new pony ...

[mummydoc]

bought the dd2 her first pony yesterday, all soooo excited, he is a gorgeous little bay 11.2 sec A . BUT he has come with a headcollar only !!!!. Heis going to full livery yard so they will provide haynet/buckets etc. what else do i need ? can i have your definitive list of kit please. It is 25 yrs since i owned apony and the "stuff" available seems bewildering.

Congratulations on new pony can we see a pic ?

Firstly remember pony stuff is like baby stuff you really don't need to have half the stuff that is available.

Have you measured him everywhere? first thing I do with new ponies and write it in my diary so I can check back when buying things online to see if they'll fit.

I would get saddle leathers, safety stirrups numnah, bridle and bit. Your livery yard should be able to give you number for local saddle fitter. Do you know what bit he was in before?

Rugs if you'll be using turnout/stable/show rug.

Grooming kit.

pony first aid kit

pony care book for dd.

That should do for starters then you can buy more as you decide what you're going to do with him.
If you're going to show's you could get a nice matching set of show rug, traveling boots,headcollar and leadrope. I'm going to get this for my dd for christmas might even get hers and ponies name put on it.

Headcollar + 2 ropes. It's the law of the universe that if you only have 1 they'll break it.
Bridle - synethetic or leather?
Saddle - as above (get a saddler out to fit)
Numnahs/cloths x 2
Girth
Grooming kit + sturdy box to keep it all in - best if you can get one which will double up as a chair/mounting block
Elastic bands for plaits - these will keep your daughter amused for literally hours

That should keep you going for a few weeks. What are you going to do about winter? In/ Out? Rugs? Clipping?

Don't get conned in to buying every bullshit product out there. I read through horsey mags thinking "oh my god, I'm the worst mummy I don't have any of this stuff", but a friend compared it to a Parenting mag - 100s of adverts of stuff you do not need!

Oh yes, first aid kit:
Purple/blue spray
antiseptic cream
Self-sticking bandages
round-tipped scissors
nappies (cheaper than animal-specific bandage padding)

ooohh this is more exciting than buying baby stuff:

he will be out during day, in at night,
think he has been in over summer as noo sign of winter coat yet and his 1/2 sister bought at same stud reduction sale has quite alot of fluffy winter coat.
he will be clipped during winter and be travelling to ponyclub .

what are the best rugs ( have been told cuddly ponies)

i thought a combi turnout rug for winter days, a stable rug for winter nights and a fleece cooler for travel and autumn nights .

Clipping a Sec A? Bit of an overkill, non? Anyway, as far as rugs go - what's your stables policy on changing rugs for turn-out? Do they want to be changing rugs for you twice a day? A fleece blanket always goes down well.

If he's travelling then he could use a set of travel boots too.

Perhaps as full livery the yard will have a decent first aid kit? If not, don't forget elastoplast for yourselves (the times I've ripped off a nail and had to drive home in agony), plus some tweezers are good for picking thorns out of your fingers if the hay has the odd thistle in it!

It's well worth getting a vest like this, especially if you want to look smart for shows. Ours always wear them under rugs in the winter and never have the horrible rubbed shoulder look.

One turnout rug is never enough I'm afraid, you will always need a spare as rugs do get ripped or soaked. If you can manage it have a lightweight one as well for autumn/spring days when the weather might be changeable.

Your pony sounds lovely .

thansk everyone - he is gorgeous will try to work out how to upload pics, his stud name is "templedruid jandara" and stable name is noddy . we measured him up last night and he is dead on 11.1, though sale catologue ha dhim at 11.3 1/2 - all the ponies had been "sized up a little". our yard belongs to one of my best friends who has a few sec a 's which she shows with her children ata very high ( think hoys) standard. so it is tricky not to be drawn into buying everything at top end - i do not have that kind of money or will be showing at that level, though noddy is definightly county standard . we have been so lucky to get him at a bargin price as very few people were at the sale.
we can borrow from the yard stuff for the next few weeks except rugs which are all in use, so have decided worth spending money on good tack so will get local saddler out to measure him up and will wait the few weeks it takes to get bridle and saddle made for him, and get him a lightweight turnout rug for now and a fleece cooler which can double for night wear for the next months or so. dd1 needs a hat and both kids need boots - so that will clear me out to be goign on with and i have budgeted £60 for grooming kit/headcollar, lead rope.

mummydoc there are amazing bargins to be had online especially if you buy out of season.

