What Pony?

[JCF]

I am in the first stages of thinking about buying a pony for myself. I am 5 foot 6 and weigh about 9 stone (on a good day!). The pony will live out all year round and therefore I am thinking about a native of some sort but can't decide which would be best. I have been looking at fell/dales because I really like them but they all seem a bit expensive at around £4,000. I can't afford that yet so I'm saving up but would be interested to hear which ponies everyone else favours.

Any advice gratefully received.

[Kezzabelle]

Why dont you try a loan or sharing instead? Might be better finacially for you? :)

[Wings]

What about a Welsh pony? They can live out all yearm carry you fine and I think they are often less expensive than the fells/dales (just because there are more of them for sale). Having said that, why would you want to limit yourself to a particular breed? There are lots of ponies and horses who can live out, not just natives. It is better to look for the temperament and abilty that you want, rather than for a specific breed.

However, buying the pony is not the most expensive part of horse ownership. The most expensive part is keeping the pony (livery, feed, vet, shoes, worming, insurance, riding lessons, lots of bits and bobs like tack and rugs etc.). The pruchase prices of the horse (even if is £4000) is just a drop in the ocean!

Sharing or loaning first would be a good (and cheaper!) option.

[JCF]

thanks for replies - I am considering loaning but still don't know what sort of pony to go for really. I've worked out all the daily costs don't worry and as I will shortly (fingers crossed) have a field of my own there is no problem in finding a home for it. I have been thinking about doing this for years so I'm not rushing into anything:) Sharing is not an option as I've been trying to find someone to share with for the last four years and still haven't found anyone.

[Bronya]

If you google the different native breeds you'll find descriptions of them.

Dales are VERY willful. Lovely horses, but strong, and if they want to go, they'll go!

Welsh section Ds can be amazing, and those that aren't are often very safe novicey horses.

I've a New Forest. New Forest ponies are often ideal first ponies, but you need to look for a good'un, preferably over the age of 8. They are usually 100% in traffic and not at all spooky. Some of them are very stubborn and bucky when young, and take quite a while to mature, but they go on for ever, so look for a mature pony there. I can see now how lovely my pony will be, and she is getting there and maturing in her attitude, but it'll be another year yet, and she's 6. Some others are perfect from the word go, but not all! (Oh, and I'm 5ft4", 9st and she's 13.2hh).

No real experience of the other largeish breeds, and the above is only my experience and knowledge.

[Showjumper]

New Forests are fabulous ponies - excellent characters and well up to carrying you :D

My mare is 13.2hh and would happily carry me all day if I asked her to. I'm 5'5 and 8 stone. I've had her since she was 2 and backed her myself - she's so willing and fun and loves to try, as do just about all the Foresters I've met.

Here are a couple of photos of her to sway you towards this fabulous breed...

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b124/dollymare5/Piccies021.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b124/dollymare5/dollyhooly006.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b124/dollymare5/freeform2013.jpg

[old_mare]

another huge New Forester fan here! can't be beaten for temperament, versatility, and you'll find a lot at the 14hh - 14.2 mark. Gorgeous, lovely animals (and i love the pix of Showjumper's!)

[Belle1]

Rather than restricting yourself to a particular breed why not look at all sorts and see what you like?
I am owned by a heinz 57, all I know is he is from Ireland so I descibe him as an irish bog pony :D http://www.flyseq.org.uk/ed/gallery/albums/tali_2006-04-10/IMG_2410_01_1024.sized.jpg

[Wings]

Belle, I don't think I've seen a picture of your horse before. He looks really nice! Just the kind of pony I like. :-)

How tall is he?

[Belle1]

Thanks Wings :)
He is 14.2hh, just the right size for me :D

[Laura+Phantom]

New Forest ponies are often ideal first ponies, but you need to look for a good'un, preferably over the age of 8. Some of them are very stubborn and bucky when young, and take quite a while to mature.

Mine is still like that and he's 12 this year :o Maybe this will be the year he matures!

Despite our problems, I would also recommend a new forest pony, they're gorgeous, low maintainance, and good jumpers :)

[eventerbabe]

i agree with someone previously, welsh d's do not generally make good first ponies. they can be stubborn, opinionated but are highly intelligent and talented when they want to be! my welsh D turns 17 this year and she hasn't calmed down or mellowed since we got her as a 3 year old.

Highlands are wonderfully versatile little ponies, i learned to ride on one.

[kyanya]

Have a look of the Fell Pony Society sales list (http://www.fellponysociety.org/sales_list.htm#RiddenMares) and they aren't necessarily all that expensive. It depends where you're looking as to the price of horses at the moment. If you look in the H&H, you won't get much under £3000 at the moment. But that's not nessarily a complete picture of horse prices right now.

Also have a look at the Dales Pony Society sales list (http://www.dalespony.org/Sales-List/Sales-List.htm) and the Dales Fans Messageboard's sales page (http://www.dalesfans.org.uk/cgi-bin/ikonboard/forums.cgi?forum=9)

Personally, I'd recommend Dales or Fells as they're both lovely breeds in my eyes. Great allrounders in my experience - I wouldn't say that they're famed for their jumping ability but all the ponies I've known have particularly enjoyed jumping and are very good at it.

I've found that Fells and Dales can certainly think for themselves and sometimes have opinions on things. Instead of telling them what to do, you're better off discussing it with them! But seriously, I think they are lovely ponies that have a little bit of humour about them. They're not normally quiet, boring plods - as safe and bombproof as you may find them, they'll still see the fun side of life :) I think this is a lovely trait - you can trust them 100% to be safe, but they can still have a bit of fun!

