Little Girls and Ponies

In My Humble Opinion
21

Errmm… you’re going to have a heck of a time finding equipment to fit her, unless she’s a large-ish 2yo. We tend to not recommend children riding before the age of 4-5, and only progress past “have the trainer lead the horse around the ring slowly” when they’re 7-8. Now, I know tons of people are going to come in here and offer anecdotal evidence to the contrary, but I’m telling you what the trainers around here firmly practice. Two year olds have neither the cognitive nor physical abilities to control even the best-behaved pony. For the next several years, you (or her trainer) are going to be doing the lion’s share of the work, in and out of the ring.

Kind of unfair of nanna to put you in this position, I think.

22

It seems to me that a pony would be a cross between a dog and a mini-bike.

You get the companionship of a pet but you get the freedom/wind in you hair you get from transportation.

23

I don’t want your blood ponies!

24

I never wanted a pony, it was all about horses. Even when I was 5 or 6 I wanted to ride horses, not ponies. Ponies are small, I wanted a big, powerful horse. Anyway, I’m one of those who never outgrew it. I will admit I am not so ga-ga about them as I was when I was a young girl, but I still own a horse. She is 22 and when she goes to the big pasture in the sky I don’t know if I’ll get another one. At this point in my life I would probably be satisfied to take lessons or ride friends horses. Horses are expensive and take a lot of time and care.
For any of you with horse-crazy kids, I would strongly suggest riding lessons and/or leasing a pony/horse before running out and buying one.

25

If you lease a pony, can you trade it in after a few years for a newer model?

26

I know you were kidding asterion, but you can. Most leases go for a year. After that period, you can renew or move on to lease another horse/pony. Generally, leases are a third of the purchase price (though that’s a rule that’s not followed as often as it is, and some people even free lease horses they don’t want to pay the maintenance on). With most leases, the person taking the lease pays for vets, farriers, board, feed, etc. There are even leases with options to buy at the end of the lease term. Then there are partial leases where you have the right to ride a certain number of days each week and you may or may not contribute to maintenance.

I was crazy about horses and ponies as a kid. I don’t think it made a difference what size they were–as long as they were equines! Unfortunately, mom wouldn’t hear of letting me up on a horse. I think it was watching *Gone With The Wind * one too many times. Mom was sure I’d end up dead like Bonnie Blue Butler.

I stayed interested though. I finally started taking lessons in my 30’s when I had the time and finances to do so. I was hooked from the first ride. I have my own horse now and I can’t imagine life without one.

I don’t know why so many girls are fascinated by horses/ponies. I really don’t think it’s a remotely sexual thing as Desmond Morris suggests. Maybe I’m just reacting to all the snickering comments I get about having something powerful between my legs, whether the saddle give me an orgasm, whether posting give you practice for sex, etc. It gets pretty tiring.

There is something thrilling about it in a non sexual way. If you’re a small woman (or especially a little girl), having that much control and power at your disposal is really something. You don’t often get that. And you can compete with the boys and beat them–something you don’t find in most sports.

We’ve had a lot of discussion on some horse boards about why more boys don’t stay with riding, at least competitively. I suspect it’s many things. First of all, it’s a “pretty” sport and that tends to attract girls (like figure skating or gymnastics) but doesn’t have the same appeal to boys. Secondly, with so many girls in the sport, many boys become self conscious about doing a “girlie” thing after a certain age. Finally, while physical fitness is extremely important, you don’t ride well on brute strength alone. Some guys get frustrated when they realize improving is all about finesse and they can never out muscle a horse. Then there’s the embarassment of losing to a girl rider with half their size and strength. Not all boys get embarassed about it (some are very sporting), but they do get ribbing from friends and that can turn them off the sport.

Why do some girls lose interest? Probably the same reasons they lose interests in a lot of things (and these reasons apply to boys as well). All their friends are in other activities or sports. They start getting interested in boys and social things. Or their interests just change as they grow up.

27

Although I suspect you meant this as a joke, the answer is in fact yes - and it’s an excellent reason for leasing. Children grow in both size and in skill quickly; a pony suitable in size and disposition for a 5 year old beginning rider is likely to be too small and too placid for that same child at age 8. Instead of buying a pony for the 5 year old and then having to turn around and sell the animal two or three years later, why not lease it instead? When the pony is outgrown, it’s a simple matter to just not renew the lease; the owner can then lease the pony to another young beginner, and the parent of the 8 year old is free look around for another, more suitable mount for his/her child.

