Your favourite resources for pony care and keeping up to date

[Muminabun]

I used to have horses but my knowledge is firmly stuck in 1998. I have been offered a lovely lead rein pony for my dd to ride and want to know where people go to online that is reputable to look things up and improve their horse knowledge just everything really grazing, feed, recommendations, health care, stable Managment etc.

The twitter eventing Facebook page is fantastic.

Many thanks @lastqueenofscotland
Is that not for very flashy serious eventing types though with great big snorting sport horses😂

I would highly recommend finding your local branch of The Pony Club and joining. At the moment they can only offer theory lessons via zoom which can be great fun and your daughter can get to know others the same age - and is ideal for bits of what you want to know, riden-wise currently you can only do 1 to 1 sessions with instructors, so it's a long way to back to normal but I found Pony Club for my daughter a great refresher for my somewhat dated 1970s knowledge.
But as well as joining, I'd lay my hands on the Pony Club Manual of Horsemanship, it's an ideal read as it's written in basic understandable language, and is clear and concise and tells you everything you would need to know. You can buy through www.pc.org.uk

Wow thank you so much that is great advice @ariela

@Muminabun sorry it's www.pcuk.org !

Maybe old fashioned but you can't beat face to face advice and teaching for me - where will you be keeping the pony? If at a riding school they may offer stable management lessons or courses (once Corona is over obviously) which would be really worthwhile - and you will want your DD to have some riding lessons too I assume.

Or otherwise I would recommend taking the BHS 'Essential Horse Knowledge' certificate (used to be called the Horse Owners certificate)
www.bhs.org.uk/enjoy-riding/bhs-participation-project/essential-horse-knowledge-certificates . Even if you don't end up taking the test to actually get the certificate, the knowledge will be what you need...

There is a lot of stuff on Twitter eventing about competing, but also a lot of stuff about general management, and a wealth of incredibly knowledgeable people who will be able to answer queries quickly

I actually subscribed to www.ponymag.com/

Because it was basic advise in simple language.

Many thanks all, the pony will be in some fields my parents own but dd will be having separate riding lessons at a riding school with a proper instructor. I have ordered the pony club book.

Sounds good, why not ask if the riding school can do you some stable management lessons while your DD has her lesson, just a crash course in essentials to get you up to speed?

Are there other horses in the field already? If not and as pony will need a friend to live with anyway, why not see if you can get someone experienced to share the field with their pony/horse in exchange for cheap grazing, and then you will have someone knowledgeable around as a resource/source of help? Obviously you could just acquire a retiree or rescue as a companion easily enough but this could kill 2 birds with one stone. And it might be nice for your DD to have someone to ride with occasionally?

Is there another horse or pony already in the field? They really don’t do well alone at all.

Just to update, pony is doing very well. I am enjoying the learning curve. I got him from a rescue and to be honest he is not in the best shape so I am working with the vet to sort him out before I feel he is ready to be ridden. He is with a mare in the field and they were thick as thieves from day one so both very happy as her previous companion died of old age. He is actually giving me a bit of a new lease of life as I am enjoying the outdoor hard work and taking care of him. He is actually quite cuddly and I felt a bit of a bond the first time I met him. I feel very privileged that I Can afford him and that my dd is going to have this experience in her life like I had when I was younger.