[JCF]

Thanks for all the replies - all the pics look lovely particularly the irish bog pony!! I am going to have to try loads out I think and judge them on personality/suitability for me rather than think just of one breed.

One other problem has presented itself - I've hit a snag on the field I am in the process of buying. The farmer told me there was a water supply by which I assumed there was a supply piped to the field and into a trough but I've now discovered that what he meant was that his cows (who have been living in the field) drink straight out of the river (which is quite shallow). There is no fencing alongside the river and I'd just assumed I could put up electric fencing along there but now I'm concerned as there is no trough and no water laid on to the field. Although it's very close to my house the river is in between the house and the field so getting the water board to run a pipe out will be expensive as it has to cross the river somehow.

Advice then please on whether it is okay to just let a pony get down to the river for a drink rather than a proper water supply.

I'm also worried that a pony might just decide to wade across the river and out the other side. I could put up electric fencing on the other side but it belongs to various other people so it would mean a lot of negotiating. There wouldn't be a danger of getting out onto the road or anything as there is a cattle grid at the end of the drive to stop the cows getting in from the road and if the pony got out of the river it would be on the non-road side of the grid (not sure if I'm explaining this very well!).

Anyway think I've explained that - any advice? My friend's daughter has a pony who is always jumping out of his field and now I'm concerned about ending up with a wading escapologist!!!:)

JCF

[Lucyad]

My feild has a river in it, as does the field of the mare I had a share of up until recently, and the horses all love wading through it. In fact my share mare who loves water virtually lives in the river (she is black and hairy, so i think she overheats easily). This is one of the advantages over a piped supply. You should check that the water is flowing, not stagnant, and that the horse can get to it easily and safely. Then I think it is fine, cleaner than a stagnant trough, and nice for cooling hot legs! Thye will definately wade through it though! If you dont want them to cross it you will need a fence!

My black hairy share mare is another Irish bog horse, 15hh middle weight cobby type. A judge at a show once hazzarded a guess of welsh x irish cob x irish hunter type, but generally just heinz 57! She is lovely, lives out with rugs (that she takes off if they are too think and hot!). Only problem is that she needs very little food and lots of exersize to keep in shape! She jumps, hunts and would be a great 1st horse for anyone. I would highly recommend them. You could get something less hairy and build a field shelter if you preffer - then they have the choice of being inside or outside (or in the river!)

[jemma]

my old share horse (a 16.3 tb) and his friends have a river in their day field (they live in at night) they also have a trough i often found that they much prefered drinking from the river, must of tasted better or somthing lol !!!

i think its nice them having the river, providing it is safe and clean, more exiting than a plain old field :p

[Trewsers]

What about connies? I have a connie x and she is very hardy and lives of next to nothing!:D Most connies are calm and not spooky (mine being the exception:p ) They're sooooo pretty too......:D

[kyanya]

My aunt used to keep her horses in a field that was bordered on one side by a river. The horses could get into the river and it was their water source, but they didn't go in it much. They couldn't get to the other side as the bank was naturally raised and they couldn't go exploring up or down stream as it was fenced off.

Trewsers, are connemaras largely calm and not spooky? I helped out with some once and they all seemed fairly highly strung! The 5 year old was sweet enough but managed to pull me around a bit and was a bit bolshy, as was another youngster I knew. Then there was a flighty little mare. There was another mare who was calmer but got spooked by a bike behind the hedge when I was riding her and wouldn't stop! I got the impresssion that although they are incredibly talented and pretty little things, they can be little handfuls!

[chickflick1066]

I'd agree with Kyanya, Fells and Dales all the way :D

My little beastie is a dales x cobby thingy and is 14.1hh ;)

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y24/chickflick1066/Headshot2.jpg

[Trewsers]

Trewsers, are connemaras largely calm and not spooky? I helped out with some once and they all seemed fairly highly strung! The 5 year old was sweet enough but managed to pull me around a bit and was a bit bolshy, as was another youngster I knew. Then there was a flighty little mare. There was another mare who was calmer but got spooked by a bike behind the hedge when I was riding her and wouldn't stop! I got the impresssion that although they are incredibly talented and pretty little things, they can be little handfuls!

Well, my connie x is spooky but she's crossed with arab (we think) - and she's not done much hacking out yet. There used to be two other connies on our yard and they were good as gold - really steady neddies so I guess you can't tell. If Horse & Rider are to be believed (there was an article in there April issue) then they do make good childrens ponies. It says they're not known to be difficult or nervous (they haven't met mine then:rolleyes: )..... I love em though!:D

[Afellpony]

Fells are lovely ponies, They are willing to try anything but can be very wary of 'new things'! I love my Fell. He is sooooo obliging and loves to jump. They seem to enjoy hacking but are fine with schooling, jumping or anything you ask them to do. They also tend to want to think for themselves so they are not 'yes' ponies but will happily carry you around all day. (They also like their food too)!!!!!!!

[*Hannah*]

If you are worried about the river and want to fence it off you could always supply water in a few buckets. I have to do this with my welsh as we dont have a trough in the field. It can be a bit of a hassle but its a good muscle toner and keeps you fit! I put two large buckets in a day (ones that cant tip over and also without a iron handle so he cant catch his leg in it) and he drinks about one and a half a day (he is out for about 8 hours each day.) It also means that he gets fresh clean water rather than a stagnant trough. If you had a pony that lived out all the time you might need more buckets and change the water twice a day but its cheaper than installing a trough and would put your mind at ease about the river. :)