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Post by Louise Dixon on Sept 14, 2014 9:44:18 GMT
I am cautiously beginning the hunt for a very first off lead rein pony for my son, in the hope that we will have found something in 6-8 months time, hopefully by May 2015, when he will be four and a half.
He is very wobbly, but wants to be off the lead, and knowing his temperament very well, he is not going to make any more effort to do things like steering, using his legs and so on until he has to, i.e. I am not doing it for him. (He has great balance and is perfectly capable, but lazy - his current shetland goes of the voice, so all he has to do is say 'trot, Hamish' and 'stop, Hamish' and Hamish obliges. However, off the lead, all Hamish would do would be to head to the nearest juicy patch of grass/bush/flower pot etc.)
We aren't fussed about showing, but would like to do pony club, jumping, games etc. etc. - having said that, the next pony would not need to do any of these at much of a great level, as once he had the idea and was using his legs, he could swap ponies again with his wee brother and go back on to Hamish.
Age, looks and so on are completely irrelevant, just a patent safety tots pony.
Do you think I am being realistic hoping to find something like this for under £1000? I have seen several which would fit the bill at around £1500 - £2000, and whilst I don't particularly think they are over priced, the boys' dad does, and as he puts up with a great deal pony wise, if he does say no to something, I don't argue. I am not looking for suggestions of specific ponies here, just an idea of if I am in cloud cuckoo land.
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fredaf
Junior Member
Posts: 173
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Post by fredaf on Sept 14, 2014 10:00:06 GMT
A lot of first off first ridden ponies are passed on by word of mouth, often through the Pony Club network, but basically I think you get what you pay for, they also hold there value so after a couple of years you may be able to find another first ridden home! This is probably the most important pony that you'll ever buy and you may find one for £1000 but not much less unless it has other issues as well. Having learnt from experience I would wait and see what turns up but if your son really wants to progress I'd be inclined to try and find a way of paying a bit more. There are a lot of cheap ponies about at the moment and because of this people seem to think they can make silly offers for any horse/pony! At the end of the day you have to weigh up the time, cost etc that's gone into getting a pony to the level it's currently at.
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Post by ilovenatives on Sept 14, 2014 10:26:13 GMT
I'd say you will probably struggle to find one for under £1000 . You may be lucky though , you will have to really keep your eyes open and be quick of the mark if a good one comes up . I saw a very mannerly pony at a show last Sunday that didn't bat an eye when his little jockey was really nervous and upset doing the first year first ridden. Logging on to Facebook that evening I see the same pony go up for sale for £600 . I tagged a friend in the add and being very local she was able to get to see him first and leave a deposit before anyone else as there was loads of interest in him . Coming into winter prices should drop a bit but it's hard enough to find this sort of pony even with a decent budget . Good luck in your search . You could try and look for a long term loan as often people don't sell these fab little tots ponies but will loan them out so they have a job .
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Post by thatboythatgirl on Sept 14, 2014 21:00:49 GMT
We paid £2000 for 15yr old fr, was worth every penny went from lead rein to open 12 shp best 5 years my niece had till he passed away earlier this year
He was found by word of mouth and had people saying to us they'd been looking for him for the children/grandchildren
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halfpass
Happy to help....a lot
Return of the Dame
Posts: 12,964
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Post by halfpass on Sept 16, 2014 9:10:38 GMT
I would say it's wait in gold, a genuine pony will have a line of people waiting before it's outgrown by the current owners.
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Post by Philippa on Sept 16, 2014 13:53:21 GMT
Oh heavens, what price do you put on safety? ? I have just bought a SP FR pony (as a LR) for Maisie, she is never going to be a FYFR at shows as she is more a last year FR but she is a saint at home. Maisie is 3 and has had lessons off the lead on this pony from 4 days after we collected her, something she would never be able to do on our feisty Section A LR!!!!!. She is far from a dope on a rope, she qu RI LR this year and has been to HOYS as a FR. I didnt pay telephone numbers for her and TBH would have paid a lot more but her owners were happy to sell her and she will have a fabulous home with us.
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Post by cockatoo on Sept 16, 2014 21:02:06 GMT
I have a pony for sale a genuine fyfr, but they are worth there wanting gold and as rare as hens teeth. He is county show level so there's your price difference. Good luck in your search.
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Post by waspblue on Sept 19, 2014 23:17:15 GMT
Looking for a genuine FYFR pony of a good standard, and must be super safe too. Have PM'd you cockatoo,if your pony is still for sale please can you contact me via here. Thankyou.
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Post by Louise Dixon on Sept 20, 2014 18:29:27 GMT
Just a wee update, I am very excited about a pony we are going to see this week, referred to us by an instructor from a neighbouring pony club. She is 23, and does have some medical needs, but they are identical to one of my shetlands, so easy for me to cope with, and she is fully fit and sound. Have seen lots of video and photos, so just hoping she and my son hit it off. She is for loan.
