I'm way ahead of myself here as I have not even decided for sure what to do and when. BUT I'm ill and off work, so to cheer myself up...... Lets do some pony window shopping!
Here are my pony requirements :
ESSENTIAL
1) Friendly, likes people
2) Will enjoy (or at least good naturedly tolerate) lots of small girls plaiting and fussing
3) Does not bite, kick etc (manners I can teach but I want a basically soft, kind pony).
4) 13'3-14'3 hh (I know smaller could carry me but but I don't like kicking elbows!)
5) Chunky if less than 14'2 (see above - takes the leg up)
6) Hardy enough to live out in a herd most of the time.
7) No hx of lami (may of course develop it but I don't want to start off with lami issues as the yard is not well set up for restricted grazing. Lami ponies end up alone in a bare paddock)
8) No sweetitch. Charlie had it and it was so sad to see him suffer. We managed it ok but even just tiny mistakes in the management resulted in a very sore pony that took weeks to recover from again
9) Sane and sensible (a mini Thyme)
10) Responsive (not a kickalong)
11) Can jump.
DESIRABLE
1) Young if right temperament. I like them 'unspoilt blank canvasses'. But would consider older pony with right kind of history - eg loving private home, kept like a horse, not 'bossed' unnecessarily all the time.
2) Already schooled on the basics so girls can ride straight away. But would consider recently backed if everything else was ok as would not take long to get those basics established
3) Not grey (beautiful but soooooooo hard to keep clean!!!)
4) Not been ridden with head reined in. Charlie had been and it was a pain to sort out. I think you can tell from the photos of a pony in halt with a rider forcing him to be behind the vertical.
6) Native breed as I just love the look of them: Irish cob, Highland, Fell, Connemara...... (Less keen on Welsh but willing to be persuaded otherwise)
Happy hunting
Here are my pony requirements :
ESSENTIAL
1) Friendly, likes people
2) Will enjoy (or at least good naturedly tolerate) lots of small girls plaiting and fussing
3) Does not bite, kick etc (manners I can teach but I want a basically soft, kind pony).
4) 13'3-14'3 hh (I know smaller could carry me but but I don't like kicking elbows!)
5) Chunky if less than 14'2 (see above - takes the leg up)
6) Hardy enough to live out in a herd most of the time.
7) No hx of lami (may of course develop it but I don't want to start off with lami issues as the yard is not well set up for restricted grazing. Lami ponies end up alone in a bare paddock)
8) No sweetitch. Charlie had it and it was so sad to see him suffer. We managed it ok but even just tiny mistakes in the management resulted in a very sore pony that took weeks to recover from again
9) Sane and sensible (a mini Thyme)
10) Responsive (not a kickalong)
11) Can jump.
DESIRABLE
1) Young if right temperament. I like them 'unspoilt blank canvasses'. But would consider older pony with right kind of history - eg loving private home, kept like a horse, not 'bossed' unnecessarily all the time.
2) Already schooled on the basics so girls can ride straight away. But would consider recently backed if everything else was ok as would not take long to get those basics established
3) Not grey (beautiful but soooooooo hard to keep clean!!!)
4) Not been ridden with head reined in. Charlie had been and it was a pain to sort out. I think you can tell from the photos of a pony in halt with a rider forcing him to be behind the vertical.
6) Native breed as I just love the look of them: Irish cob, Highland, Fell, Connemara...... (Less keen on Welsh but willing to be persuaded otherwise)
Happy hunting