Possibly buying first pony. So unsure!

[HayGal]

I've learnt loads from discussion on this board and would love your opinions. DD is 11 and has always been horse mad. She's been back at lessons, both private and group, for a year. Her confidence was shattered by bullying at school and its crept into everything including riding. The weekly lessons are great but its a different horse every week and shes not getting her jumping confidence back. So we started looking for a pony and think we have found one. The pony is 14hh and seems to be the right balance of steady and mature and knows what to do but needs the rider to tell him what to do. Problem is she'll probably outgrow him quickly. So do we take the chance and see it as an investment. Or do we keep going with weekly lessons. There are lots of younger going forward ponies around but the older but not too old ponies are harder to find.

Ugh sorry that was an info dump.

I'm being realistic not negative. This is a first time horse owner , it's important to be realistic.

I didn't have insurance for mine, I've always had lots of animals (donkeys, ponies, dogs, Guinea pigs and a parrot at the moment!). Insurance for all would be marvellous - but hugely expensive. I put money away each month, or rely on a 0% credit card, as above. I obviously am insured in the event that anything gets out of the field and causes an accident.

@Jillybloop393 @twistyizzy @MakeMineADietCoke we try to do due diligence up front and then see what happens while squirreling away money for any issues. I would prefer insurance but the up front cost is prohibitive. Each to their own as there is no right answer. Suppose we have an awareness from living with sometimes sick cows and sheep so its not as shocking to us when the big bills roll in and we accept it as the price we pay to have them.
Still undecided about pony, will report back.

It's great that you can get information like this now- I totally understand, the heartbreak if a pony goes permanently lame is considerable- who wants to choose between paying for a pony's upkeep, possibly for years, and euthanizing it.

We’ve never insured any of ours over the age of about 15 as they had so many exclusions or it was ridiculously expensive , with my late thoroughbred who died aged 27 but had multiple health issues and a few nasty accidents we used to joke that we had bought our vet 2 new land rovers in her lifetime .

Op, I would call the vet tomorrow and discuss the results of the X-ray. I would also ask to see sight of previous medical history as you’ve used the same vets. The owners will have to give permission and might say no but I’ve asked in the past and it was helpful.

How much work is the pony doing now, and how many times a week do you plan to exercise it?

Off topic slightly but I’m in a similar situation. Had vetting done on pony today and I’ve spoken to the Vet, owners, our instructor and insurance company who all said differing things when it comes to insurance/vetting etc. Our vet said 60% of owners insure. Having had one pony who even after 5 stage vetting cost £5k in vet’s fees in the first 6 months, I tend to over insure. Our other ponio lives off fresh air and only ever sees the vet for vaccinations. I guess you can never tell but you do need to be aware of the costs of treatment in worst case scenarios such as colic which can be around the £7-8k mark.

@everyone I followed up with vet and will need more conversations. I specifically asked how CE NAD was diagnosed and it turns out its an acronym for clinical evaluation no findings 😡 damn acronyms. Then asked about spurs etc and seems 2 vetting reports were being done at the same time and some of what's on ours belongs on other so now waiting on new report. And assessing how confident I can be on whole thing. Ugh so frustrating!!

I’d be asking for some money refunded from the cost of the vetting as frankly they sound incompetent

I was going to comment but I see you spoke to the vet before I managed.
We use CE NAD = clinical exam no abnormalities detected.
That does sound confusing about the two vetting reports though.

It is a bit of a minefield as you’re discovering… has the pony been doing what you want to do with him for a good while with no long gaps? Have you put down a deposit subject to satisfactory vetting? If so, as the vet has said the pony is suitable for the intended purpose then the deposit could be forfeit if you then don’t go ahead with the sale. I hope you get some sense out of the vet tomorrow - it does sound less than ideal and if you have another vetting done at any point in the future make sure you use a vet who doesn’t have a connection with the seller.

Are you considering all the items you will need to budget for?

@llizzie yes the list is made. Most will be pre loved

If your dd does join a pony club, you will need to go to meetings around your county, and that means horse boxes, entry fees, and other things, and she really does need to belong to the local club, or she will soon tire.