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Post by 5874julie on Sept 20, 2014 22:01:41 GMT
a quick rant on this subject - a couple of weeks ago a friend (Mrs X) mentioned she was planning to sell her perfect saint of a first off the lead rein pony, and mentioned a very high selling price - she said the pony was worth her weight in gold and it was worth a try! meanwhile another acquaintance (Mrs Y) asked me if I knew of any safe first ridden ponies, so i told her about this one. It wasn't my place to discuss price, but I did say I thought they would want a lot of money for it as it was so good. I said this twice so Mrs Y couldn't miss it.
So I was mortified to discover that Mrs Y had got in touch with Mrs X to express interest in the pony, but explained that her budget for the purchase was ...........£200!!! I couldn't believe it and am thoroughly embarrassed to have put them in touch with each other. That will teach me to get involved.
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Post by catkin on Sept 21, 2014 8:59:31 GMT
Pay as much as you can/need to for this pony. The most important one you will every buy!
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Post by tillyfloss on Sept 21, 2014 9:37:09 GMT
I thoroughly agree this is the most important purchase to set them up confidence wise for the future, we paid a lot for our fantastic FYFR/open 122 shp he is mannerly patient and rarely puts in too much effort. Safe on hacks never fizzes when out with others, on fun rides etc inparticular out with my fiesty section D that I could never lead her off a rein with..two years later on my daughter is no longer a washing line nervous singing jockey, she has great balance and is understanding how to work him to get him to use himself. After a troublesome lead rein pony who damaged her so much confidence wise I do not regret a single penny the pony has totally been worth is weight in gold, his forte is showing but she has done sidesaddle, hunting, fun rides, pc games and their bond is immense he has totally set her up brilliantly for a 13hh and this time next year when she will be out of class and probably too tall for him I will be breaking my heart as I am sure she will too, if only ponies as good as him would grow to 14.2hh...
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Post by Louise Dixon on Sept 21, 2014 12:25:46 GMT
I absolutely agree with everyone on the value of these ponies, and with catkin's point of pay as much as you can afford, which I intend to if we buy rather than loaning, but I also can't pay more than we can afford , and then not have money to look after the pony properly!
William has been off the lead on Hamish this morning, and actually coped very well, much better than I thought. We were just out for a hack, so he had the motivation to follow Angus's pony, Dusty, I am still not sure he would manage at all taking him away from Dusty, but we can keep trying to do little bits whilst we look for the next one. It would help if when Hamish does wander off thw wrong way, William would actually TRY to steer, rather than just giggling hysterically! I was very impressed that he did manage to go off in front for a wee trot, and more importantly stop him again when he wanted.
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Post by honeypot on Sept 21, 2014 12:41:46 GMT
I you have not a lot of money and can put in the work I would buy a young pony, but buy on temperament. I have had two this way out of necessity, I bought a just backed four year old because my just four year old was desperate to do PC camp and I could not borrow one, he was actually less trouble than the schoolmaster. Then I bought a three year old to get my friend out of a bad buy. Bad buy for her went on to PC,hunt,WHP,FR and drive, had the same temperament at three as he has at 21,he's a bit like a pony quad bike do anything go anywhere but he is sometimes a bit too smart. I got fit walking the things round the village and when they were ready to go off lead rein paid a pro to school them and teach them things my older daughter would not do.
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sarahp
Happy to help
Posts: 9,510
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Post by sarahp on Sept 21, 2014 14:15:10 GMT
Agreed. But then I suppose I would as I have a couple for sale, ridden on and schooled, more than just backed, both lovely temperaments, well mannered and with no nasty tricks! But I do feel that young ponies need sensible, experienced adults to oversee the partnership.
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Post by catkin on Sept 21, 2014 15:00:30 GMT
I like young ponies too. No mistakes to un-do and a good one is born good! But for the first off the lead pony, that will teach a child to canter etc, I do think one that knows what it is doing is ideal. If you are lucky enough to be able to school on a small pony at the same time as teaching the child, this, as SarahP says, can work well. There is no right or wrong. It so depends on the pony and the child for that matter. I have just spent an enjoyable half hour with my 7yr old niece who wants to canter everywhere now and feel most relieved she is sitting on my 20 year old schoolmaster!
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Post by lips36 on Sept 22, 2014 23:01:22 GMT
Attachment DeletedAttachment DeletedWe have a lovely little pony that we have been lucky enough to have him up to 2 yrs on loan, as our little cob turned out to be far to sharp for my step daughter, the pony isn't good enough to show but we do novelty shows, she is now jumping 1'9ft courses the pony is spot on he is 23 and been round the block. Few times.
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