Taking on two ponies - haven't a clue!

[TwoPonyTony]

We went to see a house with quite a bit of land (for us) and the owners currently had horses in the paddocks. Amongst the horses were two small ponies that looked like unicorns without the horn. They were very friendly and came straight over to the kids. The owner then proceeded to tell me in front of said smitten children that I could have the two ponies with the house/land if I wanted them. Cue jumping up and down children. We have always had animals but never a horse. The owner said they keep the grass down. So tell me everything I don't know about keeping two small ponies. How much exactly is it going to cost me to keep these two little chaps as happy as possible? I do at least understand this means sorting them out every day. There currently is a Gardner/animal keeper? living in the annex but he's moving on. I would be up for finding another person willing to do the same work but need some sort of grasp on the whole thing myself first.

It appears the owners plans were to stop paying the gardener to force him to move on because he does have tenancy rights but she needs to deliver the property vacant. The solicitor thinks I'm insane for engaging with any of this and has advised to not pay the gardener but to take on the horses. Never mind that the gardener is the only one who appears to have any working knowledge of what the ponies need. He was strongly implying that once we own them we could simply have the put down if no one wants them. I'm frankly horrified by the whole thing.

And to whoever asked they do have all their kit and the driving carriages are in the barn. It was a good shout out to make sure all that comes with them if that's where we end up.

Is there any chance I could rehome these two after the sale goes through? Do people really want two little peacock ponies? They are truly lovely btw. They were very gentle and sweet with the kids. I now wish I hadn't ever laid on eyes on them though!

Definitely get rid of the gardener! If i lived nearer I'd come and have a look at the ponies for you, is there a mumsnetter that could?

I doubt you will find someone who wants two elderly ponies , horses and ponies are being dumped in horrible condition everyday in the south east ( and probably the rest of the country) . Do not pass them on as you have no idea what will happen to them frankly it would be kinder to just pts .

Whether they have any resale value will really depend on what they are, what they've done, their age and their health.

Do not rehome them for free unless to a home rescue (which are full to the brim so you'll be lucky to get them a place) as they could well end up with some unscrupulous dealer who will sell them on regardless of their suitability to home.

IMO you are insane for taking on either the ponies or the gardener.

The vendor is a bitch.

It's all bonkers.

Is there any chance I could rehome these two after the sale goes through

No. Nobody wants them. There are many examples in their thread as to why nobody would want to take them on.

This vendor is going to be an absolute nightmare.

I doubt they've got any/much value, if they had presumably the owner wouldn't be trying to dump them on you? So they are probably in need of a retirement/field ornament/'peacock pony' (love it!) home, which is going to be really tricky to find especially as you lack a horsey 'network' locally which might put you onto a reliable person looking for a companion for their horse or similar.

If you really want to do the 'right thing' by these ponies your best bet is either keep the gardener on to look after them with all the resultant issues, or you can pay for them to go and live in 'retirement livery' (effectively someone with a lot of land takes in paying horse guests who live in nice big herds with room to roam, they take care of all maintenance and care requirements.). It's not super-cheap but would be a solution although I have to say it would stick in my mouth paying out every month for someone else's responsibility...

If I were you I would be playing hardball with vendor and saying that if ponies are left they will be PTS. You don't have to mean it - and of course if vendor is that cold-hearted they may not care - but it might lead to some movement on their part?

Just to explain further, the problem (aside from their age) is that they are driving ponies, presumably not broken to ride. If they were nice quiet lead rein ponies suitable for a child to ride, you might stand an outside chance of getting someone that wants a couple of easy types for their kids to potter about on. But driving is increasingly not popular these days, the roads are so busy it's really hard to find somewhere safe to go out in a trap/carriage (I have heard of some nasty accidents) - so leisure driving is a real niche - there still are people who do it competitively which is different of course . People after a pair to drive can also take their pick of lots of very cheap small young ponies broken to drive (often sold by traveller families). Just thought it might give you some insight into why finding them a new home could be tricky....

Retirement livery sounds interesting. I'll have a look at how much it would be. There are a lot of horsey mums at school. Maybe one of them might be interested in them as companion animals for existing horses. They're so stinking cute you'd think they could get gigs as unicorns. They're so little I fail to see how they pulled much at all. I hadn't even thought of travellers wanting them.... thank you.

You are kidding yourself OP. No one is going to be interested in taking these on.

Retirement livery is effectively full livery and would cost at least £70/week/pony. Plus you'd still need to pay for insurance, veterinary expenses, farriery etc
Bear in mind that, sweet as they are, elderly ponies are barely worth meat money, you'd get maybe £20 each at auction.

Retirement livery in the area OP lives in is nearer £100+.......

A week that is

OP, contact the British Driving Society - they may be able to put you in touch with someone local. There's an Oxfordshire sub-group that you may be able to contact direct.

It's also entirely possible that the ponies aren't as old or as retired as you have been led to believe- in which case, there may be a BDS member prepared to take them off your hands. At the very least, they'll be able to give you good advice based on the facts from seeing the ponies.

If they are a matched pair, they could easily pull something like a small dog cart (assuming Welsh/Dartmoor/Exmoor), a trade turnout or something similar. A Shetland can pull a vehicle with a grown woman in - ponies are very strong, and although you see on here all the time that heavyweight hunters shouldn't carry more than 15 stone etc, the British cavalry often used to ride ponies under 14.2, and their full fighting weight was 17 stone plus the weight of the rider - so don't be deceived by their small size: they could still be mighty!

