Turn pony out for winter?

[sheep73]

We've ended up with 2 ponies for dc2. As it's winter he can't ride in the week so that only leaves weekends. Pony #1 is his 'old' pony who we plan to sell in the spring. He is using her for hunting this season. She is gorgeous!
Pony #2 is his new pony which we bought in August. She is a better show jumper than pony 1 and a little larger (13hh).
At the moment we are trying to keep both ponies ticking over but in reality this means both get ridden once a week which is not enough.
I'm wondering given the hunting season ends in mid march should I make things easier and just rest pony 2 til then meanwhile just focus on pony 1?
How long does it take to get a pony 'back into work'. Is there a risk she'll be feral after a couple of months off or should be ok?

From ‘completely turned away’ to fit to compete you would be looking at 10-12 weeks of structured work. Most horses and ponies don’t get enough preparation work for the competition levels they are expected to do.

FWIW, my pony has a rider who’s riding at walk and trot in the school atm with a headtorch (we have no lighting.) The pony is being ridden 3-4 times a week, twice after school. At 13hh is the larger one too small for an adult to ride? You could ride one, lead one twice a weekend for half an hour, this would certainly be enough to keep them both at a basic level of fitness if they are reasonably fit now. A pony that is being regularly hunted should be getting more than one lot of exercise a week really. Other options are to find a sharer or helper who can help exercise them. If you bring a pony back into work in mid March having had the winter off, realistically they are not going to be fit enough to compete well until about beginning of June. However keeping them in work a couple of times a week will halve the length of time to get them from ‘ticking over’ level to competition fit. It’s not much fun at this time of year, but one of the great lessons riding as a hobby teaches is that work in = results out.

I understand being unable to ride when it is dark but is there any reason both ponies cannot be ridden both weekend days?

The evenings will be getting lighter soon . Can you not get some paid help in to lunge or ride during the week a couple of times . Back in the dark ages when I was at school my horse was ridden everyday after or before school except for if the weather was too torrential. It may only have been a quick 20 minutes but every little helps .

Mine get every winter off. Its good for them to enjoy time off mooching around the field :)

I'd be looking to get him to ride both ponies on each weekend day.
Can you (or someone else) walk or lunge the ponies through the week?

Thankyou for the input. Ponies are 12hh and 13hh so I am too heavy to ride either of them. I can lunge them or take them for walks.
Child is a weekly boarder so any riding in the week is not possible. He has other hobbies which also take up time on weekends so trying to ride two ponies on the two days off it not practical.
I'll see whether we can rest the 13hh until half term.

I honestly don’t think weekly boarding and ponies fit enough to compete and hunt go together, unless you 1. Ride the ponies yourself, 2. Pay someone else to ride them 3. Send the ponies to school with the child and they get ridden there, or 4. Put the pony in a school/riding school as a working livery. It’s really not fair on the ponies to ask them to give so much effort in such short bursts, they are not conditioned physically for it. It’s going to be a tough challenge to stick a pony in a field till Feb and then ask it to be fit enough to sho jump through the summer when you haven’t actually got the rider available to do enough hours to bring it back into fitness. You’ve got too much pony for the amount of child’s time you have available. I’d be selling both and sending your child for the odd paid for ride at a riding school or trekking centre, especially if they have other hobbies. A pony (even more so for 2 ponies!) is a lifestyle that takes time and dedication. If you are away all week it just means someone else needs to throw the time or money at it. Anything else is not fair on the pony.

A weekly boarder who has two ponies and other hobbies to fit in at the weekend. That doesn’t sound like a good idea. I personally would not want to turn away a relatively new pony. This sounds like a long term issue rather than just a winter one. I think the best thing to do would be find mid week riders. There may be dc locally unable to afford their own, who would be very grateful to keep them fit for your ds.

How are you hunting a pony that can only be ridden twice a week max? It won't be anywhere near fit enough. I'd say you really need to keep the other pony ticking over for reasons already given up thread. Smaller pony also needs more exercise. It will end up with an injury on that schedule. Maybe advertise for a keen child/children for part loan/share opportunity?

I can't expect another child to ride the pony in the dark in the week and sunset is currently around 4.15pm.
There's no option of taking the pony to school.
The nearest riding school closed down after COVID which is why we bought ponies.
It's very true it's a massive time and cost commitment.
I'll have to keep up the in hand walks until half term or so and then his sister can ride the bigger pony..
Roll on the change of clocks!!

Well my son used to finish primary school at 3:15 so always rode one pony after school all year round. We did have an arena though, is that the issue?

We’ve got 1 of these atm (will be buying another!) SYLSAR 30W Rechargeable Work... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BKGQLN8Z?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
It kicks out more than enough light for DD to ride by (walk & trot only) at 6pm.
Assuming you’ve got a flatish dryish field as a minimum then lunging both ponies for 20 minutes each 3 times a week should keep them ticking over

The son is at boarding school through the week so can only ride at the weekends.

@Newuser75 i meant a local child.

Ah right, sorry.

We used to pony share before we had our own. Dc would ride in the dark in winter. Alternatively you will at least need to lunge. Going for a walk in hand isn't enough to then go out hunting, keeping up with big horses at gallop

We have a friend's arena but it is a 25min hack away.
I'll keep up the walks and lunging, thankyou.

I have 2 teenagers who are perfectly happy to ride my kids ponies in the dark. Their idea of a great evening out is to go for a hack in the woods with me with head torches! 😄 As another poster has said though - 20 minutes lunging 3 times a week is enough. Little and often is much better than nothing for the week then a single long ride at the weekend. If you are really dead set on having 2 ponies for DC to hunt and jump then you could always advertise for a little adult rider to ride one, lead one a couple of times a week. You would be paying about £20-25 per hour for this (a paid rider will have to provide their own transport and insurance, and will have the skill to exercise 2 at once.)

Rather than lunging, you should learn to long rein them :)

I'd look at getting a sharer to keep them in work. A light adult or teen could ride them. Could also be a little bit of income towards their keep for you.

Otherwise a pp suggestion of working livery at a riding school is a good one as they would be schooled as well as exercised.