Pony for mum and daughter

[emdanmum]

I grew up with horses since my daughters age (7), but have been out of the horsey world since I met my husband 11 years ago. I know that once I start doing it again it'll all fall into place (well, I'm hoping!!), but any thoughts would be gratefully recieved.
I'd like to get a pony that both me (5ft7 and 11st) and my daughter (135cm and ?weight) can both ride without her being over-horsed and without me squashing the pony.
I'm thinking that a sturdy pony of about 14hh would suit. Any ideas? Also, as a teenager I backed a number of ponies, 2 of which were Haflingers. These ponies were good weight carriers-does anybody know of any other breeds that may suit our purpose. The main issue for me is that I don't want my daughter to ride anything that is "too big" for her.......I don't want to put her off. Also, a "ready made" family pony tends to cost a lot-would anybody recommend buying a youngish (3/4 yr old) pony that's been backed but needs bringing on-I'd ride the pony during the week and my daughter would ride on a lead rein at weekends-could that work?
Finally.....any rough ideas of running costs per week? We don't have any land, so would need to pay for grass keep/livery.
I know I've ranted on a bit, but I want to cover all questions before we go any further.
Any input appreciated

New Forests are lovely and will easily carry an adult. Or in fact any native breed of around the 13.2hh - 14hh mark - fell and dales also spring to mind - would be very suitable in terms of carrying both adult and child and being fairly easy and cheap to keep. Welsh Sec C or D or a cross might also suit depending on the horse (slightly biased as I have a WelshxTB but I wouldn't recommend her for a 7 year old - very intelligent and quick thinking!)

In my opinion: I would personally not recommend getting anything as young as 3/4yrs old, from personal experience of having something that young as a first horse it is very hard work and does not make it fun (needless to say horse went back to owner as fortunately it was on loan). You would also have to contend with the "teenage years" around 6/7 yr old when they find their feet which is probably not going to be very confidence giving for your daughter. Something in its teens that has been there and done it all is a better bet particularly as you have been out of horses for a while and you say you don't want to put your daughter off. Everyone seems to want 8-12 yr olds so they are priced higher. Or look out for loans in your area?

In terms of cost depends on where you are and what you are after - reckon on £20-25 per week for DIY livery plus hay/bedding in winter (£2.50-£3 bale of hay, £1.50 ish for straw, £8 or so for other bedding), shoeing around £60-65 a full set every 6-8 weeks, etc.

Hope that helps?

I agree, put off the purchase for a couple of months and save the money you would have spent on livery, feed, farrier etc to put towards a more mature pony that's got the T shirt.
Hay in my area is up to £5 a bale at the moment by the way, it was in short supply this winter. People all over the country were reporting small bale hay at around £4.50 per bale.

Blimey we must be lucky with our hay then - buy it direct from farmer on our yard so maybe that's why it's cheaper.

Thanks for that imkeepingmum. Very useful. I hadn't considered a loan pony.....that may be a good first step. I appreciate what you say about young ponies. My only reason for considering a younger one was purely value for money ( eg. cheaper, more life left). Perhaps, like fluffyone also said, I should hang tight and save more and buy a more experienced, MORE SUITABLE pony.
Thanks for the info on hay fluffyone....these things all need to be factored in.

Glad it helped!

If you know anyone in your local riding club/pony club then there are likely to be lots of horses around for sale or loan that would be suitable but won't necessarily be advertised as lots go by word of mouth. I am pregnant at the moment and my horse is sort of on loan to someone (although stays with me) simply by mentioning to someone I was looking for a rider while pregnant, who immediately knew someone suitable.

We've just bought our first family pony, for me, husband and 2 daughters 10 and 12. I fancied a 14.2 Haflinger, not too tall but would carry us all. Didn't find the right one though. Height is a pain as width is just as important but hard to tell from an ad, and also many owners just seem to make up the height on the ad, so when you get there you find it's too big or too small. I also wanted one of a sensible age (7-12).

Anyway, we've ended up with a 4 year old Irish horse of maybe 14.3, he is not too big for my youngest nor too small for hubby. Despite being 4 and finding everything new he is very sensible (so far, touch wood!) Having started out determined not to buy anything under 6, I'd say actually personality just as important as experience - you can give them the experience they need, but it's much more difficult to change their personality.

Running costs - I'm estimating up to 350pm. This is made up of around 120 grass livery, 50 petrol, 50 insurance, plus feet (we're going barefoot so a bit cheaper), random vet's fees, and extras - lessons, replacement of riding/horse kit, etc.

Thanks imkeepingmum-I do know some horsey people locally, so I'll put the word out when the time comes.
Interesting you've bought a young pony planetearth. I saw one advertised. He's 3 and sounds adorable. Apparantly he loves being groomed and generally fussed over by children. He's been backed and is coming along nicely. I think that when it's time, I'll look at older ponies, but not completely rule out a younger one. It's so hard though....such a big leap

Well the dealer first said this one was 6 - I thought, Good, not too young. Then he looked at his teeth and said 5. We all rode him and loved him. Then when I had the vetting done the vet said, "Oh, he's definitely 4." . Too late by then, I wanted him!

