Used to you could get a pony for 1/2 the cost of horses. Now you can find ponies for as much if NOT MORE!! Wow. I am hoping to get my nephews and neice a pony this summer but DANG!! I better start saving. I want something around 12 hands or so. Not REAL big but not tiny either. Whew! I guess I got some sticker shock there. Its been a while since I looked at ponies. Shoot we got my last horse from a friend for 500.00.....just a good trail mount nothing fancy. But he's young and broke LOL>

I predict there's going to be a glut of horses and ponies on the market in the next month or two. Our drought shows no sign of letting up and now there are nearly a million acres of burned land and no rain there either.

Ponies have become very popular to actually use as riding horses these days. A well trained pony in the size range you are looking for goes for more than a standard horse. Look when you see ads for Arabs because many of them come in pony size.

Yes they are high CM!!

I have noticed that a normal QH (or other breed) that is 14.2 hands or smaller will go for WAY less than a normal pony.
Like Staflady said you should look for a "short horse". 14.2 hands and under is considered a pony anyway.
Personally I have found arabians to be too highspirited for kids and would go with a more laid back breed like a QH.
But it depends on how advanced your kids are.
My sister would want (and could handle) the unridable before she could even think about wearing make-up. A very good rider she was, me, I wanted mine almost dead, no fear of any "surprises" from them,lol!

I wish you the best of luck finding something!

LOL I know what you mean. I used to love the wild ones but now I want mine dead!! My nephews and neice are lead line prospects at this time. So we are just starting them out. My little sis was like your sis. She could ride almost before she could walk. Her 1st pony was a definite wild critter. But she LOVED him. I love arabs but would not start them out with one. I'll check out the smaller horses then. Wish me luck.

Well I do wish ya luck and lots of it!
But remember you *should* be able to get a "small horse" pretty cheap. The owners are usually disspointed in the height and are HORSE people, not PONY people. So they usually don't know the value of it as a pony and think of the pricing the wy you do, just real cheap!
So keep your chin up, you should be able to find a good one at a great price !

I've never owned one of those crosses SRT, but I've heard they were very good too. Their hard to find where I'm from.

Oh and CM, I would look for something with some age on it.
Our first pony was 20+ years old, she was too old to do too much, well that and she was a fat lil butterball.
But an aged one has been through so much, so many experiences. They are usually a great teacher with the kids and helps them build confidence.

This is all just MHO and you should definitly get the one that feels right to you no matter what the breed,age,height. There are exceptions to the rules out there everywhere. Who knows what you may find.

I just wish you the best luck and I am only talking from my own family's dealings with horses/ponies and from the matches we have made placing ponies/horses with children.

Keep us updated with hos its going on the hunt and let us know wht you end up with! Good luck!!!!!!!!

I really think it depends on where you are located and where you are looking for a pony. There are many people who are reasonable and have bomb proof ponies that will suit young children. I know a lot of people on here are against general Amish breeding practices as far as dogs are concerned(not all though), however, they tend to have ponies at reasonable prices that are extremely well-broke. Although there's nothing like a naughty pony to teach a child to REALLY learn how to ride.

The price of ponies and horses has pretty much doubled here. We sold both of our horses right before we moved for almost twice what we paid for them.