One thing too: make sure she will tend to the pony herself, and not let yourself get roped in to do anything, except stay at home the day the farrier comes!

I would caveat that and say, aged 11 she will still need help and supervision, especially with a new pony.

I suppose it must depend on the child. I made it clear to my daughter that if she had a pony she would be completely responsible for it. She and her brothers had been riding since the Shetland pony stage, with tiny jodhpurs made to measure, so I suppose that helped. We had our own stabling and paddock too.

Owning a pony is a very big responsibility, but it is also a wonderful thing.

If this one does fall through I'd also recommend loaning - either full loan to move to your yard or part loan. Even if just for 6 months. Going from a riding school to owning with no prior experience is a massive step.

That's a good idea, especially if you have a few doubts.

Doubts and also a nervous rider suggests it's better to ease yourselves in. A loan will let your daughter try before she commits, see if the reality of ownership is for her and also plug you into Pony Club and the local horse scene. You're then in a much better position to hear when a good pony comes up. And as others have mentioned - winter can be an utterly grim time to own a horse - especially without the benefit of a fun summer first... If it's the thing that makes your daughter happy then that's brilliant, but you don't need to go all in immediately.

I hope you don't mind me commenting as I am not at all a knowledgeable horsey person but am mum to a horse mad 13 year old. My daughter has also had a horrific time at school and with her mental health and being at the stables is her happy place. She has been volunteering 9 hours every Saturday for the past 2 years at her pony club and would love nothing more than her own pony. We will never be in a financial position to be able to get one but managed to find a part loan 3/ 4 days a week. He is the most wonderful pony, bomb proof in traffic, eager to please and just the most wonderful temperament but her confidence in riding has taken a nosedive. At the pony club where she rides the school horses she happily jumps 1m, competes in show-jumping and gallops across the moors. But her loan pony doesn't always behave like the school horses do and there is no one there telling her what she needs to do. A couple of falls have really knocked her confidence. She is gradually getting better and would never stop loaning him. She's completely in love and wants to keep improving and I am 100% glad we have him. But just wanted to put the point across that there could actually be a dip in confidence. Wishing you lots of luck in whatever you decide, I'm sure it will work out and it is so good that you are really taking time to look at things and do what's best for your daughter.

This happened to me when I bought my first pony- he was from the riding stables where I rode, but as soon as he was away from the school and in a field with other horses he changed quite a lot , and I had a bumpy time for a while, but we developed together and got an understanding. Riding school ponies are often going through the motions and not showing much in the way of natural behaviour- but once out of that routine they change.
A loan pony will generally have a very different temperament to a riding school one - they are ridden less by fewer people and have more time to display natural behaviours.
I'm sure your daughter will get over her dip in confidence when she realises a true horsewoman can ride a wide range of horses successfully, it should deepen her knowledge and her confidence in the long run.

Sorry was missing last few days. @Laurmolonlabe your words about being able to ride any horse successfully is where she was and hopefully will go back to.

I wish we could loan a pony but where we live isn't close to horse country and ads for loan ponies want them to stay local to owner which isnt us. All the riding school ponies with temperament she needs are already loaned.

Final vet report came and summary says no clinical sign of any issues; left hand flexion was difficult to perform but was performed with no issue (basically she allowed him lift and flex other 3 legs no problem but not back left, for that he had to go slower and she allowed it and cantered no issue after). When put together with "Left hock radiography small reduction in joint space" i wonder is there the beginnings of arthritis.

No prior x rays to compare to so in vets opinion could be early symptom or could be how she was born. Like a poster said up thread...when you go looking you find things and then you've to ask what now. The perfect unicorn pony with right temperament, Age, experience, quirks, x rays probably doesn't exist so have to decide what gives.

So that all sounds quite positive now , it would be rare to find an older pony that had absolutely no issues . Are you going ahead and getting him @HayGal ?

@tinyspiny certainly better than first assessment. Its decision time now. It seems like buying a tricycle while suspecting / hoping the stabilisers will be off in no time.

@HayGal it will be fine everybody has to start somewhere .

You’re never going to find the perfect horse. If he’s almost the right one it’s about assessing the risks - arthritis can be managed successfully. If the price is right and the horse is right I’d probably go for it but then that’s me