28

Hmm, that’s funny. I LOVED dinosaurs when I was a little girl, but now I don’t care a lot about then. I never liked horses then but I do now. I guess I’m just weird. :wink:

29

I was “horse crazy” when I was a little girl too. I seemed to be the exception to the rule at that time though. None of my friends were even remotely interested in horses, other than my best friend at the time who was lucky enough to live in an apartment above her parents’ horse barn (quite literally a loft apartment). We were “weird” to everyone else. It was apparently the height of 3rd grade boy humor to write in my yearbook “I hope you marry a horse when you get old”. I went from obsessively collecting Breyer models to riding my friend’s horse every chance I got to owning a horse of my own at age 10.
I don’t own a horse now but I do go riding every chance I get (which isn’t often) and I still get that little girl thrill whenever I see someone else riding in our neighborhood.

I don’t know how to explain the attraction but it does seem to be a universal theme of girls between the age of 5-12. My daughter is 9 and she is currently going through a very mild version of horse fever herself.

30

What the heck is a “pony” anyhow? I always thought that they were just young horses, much in the same way a puppy is a small young dog that will grow into a full size dog.
Keep in mind that you are talking to someone who thinks that the appropriate way to call a horse is to yell “HORSE!!” or “YAAAAA!!” at it (apparently it isn’t).

31

Technically, ponies are equines that are under 14.2 hands (one hand = 4") high. Foals grow up to be horses, pony foals grow up to be ponies.

32

A pony is actually a horse of a certain height, not a certain age. The terms to describe young horses are:
Colt - boy horse under 3 years old
Filly - girl horse under 3 years old
Foal - baby horse of either sex, usually under 1 year old
Yearling - horse about 1 year old of either sex

and just FYI:
Mare: adult female horse
Gelding: Adult male horse that has been castrated
Stallion: adult male horse that still has his nuts (synonym: stud)

Horses are measured in “hands” each of which is 4 inches, and the height is measured at the “withers” – the highest part of the shoulder blade – not at the ears. A horse on the smaller side is 15 hands, or 5 ft at the shoulder.

A pony, by definition, is 14.2 hands or under (stay with me, that’s 4 ft. 10in tall at the shoulder.) There are further divisions into “small,” “medium” and “large” pony heights which can be important in some types of riding competitions.

Some breeds of horses are specifically pony breeds - these horses rarely if ever grow above pony height. Common pony breeds include Shetland, Welsh, and Connemara.

33

This thread is getting a little off-centaur. :smiley: :stuck_out_tongue:

34

MaddyStrut,

By any chance, do you live in Potomac? Beautiful horse country. One of the things I miss about Maryland.

I think horses are that perfect combination of baby and bodyguard for a girl. It’s big and strong but still needs to be cared for. It can protect but it still needs it’s caretaker. Plus, they’re social animals, so get along well in close contact. And of course they’re beautiful animals.

35

If I had a boat, I’d go out on the ocean,
And if I had a pony, I’d put him on my boat.
And we could all together go out on the ocean,
Me upon my pony on my boat.

36

Hypno,

My horse is actually up in Carroll County. Though I agree that Potomac is beautiful.

Horse country is beautiful just about anywhere. Green pastures, with pretty barns, and horses grazing. It’s just a gorgeous, peaceful scene.

37

When I was a little girl, I loved horses, too. Obsessed with the Black Stallion, for example, reread Misty of Chincoteague until it fell apart.

My parents never bothered with the riding lessons thing. They probably didn’t either have the bucks or figured, as an above poster said, that I’d end up like Bonnie Butler.

My daughter Arwen just got into riding and takes lessons. It’s amazing how calm she is on a horse. It’s a beautiful sight to see. She’s borderline ADD on the ground, but somehow riding settles her and she just focuses. It brings a lump to my throat when I watch how happy she is up there.

I don’t know what the magic is, but God bless it. :wink:

Mrs. Furthur

38

You can tell her baby T-Rexes likely had down like little baby chicks! cheep cheep cheep!

39

Personally, I like both dinosaurs AND ponies.

This actually came up earlier in the day in my English class, and all but two girls in there said they wanted ponies when they were little. (There were about 10 girls in the class, I’d guess).

40

I never wanted a pony, I wanted a horse. I wanted a horse because they were fast. They jump high and chase each other around the field and have fun. Our neighbors had horses when I was a little girl and I would always feed them weeds that I gathered until the neighbor came out of her house and yelled at me. There was absolutely nothing sexual about it. It was a combination of having a friendly, fun pet and being able to have all that power and speed on command.

Back then my sister could care less about horses. Guess which one of us ended up with the riding lessons? Hmph.

I’ve never grown out of it either. Someday I will own a horse and ride it as often as I can. A couple of weekends ago I was on my husband’s grandparents’ farm and spent about half an hour just loving on Cricket, their horse. She’s a sweetheart, and intelligent to boot.