But seriously - call the BDS

I'm sorry, but you realise you're bananas to take this on with no prior knowledge? I can see your heart is in the right place, and I do mean that nicely, but there are horses owners who have had horses for years who would still say they are learning. Horses are more a way of life than hobby, they are that much of a commitment.

Ponies aren't the same as a cat or dog. They have specialist medical and dietary needs, propensity to injure themselves, and escapologist (especially small ponies). They will need to be handled every day twice a day 7 days a week. You need to know how to handle them to make sure bad manners like nipping and barging don't start and you don't know how well handled they are at the moment. Do not assume because they are small/cute they are safe.

That said, you could try a couple of options. Contact World Horse Welfare, or similar charity who might be able to rehome them.

If you are going to look after them yourself you need to contact a riding school local to you and find out about BHS or similar horse ownership training courses.

Then find out the status of the horses worming, jabs, farrier, etc. What sex are they, if male are they gelded? The last thing you need is a pregnant pony.

Good luck.

Retirement livery is expensive and how will you know they're being cared for properly? As I said you have no frame of reference for knowing. Retirement livery is open to being taken advantage of too, the owners pay a lot usually (at least the cost of full livery, then other 'services' on top) but the horses don't get what is being paid for - and I've seen this in action more than once. So be careful with that and take someone experienced with you to check out anywhere you're thinking of sending them.

They're so little I fail to see how they pulled much at all. I hadn't even thought of travellers wanting them.... thank you.
My old Shetland pony was incredibly strong, as is my friends Welsh pony. Both have had me on the floor when we've had disagreements about which direction we need to go in! Ponies of that size were used as pit ponies in the mines too. Don't let size decieve you!
And I'm probably going to be called all sorts here, but my experience of travellers and horses is not a positive one and includes fly grazing, tethering and leaving horses that need veterinary attention, using horses that are too young or unfit for work, I sometimes do pt groom volunteering for a local sanctuary and we get ponies/horses that have been left without the proper care by travellers more often than anything else. Of course that's not a sweeping statement of all travellers, just the ones I've come across, but something to bear in mind.
You're going to struggle with rehoming these ponies, the market is flooded with people selling/giving away older and retired horses and ponies because they are expensive and not as useful as they used to be, especially that size pony as children outgrow them and they're moved on every few years, and that's the rideable and fit ones.
Please speak to the British Horse Society, world horse welfare or similar about this, you and the ponies are going to struggle unless you get some serious and professional advice about this.

If you take on 2 elderly ponies make sure you budget for things like ongoing medication & blood tests for cushings which is very common and for pts and disposal costs too. Old ponies are more expensive than young ones - I'm on my 3rd oldie.

Im afraid I echo Grumpymug on this, I wouldnt be passing these ponies on, they are an unknown quantity. There is a possibility that they are unsafe to drive, so you couldn't sell them as driving ponies and they may well have an injury or condition which means they cannot be worked. Giving them free to a good home without the experience of being able to judge what they need means that their welfare could be severely compromised. If you send them to auction they will probably be dragged from sale ring to sale ring and face a very unpleasant future.

Putting a horse down isnt the worst thing that can happen to a horse by any stretch, it may well be something that you will have to consider if you are left with them and something that the current owner should do if she no longer wants them.

Reading the updates here you've been far more reasonable (soft?) than I would have been. Sounds like you have now got two old ponies and an old human that won't be going anywhere, so make the best of it.
If the gardener is a horsey person then that solves the vast majority of the concerns raised about horse care and the maintenance of the land. If you can get him into a contract and tenancy agreement that suits you , fresh start and all that, then you'll be sorted at least until he becomes unable or unwilling to stay.
You may well still have to make the decision about having these ponies shot/PTS in the future as that is far more often the case than you finding them having died of natural causes, but hopefully by then you'll be clued up via the gardener. Making the decision on behalf of an animal is the last kindness that you can offer them.

It's such an unfortunate and bizarre situation, OP.

Yy that PTS is often the kindest thing to do when the time is right, and via bullet rather than injection, IMO.

I'm personally wondering what state these ponies are in. Even if the gardener has the knowledge and the inclination to properly take care of them, realistically, how can he have arranged for essentials like farrier and dentists, with no money to pay? If the owner hasn't even been paying the gardener, I'll bet my life she hasn't had a farrier or dentist to them when they've needed it.

Can you speak to the gardener about this? It might be that she has unpaid bills left, right and centre. Once you know which farrier, vet, dentist has been used in the past, you maybe make some phone calls and check when all this was last done?

Also, perhaps the vet could disclose the history/care needs of the ponies?

So is the gardener going to be a tenant or live-out help? Because if the former, how are you going to evict him when he can no longer work? Will you really have it in you to do that? You realise you’ll never be able to seek the house without dealing with that side of things.
Re the ponies- I think you’re being incredibly naive, ( and e if the owner could get them into a sanctuary, it would probably be the better option for them as at least they would have knowledge)

What a nightmare! We had a pony left in our field and couldn’t get anyone to take it. Good luck!

Also consider that one pony is likely to die before the other. Would you have a healthy pony put down or would you then buy another pony to keep the original one company?

I know it seems like we are being harsh but we all speak from experience and don't want you to be overwhelmed or the ponies to be neglected, no matter how good your intentions.

Have your solicitor make it a clause that they are removed, call the sellers bluff.

There are much better, easier and cheaper ways to keep your grass down OP