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 Keep those crap slapping tails away!
Posts: 8871
     
Location: Around here somewhere... | I'd like to find more info on competing and breeding barrel ponies, but have found very little with my Google searches. It seems that the height requirements for a barrel pony vary widely. What is a good time for a pony to run? Who are some top ponies? |
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I am a Freak
Posts: 3326
Location: Nowhere Special | I think it depends on the association in which you want to show ponies.. I have always been under the impression that anything under 56 inches (14 hands) was a pony, but hunter jumpers have large ponys that can go 14.2.. There is def money to be made in the pony market. I have seen ponys advertised here for between $1500 and $4500 pretty regular.. I think there is one listed on here for 12,500.. I don't know if they all actually bring that kind of money or not.. No reason to raise them when you can buy $400 ponies all day long and ride them into a $2,000 profit pretty quickly.. Nice thing about them is they are a lot more hardy it seems then futurity horses. Biggest thing about training and selling ponys is you have to be little enough to ride them, and never forget the market you are selling to (kids) so they really need to be SAFE in every way shape or form.. Not enough money in the world to get somebodys kid hurt. |
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 Veteran
Posts: 187
| jetgetset - 2015-01-02 10:01 PM
I think it depends on the association in which you want to show ponies.. I have always been under the impression that anything under 56 inches (14 hands) was a pony, but hunter jumpers have large ponys that can go 14.2.. There is def money to be made in the pony market. I have seen ponys advertised here for between $1500 and $4500 pretty regular.. I think there is one listed on here for 12,500.. I don't know if they all actually bring that kind of money or not.. No reason to raise them when you can buy $400 ponies all day long and ride them into a $2,000 profit pretty quickly.. Nice thing about them is they are a lot more hardy it seems then futurity horses. Biggest thing about training and selling ponys is you have to be little enough to ride them, and never forget the market you are selling to (kids) so they really need to be SAFE in every way shape or form.. Not enough money in the world to get somebodys kid hurt.
I agree with jetgetset. I have always had POAs and finding a just gaming pony is hard to do, and when you do find on you are going to pay a decent price. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 898
Location: Mountains of VA | We stand a Welsh stallion and have been breeding, raising, training ponies for 40 years. With that said, the standard height breakdown for 4-H, Pony Club, USEF ponies........12.2H and under are small ponies, over 12.2H - 13.2 H are mediums and over 13.2H to 14.2H are larges.
I do think that the height cutoff for barrel ponies is 13H mostly due to the fact there are a lot of QHs in the 14H range.
Specializing in Barrel ponies has crossed my mind too. However, I do not see any money in it from a breeder/trainer standpoint.
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Keep those crap slapping tails away!
Posts: 8871
Location: Around here somewhere... | That's another thing... I'm wondering if it's profitable to raise them. I see cute, broke $400-600 ponies all the time... On the other hand, if a pony were bred to be FAST maybe the price would reflect that?? Just thinking out loud... |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 898
Location: Mountains of VA | That has been my thought too. Just as the horse industry has specialized, the pony industry has too but there is no specialty bloodlines for speed/barrels in ponies. In my mind, it would take years of selective breeding, training and competing to get the recognition of a barrel pony bloodline to command the higher prices.
Then you have to keep temperament and safety at the top of the list........it would be hard to get the total package in a pony because of the age/riding ability of most young riders. |
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Miracle in the Making
Posts: 4013
| i watched maria tear up 25,000 for little red back in 80 she could out run mos big horses. everyone older than 30 know who little red was in the southeast
and she was mean she was 49 3/4 " tall
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 898
Location: Mountains of VA | To really turn the Barrel ponies into a "respectable" business as I see it, a bloodline would need to be established from an athletic well-known existing breed/bloodline, similiar to the DTF story. Personally, I would love to breed one of our Welsh mares to Flying Diamond The Balief in Lindin, TX but they are not shipping semen from him. Check him out.
As for the high dollar ponies........yes the good ones command big $$ whether they are hunters, driving, eventers or barrel racer. |
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 You get what you give
Posts: 13030
Location: Texas | We had a shetland pony we bought from a petting zoo lady for my little sister years ago... we turned down buyers for that pony ALL THE TIME. We never sold him because he had ringbone and we didn't want him to be used when he was starting to hurt. He died this year at 31.
I also had a 12.3 Quarter Pony. He was by a welsh stud out of a cutting mare. IDK how or why the people had a pony stud running around because they were ropers but, whatever. He was a bad cat. Ran 21s/22s in the poles and a solid youth 1D, open 2D (sometimes 1D) horse. He was awesome and I could have sold him for decent money when he was younger. When I finally decided to sell him he was 18, had some arthritis, and obviously was grade so I didn't get much for him but I just wanted him to go to a good home.
So long story short, IDK if it's worth to breed for barrel ponies, but I definitely think a market exists to find them cheap and put the work in to make something. Or if you have a small stout mare you want to play with, breed to a pony with the build you like and play with it. |
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Keep those crap slapping tails away!
Posts: 8871
Location: Around here somewhere... | I looked the Bailef up... What does section B mean? |
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Location: Texas | Height requirements 13.2 hands for UK and 14.2 US. They are more refined then section A. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 898
Location: Mountains of VA | Blaundee - 2015-01-03 8:49 PM I looked the Bailef up... What does section B mean?
