Anyone out there give Pony Parties?

[Krazee bout Kasspur]

These mini's are so much fun and my herd is growing. I now have two and might pick up another this weekend!!!

I'm interested in having pony parties as a business and would like to know the pros/cons involved. Liability insurance, etc.

Any tips, advice, suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Do you work alone, have an assistant/business partner? What rules do you set up in advance as far as hours of riding, weight limits, etc. Do you have a pre-instruction sement for little riders of what NOT to do....(closed shoes only...that sort of thing).

Anything you can think of, please pass on.

Is there a thread on this somewhere?

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Thanks!

Lori

 

[kaykay]

I have known some that do the pony parties and say they make pretty good money. It is a ton of work though and they are tied up pretty much every weekend. And yes you must have a huge liability insurance policy and I would pay an attorney to write up a contract. If you do a google search you can find a lot of sites that do it and get some ideas.

I know one time we did pony rides for a charity event and umm it was horrible. I would never do it again. People are just so pushy and downright rude. I took a 15 minute break so patches could drink and relax and parents started screaming at me that they didnt want to wait. But I think it can be good if you have the right personality and enough people to help with the parties (and very well trained horses)

Good luck!

 

[Magic]

I used to do Pony Parties, I would generally book them for about an hour and a half, usually for children's birthday parties. I would bring one saddle horse (38" stout mini mare) and a driving horse (37" mare). I would have a helper or two to handle the riding, and I would do the driving. An hour to an hour and a half (maximum) was a good space of time, enough to let all the kids get enough turns to ride, but not so long as to tire the horses out too much. My mares were SO good-- all the screaming, running, not-horse-savvy children didn't faze them in the slightest.

And the children had SO much fun. But, I quit doing parties, the liability issue was just too much.

I would definitely have an assistant, there is just too much sometimes to handle on your own. I would always gather all the kids and whatever adults were present before we began and explain my rules. For example, children too heavy to ride the saddle horse would get rides in the cart only.

 

[luv2ridesaddleseat]

I also had a friend that did it. She said the insurance was an INCREDIBLE amount of money! Check that out before you start out.

Joyce

 

[Brandi*]

I worked for two pony party businesses. I did NOT enjoy it and neither did the horses

The kids did though. For me it was not about the owners love of horses. It was about their love of money

Not to say that is with any individual who decides to start a pony party business but with these two particular individuals, it was.

 

[BAER CREEK]

We do birthday parties here, BUT we limit the time to an hour to hour & a half max. The horse gets to tired after that. We take help also. I do not let anyone ride my minis, we give cart rides. For those waiting in line I bring a smaller friendly mini or a pet goat or something to pet. We usually take that time to teach the children about how the animals should be handled and loved. IT seems to work keeping them busy while waiting on their turn for a cart ride. The insurance is very expensive though. We could make tons more money if we wanted to book the full day, but I think that is too much for the horses. I don't want them tired or burned out.

Julie

 

[Ashley]

I help out in the summer with pony rides. IT can be fun but also not.

ONe think I recommend is check out your area. Luckly around here we have alot of parents that were raised around horses so understand alot more. THey understand no matter how well trained a horse is, it can spook, their child needs to have somebody by them and the horses do poop!

We do different amount of hours. THe next one I am working is 8 hours. They get plenty of breaks, yes parents complain, but if you explain it to them most seem to be understanding. All our horses are bathed before each outing.

I have seen plenty of pony ride places that dont groom, bath or even keep there feet trimmend.

We get lots of complements on the horses and set up. Most often we hear "they sure arnt lacking any food are they?"

They really are on a diet........

You have to have good sound minded/body horses. Older ones work the best. The ones we use are 5-19 years of age. We do have some younger ones but just are not totally sound in the mind yet. IT takes alot of work to get a good broke, safe pony riding horse.

 

[Ashley]

The ring holds 6 horses. We always have a parent with the younger kids, the older kids we walk next to. They are never unattened. There is a fence all the way around the ring as well. They are normally out every weekend, and sometimes during the week.