a genuine one though, I don't think anyone means to create problems and agree even teaching a youngster to pick their legs up so their feet can be checked is very hard work