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
The tack room

Discuss horse riding and ownership on our Horse forum.

Original poster

11hh pony or forever type 14hh for 6 year old child? help

57 replies

anydreamwilldo · 02/03/2014 09:06

Have to make a decision, both lovely ponies. The little one she will love but fear she will outgrow it and be heart-broken when he has to move on. Don't want to over-horse her with the cob, but we could keep him forever ........ don't know what to do. Any ideas welcome, probably lots of things I haven't thought of? Thanks

OP posts:
MrsTomHardy · 02/03/2014 09:08

I would go for the cob Smile

Lovesswimming · 02/03/2014 09:49

I would for the 11h you'll be able to do much more much earlier and if you go to any little shows you won't be allowed to do the classes on anything over 12.2h in her age group (up to about aged 8/9 I think)
Also you never know what will happen. If you go for the 14hh you can't guarantee he won't go lame, be ill etc where you wouldn't be able to keep him. Your daughter at some point will have to part with a horse. My daughters 1st pony ended up with suspensory ligament problems after 2 years trying to sort it we re homed her. My daughter cried but knew it was for the best, was fine quite quickly and we have kept in touch over Facebook. I suppose what I'm saying is that by going for the 14h horse you are not guaranteeing that you won't have to part with a horse.

Floralnomad · 02/03/2014 11:22

You could just keep the little one when you outgrow it ,if necessary get a sharer or loan it out , as a family we have never sold a horse / pony on , that said I've never loaned or shared either . We still have our Dartmoor pony (11.1) that my son had when he was 6 , they're both 21 now !

JokersGiggle · 02/03/2014 12:07

Cob! My.parents did that for me when I was 8 (even though I was very short.....still am lol)
I've still got him ! He's ancient but can't part with him. I think having a small pony that one day the child still have to part with, even of it is just to loan will be very sad for her x

JokersGiggle · 02/03/2014 12:11

With the cob your giving her a friend for life Smile rather than just a few years

marialuisa · 02/03/2014 13:08

Am amazed at those saying go for the cob. I'd be concerned about whether your DD will be able to improve and progress as any 14hh cob that's steady enough for a 6 year old to ride is unlikely to be the sort of ride a confident 13 year old will want.

Muddiboots · 02/03/2014 13:14

def the little one, overhorsing a small child is the quickest way to put them off.
Just logistically it hurts a lot less falling off an 11h pony than a 14h cob, let alone if said pony accidenally treads on you.
The 11h one she can groom, tack up (wouldnt be able to lift saddle onto 14h!) bath , lead about etc
If you want to do any pony club stuff, at tat age she will be a fish out of water on a bigger pony.
Think about a lifetime pony at the next change up :)

marialuisa · 02/03/2014 13:14

Would also add that whilst parting with ponies is horrible your DD will see most of her friends going through the same thing. My DD is 13 and has been through it twice, it may sound hard but in many ways it's actually been a really good life lesson for her and helped her mature. My first pony died unexpectedly when I was 8 and that was much harder than when my second pony was sold as outgrown when I was 12. I knew dpony2 was off to have fun with someone else.

Muddiboots · 02/03/2014 13:15

oh and my son took up mounted games and was still riding his 11h pony at 12!

Butkin · 02/03/2014 13:36

Ditto what Marialuisa has said. I can't believe people are saying it is a good idea for a 6yo, presumably quite inexperienced, to learn on a 14 hand cob. We've just bought our 11yo daughter a new 13 hand pony and we wouldn't overface her with a 14 hander (although she has recently sat on one). How come the only other option is an 11 hander though? That does seem small - even littler than our Sec A lead rein. How come you're not looking at ponies around the 12 hand size for her?

OuterFromOutersville · 02/03/2014 13:43

I'm also amazed at people saying to go for a 14hh cob for a 6 year old child Shock!

NotGoodNotBad · 02/03/2014 14:13

Little one definitely. Then she can actually ride it instead of just sitting there.

Original poster
anydreamwilldo · 02/03/2014 14:39

Thank you all so much, think the 11hh makes sense (it could be me that
secretly wants the cob!)
Another question if you don't mind-how much would you pay for pretty 11hh section A ,10 years old but been left in the field a whole year. I know she will need a lot of work.?

