Child’s first pony – to buy or to borrow?

If you were looking for a first pony for your young child, what would you do? Buy one or borrow one? My brother and I got our first ponies when we were about four and six respectively. My mother had a friend in England who bred Shetland ponies and two yearlings arrived on the boat in Waterford. They were so small that they could walk under the table in our kitchen – not that we allowed them to do that very often!

Obviously we couldn’t ride yearlings so my mother borrowed quiet ponies while our Shetlands grew up. The great thing about a borrowed pony is that it usually has plenty of mileage, has been used by several families, you know its history and, most important, if it’s too lively or unsuitable, it can be sent home again. It’s also a good test, without spending a lot of money, to see whether the child really wants to own a pony and is prepared to do some of the work looking after it. The problem is that good, well-behaved first ponies are extremely hard to come by. There’s usually a long queue of anxious parents waiting for them.

Another option is to ‘borrow’ or lease a pony from a local riding school. By paying a small amount of money each week, a child can share a pony and get used to looking after it. Again, a good test to see if he or she is really interested.

If you do decide to buy one, be very careful. I’m always amused to see the word ‘bombproof’ describing 4 year old ponies in advertisements. Bombproof to me means at least eight years old and preferably a teenager or in its twenties for a beginner. A bombproof pony is worth its weight in gold and is extremely hard to find.

Our Shetlands stayed with us for a long time, one of them all his life. My brother’s was a little demon who would buck him off, kick him, run under low branches of trees to scrape him off and, if all that failed, would eventually get down and roll him off! But before I get into trouble with breeders of Shetlands, let me assure you that my Shetland pony was kind and well behaved. I rode him until my legs nearly touched the ground and then he went on to another family and taught many more children to ride.