confused which is best for her ?!

[OnePlanOnHouzz]

Hi everyone - I'm usually on the DIY thread - horses are a total unknown to me - but I'm here to ask you kind peeps for advice as my daughter has been offered a choice of two loan ponies and I'm not sure which is best or what we should be asking the owners ?!?!

My daughters riding history : She's been riding at a stable 5 miles away for about 4 / 5 years - she's nearly 15 and the pony she was riding the last year at the yard was 16h boy and she did jumping and hacking on him .
She's also been helping at another stables about 8 miles away with two ponies and lots of little Shetlands . She's horse mad and spends all her weekends with the horses and wants one of her own that's within walking distance of home instead of me driving her...

We have a field and stables with horses in our village and are hoping to keep a horse there after Easter/start of summer ... We have two choices at the moment :

Been offered a 4 year old 14.3h Welsh cob section d on loan who'd need to be moved from his existing home to our local field and stables. He's got to go for schooling first as he's not been ridden much all year... will be on loan with owner paying for jabs once a year ( we don't really know the owner but met her once and she seems lovely ) he's had four previous owners ?! And is currently out in field all the time with a couple of other horses.

Or

She's been offered unlimited use of a 4 year old thoroughbred who will need to be broken but has a lovely nature comes when called been good with the farrier etc since he was 1. We saw him being born and know the owner and he's in our local field and stables already. The owner ( a friend of the family ) wants to ride him occasionally ( maybe once a month at most and probably while DD is at school anyway) but otherwise my daughter can do what ever with him.

So both are young .

Ones in the field already and knows the other horses and other riders etc
The other isn't.
One we know is good natured and intelligent.
The other we've seen for 30mins and he came when called but didn't stand still much but seems to have a lovely nature.

I really don't know what we should do! Or what I /we should be asking .

An interpretation, in my non horsey language is she's been offered a pre owned rally mini to off road in and have a laugh in.

Or a new brand new Mercedes to have fun on ?!

Is that about right ?!? That's how my daughter explained it to me !

Nb. Financially we have set aside funds for insurances .. shoes / pedicures ?!? ( that's the wrong word !). Food etc and have gone into that so know we have that covered ...

Thank you so much anyone who's happy to post a comment !

I wish I could say "no, it's nothing like that much!" but 25pw for the stable, 10 sets of shoes for 70 each per year brings you to 2000. Thinking about what I've spent recently, there was the £30 Christmas present Amazon voucher that I was looking forward to spending on frivolous stuff for me, that was used to purchase a lightweight turnout rug. Then his hooligan fieldmates ripped his medium weight turnout. Washed, reproofed and repaired (£15 at mates rates) it will do as a spare, so that meant £50 on a new one. His veteran MOT in November (teeth and jabs and prodding to make sure he's OK) was somewhere over 100 and that was with a shared call out.

There are things you can get away without. I spend £35 a month on his food balancer, because he's 16 now and I figure he needs the help and he looks magnificent on it. He doesn't get any other hard feed though. But then at the very least you need third party insurance - just join the British Horse Society. Then there was the great saddle debacle last spring. That was £50 for each of the three times I got the saddle fitter out. At this stage I think MN needs a [cries] emoticon.

Don't let it put you off OP! They are amazing and wonderful animals. Your daughter will learn responsibility and gets lots of healthy outdoor exercise. And if you're lucky, she won't notice boys exist until she's about 18.

"A kids pony kept at cheap livery is going to struggle to reach the bottom end of that,"

My mum kept her horse at home in a rural area. She didn't compete or have lessons, just thoroughly enjoyed looking after her and hacking out. She worked out the five cats cost far more to keep than the horse.

It's true gabilan - cats and dogs (especially dogs) can be more trouble than a horse too, as you can't just leave them in a field and go out for the day

My old eventer, when competing at CCI** cost a fucking bomb quite a lot.

My current welshie in a field costs around £500 per year, and £300 of that is insurance. He also takes approximately half an hour to look after as I'm not riding due to pregnancy so I just check he's upright and walking, no gaping wounds, water supply ok, chuck a carrot in - done. And some days I don't see him at all as DH checks him.

So it doesn't need to be all doom and gloom and thousands of pounds. But it's important to be aware and have a contingency fund.

Yes but op is talking unbroken tb or newly broken Welsh section d. She doesn't sound like her dd wants to pootle about on a little pony. I agree, it costs bugger all to keep my companion Shetland - lives out all year, trim hooves each 8 weeks, annual and only a bit of haylage or hay in winter. Yep, less than what it costs to keep my cat.

But a TB? Needs proper rugs, proper winter stabling, bedding, hard feed, vet care - that whole list I gave. One of my mares tweaked her tendon in the field and it cost me £200. Plus had to keep her in for 2.5 months so had extra bedding and feed to pay for right over winter. Added an extra 50% to my livery Bill Second hand saddle £350-400, bridle £40 (mine cost £1500-2k second hand but I have separate dressage and jump saddles) It really annoys me when people get animals and then are surprised at the costs. We have some people at our yard who did that and the poor thing looks like a hat rack with long feet, always under rugged too. Grim.

She's said she won't get the tb though after we all did a sharp intake of breath

I agree though, there's a reason they can't give tbs away. They might be cheap to buy but you need a mortgage to keep one.
I've had 2 ex racers and although some look lovely I can't imagine getting another.

I almost got an ex racer after my old horse died. I was offered them and I'm fairly experienced. So glad I accidentally got an ID cross whose got a leg at each corner and his head screwed on. I know TBs can be brilliant but my boy just suits me.

