Leasing out horse that normally lives at home?

[QHEventer]

That’s fair, and I think that’s a great idea. Not knowing the horse, I can see where internet strangers are concerned about future soundness. Her issues were 100% due to crappy shoeing which has now been resolved. But, I get the concern.

She’s a junior/ammy friendly mount who will be packing her rider around the childrens/adults once she’s back in a program.

My trainer obviously knows her very well and has a lot of junior riders at the moment looking for additional mounts so I will trust that she’ll find her an appropriate rider. Of course, if any soundness issues do crop up, I’ll bring her back home, but I have no reason to believe that that will be the case.

Thank you again for all your input.

[BAC]

@2DogsFarm

Okay, but now I need to dust off my soapbox on Mini Rights.
I know people have kids riding them.
I don’t like to see anything beyond a toddler on leadline in a saddle, on a mini.
Even if said mini is the stock type, rather than the refined.
Even if mini is at the top of the Mini Measure scale: 39" at the withers.

OTOH, teach mini to drive & the Fun begins
Kids as young as 6 or 7 can drive with an adult in the vehicle! But bigger kids do not belong on minis as riders.
Minis weigh ~200-300#
Accepted Equine Rider/Horse math says they shouldn’t carry more than 50-60#.
Driving horses can handle much more weight.

For those who say “Oh, yeah?” My flamesuit is all buttoned up.

I happen to agree with you, minis really aren’t meant for riding IMO. I had a Shetland pony as a child and we didn’t ride him although occasionally one of us sat on his back for a picture haha. He was just a pet, we got him because he was orphaned as a foal. But Shetlands are wonderful for driving and its so much fun. A mini would be a great companion for OP’s other horse though.

[2DogsFarm]

I’m gonna go out on a limb here & guess your childhood Shetland was the old style, not the Modern.
Have you seen them now?
They’ve bred the Thelwell right out

I’d love a Shetland - aka Shitland - to drive.
Even the Moderns are suited to that.
But IMHO, they don’t look much like kids’ riding ponies.
Little toothpick legs & looong necks

[BAC]

@2DogsFarm

I’m gonna go out on a limb here & guess your childhood Shetland was the old style, not the Modern.
Have you seen them now?
They’ve bred the Thelwell right out

I’d love a Shetland - aka Shitland - to drive.
Even the Moderns are suited to that.
But IMHO, they don’t look much like kids’ riding ponies.
Little toothpick legs & looong necks

Our Shetland was acquired somewhere between 1963-1965 so definitely not a modern. He looked exactly like a Thelwell pony with his huge bushy forelock and thick mane and tail. But he came from a Shetland farm that bred for the show ring and even in those days a lot of them were very sleek looking, not at all like a Thelwell. We started subscribing to a Shetland journal and the show ponies (only shown in hand and in driving classes) looked much like miniature saddlebreds so I’m not sure the “modern” look is all that new.

[Pokerface]

@BAC

Our Shetland was acquired somewhere between 1963-1965 so definitely not a modern. He looked exactly like a Thelwell pony with his huge bushy forelock and thick mane and tail. But he came from a Shetland farm that bred for the show ring and even in those days a lot of them were very sleek looking, not at all like a Thelwell. We started subscribing to a Shetland journal and the show ponies (only shown in hand and in driving classes) looked much like miniature saddlebreds so I’m not sure the “modern” look is all that new.

I had an adorable Shetland who looked like she stepped right out of a Thelwell book, Bushy tail and forelock, the whole thing. I rode her as a small kid, we walked, trotted, and galloped like hell back to the barn. She did not canter. She was a wonderful pony to play around with as a kid. The only way to get her to go fast was to get her away from the barn and the rest of the horses, hop on as she was taking off, and hold on for dear life as she galloped at full speed back to the barn.

[stargzng386]

I think I found one of those shetlands. My vet showed up after I purchased her and said man she’s “shetland gray” just like all the ones I grew up with. I can’t tell if her legs are skinny because she’s so fat but she has a super short neck, gets fat on air, huge bushy blonde mane, forelock and tail. She can easily hold about 15lbs right now…not sure how the riding will go when the goat gets older She’s a complete saint with all kids, goat and humans. Safe to lead, walk under, my neighbors kid faceplanted into her when he tripped and she didn’t move and she loves grooming even if that’s a horde of kids around her grooming at once. Real riding I’d think twice about she has…opinions…about actual work. I wanted to eventually drive her but those opinions needs to work themselves out lol.

[BAC]

My Shetland was quite naughty, he was not gelded while we owned him which was surely a factor in his behavior. A couple of times grandma felt sorry for pony in his paddock and let him out onto the lush grass in our backyard and he chased her all over the yard while she screamed and raced for the house LOL. And he escaped more than once, one time discovering a neighbor’s birdbath and lapping up all the water before pooping in her yard. She was not an animal lover and was quite angry, she was still mad at us for letting our cat climb her tree and reach inside her bird house and grab the baby birds out of their home. Another time he ran down the street with mom and I chasing after him in our nightgowns, me with my hair in curlers, when a car drove by with the driver honking and waving. I was mortified to discover it was an AHSA “R” judge who lived in the neighborhood, he had judged me often with good results and I was so embarassed for him to see me like that.