Tried to buy another a couple of months ago (14.2 Haffie) - advertised as 5. I thought he was too young, but a friend said, "Let's go anyway, he fits all your other criteria," so I did and loved him and agreed to buy him. The owner then showed us his passport and he turned out to be 2 days off 5, i.e. still 4... Well he failed the vetting, but it does seem I was just destined to buy a four-year-old!

We got a very green 6 year old, not sure if is true that coloured ponies mature more slowly than others but he is still such a baby. He's 13.2 and has new forest passport but so much more bone, definitely a weight bearer but am 4 inches shorter than you. Feel and probably look big on him, but we often swap and youngest rides my 15.2 which must look comical.

I just knew from the moment I first saw that pony he was ours, even though he wasn't for sale then. He'd had 3 owners in 6 weeks which should have put us off but my instincts were good. This is probably a terrible example!

That's a shame about the haffie
I love haffies-the ones I've known have been mischievous (in a playful, pull the toggle of your fleece kind of way!) but thoroughly reliable. Two haffies that I backed at 4 (so we were told) turned out to be rising 3!! The poor lady I was helping at the time was so upset.....the dealer had a lot of awkward questions I think!
Let's hope your boy makes you all happy

I haven't heard that one about coloured ponies mitchyinge (great name btw) A lot of it is gut feeling......like falling in love
I'm hoping that if they looked good on paper and you can see it when you meet them, the rest is chemistry

Oh I LOVE that pony. Still feel guilty about dyeing him pink recently but he was a good sport

Pink??

Ummm yes

pics

might have to scroll down

Has that link gone wrong? Is twitpic.com/MitchyInge

Unfortunately the page couldn't be found

That is annoying, worked before on AIBU to dye my daughter's pony pink? thread!

Oh well will update profile pics one day from computer, can't do on iPhone

If THIS doesn't work will stab self in face with hoof pick!

That worked!
Pony didn't look too embarrassed

Definitely go native or hairy cob. You need good bone on a pony who I carrying an adult. I had a 13hh newforest. She wasn't hugely well built but carried me no problem, was a bit heavier than you. We now have a 10.2 ish traditional Shetland. She is a brick shit house, and I often ride her for a hack about the farm!
Look for a pony that initially suits your dd, from experience, you can adapt, but if the child doesn't like it, they won't ride it. I also wouldn't go for a youngster. Yes some are lovely, but they are young and do go through teenage years, just like kids. I would get an older horse myself. A 12-15 year old has been there, done it all and can easily have 10 years + left in them. Bear in mind that people are very hard up at the moment, round here you can't give ponies away. You might have to pay less than you think, and remember, just because a pony I expensive doesn't mean it's good! Try any pony as many times as you can before you buy, and get an agreed trial period if you can. loaning can also be good as you have an owner to give you help. Most importantly, keep an open mind when viewing ponies. We recently sold a gem, and the expectations people came to view her with were crazy!

In terms of cost, I pay £30 a week for a paddock on a local farm (have 3 ponies) joined bhs ( about £50 PA) for public liability cover, free legal helpline and a yearly free ticket for hickstead I don't have the ponies insured, as they all cost nothing, are very hardy, and I feel it's cheaper to put a vets bill on a credit card than to pay premiums for all 3 beasties. We have enough grass to not need hay unless it's frosty or snowy, and I trim my own feet.

I understand what you're saying about the "teenage years"-imkeepingmum mentioned that too. I must admit that I'm leaning towards a slighly older pony.
Your costings are a lot more what I had hoped for. I was unsure about insuring a pony and the fact that you don't makes me feel a bit more relaxed about the subject.
I had envisaged a pony who can live out on all but the roughest of days (obviously one that is suited to that life), thus keeping costs to a minimum.
Do you pay per pony or for the paddock?

Our pony lives out all year, an excuse for me to buy rugs. He does come in during the day but that was 1. to get him accustomed to stables (he used to climb over the door and get stuck) and 2. so the ponies that stay in at night can have turn out during day. He'd be totally happy out 24/7 and didn't lose condition even during that horribly cold winter.

Not insuring is ok if you have tha facility to pay jnan emergency. Public liability is a must. Would also insure if I loaned, as then owner would get the value back if anything happened to the horse. Keeping horses is what you make it. If you want to spend a fortune, that's very easy, personally i prefer the challenge of being a cheapskate!

Yes you're right. Think I'd prefer to do what you do.....not pay for premiums, but pay as these things crop up (bank account permitting!). I had a pony on loan for 6 months when I was younger (from a trekking yard) they insisted on seeing an insurance policy relating to the loan pony before they handed him over.
Glad I've found another lke-minded person-I love being a "cheapskate"-what an achievement when you get a bargain!
Mitchyinge-do you rent a stable just-in-case of bad weather, or are you lucky enough to have your own?