My kids pony... what to do?

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Alfies-slave

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May 24, 2006
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I got my 2 sons (6 & 8) a lovely 12.2hh show pony. The pony has done lots of lead rein and shown sucessfuly, done Ponies UK, Reserve Champion at the breed show. It is a lovely pony! I broke him to drive, and he loves it, he is a fantastic driving pony.

However... He is not the sort of pony that you would let a child drive. He is not the sort of pony that I would let the children ride off the lead rein!

I have lots of lovely driving horses for me and I could do without haveing to exercise another one! The only person who is getting any benfit from the pony is me.

My husband works a lot, so it is me and my 2 boys! They take it in turn to ride the pony. I am overwhelmed by stress when doing anything with the pony and my children. They are the sort of boys that want to be doing things and get in to everything. The farm is a dangerous place and I feel my attention is divided 3 ways!

Today a bird landed in the farmyard, 15 foot away from the pony and he reared right up whilst my youngest was riding him.

In my book, this pony is not a childs first pony!!! The woman I bought him from has taken a huff with me putting him up for sale. She says I haven't given the pony a chance ! I have had the pony 4 months. The pony is sharp and it is 7, been there done it as far as seeing things goes.

At the end of the day, my sons, (who have only been riding a few months, ie can not ride!) are not crash test dummies.

When I was a kid, I had a lazy pony who you had to work at to get him to trot! Have things changed, am I rwrong to throw the towl in with this pony?

I might add that there is nothing wrong with the pony and he is fed grass and nothing else! He is just spirited and loving life!
 
I can understand your frustration but I personally think you are doing the right thing. He sounds a lovely pony for somebody but not for you and your sons. You risk them losing confidence at best and getting injured at worst.

The pony needs somebody who has more experience at riding in my view.
 
Well seeing as he seems to be dangeous (eg. rearing!) I think its a sensible decision. It's not worth risking your children's safety. When looking for a first pony I think it is priority to try and find a pony that is as safe as possible. He definately doesnt sound suitable off the lead rein. A wise decision to sell unfortunately I reckon
 
Im a relatively new mother, my daughter is 22 months old. But, there is one thing I've learned - TRUST YOUR MOTHERLY INSTINCT.

There is no way, no how I'd let my little girl ride a horse that's shown me he isnt 110% trustworthy. No horse is safe, but there are some worth a mother's trust and if you're not getting that from this one, well, I just wouldnt risk it. I wouldnt want the day to come where I'd have to tell myself "woulda, coulda, shoulda" while my kid has her arm plastered at the hospital ;)
 
I am a mom and a horse lover and if it was me I would sell the pony. Your children;s enjoyment of horses could eb damaged for life with episodeds like you described. It's your first duty to keep your children safe. It sounds like selling the pony to another home may also be good for the pony as it clearly has something to offer- just not what you need.
 
I agree that selling the pony is the correct thing to do. You obviously care about the ponies welfare and would make sure that it went to a good home. My son is only 4 months old, but if and when he starts to ride I would not let him get back on a pony who reared up.
 
Yes I definatley think you're right and that pony is not right for your family.

Maybe you could exchange him? Not with his previous owner, but there might be a family out there who have a lead rein/first pony and they are now looking to get a second pony for their child? Especially a pony that has been there/done that with the showing.
Just a thought.
 
my childrens first pony did the same thing in the middle of a showing class,he was sweet natured ,been broken ect, a star!! until that show!! we were stood in line he looked half asleep then all of a sudden without provocation he went up and came down straight on top of me.............. i was 33wks pregnant with my 4th child at the time (it sent me into premature labour) how my 6yr old stayed on i have no idea so i grabbed her and we were allowed a 5mins break to get ourselves together,we ended up with 6th,but the judge said afterwards to get rid asap,for if it did it once with a child on ,it would do it again,needless to say the baby was born early, due to the pony damaging the placenta,the baby is now nearly 4yrs old and addicted to ponies!!!!!! be very carefull please.
 
i would have no doubts about selling it, it's ok for the old owner to huff and puff about it but it's not her child on a rearing pony, if she's that bothered suggest she can take him back and refund your money, if she doesn't want to do that then really it's none of her concern.
If you aren't happy with him and are concerned for your kids safety then he is definately the wrong pony. Our pony can be a bit strongwilled and i wouldn't trust him off lead rein but on the lead he's a star, doesn't bat an eye at anything, just does his job:)
 
Echo CER1389, when I was 8 my first pony was an ornery little shetland gelding which I totally adored! He did many things that made my mother cringe but I loved him & believe it or not we got along famously. (Found out later on that he had a bad reputation & hated all males no matter what age)

So your pony & I (if I were 8 again) would've been a very good match.

Now 30 yrs later, I have my own kids & I am sooo picky of what type of horses I'll let my kids be around with. My pony or yours for that matter, I don't think would've been a good match for my kids.

So don't feel bad about your decision, trust your instinct. It would be a shame for your boys to become fearful or the pony to develop bad habits once he figures out that he can control things.

I'm glad though that you still think of him as a good pony, which I'm certain he is.

Good luck in finding him a new home & finding the perfect pony for your family.:)
 
Been there more years ago than I care to remember, we had a bombproof Shetland for daughter and were fed up being put down the line in classes so went and bought a classy show pony. In reality she was always my project which daughter was an ornament on at shows. She had much more fun with her shetland and then a retired show pony we bought who at 14 had 'been there done it and came with Tshirt' but took her out showing and jumping at local clubs , picnicing in corners of our fields and hacking out with 'slow' mother on cob in tow.

The show winning pony is seldom a childs best friend, I would find something more little boy friendly!!
 
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