Help me make a decision on my little Shetland

[Foobanana]

Hello,
I keep going back and forth on a decision about my little Shetland pony.
We bought her when my DS was a newborn and he is now 7 so has hopelessly outgrown her. The pony is an absolute little treasure, complete mother's dream.
We've since bought DS another bigger pony and made the decision to pop the Shetland up for sale.
I have someone interested in buying her unseen as they live 5 hours away.
However, now my husband is saying we shouldn't sell and keep her for our next child!
Id just got to grips with the idea of selling her on and DH goes and throws a spanner in the works.
I know it'd be nice to keep her just incase, but she could sit in the field for years unused and it's a decent price I've been offered for her, don't want her to be missing out on another little child to love and give her lots of fuss but don't want to regret the decision to let her go either. Eek. What to do.

Could you loan her out locally? What about contacting your local pony club and finding a loan home through them?

Apologies, I'm not a horse owner so things may be different in the equestrian world but I'd be wary of selling to someone who won't even drive 5 hours to meet the pony first.

A pony is surely a huge commitment, if they can't commit to drive to meet you and the pony then are they really going to committed enough to provide proper care through day and night, sun and rain?

Again, apologies if I've misunderstood how things work with regards to horses and ponies.

Christ, don't sell her unseen unless you and the buyer know one another very well already!

@ladyflumpalot you've got it in one. The buyer is either a fraudster or isn't concerned enough about if the pony who they are trusting with the life of they're child is what you claim it is.

Shetlands that are not shitlands are hard to come by. Put her out on loan locally with proper loan contracts, visits, seeing Loaner ID and the works in place. Get into the Pony Club mums. BHS can advise. The cost is in keeping her day to day, not her purchase/sale price.

I would not sell to an unknown person who does not even come to view.

I would decline that offer and re-advertise as a loan. Do make sure you get a good loan agreement (with clarity in all important aspects of welfare, health and ending the agreement)

I wouldn't sell her at all, let alone to someone who would buy unseen.

DD is now 5'8, her absolutely lovely shetland is a companion to my best friend's horse because I would rather she was safe and well with people who treat her like an equine than anything else.

Shitlands generally happen because people do not treat them like equines and clueless folk buy them because they are small and cute.

I wouldn't sell unseen. Absolutely no way in hell! How do you even know what kind of home/people she is going to???

Can't you loan her out long term? Might be a better middle of the orad option?

I can’t believe you’d consider selling to people you’ve not even met.

Keep her . Definitely keep her . Or if you can’t , then loan her out , or find her someone to keep her ticking over , there’s always some horsey Mum with small kids looking for a first pony .

Send her off to god knows who after she’s looked after your DC as you describe ? Not a chance . Besides which , if she’s that good , you might not find another like her . My sons little welshie was retired when he outgrew her and is now field boss to my bigger boys ( but then she is 40 ) and I feel that’s payback for her looking after my DS when he was small .

Who would ever buy a child’s pony unseen? Would you put your child on a pony that you had bought unseen? The buyers sound dodgy.

Loan her out through the pony club/local yard, to someone nearby, where you can keep an eye on her. She should be really, really easy to loan.

Please don’t sell her to someone who won’t come to see her. They’re either dealers, fraudsters or very novice

Could you loan her to someone local, perhaps even keep her where she is now? Good children’s ponies are like gold dust so I’m sure if you advertise through local riding and pony clubs someone will bite your hand off to have her

Or perhaps have her broken to drive? You’ll be able to work her when your children have outgrown her and have so much fun