When I was 9, I got my first pony.
My family recently had moved to the country and I got one of my best presents ever: a bay-colored Welsh pony named Sumac.
He wasn’t a fancy horse, nor did he have any special training.
But he was perfect for my needs of riding around the countryside.
He stood still while I grabbed his mane and shimmed up his front leg to get on his back, or stood next to a stump while I got on, and he pretty much went in any direction I asked him.
He wasn’t my first horse, though.
First-horse problems
My first horse was a bay-colored mare named Lady.
My naive parents leased her from a guy who assured them she was gentle enough for kids to ride. She wasn’t.
She didn’t stand still while my dad helped me into the saddle; she’d take off running through the pasture with me hanging on for dear life, and one time, she purposely ran straight for a low-hanging tree branch before making a last-minute turn to the right, which caused me to fly off her back and narrowly miss flying head-first into the tree trunk.
Instead, I landed flat on my back on a gnarly exposed root, with my head making a soft landing in a pile of cow dung.
Another time, I was leading her when she bit me and took a chunk of flesh out of my upper arm. My folks then returned her.
Things to consider
With those experiences in mind, are you thinking about getting a pony for your child?
If you’re not an experienced horse person, then I hope you think twice.
I believe buying a pony or horse is like adopting a new family member.
You want to try to ensure it’s a good fit and that you are committed to its good care for as long as you own it.
Consider the cost of feed, hoof care (most hoofs need trimming about every eight weeks) and shelter.
And in our region, with all its rain, if the ground isn’t prepared right, that entire shelter and turnout area can get extremely muddy.
In addition to the daily feces pickup and cleaning of the water trough, sometimes work needs to be done on the horse’s teeth.
Then there is worming, vaccinations and other occasional vet bills.
You’d also want the help of someone with experience before laying out your hard-earned cash.
When you have young children, it’s especially important to place them on a well-behaved and calm horse.
Be especially cautious about putting your loved ones of any age on a young horse, a horse with a lot of spirit or get-up-and-go, or one that hasn’t been ridden in awhile. And that goes for ponies, too.
While short and cute, many times, they have very little training. They can be headstrong and unwilling mounts for youngsters simply because the adult selling the pony hasn’t put the time in to train him (or her). Before making the plunge into horse ownership, why not first try riding lessons?
Mini Beats classes
For your wee ones, from November through May, Freedom Farm in Agnew offers its fun and educational Mini Beats classes every first Sunday of the month from noon to 2 p.m.
This class is a great way for kids ages 3 to 7 to get started with horsemanship.
They help groom the gentle, older horses they’ll ride and get plenty of riding time and fun time with the horses, along with instruction on the fundamentals.
Of course, horses of all sizes, shapes and colors are available for both private and group lessons at Freedom Farm.
If there’s a horse facility nearby, why not stop by and ask if they give riding lessons?
If they do, ask if the horses are steady, calm and trusted lesson horses.
Mini Beats is an excellent introduction to Freedom Farm’s Hoof Beats youth equestrian program for riders 7 and older.
In fact, Mini Beats is now staffed by Hoof Beats students under the supervision of Mary Gallagher.
These students are experienced young horsemen and -women who regularly compete at area shows with great success.
Proceeds of Mini Beats classes support the Hoof Beats Competition Team.
For more information, contact farm owner Mary Gallagher at freedomf@olypen.com or phone 360-457-4897. You can also visit the website, www.freedom-farm.net.
Freedom Farm is located at 493 Spring Road, Agnew. Spring Road is just west of the Agnew Store on Old Olympic Highway.
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Karen Griffiths’ column, Peninsula Horseplay, appears every other Sunday.
If you have a horse event, clinic or seminar you would like listed, please email Griffiths at kbg@olympus.net at least two weeks in advance. You can also write Griffiths at PDN, P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles, WA 98362.