Trywww.fasttackdirect.co.uk and

www.robinsons.co.uk

Cuddly ponies rugs are great for little ponies and they come in lovely colors. They do fit well as I have bought other rugs in the correct size but they have been far too long and not narrow enough around the chest.

I have just ordered from robinsons a petite pony watergate turnout in rainbow for one of ours, dd chose it I wanted one with reflective stars on it .

How old is your dd?

Good point ponymad! Sign up to the websites for Derby House and the like - they're always sending me sale items/discount codes type stuff. Katie Price stuff always seems to be in the "bargain bin" for some unknown reason!

trying hard not to let dds loose on-line or poor noddy will decked out head to toe in bright pink and lavender !!!!. dd1 is 9 1/2 and dd2 is 4 3/4

There's a nice picture of your pony as a 3 year old right at the bottom of this

Dooit you clever thing. I had a quick google last night and didn't find anything though I did look at that site. Mind you, it was very late so maybe I got fed up before I got to the bottom of the page. He is a beautiful little fellow isn't he.

thanks for the nice comments, dooit cannot make link work but computer a bit on the blink, have tried finding a bit out about noddy but cannot get anywhere so will perservere with link.

made it work - he is gorgeous isn't he , we love him soo much already, i know it is a bit naughty but cannot wait to show him off at pony club this winter. he was lunged today by yard staff who said he was a bit sharp/frisky, but really nothing more than i imagined as we don not know what noddy has been up to in the last few years? but he is a poppet with the girls in and out of the satble. he is getting a good lunge everyday or walk out and the girls are going to get a quiet led hack out at the weekend ( i am still bubbling over with the excitement of it all) take a guess who this pony was really bought for

excitement now turned to anxiety, took new pony and dd2 aged 4 out on saturday, pony very anxious and stressed, not relaxed, lots of tucking up num and shooting forward, same happened with dd1 who is nearly 10 on sat afternoon, spent sat night sick with worry, feel have made a terrrrible mistake, got carried away with the excitemetn of it all, neither children have even had any lessons yet and my work schedule is manic so cannot take them out apart from saturdays . tried in school again on sunday pm with dd2 - a little more settled , certainly knows his voice commands. anyway friend returned from show with some other people in tow who work as producers/ hore whisperers whose own children ride on the showing circuit. they popped dd2 back on and pony was forward goign but really well behaved, their 7 rod ehim and even poppe dhim over a jump. they felt he is genuinely a nice boy and will be fine as a childs pony so they have taken him back with them for 2-3 weeks of lots of fum noisy riding with their children as he seems very sensitive to childrens "aids" i.e. my 2 flapping their wellied heels around. and are gogin to let me know if he is right for us after that. I feel gutted and feel ihav elet the pony down and the girls down ( crying into my haynet!) i know my girls will be getting lessons pretty soon and 6 months down the line they will hopefully be more confident but i am still a bag of nerves over this pony who to be honest has doen nothing wrong bar be a bit forward going .....ahhhhhhhhhh why did i did i do it

You sound just like me when we got our first pony that my sister and I had saved and yearned for for years. When we got home I went upstairs and cried my eyes out feeling it was all too much responsibility! (it didn't help that he'd run off with me across the Downs when we were riding him home).
We did have teething problems but we had him 20 yrs so it mostly came right in the end.

Take a deep breath and stop panicking, he's hardly had time to settle in yet (takes much longer than you think) and it sounds like you have lots of knowledgable help.

knowledgeable My spelling today

Could you try lungeing him to relax him before the children get on? Works very well for my youngster.

thankyou pixel - it just seems a very long time ago i did all this myself an dwhen it is your children it is very hard not to panic. deep breaths being taken, also not helped by DH being away and feel maybe the reponsibility all a bit too much at moment .i am trying to focus on long term and be patient