Many parents who love horses think it’s a great idea to get their kid or kids a pony to ride. A lot of times they will search through the cheap horses for sale lists specifically looking for that kid-broke little mount. Ponies as horse gifts are great, but sometimes you get what you pay for. As a parent you want a pony that will take care of your child, that’s easy for them to handle, and that isn’t wild and crazy. You want to avoid your child getting hurt, so you try to minimize the possibility of that happening as much as you can. It’s very hard to tell what a pony is really like by just looking at sales listings. Picking just the right pony out to go see can be difficult. There are so many things to consider, the age of the pony, the height of the pony, the training and experience of the pony, and so many more. Plus children tend to have a vision of just the pony they want. Finding one that is a good pony that also meets the child’s image can prove to be difficult.
Once you decide on which ponies to go look at, it’s a good idea to try to see as many of your choices in one day as you can. Take pictures and videos and watch them be tacked up and ridden. I would recommend not taking the child with you for these visits, as they’ll fall in love with every pony and won’t be able to pick just one. They also might like the one that you feel is most unsuitable to cart your precious child around. After looking at all the ponies and getting all the pertinent information on each: vet records, training, age etc., go home and review your pictures and videos and carefully look at each pony, narrowing down the selection to those that best fit your requirements. Don’t be afraid to ask for a vet check, or go back for a second look. Sometimes you’ll even have to start your search over again. However you do it, take your time looking for that perfect pony for your kids, and while you’re working on that, it’s a good idea to start accumulating all the horse equipment you’re going to need to take care of that pony!
