Hoping to find pony to share for SD

Angua2

Hiyas!

I'm just starting to look into sharing a pony arrangement for my step-daughter... I'm living vicariously! I rode all my life until developing a spine condition (nowt to do with riding, mind).

Anyone have ideas on realistic costs for this sort of thing? Pitfalls to avoid?

Oh and one specialist says I "could" ride - but only something like a Tennessee Walker. If anyone has one to loan, let me know! (long-shot, I know - not serious, well, only 1/2 joking).

Many, many thanks.

MrsTinks

Mmmmm I haven't seen any tennessee walkers outside of the US I have to say... they have a very special gait usually - you could ask if the Islandic pony might be a substitute? Hardy little blighters and again have 5 gaits rather than the standard 3...
Instead of riding have you thought about a pony your SD could ride and you drive? That way you could both get enjoyment out of the pony

Angua2

MrsTine wrote: »

Mmmmm I haven't seen any tennessee walkers outside of the US I have to say... they have a very special gait usually - you could ask if the Islandic pony might be a substitute? Hardy little blighters and again have 5 gaits rather than the standard 3...
Instead of riding have you thought about a pony your SD could ride and you drive? That way you could both get enjoyment out of the pony

Thanks for the info on Icelandics - didn't realise they're so multi-gaited!

As for the ride/drive suggestion - which is frankly brilliant - Wow! Great minds! Yes, I'm hoping to be able to learn to drive and have contacted local group that teach and get together for driving outings. But the focus right now is getting SD riding in affordable way.

Thanks again!

Rummer

Hello

I would love to own a horse again but I am waiting until my DD is old enough (only 4/5 years to go!). However realistically you should be thinking about £300 per month to include:

• Livery
• Feeding
• Shoeing
• Worming
• Insurance
• Everything else

Often you can do it for less but I always put away that amount every month into my horse account and let what was left add up for emergencies. Hope this helps.

I am currently watching a film with lot of horses in it and I so want one!

Rummer

Ooops if I had read your post carefully I would have seen you said sharing! Sorry! In that case it would be at least half of that amount if not more depending on the arrangement you had with the owner. Sharing can come with a whole set of problems and I would strongly advise getting a legal agreement between you to prevent any issues should they arise.

MrsTinks

Or contact your local riding school - mine does loans on some of their horses for x days a week or month - works out pretty reasonable

orlao

How old is your SD? Is she liable to grow 6" in the next year so might outgrow something really quickly?
How much riding experience has she got and where? If she's just had riding school lessons and never cared for a horse of her own, you'll have to take that into account!
What kind of share do you want? Just one or two days a week riding, no stable duties? Or a half share where you both share mucking out, grooming, holding for the farrier or vet if their visits fall on your days as well as the fun riding bit?

Costs depend on where and how the pony is kept.....grass, DIY, Part or full livery, health issues and TBH how desirable the pony is!

I used to part loan my cob for £50 a month....2 days a week and I did all the work but he's unshod and on grass livery so kept as cheaply as possible and he ain't "desirable"....he's got more than a few issues:eek:

I can recommend driving, it's great fun....if you want to learn more about it, volunteer to groom ( go out with them on the trap)for someone who drives as you learn lots and usually they will give you an informal lesson now and again in return. Very MSE:beer:

Things to watch out for.....again depends on SD's capabilities:D that you don't overhorse her.....check out the loaner independantly if you can.....written agreement stating both yours and their responsibilities regarding time, work, who pays what and notice if either party ends the share. What happens if the pony is off work for an extended period of time....things like that. If you go the BHS website they have a loan template which will give you an idea of the things to consider.

HTH

Millie2008_2

Echo Orlao

Bit of a how long is a piece of string qn as depends on what type of livery pony is on/ what % of time etc etc etc

I ave part loaned mine in the past to a couple of families they had her (and all of the chores) 4 days a week, to include one weekend day, but we were quite flexible TBH. I only charged approx 1/3 of her costs- I covered insurance and vet fees as she had a couple of health issues. It worked out well overall

Mine cost me approx £400 pcm each incl stabling/feed/bedding/rugs etc/insurance/vets/shoeing/etc, if that helps at all? I don't add competing into this as not doing much at the moment

Whatever you decide, make sure you are happy with the contract

Angua2

hi, all - thank you very much for your info/input - so spot on! Can't remember if I mentioned that I'm an experienced former-rider, coached as a teen by an Olympic medallist and kept horses & ponies for 20 years myself.... So the lessons/training/care aspect I'll be passing on to SD.

As for type, size, etc: thinking large pony (14.2) for a couple of reasons: hardiness and less expense and ease of keep (more often @ grass around here)

Over-horsing is a great point (thanks Orlao) and I know my SD overstates her experience and am being very careful in that regard.

I "learned" age 6 on a welsh x shetland mare with all the sweetness of a lemon grove - nightmare to ride, but once the jockey in charge of a wee tattiebogle like that, everything else afterwards seemed easy.... (Mind both my folks were horse people and completely no-nonsense & great support.)

My next great mount was a Lippizaner x thoroughbred... *sigh* the floating extensions on him were amazing.

Finally, not to bore you with my reminiscences (sp?), I've been in touch with BHS about loan contracts and they've sample contracts for part share which seem to cover most of the bases. (Oops, Orlao mentioned that, too!)

Again, thank you!!

Watty1

Try asking at a local riding school - I loaned a mare from one for 3 days a week which was great fun. I've also half shared a horse with a family before but I did all the mucking out and morning feeding and turning out so was a cheap deal for us both. And then I bought the horse from them! Suspect costs might depend on where you live.

Why not visit a couple of tack shops and feed merchants local to you - they usually have boards up with adverts and that will give you an idea of costs and whats available. Also look out for any of the free horse mags (like Critters and Pegasus if you are in the South East) as these usually have lots of ads in them.

Good luck!

orlao

Angua2 wrote: »

I "learned" age 6 on a welsh x shetland mare with all the sweetness of a lemon grove - nightmare to ride, but once the jockey in charge of a wee tattiebogle like that, everything else afterwards seemed easy.... (Mind both my folks were horse people and completely no-nonsense & great support.)

quote]
I had one of those too:eek: LOL at the sweetness of a lemon grove:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: so apt!!!!