My 4yo is soon to outgrow the mini he is riding, and in the next few months I am going to be looking for a pony to move him up to. That being said, I only buy OTTB’s for myself as projects, and have no idea what to budget for a nice sane, beginner friendly pony. When I was younger and trained ponies I would see them go for $3500-$5000 for sane, bombproof, and showing at a local level, but that was many years ago and in a different state.
I was wondering if anyone in Virginia and surrounding areas could give me insight as far as what breed to look for and/or what to expect to pay for a dead-broke beginner friendly pony around 12hh? Don’t care about flashy or show experience. Just safe and sane so the little one can go on trail rides with me.
I have found POAs to be fantastic kids ponies. I lucked out and found one for a song, had just weaned her third baby, and immediately went home to us and my 8 year old (now 10) trained her to jump. My 8 year old was a beginner too. This mare is just fantastic, and she is pretty cute as well (when we took her to Harrisburg we stopped counting how many people came up to her and said how cute she is). She really just does whatever, and will do whatever. She’s had her moments (again, beginner rider teaching her things) but she really does try for my daughter and is not dirty AT ALL. Just a great great pony.
Perhaps not a pony by breed at all would be better. A small OLD horse is what I would recommend from first hand experience. Ponies are trouble… ask me how I know LOL
I wouldn’t worry about breed or even about size too much. Just kind and sensible and between 11.2 and 15 handsish . As far as price I think certainly under $3k if you don’t need it to jump courses, and be open to free leases. I would try your local pony clubs/4H. These ponies are definitely harder to find when you’re looking!
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this is our then seven year old on the Foxie horse who was 14.1 (and also 7)
most old line Morgans are small… we had two Lippitt based one was 13.3 on a good day the other was 14.1 and some… while allowed us cross from pony to horse classes depending on hoof length. An advantage we had with these guys was they would do anything and be competitive. Our friends were buying new horses as their kids changed disciplines, we just bought more tack.
Ours were very sensible, changing to the ability of the rider…the youngsters just learning they would be extra careful. Those that could ride were then challenged to their level of their ability
We borrowed/leased ponies when the kids were small. Being in the Pony Club circle we found people were quite willing to let us have that arrangement which kept the ponies going and fit and working. When we actually joined Pony Club
(aged about 7) we acquired a Welsh Arab coming off a long layoff. We rehabbed her and she was the perfect size at 13.2 hh.
Small kids and small adults could use her. She did everything for us for years until she was outgrown and went on to another PC family, and so on and so on. Then my daughter stole my horse from me to take on to the bigger shows.
Size and breed are totally irrelevant. Super small ponies are tough because the are too small to be broken/trained by most adults - which means many of them are only kinda broke. Or they come with lots of bad habits.
I’d look for something age 15+ that has brought along a few children already. A lesson horse looking for an easier life would also work. If you go bigger, you want smooth, small gaits.
I rode a lovely 15.1h QH for a few years as a small child before graduating on to a pony.
I’m in Leesburg, VA. I look in the $5-$8k range for dead quiet, jumps around a little course with a beginner, can take to local shows and not embarrass yourself, educated enough to know its ring manners but doesn’t have a lead change type horses. You could go a little less if you’re getting something older.
I have also had some really great ones from individuals who want their outgrown pony to have a good home and do a free lease.
I don’t like my kids very much so I bought them a crazy ass hackney. He’s safe but definitely not perfect. Like a mini TB with a little silliness. He’s made them really good riders. He’s such a great guy now that he’s 15 with years of kid experience.
There’s nothing cuter than a little boy on an appropriately small pony, but don’t let size or breed be a major factor in your decision! Ideally, I would go for something older, that has toted children around before. I personally like kids on ponies, because they can learn to be independent with grooming, tacking and mounting sooner. That said, my kid’s first two ponies were less than ideal. The first one was 13 hands and rather old, but still liked to throw in a buck during the canter (so he didn’t learn to canter for quite a while). The second one was only 12 hands and 4 years old, and my son started riding him when he was 9. They had a bit of a struggle learning together, but within 2 years were really great together. Two more years later, that pony became too small :(. I could also ride that pony, so helped train him as we went along.
My son’s struggles and overcoming limitations on these two ponies definitely made him a better rider in the end, but you have to know your son. A challenging pony can be a confidence killer, make him not want to ride, or make him sad that he can’t keep up with the other kids (this last one was an issue with my son for a little while).
