Insurance for Pony

wexfordman

Hi,

My daughter has been pony riding for almost 3 years, and we arre going to take the plunge and get a pony for her. We have land sorted, going to lease an acre off of a neighbour, and he is throwing in an old stable with it. My other neighbours daughter also has recently got a pony and is looking for space to keep it also, so we are going to club together and share the lease land etc for the two ponies.

My question is, we want to be fully above board with this, and make sure the ponies are insured in the event that anything happens, eg the ponies damage land or a third party gets injured etc.

Can anyone tell me where we would likely get this, and roughly how much it would cost ? Would the insurance be on the ponies, or the land etc.

Any advice appreciated. Just to clarify, we are leasing the land, and a stable comes with it (its dilapated at the moment, but we are doing it up at our own cost).

On a side note, if anyone knows of a good first pony for an 8 year old in the Munster area, would love to hear (about 12.2 height or a bit more).

Regards,
Wexfordman

fits

Mods, could you move this to the equestrian forum?

To answer your question... it sounds like you need public liability insurance. I think BHS gold membership includes this (pony club might also).

This is from the BHS website...

Gold Members receive a number of benefits free of charge, not least of all automatically included personal liability insurance worth up to £10million for any one claim, personal accident insurance and access to a helplines for tax & Vat, Rating and Legal issues.

www.bhsireland.co.uk

http://www.irishponyclub.ie/

wexfordman

Thanks for the reply, looked at the pony club website, but could'nt find any details on insurance etc, but sent them an email. Did same to BHS. Pony club membership is probably a good idea in any case, to get her more involved etc.



Regards,
Wexfordman

fits

Joining the pony club will be fantastic for her...

They've details about rider insurance on the site, but nothing about public liability.

FBD might be another to try.

doctor evil

It may be a bit tricky having two ponies on one acre. Does it have good drainage?. Be sure to check and remove any poisonous weed esp Ragwort - wear gloves for that one.

Is the fencing in good nick?. I don`t know where you intend on riding but if its on a public highway don`t forget the high viz/reflective gear along with the usual.

wexfordman

Thanks for the replies so far all.

The field is actually 3 acres, we need to fence it off, so probably could look at something bigger than an acre if need be. What would you recommend ?

The drainage is good, used for grazing cattle most of the time up till now, so should be good for a couple of ponies ?

Had read up on the ragwort, will check the field out over the next few days for it to see if there is any present.

Have to admit, myself am not experience with ponies (we used to have one when I was a wexfordboy :-), but I cant remember it). The neighbour we are partnering up with on the lease of the land etc has had ponies himself as a young lad, so will have a fair bit of support as we learn the ropes.

fits

Ah theres so much to learn.
Buy a 'manual of horsemanship' They really are the bible when it comes to keeping a horse.

You'll need to learn about worming, shoeing, dentistry, vaccinations, pasture management And learn how to handle the pony to boot..

You wouldnt be interested in doing the BHS stage one exam? Theres a 'management' and 'riding' exam, you could just sit the management... Very good for new horse owners.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Manual-Horsemanship-British-Horse-Society/dp/0954153103/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3/203-3208462-2583130?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1192521718&sr=8-3

wexfordman

Thanks for the book recommendation, will make the purchase to get started.

Looking at a pony at the moment that has sweet itch!!! This is fairly common I am told and manageable, would you agree ? Would it affect the pony much for showing etc if my daughter goes this route (I have a feeling she will probalby lean more towards showing than jumping, but kinda hoping she goes more towards the jumping).

Going to look at the pony this evening, and if it looks like a good pony we plan to take it over to a friends for a few weeks to try it out get to know it etc.

Regards,
Wexfordman

fits

Sweet itch can vary in severity.

It is an allergic reaction to midge bites, and results in the affected animal excessively scratching in the mane and tail area.

At the moment there is an injection for it being trialled. Steroid injections are also used to treat it, but obviously you cant do that if competing, and many vets are reluctant to prescribe it. The most common way of managing it these days, is by keeping the horse inside when midges are flying, applying fly repellent, or sticking one of these on the horse.
http://www.horseit.com/en/images/riding/tried&tested/triedartwork/smallsweetitchblanket.jpg

When you're viewing the pony, you can gauge the severity of the sweet itch by seeing if theres much hair regrowth on the mane and tail and by asking the previous owners how they managed/treated it. If it is severe, it will be a lot more difficult to keep the pony in good condition for showing.


It is also a good idea to get a vet of your choosing, to do a veterinary examination on a pony before you buy it. A specialised equine vet is best. I'm pretty experienced, and I wouldnt dream of being a horse without a vetting... its even more important for a first pony, when you wouldnt really be sure what to look for.

You seem to be approaching this really well though. Ask away if you have any more questions.

Nala

OP- it might be a bit of a journey but what about this pony?

http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/horses/791125

golden

very good advice from Fits in connection with sweet itch.

Are you going to be stabling the ponies or are they going to be out to grass. If they are going to be out on grass you will require more than one acre. Ponies/horses poach the land very quickly espeacially around the gates and water trough.

A friend of mine has shared a horse with another person and they have set up an agreement between them and it worked out fine.

wexfordman

Nala,

Thanks for the reference, I think Cavan is a bit too far though, I am based in Cork. It does look a lovely pony though.


