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.

With this terrible weather and problems with harvest, make sure you have plenty of hay and straw. I drove for miles one year because very few farmers would part with it.

You have a farm, which is good, but make sure you have a good store for the winter.

People think donkeys are just ponies with long ears - they are not 😆. They are a whole different level of obstinate and pleasing themselves. Probably more like a cat in temperament. Also many horses are terrified of them. There is a field with a couple if donkeys fairly near us and most of the horses lose their minds going by them 🤣. OP I’m surprised you were allowed to leave the yard and transport out with a virus (strangles?) outbreak. Moving to yet another home is going to be quite unsettling especially after a time of being alone so expect some behaviour changes.

Please tell me you didn't travel a horse off a yard with a strangles outbreak 🫣🫣🫣?

Company has to be same species company. Not many horses tolerate donkeys and vice versa.

having equine company for your pony is ideal- but not always possible, i think a miniature Shetland would be better than a donkey- more biddable.

Oops made it sound worse than it was. Had to look up strangles and thats scary. It was horse flu and she was last in so we moved her home and have had her checked re being a carrier. Probably over cautious but wanted to know.

It really does need to be possible. OP’s DD is planning to join pony club where she will learn a lot about the five freedoms. These are the absolute basics essential for welfare and having same species company is one of them. A donkey wont cut it for many. Some will be ok with a min Shetland, some not but they have the same needs and cost much the same in the long run as a larger pony so may as well have something else useful or get a livery in with another pony so dd has some company if planning to keep at home long term. How is it all going now OP?

Hello @liveforsummer all good with pony. Healthy and well thankfully and we are now the proud owners of a horse box so DD can go on treks and classes etc.
I come at the "have to have company" from a slightly different angle and we are judging it on pony happiness. Learnt the hard way that animals don't always want a companion, like humans they sometimes are happier, especially if the companion isnt a good fit. We had a rescue dog and so many said she's lonely, ye must get another. So we did and I can tell you 100% that DDog was happier on her own. Their personalities don't match and they tolerate each other. So we aren't rushing into getting a buddy for DPony. Have horsey friends visiting to be sure and all say DPony is happy and would be showing it if she wasn't. I know not everyone will agree and its something we are monitoring every day and have her and all our other animals best interests at heart. Could change tomoro and am in contact with rescues about possible friends just not rushing into it and having poor animals coming and going.

Dogs have very different lives to horses though - they spend much more of their time with humans to start with. Horses are prey animals and herd animals - it’s really hard for them to be truly relaxed on their own as there’s nobody to look out for the wolves they’re convinced are hiding in the hedges. Your pony is probably spending at least 22/23 hours of every day bearing the sole responsibility for her safety. We’ve had horses here that have been on individual turnout before, so with more company than your pony, and the difference in them when they realise they’ve got friends here is amazing. There’s a horse on his own next door - he is very quiet and I’m sure his owner thinks he’s fine but I would bet a pretty large sum that he would much rather live like our horses do.

It takes a while to settle down with a project that has cost and will cost so much money, but if you stick at it and don't take too much notice of sceptics, you might be glad you did.

I was. My daughter went into racing and won her first outing at Aintree by many lengths. She was written up in the papers and magazines.

You honestly cannot compare horses to dogs. Most dogs even if they like their other dog companions would far rather the undivided attention of their humans. They are a companion animal. Horses have it hardwired in to their nature to need same species company. If they really didn’t get on then a fence between them would still give them a bit of security that being on their own they would never have. Ours really doesn’t get on with bother gelding on our yard and they bicker over the fence all the time but even that is enriching for them. Some horses won’t show it as they internalise or it won’t show up for a long time in behaviours you might not relate at first. Our pony pretty much hates other horses 😅. He’d far rather be in human company and follows us round the field when we poo pick, happily leaves to go for a solo hack and stands in the stable alone to get ready and is furious in warm up rings when anything comes too close, however he still plays, grooms, sleeps flat out while the others watch on and does the same while the others sleep. The way they play can look terrifying if you it understand horse behaviour. I get sick of picking up rug necks that have been pulled of and discarded on the floor. He’s the boss in the field and it’s fascinating watching him herd them about when the hay goes out, then the next in line herding the ones below in the field just like you see horses doing the wild. It really is now recognised that same species company and the ability to display natural behaviours around this is vital for basic welfare in horses not an optional thing that might be nice like it is for dogs.

Anyway, glad all else is going well and you are getting out and about which is fun and good to keep motivation up when winter gets tough

Well done to your dd. My dd does pony racing which she loves. We’ve not long ago got a racing saddle for dpony but yet to try it out.

Hello and sorry I'm late replying.
The companion question has probably been the biggest headache since we got DPony, tho the ££££ involved in Horse owning is a v close second. Livery was great in many ways but had issues so she came home. DD loves her being home and theyve built a v strong bond with all the time they spend together. She reminds me of our first rescue dog as she loves hanging out with people, livery folks said same when she lived there. She potters around the farm like shes been here forever. So I hear you all about her welfare and believe me when i say its top of my list as an unhappy pony would be a risk to her and us and at the moment am trying to balance her needs with everything else. They are headed out on a fun hack thus weekend so that will be interesting. Ill be a ball of worry but DD is counting down the minutes.

I realise that there are many stresses and challenges when new to horse ownership,but the need for horses to have companionship is so so important. As pleasedontdothat explains above, they need to be able to relax and not be on constant alert. They also need to play, nibble at eachother, determine their ranking in the the group. If they don’t have this then you or your daughter become their whole focus and things can go wrong quickly. If your horse has the best horse life secure in his flock, able to play with a friend and burn off some fizz for 22 hours a day then the two hours that you are with him each day can be very good. However if he starts trying to exert dominance over you because you are the only contact he has then things could go wrong.
At the end if the day they are herd/flight animals and thus have needs that are met from living in a group