Welsh ponies are divided into Sections - A, B, C & D This describes type and size. Up until about 10 years ago, the difference in As and Bs was more obvious. In simpliest terms, the pony type of the Sect. A, C & D ponies should be the same with the difference in size. They have bigger bone, heavier muscle and lots more knee and hock action. A ponies are under 12.2H C ponies are over 12.2 -13.2H D ponies are over 13.2 and no height requirement. The A, C & D ponies do well in driving or the D ponies do well in dressage too. Think draft pony.
Sect. B ponies are more refined in type, have flater knee and hock movement and are over 12.2 but under 14.2H here in the U.S. in the U.K. they are not allowed over 13H. These ponies are considered the riding type of Welsh ponies. go to welshpony.org
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Keep those crap slapping tails away!
Posts: 8871
Location: Around here somewhere... | Thanks!!! |
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Keep those crap slapping tails away!
Posts: 8871
Location: Around here somewhere... | Have you crossed Welsh ponies with stock horses? We had a Welsh pony and her 1/2 Arab daughter when I was a kid- ugh. The pony wasn't so bad- she was ornery and would pull some tricks but overall she was great- you could even go get on her in the field and use her, bareback and bridleless, to round up the other horses to bring them up. Her daughter, however, was the devil! She was big and tough and mean as all get out. She was bigger and tougher than both parents and just terrible. I have an APHA mare who is 14.2 on a good day, fast and talented barrel horse, the sweetest, most forgiving horse I've ever met- she's the one one thinking about using for barrel ponies, but I haven't known any horse/pony crosses besides that one evil horse. I've known a lot of nice ponies, though... |
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Good Ole Boys just Fine with Me
Posts: 2869
Location: SE Missouri | We have a 1/2 welsh 1/2 Arab gelding who is now 27. He did Everything from running barrels to even heeling a few. He was used by everyone, I even took him to college to tie goats on at the practice pen..
To be honest, at even 27 a true beginner has a little trouble with him, lol. If an adult is on a horse close or even on the ground he's an angel but he knows when he can get away with stuff. I love him and his onery streak. He made 2 of my sisters way better riders bc you had to ride him, lol. Nothing automatic until he knew you were in control then he'd get serious, lol.
If he were a mare we would have raised colts.. He was a good size and athletic. I think there is a market but it would definitely be a small niche market. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 898
Location: Mountains of VA | Personally I like the Welsh/QH or Welsh/Paint cross ponies. They always have great temperments and they are cute. However, that cross does not always make a fancy hunter pony which is what the pony market here in the east is.
We have bred our Sect. B Welsh stallion to QHs, Paints, TBs, pure-bred Welshs and all types of cross bred ponies. I do think the best cross for barrel ponies would be the Welsh on a QH or Paint pony. The Welsh will add a lot of stamina.
There is a trend in the pony world right now to have some Arab up close. The ponies are pretty but hot. I stay away from anything with Arab blood even if the mare is quiet because you never know when that Arab blood is going to rear it's ugly head and it is hard as heck to sell a hot pony. Been there, done that, lesson learned.
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 Blaines and Beauty
Posts: 1431
| Our pony requirement here for most of the associations is 52". We had a pony locally here that sold for $10,000. She was amazing - ran 20/21s in poles and top 3D in barrels with tough horses. She was right at 52", stout and was built like a little quarter horse. We have had quite a few good ponies in our area sell for $5000 - $8500. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1077
| in 4H a pony is 52" and under. And they measure and wont give any over 52. In most horse show ass. in the South it is 52" and they measure and wont give any. NOT talking about POA I dont know about that ass. Most ponies are fairly easy to pick up and "ride" into what you want them to be.....that being said, bad to the bone ponies bring decent money |
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Queen Bean of Ponyland
Posts: 24952
Location: WYOMING | So I went the pony route for a couple yrs, even bred a pony to a big name barrel sire to get a pony sire to start a pedigree.
I learned a few things... most barrel parents will not spend $$ for a barrel pony, some will but those are few and far apart. It costs just as much money, time, investment to raise and train a pony as it does an open horse. Maybe even MORE since you have to really kidproof the pony. Parents will bring every kid in the neighborhood to TEST the pony. Knowledgeable barrel parents often would rather buy an older horse than a pony.
I got haggled hard over $1500 super nice safe ponies.
For me, I could make WAY more profit on training an open horse than a pony with much less hassle.
But..... it was fun to learn and I do still have one pony to play with, they are so stinkin cute...
OH and dont thing free craigslist ponies will be a cinch to flip... they are free for a really good reason!!! |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 898
Location: Mountains of VA | geronabean - 2015-01-04 8:28 PM So I went the pony route for a couple yrs, even bred a pony to a big name barrel sire to get a pony sire to start a pedigree. I learned a few things... most barrel parents will not spend $$ for a barrel pony, some will but those are few and far apart. It costs just as much money, time, investment to raise and train a pony as it does an open horse. Maybe even MORE since you have to really kidproof the pony. Parents will bring every kid in the neighborhood to TEST the pony. Knowledgeable barrel parents often would rather buy an older horse than a pony. I got haggled hard over $1500 super nice safe ponies. For me, I could make WAY more profit on training an open horse than a pony with much less hassle. But..... it was fun to learn and I do still have one pony to play with, they are so stinkin cute... OH and dont thing free craigslist ponies will be a cinch to flip... they are free for a really good reason!!!
THIS^^^^^ The pony business is tough and those "free" or "cheap" ponies are there for a reason. Ponies need to be handled, started and trained by adults or experienced older junior riders just like horses. They might not eat as much or need shoes but they take up space and time just like a horse and the profit margins are way less than a decent horse.
I also have found that most kids just don't want to put in the work to ride anymore. Blame it on the hi-tech error, the kids want quick results with no work on their part. |
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