Loan problems

[Lena20007]

Never done this before so excuse any mistakes haha-
My 12 year old dd has been riding for years now at a riding school and we feel it’s time to get her a loan pony- we have been looking around but nothing yet. Dd is getting disheartened as we went to view one and it seemed perfect, however the owner has since not replied to ANY of our messages and has renewed her advert. I’d have thought she’d at least have let us know that she didn’t think us suitable Another few times we have messaged other people and after replying a few times and us asking when we could pop around and have a look there has been nothing. Is this normal? Where else could we look for adverts? (We’ve currently been searching around on preloved etc) Thanks everyone!

Try local Pony Clubs? There may be some local FB groups too.
Word of mouth is usually best but you could also put an ad in local tack shops/feed stores?

Do you want a loan or a share, where your dd rides 2-3 times a week? There are loads of people advertising for sharers around us but they often stipulate no under-16s/18s. I agree that word of mouth is your best bet - definitely get in touch with your local Pony Club and you could also see if there are any livery yards near you which have a lot of young riders and ask if they know of anyone looking for a sharer

Thanks everyone will give that a go x

Somewhere on here is a buyers/sellers thread which talks about the pitfalls from both sides. It can be difficult and owners can be flaky. However, one thing to consider if it keeps happening to you is your level of experience. It is possible that you're coming across to owners as inexperienced and they don't want to risk their pony with you. Sorry if that sounds blunt, I don't mean it unkindly. Do you have an instructor who could put out feelers for you? If owners know you've got experienced back up and are asking the right questions it may make things easier.

Good ponies are sought after, they will go quickly and unfortunately some owners just aren't polite enough to phone up and say "sorry, the pony has gone elsewhere".

You can try posting a wanted advert on some of sites mentioned above and in tack shop window. Assuming you are after a full loan make it clear what the care arrangements you are planning for the pony are (e.g. full livery at X yard or full livery to remain at current yard) as this gives assurance pony will be well looked after, the number one concern for most owners I would have thought. If you are experienced yourself/have owned or loaned horses or ponies in the past mention that too. Say references can be provided if required.

As others have said you may possibly be inadvertently coming across as a bit novice/un horsey parent with novice child (even though your DD has been riding a few years if she has only ever ridden as a riding school this will still make her 'novice' in many people's eyes) who might not have proper arrangements in place for the pony - which will put some people off. I've loaned ponies in the past but only to people I know well or who came highly recommended to me by someone I knew well. If loaning to a stranger I would have to say I'd be a bit wary of someone inexperienced unless they had very good support plans in place, sorry if that comes across harsh. Good safe ridden ponies are quite valuable as well as usually being much loved so most owners won't take any risks with them.

Agree with what others said re word of mouth, most good ponies get passed on this way - if your instructor can vouch for you and put word out around the PC 'circuit' you may well find something this way.

Also, does your riding school or any others offer a lease or 'share' scheme with riding school ponies? Obviously you have to pay and can get limited time with the pony but it can be a good way in to sharing so you and DD are not starting from a position of nothing. Less risky too than loaning as pony will usually be a known quantity and riding at a riding school as opposed to a livery yard will mean there's plenty of help, company and supervision around. Could be a good stopgap measure for a few months - you may also find the market for loan ponies picks up towards the end of the school holidays and as winter approaches?

I've got a daughter of a similar age and I agree with Maxelly that loaning from the riding stables is a good way to start. It's what we did to break us in gently to the costs and responsibilities of horse ownership.

You might be a horsy parent anyway, but in case not or for anyone else reading this, I would say that the learning curve if you're non-horsy is very steep - we're really dependent on the livery yard/riding stables where we keep our current pony and we wouldn't have been able to buy him if it weren't for the fact he would be kept at a "known" livery yard with lots of people round to offer advice etc.

When the time comes to sell the pony I wouldn't want him to go to a novice owner, even though we were novice owners when we bought him. Complete double standards on our part!

I think most scrupulous, caring owners would be wary of loaning a pony to a novice child with an unhorsey mum - for the child’s sake and the pony’s. A share at a riding school would be a good place to start, or maybe with a private owner who is willing to give you some informal support and direction on horse care.

In case you aren’t familiar with sharing - it usually involves taking on a portion of the pony’s costs and care, and riding a few days a week. It’s a great way to make the step up from riding at a school to riding and caring for a horse independently. If your daughter has never ridden outside of her lessons then that in itself will be a big step up - there’ll be no one to tell her what to do or how to solve any problems she encounters. It’s very liberating but not without challenges.

If you haven’t done much with horses before, would you consider having some stable management lessons? Some aspects of horse care are really adult decisions - knowing when to call the vet, what to feed, dealing with worming and vaccinations, etc.

Lastly...while there are some genuine loaners out there, be aware that good ponies are worth their weight in gold, so if you are looking for a full loan ask yourself why the owner is offering theirs for free!