Should I take shetland on loan? Age of kids riding?

Lucyad

Lucyad

New Member
Mar 30, 2006
3,249
0
0
Renfrewshire, Scotland
I borrowed next door's shetland today to try and help Oscar to load (to no avail, see separate thread on general) which promted them to say that they had had an offer to buy him. They bought him a year ago for their grandaughter who hasnt taken to him at all. Anyway, I wonder whether he is too good to pass up and whether I should take him on. I know that they would rather let us have him as they are very fond of him - in fact I'm sure I could negotiate a long term loan rather than pay (they bought him for £600).

However, to get to the point, my daughter is only 16.5 months old!! When do you think she would be able to start riding him? He has a synthetic saddle with a handle. He is very quiet and un-shetland like, though can nip occasionally (mainly due to being fed treats by everyone who goes past the field because he is so cute!). My daughter currently adores Oscar, as he is so gentle, and likes sitting up in front of me at walk. However she is too small to even get a hat to fit! She also wasnt keen to sit on the shetland today, though she did want to pat him and stick her fingers up his nose (as she is used to Oscar letting her do - apart from being 16.3hh he is the perfect childs pony!).

And in the meantime I would be landed with £8 per week field rental, worming and feet trimming - thats not actually very much - I pay for the hay in winter anyway......what do you think - is it worth it to make sure we keep such a nice little pony for her to start on when she is ready? They seem to be like gold dust......
 
How long do you think it wil be before your daughter will ride him?? Just thinking it may not be worth getting something now if your daughter isnt showing much interest in riding. She is young though. I am sure there will be another opportunity come up when your daughter is ready.
 
I say go for it. I dont see why your daughter cant have a few sits on him, and once she's older she can start to ride him. Shetlands are cheap and easy to keep, i think it would be nice for Oscar to have another mate as well.
 
My daughter had her first pony (shetland) at 2 1/2 and started doing lead rein showing at 3, more for Mums fun than hers! She actually enjoyed playing with the pony more than riding it, fortunately it was a very child friendly mare and put up with an awful lot!!

By five however she was really riding it and enjoying picnic rides led off my horse, (or even better one of our teenage staff lol! ) and doing shows and mini dressage off the lead rein in confined arenas.

I believe it doesn't really matter when they start up to about 7, but if this is a good pony and you are happy to pay for it as a living rocking horse (with you obviously doing the real pony care) then your child will get a great deal of enjoyment out of a pony soon although 16.5 months is a tad too early!!!
 
jenren!! said:
I say go for it. I dont see why your daughter cant have a few sits on him, and once she's older she can start to ride him. Shetlands are cheap and easy to keep, i think it would be nice for Oscar to have another mate as well.
Click to expand...

She can sit on him and be led around at pretty well any age, and I've seen quite tiny ones (three or four?) dressed up and led round in lead-rein classes at shows. (oops, sorry - posted this before reading Em1's message above!) One of my daughter's friends used to be lifted straight from the lorry onto the pony's back for showing that she didn't get her boots dirty... But real riding comes a lot later - most riding schools won't take them before about five or six, when they can listen to instructions and have a bit of control ...

Still, a child who's around horses from an early age learns to understand horses and knows almost instinctively how to behave round them, and that's worth a lot.

Linda
 
Thanks eml, that's interesting, I have seen 3yo kids at shows and wondered when they started - we would be keen to do that - so she might be able to start in about a year then. I think I will speak to my neighbours and see if they are serious about selling or are just saying this to try to force my hand to take over upkeep (which is very little really) - if I can get a years extension fine, if not then possible loan. Oscar has another 2 fieldmates anyway, but they are occasionally away together, in which case he would be miserable. He gets on really well with the shetland as well, and ones that are quiet under saddle seem to be quite rare.
 
We have a foster child who we are adopting.. she is now 22 months old and has been around peanuts since we got him. She loves splashing around in his water buckets (clean water it has to be said...), and 'helping' to groom him with a small soft brush - he's fantastic but we are supervising closely of course. She was also the first to 'sit' on him (with me gripping her tightly). She'll 'cuddle' him etc, and we're planning on getting a felt saddle for her to use on him in addition to a normal saddle for Erin (who's 8 in April so a bit too heavy for this type of saddle).

Anyway.. i've been told it's not unusual to start a child riding at 3.. and A is pretty 'hardy' so reckon she'll be ready for it by then.. she'll probably have some walks before then.

However.. a lot of riding schools won't take kids under 6 as they don't 'absorb' the info properly till then.. so I guess anything they learn before this age is a bonus! ;)

Good luck!
 
That's lovely, purple hugs, she sounds adorable! My daughter loves water buckets as well, and mixing feed. Today she sat in the trailer with me for most of the afternoon, picking bits of food out of the bucket, giving them to me and then taking my hand and shoving it towards oscar - she thought I was being mean not giving him his food (it was for bribing him into the trailer!). She is also brewing a strange potion in the trug next to the feedbuckets - it is full of water and she keeps dropping feed, stones etc in it and stirring it - yeuch!!
 
lol she sounds adorable! :) I haven't let A loose on feed yet.. that's Erin's love.. mixing in his supplement! lol
I must admit i love watching them both around peanuts. As a child i desperately wanted a horse/pony and now at age 34 we finally have him.. :D
 
From too many years teaching little kids I have learned that they never start really riding until about 7, anything before that is by courtesy of cooperative pony!!

However that isn't to say they cannot 'ride' earlier just don't expect too much!!
 
I don't mind.. A can have 'free' rides until she's old enough to have lessons! ;)

Erin is now 7 and i must admit she's now showing signs of being 'in charge' of the pony in her lessons. ;) She's been having lessons for just under a year (with 4 months off after a fall...).
 
Voice of caution here - don't do it!!!
Wait for your daughter to ask (beg) for a pony!!
I had always wanted a pony as a kid, so got one for my kids so they could grow up riding and.....
none of them ride!!!
They tell me I made it too easy, that if they had asked then it would have been better....., etc etc

so the voice of (sad) experience says - let her enjoy Oscar, sit on him, and then hope for her to say 'want my pony' - THEN will be the time to go for it.


P.S. Shetlands are very wide and sitting on them astride can (not will) cause children to have hip problems - that's why basket saddles were used - the child sits in a more chair like position - no stress on the hips.
 
Good idea re. bike hat Novice Nic - will get her one just for when she is up in front of me, which she loves. I'm sure she will feel very grown up (likes putting mine on but obviously cant actually see out...).

I dont mind if she isnt actually controlling the pony for a while (hmm years), just want her to have fun and get used to being around them (and to win at HOYS 2025......).
 
I have 3 'horses' 2 of which are shetlands and 3 kids.my daughter has only shown an active interest in riding since she was about 4 but has had a wee sit on from an early age i think i have a picci of her on our old shettie Sooty when she was about 1 1/2.my shetlands are both really kid proof in the field etc and they love brushing and feeding them. Bruno is a driving pony and i hoped a lead rein but is a bit too forward going to do much with on the lead rein as he gets bored stopping and starting and turning and wants to go faster! Smudge isnt fully broken in yet. if poor old Sooty hadnt passed away im sure she would be a good rider by now as he was an angel and would plod steadily round the field and was very obliging.He taught my eldest to ride..so if you can afford the upkeep i would say try and loan the pony then you can see if it is really quiet and how much use you would get out of it ,you may find that it just ends up as a field companion and you have to figure out if it is worth £8 a week now or waiting till she is a bit older before getting one and getting more use out of it.
 
newrider.com
Top Bottom
Back