Golden,

The ponies are to be stabled and grassed, so hopefully the acre should be enough, although I think it will be a bit more than an acre.

Anyway, we went to look at the pony I spoke about earlier today. The story is, it is a Mare that was bought by a family for their 6 year old daugher 2 years ago. The daughter lost interest, and the pony has been somewhat neglected over the last while. Not mistreated or anything, just not given the attention it requires is my feeling. It seems to have a nice temperment, and is a handsome pony, ex riding school, so should be fairly steady. This we wont know until we get a trial on it, and we asked the owner if we could take it for a fortnight to try it out, which he was agreeable. Have'nt taken it just yet, need to get the logistics sorted, but need to be sure we want to take it further also rather than waste the owners and our time.

I think the present owners were sold it without being told about the sweet itch (bought it in the winter months I think) and only discovered the sweet itch problem once the hot weather set in. When we saw her today, her mane was more or less gone, and the tail was also affected, with some showing on her head also. The owner says it disappears completely during the wiinter also. If it was'nt for the sweet itch, it would be a handsome pony, and a lovely show pony, to be honest we all sort of fell in love with it, but knowing us that was bound to happen with almost any pony we saw.

Being cold and practical about it however, my concern is this. Will she use the pony to jump, or show ? I think while she says she wants to jump, she is more likely to show than jump (she has had a few falls over the last year and it has knocked her confidence a bit).

If she wants to use the pony for showing, would I be right in saying the sweet itch would pretty much rule this out ? In which case, the pony would not be best suited for her ? I want her to get involved in some sort of competition, whether it be jumping or show, and am worried the she wont be suited for one, and the pony the other if you know what I mean.

It was a lovely pony though, you could'nt help but want to take it home....

Price by the way is 1700 euro including all tack.
Wexfordman

doctor evil

Sweet itch can be annoying (time consuming!) to treat. You have to manage the pony for it rather than just treat when it crops up. It may affect resale value of pony if you decide to sell it. Regarding shows it shouldn`t cause any trouble, shes only starting so its not like its the RDS next August!. If tack comes with the animal it doesn`t mean it will fit as ponies change shape, esp if they have been out of work.

Give your local pony club a ring and perhaps some one will have something up for sale or loan.

3 acres would be fine for 2, you may need to manage it in the winter if it gets very muddy or bare. Ponies can be good doers (read as Greedy F*ckers!) so in the summer spring/summer you may need to restrict grazing (strip/reduced turn out/mask) if animal is that way inclined.

Good luck!, you will now be a walking wallet.

Have you got a farrier sorted?.

fits

wexfordman wrote: »

I think the present owners were sold it without being told about the sweet itch (bought it in the winter months I think) and only discovered the sweet itch problem once the hot weather set in. When we saw her today, her mane was more or less gone, and the tail was also affected, with some showing on her head also. The owner says it disappears completely during the wiinter also. If it was'nt for the sweet itch, it would be a handsome pony, and a lovely show pony, to be honest we all sort of fell in love with it, but knowing us that was bound to happen with almost any pony we saw.

Being cold and practical about it however, my concern is this. Will she use the pony to jump, or show ? I think while she says she wants to jump, she is more likely to show than jump (she has had a few falls over the last year and it has knocked her confidence a bit).

If she wants to use the pony for showing, would I be right in saying the sweet itch would pretty much rule this out ? In which case, the pony would not be best suited for her ? I want her to get involved in some sort of competition, whether it be jumping or show, and am worried the she wont be suited for one, and the pony the other if you know what I mean.

Ah the poor pony... It really shouldnt have been let get to that stage...

It sounds like the sweet itch is quite severe, but like I said before, if you stick one of those sweet itch rugs on in April, and leave it on for the summer except when you're riding, the pony shouldnt be affected and it would be possible to show. Realistically it wouldnt be the easiest pony to maintain, but it is possible. I'd also ring a vet and talk to them about the ailment.. see what they say.
This company sell sweet itch rugs for small ponies. I've dealt with them before and they're fine
http://www.dinkyrugs.co.uk/17601.html

A great idea when trying out a pony is to put it on livery for a couple of weeks in a good riding school. It sounds like the pony has been out of work for a while so it might be a good idea to have an experienced person bring it back into work. Also you will get a good evaluation of the pony's temperament and health, and your daughter can gain confidence under supervision.

For such small ponies, you might be just about ok with an acre, but you'd need to divide it with electric fencing, so it doesnt all get poached... and collecting the poo off the pasture would maintain it better also (widely done in the UK, but not something I've ever done... but we've more land that we need).

fits

also I think 1700 euro is quite steep... for a pony out of work with bad sweet itch.
I wouldnt bother with the tack (get an instructor to help you fit a saddle).

I'd be trying to get it down to a grand.. but then I've no idea of the market for such a pony. A quiet one can be like gold dust.

fits

wexfordman wrote: »

The owner says it disappears completely during the wiinter also.

This confuses me...

Nala

OP if you are getting a trial for 2 weeks I would sugest getting some sort of agreement drawn up, the pony could have other ailments and if they crop up while it's in your care the owner could blame you.