Who's

Just wondering whereabouts in Dorset you are? The local pony club could be worth talking to or seeing if there is something suitable to share?

While I will say £1500 is on the light side - even £2000 is a little low, the one thing I would say op is that if you daughter is busy looking after her horse, she is not going to be getting herself in trouble on social media - just hanging out and getting herself in trouble - the learn so much from horses, if you can afford it, don't dismiss it......
What I would say is if you are on a tight budget , get something hardy (like a native- and this could be a Connemara cross) as that will be cheaper to keep, and also insure it , as vets bills for any animal can be extortionate.

Can I chip in? I had a gorgeous horse on loan for almost two years. Fab horse, beautiful, capable, well schooled and completely 100% not the right horse for me. Like at all. I think in two years we hacked out alone twice, although I did it a lot with a friend. I had one lesson on him which terrified me and I came off him twice, the second time I decided I couldn't continue and eventually he went to a lovely lady who is now using him for shows and dressage.
My point is, no matter how unsuitable the horse, sometimes heart rules head and you can end up broken hearted. I did.
4 years and they're both quite green? I think if you've got the money and the stable isn't going anywhere, hold out for a horse that knows what it's doing and then hopefully your daughter won't end up broken hearted over the horse.

I would get a different instructer in to assess your dds standard of riding first. It's pretty easy to be a good rider at a riding school. Very different in the real world.

Once you have an honest assessment of her ability then you can start looking for something that matches her ability. It's likely to be an older been there, done that type. Not a 4 year old.

And I have owned a tb who was a doddle compared to some of the natives. Welsh cobs in particular sometimes have a tb attitude combined with a pony brain which is not for the faint hearted.

Native ponies can be fabulous first time ponies. And can also put you off for life. And I say that as owner of 2 welsh ponies and a highland.

From bitter experience (sound a bit similar to you - not horsey, always in trouble from dd for saying things like am going to tuck the horse up now and saying goodnight 😀) I would say err on the side of caution and get something really sensible, good in the ground and that knows what it's doing to an extent.

We found a lot of horsy people at pony club and stuff very standoffish, butch you and not happy to help a all, my faith and general cheeriness was shattered. And trust none of them, especially if they are trying to sell a horse!

We got things back on track by hiring a "groom": some one who loves horses and working with them who helped dd and me immeasurably in the early stages of ownership. Remember, you will need to be involved too, probably more than you'd wish for.

We then got a really lovely calm horse, good to do, and found a quiet yard, with a helpful but not overbearing owner- the holy grail. It has been fab since then, although I am up there a lot. I would not like to have to look after him myself,as I don't feel I have the knowledge and experience yet, after nearly two years of ownership. It is completely different from riding at a school. People told me this, I didn't really believe them, but it is true.

Loads of good advice on here, just my two penn'orth

*butch you?! Should've been bitchy!!

We found a lot of horsy people at pony club and stuff very standoffish, butch you and not happy to help a all, my faith and general cheeriness was shattered. And trust none of them, especially if they are trying to sell a horse!

Yes! I found this too. I just carried on being relentlessly cheerful as my dds fell off and pony was naughty etc etc

Thanks for all the comments and advice ! We have had - and are still having, lots of 'family discussions' about this, as I see the prices going up and up and I think it's slightly unfair on our older daughter, ( now left home ) but who didn't get this much allowance for her hobby at the same age ... The debate continues ....

It's difficult to manage isn't it? A good compromise might be a part loan? Unless I had the time to help her alot I would also be wary of setting a diy livery situation on when she will have a lot of exams coming up. Also if she is planning on university too she may have to sell a much loved pony in a few years too.

One of the main reasons I didn't go to uni is because of my pony and what would happen to her if I did.

It's a total minefield taking the first steps into horse ownership. Lots of good advice on here. May I throw one more thought into the mix? Many horses are backed at 4 and do really well, nice, quiet, look like they are going to be total diamonds. They are sold at 5 as perfect first horses etc. However, it's just the age that they hit their Kevin teenage phase. Within a few months they decide that actually they don't want to be schooled thank you very much. All perfectly workable for an experienced owner, but can be a big shock to deal with tantrums for a first horse. So personally I wouldn't buy anything younger than 7 or 8.

I second what others have said about neither being suitable. Also another thing to consider is that a lot of yards don't let under 16s on the yard unaccompanied.
I think a share/part loan would be your best bet. Chances are there will be a lot more suitable options plus in terms of time commitment and money it will be a lot less. Around here a 3 day a week share is around £30-40 a week. Have a look on pre-loved.

thanks guys !
Will look into older horses /ponies and also talk again with her about exams etc too ... May have found someone who's interested in helping as a groom if/when required so that's a positive !

£4000 upwards is more realistic I'm afraid. Even if you keep a horse on DIY, even if grass-kept, you will need to visit the animal twice a day. Every day. What happens when you go on holiday? (What's a holiday she asks?!!!)
It's a huge investment, time and money. What happens with A Levels? Uni? Who's going to look after it then?
Sorry, I again don't want to appear at all patronising, just thinking of all the things that need thinking about.
Also agree with previous posters and would say definitely no to both horses.
If you do decide to loan, get an agreement drawn up. Go to the British Horse Society website for one.
What about sharing? Have a look at the Preloved website - loads of sharers wanted as people are struggling with the expense/time. Also, yes, get your daughter to do a Horse Care & Knowledge Certificate. Look up Pony Club Centres nearby? They can still complete PC tests via a centre.
Let us know how you get on.

Its just a pity that you are so far away from me OP, I'd love to find a rider for my welshie, but not having any luck. :(