http://www.mchlimo.com/baby-horses-running/
How To Buy A Kid’s Horse, Things You Should Consider Part 2
Once in a while you come across great kid’s horses that are ponies. My younger siblings had one named Tony Pony. Tony was a champion with kids. After my brothers out grew him he went to a dude string and gave kids rides for several more years. This is one of the problems with ponies, the kids outgrow them. It happens faster than you can believe. Then you are faced with keeping the pony forever as a pet that eats a lot and does other things a lot that have to be picked up and disposed of. Ponies often live a long time as well, Tony was up around forty when he finally went to that golden stable in the sky. It’s good they can live so long, as long as the child is riding them but it’s a lot of mucking stalls if your child is grown up and gone and you’re still taking care of the pony.
The other alternative is you sell the pony to some other deserving child’s parents. Even though you know, deep down inside you did a good thing, you still have to face the looks given to you by your wife and grown child for the next few months or depending on how well liked the pony was, maybe a few years. Don’t worry, they will finally forgive you, it just may take awhile. All joking aside, it truly is like selling off a family member or maybe a little harder.
Most ponies are very ill mannered. An old man told me years ago that if you have a kid you hate buy him a Shetland pony. One of the main reasons for this, I believe, is because it’s hard to find a good trainer that is light enough to ride them. Hence, finding a well broke pony is much more difficult than finding a well broke horse. As a kid I would ride anything just to get the chance to ride. Therefore, when we went to visit friends that owned a pony that was less than well trained I was enlisted into service on the spot. I’ve ridden ponies that would bite, buck, run away, sull, rear and one, that if all of the above tricks failed to get you off, he would throw himself to the ground. I also rode some that were very nice to ride and a couple that were good heeling horses (although I never took them to a jackpot or rodeo where people would see me rope off them).
Another thing that’s of least importance in buying a Kid’s horse is color. I know we all like a pretty horse but in the case of a Kid’s horse I feel it’s much more important how the horse handles and in general, how he gets along with the child, than it is how pretty the horse is. Believe me, if the horse takes good care of your children, he is soon going to be the prettiest horse around, to both you and your child.
The age of a Kid’s horse, when you buy him is very much irrelevant. While it’s true you don’t want a horse that is on his last legs, as long as the horse has a few good years in him, he can teach your kid more on how to ride than all the instructors going. If he rides right, takes care of your child or children, then he may be the best Kid’s horse going, even though he’s thirty years old. On the other hand some horses are just born a Kid’s horse. I had a colt years ago that as a green broke three year old was the best Kid’s horse going. My five year old daughter learned to ride on him and I wouldn’t have risked her safety for the world. To sum it up Kid’s horses come in all ages, colors and sizes. You need to exercise patience, do your home work and shop around to find the one that fits your child the best.
I want to remind you right here that all of these guidelines are generalities and there are constant exceptions to every one of them. That is one of the things that makes horses so much fun is their individual personalities. They are all different and they are best suited for different types of jobs. Now, let’s discuss some of the more important things to consider.
Disposition, handle, and what the horse’s job is going to be are far more important factors to consider than height, color and age. If a horse has the right disposition, isn’t spooky or ill tempered it counts for a ton of peace of mind for the parents. It also makes the child’s rides more pleasant and they can learn to really enjoy riding horses.
If a horse handles easy, he neck reins or, in English riding, is what they call, light in the bridle, a kid can handle a horse with ease. No matter what is happening, if a horse will stop when you ask him to, just about everything else can be fixed.
What the child is going to use the horse for is probably thought about the least by first horse parents. Yet this may be the most important factor to consider from the stand point of the child’s future with horses. Take for example if the Dad, wanting to be the hero, shows up one day with a good riding, Kid’s horse that is nice and slow and easy going the child will be ecstatic for awhile. But, let’s say the child is a little girl, who unknown to her parents because they didn’t ask, idolizes Charmayne James and wants to be a world champion barrel racer. She is going to get tired of old Plug Along and getting beat every time she competes pretty fast. Soon barrel racing’s not fun anymore and boys, hot cars and alcohol are. Do you see a pattern here that could’ve been prevented with the right horse? More often than not what happens is the family ends up owning and feeding two horses even though the girl only rides the new barrel horse. It’s often just too hard to sell off old Plug Along.
A kid’s horse should be what we call bomb proof. It means he doesn’t get excited even if you set a bomb off underneath him. He should handle well and fit the job the kid wants to do with him. Good Kid’s horses are hard to find but they do exist. A good one is worth whatever you have to pay for him. He’s a combination baby sitter, best friend, confidant, entertainment center and psychiatrist. I personally, won’t hardly ride anything else.
About the Author
Troy Andrew Smith was born in the small rural town of Nowata, Oklahoma. He was raised on a ten acre place just outside of town and grew up dreaming of being a cowboy.
As an adult, Troy worked as a ranch hand, machinist, carpenter, guide, dude wrangler, and Country Western Singer. He also wrote a weekly column for the Nowata newspaper and had several of his Cowboy Poems published in various publications.
While attending film school at Montana State University, Troy supplemented his income with movie jobs in the summers and started writing novels and screenplays. He has ridden horses or driven teams in numerous movies and TV shows, including three seasons on HBO’s series DEADWOOD.
At this time Troy is concentrating his efforts on his skills as a Screenwriter, Author and Actor.
Troy Andrew Smith is the author of Radersburg Gold published by Hailstone Press.
Visit hailstonepress/radersburggold