# Connemara Experts Please ..... Just been to try one with a Friend!



## Eaglestone (27 July 2008)

Just been to see a lovely 15.1 Connemara Gelding, with a view for my friend to buy and he was lovely  
	
	
		
		
	


	





I do not know much about Connies and would like to find out how you peeps find them  
	
	
		
		
	


	





This one has Black points and the seller says that, although now at 4 he is a dark grey roan, he will only lighten up a little and will not go white ..... 

He stands at about 15.1 now and she feels that he should possibly grow another inch ....

Can I have your views please .... also any pics of a youngster and now they are older colour wise and views height wise  
	
	
		
		
	


	





Thankies


----------



## thedunthing (27 July 2008)

mines a nutter but we have no proof that she is a connemara she is also a jumping pony which doesnt help. but i love her to bits. she is the pic gallery somwhere on last attempt she is 18 but didnt get her as baby


----------



## samuelhorse (27 July 2008)

utterley stonking perfect!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bllody marvellous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What  more can I say ----

Post him to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mines connemara (in my siggie)  14.2 h and i love him.
Hes intelligent - far too intelligent!!  Handsome, loving, and full of attitude!

Would happily have another. x


----------



## Bosworth (27 July 2008)

Love them, brave, spirited, phenomenal jump. great nature. At 15.1 he is over height for a connemara pony but don't let that stop you if everything else is right.


----------



## Bossanova (27 July 2008)

She wont be able to show him as a connie but if he'll make a nice sports horse then they are super types


----------



## Eaglestone (27 July 2008)

Bosworth and Bossanova .. I thought that this seemed quite a substantial height for one ..... I believe he is pure Connemara .... do you think at this height he isn't ?


----------



## username223 (27 July 2008)

Hey! I love connys i think they are great, all the ones i have known have been very honest and naturally talented jumpers. My boy, Rocky, i got when he was 4 and he was only just 14.1hh, very thin with not much muscle, and was an unusual dark dapple grey with a brown bum lol. I can tell you now that they dont stop growing and maturing until they are atleast 7, Rocky is now 7 and has only just really physically matured, he is now a full up 14.3hh and i'll put some pictures in order. the first one is when i first got him, as you can see my legs practically hang past him and hes pretty scrawny looking! the second one, he was about 5 and was just starting to get his jumping technique, he used to jump way bigger than the jump as he hadnt worked out how to fold his legs up yet! bless. then the third picture this was last summer and he had really started to fill out and you can tell becuase my legs dont come so far down. then the last was also last summer and his jumping has come on so far and he is now pretty much got more than the basic schooling, and is starting to know his job. =] but yes, he has got lighter with age and is now quite a light dapple grey (even though he still has a brown bum!) and his legs arent as dark as they used to be. the last pic was last weekend and you can really see the colour change.


----------



## conniegirl (27 July 2008)

at 15.1hh he is overheight so whilst he may be a pure connemara he will be entered in the over height section of the stud book and therefore cannot be shown as a purebred.

However if you dont want to show him then dont let it put you off. Also connemaras when plaited up can make lovely hunter ponies or small hunters so if you did want to show there are classes you could do.


----------



## custard (27 July 2008)

Friend of mine has one and have ridden a few times.  

I think there is a height limit for showing and the trend is to breed bigger which explains the number of over height ones, you could use this to drive the price down a bit.  

They are tough as old boots, good jumpers, clever and versatile, my favourite native.


----------



## Skhosu (27 July 2008)

What's his breeding? I have one whose brothers are both similar typs (awkward things!)( so would alsways look into connie breeding as they can be very stubborn!
Great jumpers, if they're on your side!


----------



## DiablosGold (27 July 2008)

Used to have one on loan, absolutely a dream to handle and had an amazing jump.  He was so talented, also bombproof out hacking.

He was a super star


----------



## Eaglestone (27 July 2008)

[ QUOTE ]
Hey! I love connys i think they are great, all the ones i have known have been very honest and naturally talented jumpers. My boy, Rocky, i got when he was 4 and he was only just 14.1hh, very thin with not much muscle, and was an unusual dark dapple grey with a brown bum lol. I can tell you now that they dont stop growing and maturing until they are atleast 7, Rocky is now 7 and has only just really physically matured, he is now a full up 14.3hh and i'll put some pictures in order. the first one is when i first got him, as you can see my legs practically hang past him and hes pretty scrawny looking! the second one, he was about 5 and was just starting to get his jumping technique, he used to jump way bigger than the jump as he hadnt worked out how to fold his legs up yet! bless. then the third picture this was last summer and he had really started to fill out and you can tell becuase my legs dont come so far down. then the last was also last summer and his jumping has come on so far and he is now pretty much got more than the basic schooling, and is starting to know his job. =] but yes, he has got lighter with age and is now quite a light dapple grey (even though he still has a brown bum!) and his legs arent as dark as they used to be. the last pic was last weekend and you can really see the colour change.


























