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?

I think maybe you two should settle this elsewhere and let the OP have her thread back.

Even a very small unsecured fence can cause a rotational fall when the horse’s front legs knock it. As it gets knocked it tips and moves forward, causing the horse to rotate and fall on the rider. The same accident with a secured fence at worse makes the horse fall on its face/front.

This is the crucial point you are mistaken over.

There appear to be more falls on fences with frangible pins. No one knows why

It’s fairly well agreed on in the eventing community (of which I am very much a part ) that this is because FPs are used on the bigger and more difficult fences where falls are deemed more likely anyway.

As a side note Booboos, you have a very sanctimonious and preachy mansplainy manner about you, which you might benefit from working on (pssst.....I know the difference between showjumps and xc jumps).

WellErr as an aside I am a professional, female, philosopher. You are unable to argue well, but you understand enough to see that you are wrong which makes you feel threatened. Instead of leading you to revise your thinking this makes you defensive so you rely on arguments to authority (‘I am a pony club chef’, ‘I am a part of the eventing community’), crude bullying tactics (‘some people have to be right’ haha) and hot buzzwords (mansplaining) to make yourself feel popular. On the whole this is rather sad but not uncommon as many people have poor reasoning skills and no self-awareness.

Divebar of course should the OP object I will stop posting.

Sorry OP. I've created a new thread as I do think it's an interesting subject, even if its turned a bit sour on here.

Jesus wept 😂

3, 2, 1 and back in the room. How is the pony search going @Florin?

Hi. Just seen this. We got a great loan pony from looking on preloved. He was a perfect first pony that had been outgrown by his rider. We loaned him for a couple of years and the bought him. We paid all the costs and the owners came to visit when they wanted. I just wanted to let you know it can be a positive experience. We are still in touch with his previous owners.

@Maudelynne thank you for thinking of us but sadly nothing has come up yet. There seems to be lots of mares around but that won’t work with the 2 geldings it will be living with or when you start asking questions they are just to advanced for him or bite or randomly bolt off with the rider every so often etc etc which obviously won’t work for him. We keep looking though and he keeps asking!
Thanks @Sandycloud I will check out preloved.

I would contact the Exmoor Pony Society, or possibly someone like Dawn Westcott who breeds Exmoors but is very much not part of the EPS. I would also contact the Dartmoor Hill Pony Owners Club. I know they're south western rather than Kent way but they'll have connections elsewhere. Exmoors aren't necessarily the no. 1 choice of children's ponies but they have many advantages. Also, they're not often more than 12.2 however they are stocky and take up a lot of leg so you have the advantage of a smaller pony combined with the ability to carry taller and heavier riders.

The hillies (not the Dartmoors, DHPs are a separate breed) are fantastic kids ponies that come in all shapes and sizes. They often go by word of mouth. As natives both the Exmoors and hillies will have their heads screwed on and be hardy, so be easier for you as a family getting to grips with horse ownership.

As for the rest, I wonder how we ever survived the 1970s and 80s.

as an aside I am a professional, female, philosopher.

I'm a professional female historian. I've got a PhD and everything.

You are unable to argue well, but you understand enough [gee, thanks] to see that you are wrong which makes you feel threatened. Instead of leading you to revise your thinking this makes you defensive so you rely on arguments to authority (‘I am a pony club chef’, ‘I am a part of the eventing community’),

Oh I see, we're not allowed to say what community we're part of or where our authority comes from. Tell you what, I'll scratch my bit about the PhD if you scratch your bit about being a professional philosopher.

crude bullying tactics (‘some people have to be right’ haha) and hot buzzwords (mansplaining) to make yourself feel popular. On the whole this is rather sad but not uncommon as many people have poor reasoning skills and no self-awareness.

All this might sound better if you hadn't undercut yourself by announcing your philosophical credentials which sounds very much like its own kind of bullying. And don't get me started on the lack of self awareness. You do this on every thread Booboos. Every thread some innocent question becomes a lecture from you about the dangers of riding and how expertly informed you are. Horse riding is an amazing hobby, sport, occupation, interest, obsession, however you want to characterise it. Please stop putting people off with your lectures. It's obvious that animals that can gallop at over 30mph and weigh around 500kg are going to create risks. We're adults. Give us enough credit to realise we know this.

