Birthday Parties

[smc]

I have an older show horse and would like to keep him busy instead of being a pasture ornament. I thought birthday parties would be good to promote the breed and keep him busy. Has anyone esle done this? Let me know how it turned out, pros and cons.

 

[LAZY J MINIS]

WE DO THIS SOMETIMES, AT LOT OF FUN FOR THE KIDS AND THE HORSES. I HAVE A COUPLE OF MINIS THAT ARE POCKET PESTS,AND THEY REALLY LOVE THE ATTENTION AND TREATS THEY GET. JUST BE SURE TO CARRY INSURANCE FOR YOUR PROTECTION. WE HAVE NEVER HAD A PROBLEM(KNOCK ON WOOD) AND THE PEOPLE WERE OVER JOYED AND ASKED US BACK AGAIN. I USUALLY CHARGE FOR MILEAGE ONLY, WE HAVE GOTTEN SEVERAL REFERALS AND SALES FROM THE PARTIES. OVER ALL A VERY GOOD EXPIERENCE.

 

[krissy3]

I did this a lot for my friends with children. I had a great gelding that was very calm, and loved kids and new places. Its great for the horse.

 

[choclat dreams]

We have been doing birthday parties for about 6 years now as a business. It is a huge hit, we usually provide cart rides, but have had some that just wanted the mini for their kids to groom and love on. As mentioned before having insurance is a must just in case, we have never had anything happen, but with some people it would not take a lot, if you know what I mean. We love doing it, and if the horse was not completely dead broke they will be LOL

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I haven't done a party, but I've done several children's groups. They love grooming. If it is mostly a girl's party, you could bring ribbons for braiding, nail polish for the hooves, finger paint so they can "paint" their hands on the horse, or colors of vet wrap. I would NOT let them give treats to the horse, as this would risk nipping. Ask the parents to provide the children with closed toe shoes. If ALL the children are under 50 pounds you could invite them to sit on the horse, but if even one of the 6 year olds is chubby, you should not let any sit on the horse--I'm talking about and A size horse.

I've done all these things without insurance for several years, but I'm getting nervous about doing it in the future. Insurance is expensive unless you plan to do lots of parties. At $350 a year for equine insurance, one estimate I got, you could charge $50 for a party or event and maybe pay for it.

 

[Ellen]

We have done parties, different events and loads of parades and children groups. Insurance is a must.

I found parties to be fun, but not worth what most are willing to spend. So, we stick to OVH and parades. We do do an amvets picnic and 4-h clinic. But We stopped the parties. Alot of work for not enough money. I would rather just volunteer.

I just got stressed with 20 kids trying to hang on 4 hores. I worry too much.

 

[MiniDreams4You]

For those of you who do have insurance to do parties, can you tell me what company you use? We are doing it without insurance because we cannot find a company to insure for such a thing.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Please go and take a look at my friend's website.

http://www.wolfscastle.co.uk/

She can't bear to part with any of her horses so her pony parties help towards their upkeep.

Not as easy as it looks though and apart from good insurance and you will need 'eyes in the back of your head'.

 

[Hill Haven Farms]

Yep... well only at my niece's request for her 4th birthday... attached is some pictures....

She thought she was pretty important in the neighborhood... getting to take Romeo for a walk! He is such a love!

 

[trickhorses]

We have been doing pony parties with our minis for almost 10 yrs now. You can see our party website at: www.birthdaypony.com - We do carry insurance - it is very reasonable and it covers up to $1,000,000. We offer many different fun things for the kids like pony decorating with ribbons, stickers and glitter which they get to decorate the mini. We do a 15 minute trick show, a mini petting zoo, cart rides for all ages and pony rides for kids under 75 pounds. We enjoy seeing the smiles on the kids faces when the mini shows up in their own van!