The quest for an all rounder large pony

[crackerjack]

How difficult is it to find a safe large pony who could teach littles how to w/t/c and jump around a course of xs or small verticals?

Pony doesn’t have to be fancy at all. Showing is not planned. I’m going to guess that maybe in the future a couple of schooling shows a year when the kids get older.

Pony would be ridden by a now 4 yr old, 2 yr old and mom with a lot of riding experience ( like 1.20m jumpers but had time off to have the kids). Kids are riding my 17hh beast and a very small pony- 4 yr old is just about to big. So time for something a bit more appropriate. Jumping won’t be for awhile. 4 yr old is just trotting.

Pony would live out 24/7.

So how hard is it to find the new best friend? Price? Where to look?

This is not a ISO ad. We don’t know about buying ponies at all!

[Christa_P]

If you’re willing to do some training, you could look at local western barns or trail groups for something getting outgrown. Also, look on Craigslist.

[Highflyer1]

Ponies like that are worth their weight in gold. It can be so hard to find one. Leadline is easy, but that first pony they can ride independently is really hard. A lot of them are never advertised publicly, just handed on by word of mouth.

[clanter]

for an all around child’s pony I would look for a Connemara pony or Morgan, either breed is well known as being kid friendly

[albytb]

I honestly think you can easily find something nice for a decent price esp if you aren’t planning on showing. Word of mouth/local connections is probably your best bet on finding them but I have met so many large ponies/small horses that, while not fancy, are doing the job you’re looking for

[c0608524]

Do you need a true large pony? Finding something that grew to 14.3hh might be at a better price point than a true large. Just a thought!

[fivestrideline]

I’ve seen a few of these types go through a friend’s sale barn. Low 5s for the really really broke (like ride through trail obstacles/history of packing kids around broke), mid-upper 4s for sane and safe but a little wiggly at the canter and no real schooling beyond steer-stop-tie. And they go FAST - often sold before a real ad is up on social.

Learn-to-canter is worth its weight in GOLD, but having an adult to school opens your options to green or needing reschooling (sometimes the western or trail types need new buttons installed). If you’re open to that funky 14.3-15.2 size, you might find a deal.

Put the word out to friends (especially trainer friends), vet, farrier, anyone with an eye for a diamond in the rough. Tell them what you’re looking for and be ready to vet and make an offer if you’re serious. Most of these sell by word of mouth or have a waitlist of interested parties by the time they’re on a website. My sale barn friend knows what people are looking for and will reach out if she’s got something in the works before she lists it.

[Aussie_2020]

Yes to this. I’ve seen nice Quarterhorses and Quarter-crosses that are 14.3 and under.

[sailor-sunset]

If you’re in the states, you could look at mustangs. Most are 13-14h. Tons of FB groups and pages of folks who gentle and train them, plenty with sport pony attributes and calm, family friendly personalities. Low budget too.

[jvanrens]

She’s near me in Canada. Mustangs with a good riding history aren’t that common that I know of but I haven’t been on the pulse of the horses available for a while. Finding a nice but not fancy QH type might be more realistic. Many of them have decent gaits and a good mind for littles to learn on.

[CBoylen]

Don’t. They don’t get good for kids until they are old.

[jvanrens]

Now you’ve done it! We’re going to hear about clanter’s amazing Morgans again. His family has had some amazing success with them when his kids were young.

[bingbingbing]

I can pretty much quote the story word for word at this point.

[CBoylen]

Oh, I think Morgans are lovely, and I have heard many stories from people who grew up enjoying them. I recently had one in my program, though she was 21 years old and whose owner had grown up with her and she was still way too fast for any of my beginners.
I also had a client where I started I think it was 19 Connemaras and while many of them are lovely kids ponies now it took a really long time to get there. I’ve seen a lot of local mismatches of children over mounted on athletic Connemara ponies.

[crackerjack]

Thanks for all of the replies. I don’t think a large pony is an absolute must…it could be 14.3. 4 year old really wants to canter and I’m definitely not allowing her to do so on my 17hh pony. Her feet don’t go past the saddle flaps yet and the ground is too far away! So we really need something a bit more suitable.
Yah I’m in eastern ontario so mustangs are rare. Connie’s also seem to have a reputation for being a handful and although the kids are brave (too brave!) they need something unathletic and rock-like.!

For an odd sized smaller bombproof QH what kind of price range are we looking at?

[fivestrideline]

@crackerjack

For an odd sized smaller bombproof QH what kind of price range are we looking at?

In my area (SE US), low fives. $10k-$20k, with the higher end being more “fancy” than you likely need. You might find something for upper fours if you’re patient and/or can do maintenance or handle a quirk (not necessarily a riding quirk, but something like it’s missing an eye or can’t be hard tied or cribs or something like that). I have a couple friends with older, off-size, grade QH types they got off trail strings that are bombproof and think they won the lottery in their new homes - and none of them were expensive.

Make sure to build a budget in for vetting. If it’s older and BTDT, you want to know what sort of maintenance you need. If it’s super cheap, there may be a reason. Pull blood.

[4horses]

Maybe a mini pony? My clients had the best mini pony a child could want. That was truly the most tolerant and the well behaved pony some one could ask for.

[fivestrideline]

Sounds like OP has a “very small pony” that is outgrown. And sounds like they want something large enough that they can do tune ups as needed (which is a great idea).

@crackerjack

Kids are riding my 17hh beast and a very small pony- 4 yr old is just about to big. So time for something a bit more appropriate

[c0608524]

@crackerjack

For an odd sized smaller bombproof QH what kind of price range are we looking at?

I’m in Ontario too, so I’ll keep an eye on the Facebook pages incase something pops up.

My friend was looking for this for herself, but a bit bigger (15-15.2) and really struggled to find something - even with a 10k budget. I do think this type sells quick by word of mouth before they get online.

[jvanrens]

I wish I could help you out crackerjack. Twenty odd years ago I likely could have found you multiples to to try, but I’m too out of the business to be useful that way now.