Mike drop.

Nice one belenus

Belenus I didn’t just offer my professional qualifications out of the blue, WellErr said I have a sanctimonious, preachy, mansplaining manner and I was clarifying that I am a woman and a philosopher. Philosophers have, since pretty much Socrates, annoyed others by pointing out their ignorance.

But let’s take WellErrr’s point seriously. This afternoon I will email the Pony Club and alert them to the fact that one of their instructors (a position for which no qualifications are required) is advising people on a public forum to jump unsecured fences and claiming this to be Pony Club policy. I am sure they will be delighted to confirm this is the case and i’ll be happy to acknowledge you are wrong.

It's not pointing out people's ignorance that's annoying. It's assuming they are ignorant and that you know more. And you're not Socrates. It's an internet forum where people are chatting about kids ponies, not the Platonic dialogues.

Remember, a tree that is unbending is easily broken. Sometimes it pays to bend a little, in arguments if not also in the structure of your fences.

Pony club instructors do need qualifications and you go ahead. Hopefully theyll have a good laugh over it

And do remember that most Pony Clubs are allied to a local hunt, where children jump anything and everything they can find in the countryside, including logs, wire, hedges, ditches and fences. So i doubt very much they will advise against it

Yes, it'll be news to the PC that their instructors don't need qualifications. I'm not sure how that tallies with their examination system which is carefully tied in with the BHS examination system for instructors. I've known some instructors who I think have equivalent experience rather than the exam certificates, it's true.

Ho hum. Sorry for the thread derail, OP. Do look at some of the native pony breeds. Possibly not Welsh as they can be sharp but Exmoors, DHPs and possibly New Forests, which are quite varied in size, might do the job.

This is the Pony Club page which says that coaches “ideally have an equestrian coaching qualification”, which means that you can coach without one. Since the information is on the PC website I doubt they will be surprised by it.

www.pcuk.org/index.php/training/coaching/

They have also replied to my email with
“We request that BE guidelines are adhered to at all times and a risk assessment is also made”.
BE guidelines require that all cross country fences are fixed.

If you still want to jump unfixed cross country fences, go ahead, (literally) knock yourself out.

They don't mean out hacking you utter moron.

Wouldn't an ordinary pony be happier in a field with other ponies eating grass? Riding schools often looking for help, pay rubbish wages but free ride and lots of pony time for some mucking out and pony care.

You emailed them about this thread BooBoos? Really?

From the same website, it's also clear that all PC coaches must attend coach directory courses. You cannot teach at PC without attending such a course.

It really is a minor point. When people are out hacking they will pop over things which might well not meet competition guidelines. They do so because the risk is theirs to take. People organising competitions cannot require that people take such risks, therefore they have to make sure their fences meet particular guidelines.

You cannot control what other people do in this way. Try not to let it worry you.

Well yes Belenus people can choose to take risks on their own which they wouldn’t be allowed to take in completitions, but they cannot claim, like Fazackerley did, that it is safe to do so.

I remember watching for the first time the video of the young woman dying over the fence that moved. It was horrific, and it must have take unimaginable courage for her parents to leave the video online as a warning. I remember the campaign to secure fences, it was swift and effectiveness partly due to the horrific video. If people want to ignore the warning that is their idiotic prerogative, but they cannot claim it is safe to do so or that the practice is endorsed by anyone in an official position. I am not particularly worried about individuals taking idiotic risks but I do think they should be called up on trying to legitimize their risky decisions.

And meanwhile...there is a parallel universe where people actually have the sense to realise that someone whose 7yo boy is pony mad and just learning to ride off lead rein probably doesn't want to hear about gruesome videos of eventers dying.... FFS

@OP My DD is just 8, and I've been looking for a suitable loan for what seems forever. Just going to bite the bullet and buy one ( at least I know if it is a genuine first ridden + able to step up a gear as their jockey progresses - I'll always be able to loan it out after DD has outgrown it )

Good loan ponies are like hens teeth, it seems! Anyway, I'm looking at 3 ponies this weekend, so hopefully we'll find someone soon.

Florin good luck - hope you find a suitable pony soon.