Unfortunately several riding schools around us closed during lockdown and now the one we are at is selling off its ponies and turning into a livery stable.
Our children have had a fantastic time there and it's bad news for us all round.
The stables are selling off the ponies. DD2 is 9 and particularly fond of a pony who is for sale for £6k. 6 yrs old. Welsh. DD2 is small for their age but should grow at some stage. This pony is 12HH and the other one she rides is 10HH.
The benefit of buying it from the riding stable is that we've seen its temperament etc. It's quite go-ey but DD2 likes that and I think they could have alot of fun together.
So we could buy the pony and keep it as livery at the stables.
Other than the livery cost (some £200 permonth). What other costs should I factor in? Small bales of hay are £3 here.
How long might the 12HH pony last her? She's currently 130cm so quite dinky. 3 years?
How much should I allow annually for insurance, teeth, shoes etc?
Is £6k a fair price for a 12HH 6 yr old pony?
Discuss horse riding and ownership on our Horse forum.
The tack room
Buy pony or not?
MrPickles73 · 09/04/2022 23:23
£6k seems a bit steep
Personally I am VERY wary of ex RS ponies. They are worked very hard, in a strict routine and get ridden often by good little riders and can quickly turn into absolute horrors without this.
A few things to consider - is your DD good enough to ride without an instructor? Cause if not whack on a weekly lesson on top of that livery. Do you have enough knowledge to look after the pony? Youll be doing everything! If not you need full livery really so add on whatever that is.
Re costs
Budget and then treble it!
Shoes - £80ish every 6 weeks
Food in winter
Bedding in a stable shavings area £6/7 odd each allow for 1/2 a week
Tack!! As randomly your saddle will stop fitting as that is how the world works
Rugs
The fucking vet 
There are lots of pros and cons to owning your own pony, the pros are kind of obvious but the bond and enjoyment a child gets from their own pony is second to none and it brings on their riding no end as well. The cons unfortunately are extensive too though, the cost is a big one, £200 pcm for livery sounds incredibly cheap (I pay more than 3 times that!), I assume that's for DIY? That does mean a lot of work and it will almost certainly mean you doing a lot yourself (as your DDs are way too young to be much help) and the amount of time horses absorb is the biggest con to ownership IMO, time spent riding is the least of it (and 2 times a week is probably not enough for most ponies, especially if s/he has to be stabled overnight in winter so if that's what you can realistically manage you probably need to look for a sharer to fill in the other days). It's easier in summer when hopefully the pony can live out but even then it'll be 2 x visits per day (unless you can team up to share jobs with someone else on the yard) to ensure they have water and haven't killed themselves, in winter it really is a hard slog, mud everywhere, cold, wet and lots of carting hay and water around and mucking out is my experience (around here on pretty much every yard the horses have to be in overnight through winter), even a very keen child loses enthusiasm for going to the yard after school in those conditions and has to be jollied along bribed to help out... people say this about getting a dog but I think it's a helpful exercise for a horse too, don't get stuck in your imagination on the lovely sunny days when the kids will be having fun cuddling a lovely pony, imagine the very worst day when you/the kids have colds, bad day at work, there's homework to be done and the house is a tip, it's pissing it down and pitch black by 4pm but you have to get up to the yard to feed and muck out, still up for it then? If so then you are probably ready 
.
Also as others have said I'm not sure the pony you mention is the right match right now, we have a saying in the horsey world 'green on green makes black and blue' ie a novice owner and an inexperienced pony is not the best combination, clearly your DD is a good rider but are you horsey yourself? Knowledgeable and confident enough to tutor her through the inevitable ups and downs of bringing on a green pony? Has your DD ever ridden on her own outside lessons, without the teacher telling her what to do? What about your younger DD, can she ride this pony too and if not does that just mean she can't ride at all? I get that pull towards a pony you already know but I would incline to look for an older, been there done it type, I think 12.2hh is about right, you could go a little bigger but I'd rather have confident and happy in the here and now than overhorse them with too much of an eye on the future, a sturdy 12.2 could well do her for 4 or 5 years yet provided she doesn't get too tall too quickly. OR, and this is probably a better idea still, I'd keep up the hunt for a share pony/part loan. This is honestly so much easier in terms of commitment both time and financial, gets them used to riding without supervision and much more flexible if they grow quickly or the pony doesn't suit as you just give notice and look for something else rather than the whole hassle and heartache of having to sell. I bet if there are new liveries coming in some of them would be up for having 2-3 days a week of work taken off their hands and/or a financial contribution, esp if your elder DD is known as a competent, confident light weight rider... maybe ask about putting an advert card somewhere on the yard?
The price for any horse or pony isn’t fixed - sellers will ask for as much as they think they can get away with. When we were looking for an eventer for my daughter, the asking price would drop by a third or so in the space of a five minute conversation 
Prices are still bonkers at the moment, however £6k for a 12hh 6 year old project seems excessively steep to me. If your daughter’s heart is set on this particular pony then it would be worth negotiating.
However I agree with PPs that you’d be better off looking for a share ideally but if you’re determined to get your own then something bigger and a bit older would be a better bet. Whatever route you go down make sure you get as many lessons as you possibly can in the first few months of the partnership. It’s much easier to get things right from the start rather than let things get out of control and have to fix a problem.
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