You might want to check with the VA region Pony Clubs near you for leads, and please consider having your son join when he is a little older. Having other kids to have fun with and keep up with is a huge motivator.
This is exactly why I want a pony for his instead of horse. I want him to learn to be as independent as possible and if have to help him groom or tack because he can’t reach he’s not going to learn as fast. He’s also ridden both my 15.2 and 15.3 horses and while he had fun on the lead line, he wouldn’t even attempt to ride independently because he was scared of falling from so high up.
I think an older pony that has been outgrown will be perfect for him. The mini he rides now is 36" so I’m thinking something around 12-13 hands is going to be big enough that he can continue to grow for a few years but also small enough that he’ll feel confident on it. Also gives me the option to hop on if it needs any sort of training.
I applaud you for looking for an appropriately sized pony for your child. I cannot tell you how many people contact me looking for something for their young child–but want it much bigger than they need. Small enough makes it so the child can tack and handle it competently, and so that its gaits are not too big. It is too bad you are so far away, as I have one here that has been outgrown. Anyhow, I also second the POA statement–I have had better luck with them than I have had with welsh; I have two in my lesson program, and no welshs! But, breed is not important. But you may have an easier time finding what you want at an affordable price in a POA or grade. If he is four, I would say closer to the 12H mark, or a little under, rather than the 13H mark, but it will depend on the pony. Good luck in your search! I would also say your price range would be right on for one of the useful, non-fancy non-show ponies.
I just bought a fabulous little pony for my 5 & 7 year boys. 11.1 hand 15yo Shetland ( or probably mix). Safe, will WTC, trail ride, and do small jumps, but much prefers to just WT. Previously trained to drive, though hasn’t been driven in years and would need a refresher. Not a show pony, but would probably tolerate doing some WT classes. I paid $750 in rural Virginia and feel like I stole him. I was looking in the $2500 and below range. I wanted small for independence for the boys, so they can catch, groom , tack, and mount with minimal help.
Two very dependable ponies I’ve known have been quarter horse/ welsh crosses. One is my current mare and the other was a schoolmaster where my DD learned to ride. They’re smaller in stature, have the Welsh friendliness, and steady quarter horse brain. My mare looks a lot like “Ginger” in the center of the second row on this page: http://swingin-p.com/Swinginp/sold%20paints.htm.
This. A small size can help the child become more independent and involved with things such as catching, leading, grooming, tacking, bathing, etc. My daughter’s first pony was an 11.3hh cute POA that was what I thought 17, vet exam showed she was 25! But that little pony was awesome, and gave my daughter such confidence. After a year my daughter outgrew her, so we passed her on down to a friend’s little girl. Sadly, she had to be euthanized a year after that. However, she taught both girls so much, and gave them so much confidence. I got her for free, but she was invaluable.
Now 2 years later, my daughter is actually helping bring along a 3 year old Thoroughbred (she was in race training but was too slow and never made it to the track), with the brain of a 20 year old chill gelding. I picked her up for $500 and my daughter (who I have to say is a confident, kick butt little rider with more natural talent in her pinky than I had at that age), is really enjoying learning about the training process.
I think brain and temperament is way more important than breed. My friend’s daughter now has a small Morgan (14hh), with a great brain. Morgans I have heard can be fabulous for kids.
I’ll second (third?) the POA although I realize that breed is not the most important characteristic to look for in a young child’s pony. My granddaughter started out at age 4 on a great 12.2 POA that was old (retired from being a lesson pony, he had also evented to Novice level earlier in his life). He was given to my neighbor whose daughter was the same age as my granddaughter and they shared him for a couple of years. The neighbor then leased a pretty welsh pony that was not at all easy (we called her “piggy pearl” when she was being difficult). We purchased a 6 year old 13.3 hand POA as my grandaughter’s second pony when she was about 7 - he was younger than I was looking for but had been well started and ridden for 3 years by a talented young rider. He was also large enough for me to get on if there were any problems to sort out. Splash was a great pony ( the only horse/pony I have ever purchased that I knew from the first moment I saw him that he was “the one”) and he taught my granddaughter so much - when she outgrew him several years later, he was sold to a family with 3 young daughters and he went on to teach many children. Can you tell that I absolutely LUV POAs?!!
