3 M L & C said:
Our kids have been hounding us for a horse for quite a while. I have held off about as long as I have the heart for. They now are telling us they will take all their gift money they have saved forever and pay for it theirselves. :lol: I know nothing about horses so what should a person get for the kids? Oldest kid is 9.
Get an older 'been there, done that' BABYSITTER for a first horse. Let the
kids get their confidence up so they are ready for the second horse they get. For safety sake, buying a kids horse goes in steps. First horse, (babysitter), second horse (little more life) and then when they
have mastered the second horse, they are ready to go on. I would tell you to get a gelding, simply because mares tend to kick other horses and if a kid was on another horse, there is a chance of someone/something getting hurt. I know there are exceptions to everything, but I used to produce a Jr. Horse Show and we had to have ribbons tied on some of the mares tails so that other kids would know not to ride up behind that particular horse, because they might get kicked.
If your son is 9, I think he is old enough to join 4-H. That's an excellent place for a beginner to learn; not just about riding, but also about care of horses. Horses aren't cheap and the better you take care of them, the longer they last. Horses need vaccines, dental work, plenty of feed and hay with no dust, etc. An older horse will last a long time as long as
one pays attention to nutrition and soundness.
Good luck!
IMO--Do not buy a pony!
I bought one for our daughter once. This was one nice pony....she rode it with the girl who had it for sale. They rode together. This pony had been in parades, and had been lots of places. It moved out well and seemed very willing. I thought it was fine....til we got it home and without the other horse, that pony would do nothing. Would put his head down to eat and I don't care how hard she pulled, she could not pull his head up. She kicked, she spanked, she cried; nothing worked. Luckily some people down the road had a lot of kids that rode a lot of ponies (with no mercy) and they bought the pony from us. Their ponies were more or less abused,
but they could ride them and get something done. I don't think some were
ever unsaddled. One got out on the highway and got hit by a car in the night and it was saddled!!!! That pony is one of the reasons my husband says that ponies teach kids to be mean to a horse....
