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Discuss horse riding and ownership on our Horse forum.

Original poster

Dd7 not confident round pony.

15 replies

Indoorvoicesbluey · 10/09/2023 08:18

hi,

my dd15 has a 14.3hh cob. She’s an absolute dope on a rope and hasn’t got a bad bone in her body. She’s very lazy and absolutely adores children.

my dd7 has been riding at a local riding school for a year, she absolutely loves it. Every single day she asks for her own pony.

The plan was for her to share pony with her sister, but she’s very nervous around her because she’s “too big”. My dd7 is very tall for her age and actually looks perfect on her but she will barely go near her! Even thought pony has never put a hoof wrong.

dd7 rides a 13.3 naughty little thing that just doesn’t do as he’s told and she’s absolutely fine around him!?!

any tips to help? I’m thinking of buying her her own grooming kit for pony. She will grooom her but you can tell she’s nervous. It takes alot for her to even ride her.

im thinking of signing her up to pony club as well to see if it helps her confidence.

thank you x

OP posts:
ginderella85 · 10/09/2023 08:39

We had a girl like this with her pony on our yard she would use someone else's to come hacking with us, we just ended up saying you either ride your pony or you can't come! She rode said pony and laughed when we got back about the fact she had been so scared lol might be worth trying something similar?

Dragonsandcats · 10/09/2023 08:42

In fairness, I think a 14.3G cob would seem big to a 7 year old, even a tall one. That’s a big pony to handle! I think it will just take time for her to become more confident.

ElizabethBest · 10/09/2023 09:19

Is she always riding the same pony at the riding school? If so, get them to mix it up - put her on a lot of different ponies to build confidence.

Thoughtful2355 · 10/09/2023 09:23

okay so id say the biggest problem is how many ponys shes actually ridden as if its only a few then id say thats the problem, shes gotten used to the same ponys and needs to build her confidence with different ones, maybe a few lessons or something on a completely new pony at the stables and if possible a slight bigger one than the 13HH one

EeesandWhizz · 10/09/2023 11:21

In the past a rough rule of thumb for children was chin to withers, so a 14.3 is roughly right for a 5'6" rider which is really tall for age 7. At chin to withers, it's easy to get on from the floor if needed, to reach up to put the bridle on etc and you have enough leg length to ride the horse well.

I know that things change over time and that a lot of riders choose horses far too big for them, which is fine, ride whatever you like, but it's so much easier to ride something suited to your height and leg length.

Allthestories · 10/09/2023 11:27

14.3 is really big for a 7 year old. I'm not surprised she's nervous around her. And a cob will have big feet and big everything.

Lastqueenofscotland2 · 10/09/2023 11:32

Has she done much stable management? I’d get stable management lessons and join the pony club. A child that’s nervous on the ground really isn’t ready for their own pony

Original poster
Indoorvoicesbluey · 10/09/2023 13:23

Which is why we haven’t bought her her own pony ;)

she’s staring pony club and having an an extra lesson each week with stable management/gaining confidence. I think they are going to start putting her on different ponies too x

OP posts:
andrainwillmaketheflowersgrow · 10/09/2023 15:56

That's really big for a 7yo, it's not surprising she's nervous.

I agree with getting the riding school to put her on as many different ponies as possible. It's easy to get used to one and then panic because the others don't behave the same way or do the same things.

EeesandWhizz · 10/09/2023 21:05

I was reminded of this thread today while watching two small girls on horses that were simply too big for them. One of the horses was just taking the piss, running out at a lot of fences and the other one just got faster and faster.

Balloonhearts · 10/09/2023 21:54

That's technically a horse, isn't it? Sounds quite big for a 7 year old. My friends 7 year old rides and she rides a little Shetland or a slightly larger Welsh section who barely comes up to my chest.

I mean she's very petite and does look a bit tall on the Shetland but even so 14.3 is quite big. I've chucked her on 15.2 horse for a quick jolly round the field and her feet didn't even reach the stirrups, she had to put them in the leathers instead.

Mugginscake · 11/09/2023 12:27

Too big for a 7 year old. My dd10 rides a 12.2 and her friend 10 rides a 13.2 cob and I think that is a bit over sized because pony is a chunk. Dd10 sometimes has a go on my 15Hh and she’s definitely precarious. Before I had mine we had a spell of only having small ponies and it took me ages not to go into the stable and mine was massive! Felt like she has shrunk as I’ve got used to her 😁

xmb53 · 11/09/2023 15:04

Yes, I would suggest going to a Pony Club centre for a bit.

Postapocalypticcowgirl · 16/09/2023 14:41

A 14.3 cob will be pretty big and strong for a 7yo- very different to a slighter 13.3 pony.

Even if she's tall for her age, I'm imagining that she's not as tall as the cob's withers- as an adult that would feel too big to me, as well!

If she feels unsafe on the cob, I wouldn't push it.

Could you afford to keep two ponies, and if so, would it be worth looking for a smaller loan pony for your 7yo? Otherwise, it's fine to say she has to wait until she's older.

But I wouldn't keep pushing her to share/ride a pony that really is probably too big for her.

MrPickles73 · 16/09/2023 22:35

14.3 is massive for a 7 yo. My v small 10yo rides a 12.2

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