My sister has been casually looking for a pony for her grandkids. Nothing fancy, just very gentle for the kids to groom, love on and maybe occasional lead line rides around the yard. She has an elderly TW that the kids love but he is 15hh so they can only reach his belly while grooming and she worries about him accidentally stepping on the. We’ve been looking on local Facebook horse sale groups and I have to say, the prices of just ordinary, scruffy ponies is rather shocking to me. $2k for a 25 yo? $5000 for a rather ordinary roan? I guess I’m just out of touch.
1 Like
Why not a mini?
Some are Condensed Evil, some - like my guy 
- are babysitters from birth.
An older mini w/o show breeding could be in the mid-high 3s.
Of course, if you want the grands to be able to ride the pony eventually, IIWM, I’d look for a Medium.
Minis do get ridden, but carrying anything over 70# is a Big Ask.
They can drive, if you’re willing to rack up the added expense of harness & cart.
4 Likes
A 25 year old pony still has a good 10 years left and tons of miles. They live forever. My 21 y/o pony still can go all day and still gas in the tank.
You are paying for safety, one trip to the hospital and 2k- 5k for that safe pony doesn’t sound so bad.
Maybe try free leasing one from someone that doesn’t want to sell their child’s pony?
15 Likes
pricing system as it seems to me (New England):
Under $2000, something wrong with it. Could be anything, but will be something.
$2000 to $5000, chance of being sound, can be groomed, tacked up, will at least walk and trot under saddle.
$5000 to $8000 in addition you may get nice conformation and some training beyond the basic. May, not will.
$8000 - $12000 a pony a child could show a bit, nothing fancy but has real training and manners.
$12000 to the price of a second home: more bells, whistles, correctness, and hopefully a handy jumper.
Minis have many drawbacks. They often are cheap because they are backyard mutts with a back history of ignorant or neglectful care and significant conformation problems, especially their feet which are often yikes bad. They cannot be ridden by adults so they’ve no riding training to speak of. They are good companion animals but not good first horses, in my opinion.
A pony of say 12 to 13 hands can be trained (or re-trained) by a skilled junior or small adult, and will not be outgrown for some years.
As always when horse shopping, patience and wariness are normally required.
6 Likes
Mine came from a local breeder with show titles from AMHR. His sire was one of their show studs. I paid $300 + $125 for Amish Bootcamp to break him to drive.
But he was What-Evs as a 2yo & not show quality to them - too stocky.
Not dwarfed, just not the fineboned that’s winning now.
Stood for me to clip ears, face for a Halter class.
As a 3yo he went to Villa Louis ADS show & behaved like a stuffed toy when 3 little - 6-7 - girls swarmed him.
His teeth have yet to be floated (he’s 9), while a friend’s mini needs dental visits every 6mos.
His feet are fine, shows & drives trails - 6mi RT - barefoot.
Like all Smalls, laminitis can be an issue.
He’s muzzled through Fall, grain is TC Sr & supplement is Thyro-L.
6 Likes
Or Satan in a pony suit as I like to call them! 
3 Likes
This ad got me looking at my local CL at ponies. They were way higher priced than I would have thought except for 1 ad.
17 year old black/ white pinto mare. 41" tall , goes english and western and is at a perfect weight and looks to be a good mover, nice pony . The reason for selling is kids outgrew her. Ad just placed today $500.
If they are telling the truth she certainly won’t last.
2 Likes
$5k for an ordinary pony that is sound and kid-safe is a very good deal these days.
I like picking up project ponies and developing them. I sold one for about $5k last year and he was a little bit quirky and only had one eye. Sold another for closer to $10k and she was in her teens, started late, and weirdly put together - but a good size, super safe and a cute mover. These were both random backyard grade ponies, never been to a horse show, nothing fancy at all.
13 Likes
Anything that is kid safe and sound STARTS at 5K.
If you want fancy, pretty or more training than the basics, add to that.
If your sister truly only wants it to be a leadline pony, soundness is somewhat flexible. Honestly, the 2K for the 25 yo sounds good to me.
13 Likes
The smaller they are, the closer they are to Hell 
(I say this lovingly, as a pony enthusiast)
14 Likes
I have the perfect pony. Sweet, beautiful ground manners, great for rank beginner lessons. He is 10.2, and 22 years old. He is also not for sale for any price, and I would only consider leasing him to an extremely short list of horse people I trust.
That’s what you’re up against.
10 Likes
Yep. Every lesson program (that still exists) needs an ancient stalwart pony worth its weight in gold. And they will have a job until they keel over.
$2k for the 25yo? Go see him. Vet and trailer in tow.
9 Likes
I opened this thread expecting to see someone lamenting that you had to spend $30k for a competitive local pony these days. Sub $5k for a child-safe pony or horse is a phenomenal deal. Heck, those were hard to find back 20 years ago.
11 Likes
. When DD16 was 8, I leased a medium pony mare for her for basically the price of her shoes – Pony was in her teens, with a sewing machine gait & a love of speed & athleticism way better suited to the Jumpers than pony hunters. They never won anything except the SS Eq & the odd O/F Benefit class. That little mare was worth her weight in gold & then some, though. She loooooved doing Hunter shows & was possessed of that reassuringly maternal attitude towards her little human charges that only pony mares can have: “Look, kid. I don’t care what everyone says. You’re my hairless, slightly bizarre-looking two-legged foal. No matter how hard I am on you at home, when we’re here, it’s show time & imma let things slide a bit & take care of you.”
DD’s current horse wasn’t expensive by mainstream show standards. He requires 2x yearly hock injections & is unhappy if he misses his monthly appointment with his favorite bodyworker. He’s also a 1000 lbs prey animal that I trust to fly 1m+ into the air at high speeds with one of my precious babies on his back.
What’s that kind of trust worth? I’ve seen my share of nasty accidents in my 40 years of hanging around horses. Buy the $2k 25yo pony!
6 Likes
Aw, shucks! This made me smile