OP posts:
Muddiboots · 02/03/2014 15:04

well i wouldnt pay anthing for her tbh, pretty little section a ponies can actually be the devil incarnate!
Would be looking for something in regular work, regularly out doing things (pony club/showing whatever)
Would want to see it ridden in all sorts of circumstances by vendor before even considering it for my little one.
Sorry, not teaching you to suck eggs but if this is your first horse purchase you may not know quite how dodgy the whole horse buying lark can be :)

Littlebigbum · 02/03/2014 15:24

Ok for my 8 th bday I was given 15-2 tb which I loved broke and did loads of stuff on.... For my 15th bday I got a 12-2 rig which I love to bits and could do everything on.
So look for both and see what you can find. Because it is not the size of the pony, it is the pony.... and good luck

Original poster
anydreamwilldo · 02/03/2014 15:41

I am new to this, and it is indeed way dodgier than I thought, so may hold on a while. Thanks folks!

OP posts:
Butkin · 02/03/2014 17:28

Have a look on sites like Horsequest to see how much little ponies are worth. We're selling our 14yo 11.1 Section A gelding at Easter. He's done everything including Showing (won at County Level on Lead and also won first Riddens/Concours), Pony Club, pleasure rides, mounted games and been hunting on the lead. We'll offer him for 1,000 pounds so you'd need to compare your little pony against this. Yours probably worth between 300-500 pounds if unridden for a year unless it has previous good experience. For a 6yo child going forward you probably need about a 12 hander maybe up to 12.2.

ChoudeBruxelles · 02/03/2014 17:31

I wouldn't consider 14hh a forever horse. I was riding around 15hh at about 12/13 as I was tall.

Original poster
anydreamwilldo · 02/03/2014 17:46

Thanks Butkin-She is for sale for £250 because she's been out of work, before that she was ridden by young child, can pop a pole has quite good breeding.
What will I need to do to get her going again once settled?

OP posts:
5OBalesofHay · 02/03/2014 19:39

If you are inexperienced I wouldn't buy that one, id spend more (or try for a loan) but go for a 12.2 schoolmaster.

Booboostoo · 03/03/2014 09:14

If you want a pony for a 6 year old you just have to resign yourself to changing ponies as she outgrows them. The best plan is to find a family (though the PC?) whose children are 2-3 years older than yours and loan their outgrown ponies. Good ponies get loaned on through word of mouth and are worth their weight in gold.

A 14hh pony risks shattering you child's confidence. Her legs probably wouldn't clear the saddle flaps, she'd have trouble finding her balance with the bounciness of the bigger trot and it's a long way to fall.

Butkin · 03/03/2014 16:19

What do you plan to do with the little one if you bought it? Would you have it on the lead or off? Did you see it ridden before it was turned away? How old is it? What was it doing for the previous owners? Breeding in small ponies is irrelevant unless you want to breed from her yourself so don't get caught into that red herring. Has she bred any foals for previous owners?

How experienced is your daughter. What has she been riding so far and what sort of ponies has she liked riding? How confident is she and what are her riding ambitions in the short to medium term?

Sorry to ask lots of questions but just trying to build a picture.

BethGoLightly · 03/03/2014 16:39

I would go for the smaller pony that your 6 year old can lead and groom more safely than a 14 hh cob. The cob will be quite strong so what happens if he tanks off with your child. My DD outgrew her 11.2 hh welsh pony at 11, but he had quite a long stride, not a short one, iyswim. You can always find a home for a small pony when your DD outgrows it and by that stage she is looking onwards and will be excited about the next pony. I really think you will over horse her with a 14 hh cob.

BethGoLightly · 03/03/2014 16:45

We sold our 11 year Section A Welsh for £1200 with tack etc but he was virtually guaranteed as had been in our pony club since 4 yrs regularly changing hands.

britnay · 03/03/2014 17:19

Have you tried contacting your local pony club? That's the best place to start looking for ponies.

OP, do you have much experience with horses yourself? How long has your daughter been having riding lessons for?