Where to find a loan pony for our pony mad boy

[Florin]

We are in the really lucky position to have a private yard at the bottom of our garden. It isn’t ours but we have become friends with the owners and she has taken our pony mad boy under her wing and has offered to let us have a stable for a pony for him which he would love as he loves his riding lessons and helping with her horses and even begs to go out poo picking each day. However we just can’t find anything suitable. We need a 13-13.2 first pony that will be stabled with 2 geldings. Any tips of places we may have missed to look?

Have you been to foal farm in Biggin hill

There is the Kent horse rescue centre in Tonbriege

Poor lease ponies

Look at the Blue Cross website, they get some really lovely ponies in. I too would be wary of the message ‘leasing’ sends to a child. All sounds a bit temporary and disposable but I suppose it might stop ponies getting dumped when they’re outgrown?

Put a wanted ad up on your most local horsey Facebook pages

Sadly some people.post unwanted ill animals on social media websites, you're better going to one of the many animal.charities..

You won't find a first pony from an animal charity. They are predominantly companions. Sorry to sound negative.

Poor lease ponies

Why??

Because they will get passed around from owner to owner and first pony owners are more likely to give up and be unable to work through any issues if they know they can just hand the pony back. Also having loads of homes isn't conducive for a safe first pony. Top showjjmpers going to experienced homes is a different matter.

Fazackerley most ponies have multiple homes because they are quickly outgrown. A beginner child needs a first ridden, nothing else will do, but may need to move onto a more challenging pony a couple of years later. Many ponies are loaned out because their owners want to keep control of their future and retire them when the time comes. Keeping a pony in a field doing nothing doesn’t suit all animals, many get bored or develop problems like laminitis from too much grass and not enough work. A good pony who looks after a child is worth its weight in gold and many owners and loaners will be happy to pay for veterinary treatment to get to ride their pony again.

@florin just seen an advert for an 11.2 lead twin looking for a loan if of interest. About 2 hours from Kent.

Rein - not twin!!

Loaning is different. I'm talking about leasing.

@Eve thank you for thinking of us but I think a 11.2 is just a bit small for us. A friends has offered us a 12.2hh so thinking maybe that would be a great option even if it doesn’t last so long. We have looked at rescues but I think he is just a bit young and inexperienced for what they have offer.

A lead rein is quite different from a first ridden, just keep that in mind.

Why is a lease different from a loan Fazackerley?

@Booboostwo we are sort of awkwardly in between I think but I am no expert. He is the kind of child that is probably too confident, had a pony buck on him and just thought it was fun and stayed on. He happily walks or rising trots around cones or where told to go with good control of the pony in the school. However his riding instructor still does some stuff on lead too or on the lung, he adores going over small jumps which is on lead but would happily do that all day so I have been looking for first ridden. We definitely don’t want a slow plodder on a lead rein as he has already been very frustrated with that sort of pony already but equally nothing too forward.

If he's still on a lead rope, he's still too novice to loan a pony in my opinion. Keep on with lessons until he can ride confidently.

To be honest at this age DCs learn a lot faster in an RC because there is a large number of suitable ponies to try. So they can get to grips with a lazy one that needs more determination to get going, or a lively one that might feel a bit scary, etc. They can also go back to a more reliable pony if they get a scare from a lively one.

Has he ever fallen off? Some DCs give up after their first fall, it can be quite unnerving.

It may be too soon to get him his own pony.

I know someone who leased a pony over the summer. They paid 20 a week for him and had him for 6 weeks. He'd had three different homes that year. He went to camp and was really naughty. Not surprised, poor sod.

Loaning is usually much longer term, the previous owner is involved, it's more if a commitment so loaners are more invested.

I’ve known ponies and horses that were loaned or sold and never settled in their new homes. Sometimes a new home is unsettling, sometimes a new rider doesn’t bond with the horse, sometimes a new job is unsuitable. I also know RC horses that are perfectly happy looking after multiple riders. Horses are complex creatures, different set ups suit different horses.

I’d agree that riding lots of different ponies is a good way to start. When my dd was 10 she had a huge confidence boost when she went on a riding holiday at Wellington. Most of the other girls in her group had brought their own ponies to camp and had been riding the same pony for years. Dd realised that she’d got a much better foundation by learning how to ride lots of different kinds of ponies and it made her feel proud of herself! (Still didn’t stop her from begging for her own pony every time she opened her mouth though )

I think it's a useful skill to be able to ride different ponies but you cannot beat a one to one bond with your own pony, built over a couple of years. That will always produce far better riders as the confidence and bond is there.

In my experience if you are serious about becoming a rider the German system is the best: two years on the lunge, no reins , no stirrups, on a well balanced dressage horse. At the end of that you have a feel for how the horse should move correctly and the balance to keep yourself in the right place so you can start recreating that feeling with a new horse. Few people have the patience for that though.

I totally agree it would be a fantastic start. Unfortunately my own kids preferred bombing around the countryside jumping logs which is why they are all terrible at dressage

Yes, German kids are much more committed to and serious about riding which doesn’t explain their dominance of the sport in all its disciplines.