Would you buy a pony that was inconsistent at jumping?

[HebeJeeby]

DD has a lovely 12yr old 13hh pony who is good to handle, has 3 nice paces, does a good dressage test etc... she is also a good jumper, has done 75cm at home but more at home jumping 60cm courses in competitions. We’re a pony club family and do regular rallies, XC training and junior camp.

The issue is that the pony is very inconsistent in her jumping. She will jump beautifully one day and then will balk at 40cm cross poles another day. She is definitely not a point and shoot pony when jumping and needs to be ridden to the fence otherwise she’ll run out given half the chance. On the plus side it’s taught my daughter a lot and she’s now a rider and not a passenger. We’ve done lots with the pony, gone back to low jumps only, flat work, grid work and she’ll still pull a fast one occasionally. Saddle has been checked, osteopath is happy with her, teeth are done and waiting for the vet to call to see if it’s worth checking for any underlying conditions. Personally I think it’s just the way the pony is. When we bought her we were told she was a “little green” jumping. I stupidly didn’t follow this up as she was great in every other way. Anyway, we’ve had her for 18 months and dd has practically outgrown her, so we’re starting to look for something bigger. My worry is that no-one will buy her if she’s so erratic at jumping. I couldn’t sell her without mentioning the jumping as I don’t want her to be passed from pillar to post, she deserves better than that.

So I guess my question is, are there people out there who don’t want a children’s pony that doesn’t have a great jumping record?

Sorry - that should read people who DO want a pony that doesn’t have a great jumping record.

I wouldn’t , because even if it was reflected in the price I would worry about my child’s safety and most children do want to jump . We had a mare (15.1hh) who had a similar problem and it put me off jumping her at all because she was a menace for dirty stops and running out at the last minute and I had a couple of nasty falls ( as did my instructor )

That would hugely depend on the other traits of the pony. There are other jobs out there than jumping.

Firstly, is it a dirty stopper, or just a downer-of-tools? The former is bad news for an all-rounder home, certainly. The latter is a deal-breaker if the kid wants to be competitive jumping, but possibly not if its the sort of child who just wants to play around and pop the odd fence (but won't get ditched if it's a off day!).

Secondly, how is the pony otherwise? Is it safe and sensible? Would it be a good pony for a complete novice? Does it hack well and safely? Would it be a safe hunting pony, or might it excel at endurance or TREC?

Or, if it's less easy, does it have good paces for dressage, or the conformation for showing? Does it have the spark for mounted games or polocrosse?

There are loads of jobs out there for ponies that don't involve leaving the ground. At 13hh, it's not a tiny pony whose jockeys will necessarily be small and lacking in skill, which makes it easier.

Thanks for both replies. She’s not a dirty stopper but more of an omg, panic there’s a jump coming when in canter. I’ve spoken to the vet this afternoon and he thinks there maybe an underlying problem rather than her just being naughty and he’s going to come out and have a look at her. She hasn’t got a nasty bone in her body so fingers crossed we can find and fix something.

She’s good at dressage and hacks out nicely on her own or in company. She’s forward going but not dangerous, so I think there’s lots she could do other than jumping. She’s very pretty so might take to showing, that’s not something we’ve done with her. I guess we’ll see what the vet says next week, keeping my fingers crossed.

yes, because I have no interest in jumping :)

Sorry, you did say in the OP she does a nice test - I missed that. But I think she sounds like she would have a market in other areas, which is definitely positive.

Although if there is a physical issue which your vet can find and fix, which is entirely possible, that would be ideal - good luck!

Fingers crossed that the vet can help.

If not, and she's OK to do flat work and hack, would she carry a small adult happily? Plenty of adults do not want to jump.

Hello, well had the chiropractor out tonight which was fantastic. She has confirmed pony is not lame and has 3 lovely paces, in fact she said if she was looking for a pony she would buy her tomorrow as she can easily be put right. She is stiff in shoulder and lower back (worse on left hand side). She had a look at the saddle and has condemned it. It’s all wrong and is causing the problems. I had this saddle flocked and checked 6 months ago and nothing was said then so not best pleased on that score 😡. So got a saddler coming out early next week for a new saddle and then we need to go right back to basics for a few weeks with jumping to relearn confidence etc...

Need to do some lunging with a roll back etc... also. Chiropractor doesn’t think we need the vet just yet (says she’s always ready to call the vet out much to the annoyance of her clients! Also my vet is her vet so she knows him). She’s coming out in 2 weeks to follow up. So, not what I was expecting but feel a lot more positive now about things. So happy for the pony as she is such a star and I knew she had so much potential if she wasn’t being held back. Off to drink wine now 🍷

Hi,
There are many “saddlers” out there that are useless, so be sure you have got a recommended and qualified one. I would also suspect a physical problem. If the chiro treatment has not helped, then get vet to do a complete work up (I have had chiros/physios get it completely wrong). Work up should entail nerve blocks to isolate and identify the problem -don’t accept the kind of vet analysis where they stroke their chins and give you a diagnosis.
She sounds like a great little pony that could turn her hoof to anything -worth their weight in gold; she just needs some treatment.

Hello, quick update. The chiro has been back and is pleased with pony. Had the saddler out who was helpful but didn’t have the right one at the time so we’ve ordered one which we think will be right - a Kent and Masters jump. Pony seemed better with that than a gp saddle. Having that one fitted on Friday, so fingers crossed this will be the right one. Got a great instructor lined up from PC who is going to unpick her jumping and go right back to basics- poles, grid work etc... I know this will take months but we seem to have a positive way forward now which is encouraging. Thanks to you all for your input.

So nice when someone actually does the right thing by the pony. I hope it goes well with the new saddle. I had something similar with one of mine and she started to buck in canter. I'd had the saddle fitted so was so frustrated to find it was the saddle causing the problems

I know what you mean about the saddle Feuledwith, i’d Had ours checked, flocked etc.... anyway got a Kent and Masters jump saddle, pony is very comfy on it and had a poles lesson on Sunday. Lesson went well, pony tried to rush poles in canter as per usual but dd was able to slow her down and pony responded nicely. Normally she ploughs through in canter. So, need to teach pony that it doesn’t hurt anymore. Am cautiously optimistic at the moment.

Vetrofen intense is very good for a month or so if they have residual pain. Also bear in mind that if the saddle was wrong pony may have developed compensation in his way of going which will take a while to unpick. Be careful with the Kent and masters and get it checked every month until pony is better.

I think it depends. DD's first pony was saintly, was totally safe in the widest of open spaces off the lead with a little one, fantastic to handle, tolerated being dressed up, jumped on, you name it, but to get him round a course would take brute force and determination. As soon as the child stopped kicking, he would would stop. The reality was no younger kid has the energy to get him round but he would just grind to a halt never a dirty stop or drop his shoulder. He's had lots of kids wanting him on loan despite this as he's so good in other ways. As you say, he taught kids to "ride".