[/ QUOTE ]

All those pics and info are just what I needed to pass to my friend ..... she will be very fascinated by all this and I will show her tomoz ..... she is not a HHO member so I will have to show her these responses  
	
	
		
		
	


	









Thanks


----------



## Eaglestone (27 July 2008)

Thank you all for your replies and I will pass these on to my 'non HHO' friend .... I do not know his breeding at the moment ...


----------



## conniegirl (27 July 2008)

ok i shall tell you about my connie, his name is stan, he is 14hh 18 years old. 
He is a saint to handle and will not take advantage even when toddlers are handling him.
however when ridden he is very very different. He is oppinionated and lets you know in no uncertain terms that he doesnt like things (normaly by putting you on the floor), he will jump coloured poles if he likes the setting (so he will at some shows and wont at others), he wont jump working hunter fences at all, and is positively suicidal on an XC course and will actively take you into and over the jumps however you may or may not have steering between jumps. 
He is extremely intellegent and learns things very very fast. I can put a very small rider on him and he will look after them in the school or in the show ring but i wouldnt dare take them out on a hack or jumping. With a more experianced rider then me he is fully capable of a medium level dressage test but if he senses nerves he will take the micky something wicked. However if you get him on your side and let him go first in any group gallop then he is the most fun pony to ride ever.
this is he


























He can buck for Britain but i love him anyway.


----------



## Eaglestone (27 July 2008)

[ QUOTE ]
ok i shall tell you about my connie, his name is stan, he is 14hh 18 years old. 
He is a saint to handle and will not take advantage even when toddlers are handling him.
however when ridden he is very very different. He is oppinionated and lets you know in no uncertain terms that he doesnt like things (normaly by putting you on the floor), he will jump coloured poles if he likes the setting (so he will at some shows and wont at others), he wont jump working hunter fences at all, and is positively suicidal on an XC course and will actively take you into and over the jumps however you may or may not have steering between jumps. 
He is extremely intellegent and learns things very very fast. I can put a very small rider on him and he will look after them in the school or in the show ring but i wouldnt dare take them out on a hack or jumping. With a more experianced rider then me he is fully capable of a medium level dressage test but if he senses nerves he will take the micky something wicked. However if you get him on your side and let him go first in any group gallop then he is the most fun pony to ride ever.
this is he


























He can buck for Britain but i love him anyway. 

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh my word, what a little character you have there .... but it sounds like you love him to bits, and he has a home for life  
	
	
		
		
	


	





He looks lovely btw


----------



## gothdolly (27 July 2008)

I had a fantastic connemara jumping pony on loan as a teenager (Misty)... honestly if my three are not listening I can say he was the best equine I ever had. Domi is appaloosa x connemara and he has all the connemara tendancies such as good jumping ability and nice paces, abilities at showing and dressage. I recognise a certain connemara attitude, but I think they are fantastic ponies. My favourite native breed I think.


----------



## conniegirl (27 July 2008)

I love him to bits, he has a home here for the rest of his days and at the moment he is showing no signs of slowing down and is still at the correct end of the line in county shows.

He is an absolute sweetheart and gives lots of kisses.

He is very much a character but i wouldnt swap him for the world.


----------



## Skhosu (27 July 2008)

I think character sums up the connemara very well! They are fantastic ponies!


----------



## alisonpook (28 July 2008)

Hi - The acceptable height for a registered connemara is 14.2hh. Anything over this height is grouped with the part breds for showing purposes in the registered breed classes. An irish breeder told me a fair few ponies grow overheight . I believe there is a bit of a discussion about type also. There is the substantial leg at each corner type and a finer type . I have also been told that certain lines can be better suited for performance. They are often natural jumpers. We had a 16.3hh 3/4 TB 1/4 connie - jumping was easy peasy to him and he tucked up like a pony - quite useful when he went up into the luton of the lorry in an effort to get out. He started life as almost black and ended a flea-bitten grey. They can mature quite late and thicken out substantially. Some ponies can have a tendency to suffer from sweet itch. If you want to have a look at some connies suggest you go to the British Connemara Pony Society home page . They have just had their annual breed show and they will have a few links to photos from recent shoes plus an adverts page showing ponies for sale. They also have a page describing the breeds characteristics. They breed has become quite popular and the prices they made at the irish sales until recently were quite strong. Both Goresbridge in Kilkenny and Clifden in County Galway have special connemara sales.There is a big annual breed show in Clifden on the third Thursday in August every year with a sale the following day. Before we found out our horses breeding we suspected a % of arab and could not quite understand the tb/Connie but then we found out that in times past that Spanish horses from sinking Armada ships of the coast of Ireland were supposed to have swum ashore and bred with the native ponies.


----------



## madmav (28 July 2008)

My first pony was a Connemara. Very pretty and a complete sweetheart in the stable. But he could be a pig to ride. Napped, reared, bucked and was utterly lazy. Not really a suitable first horse! Think everyone that rode him was ditched by him. He could jump brilliantly when he put his mind to it. But also had the dirtiest stop. Still suffer from dodgy back from him turfing me off.

Sorry, didn't mean to put you off with all that. They're all different - just like us!


----------



## RuthP (28 July 2008)

I had a connemara pony and she was brilliant- a complete and utter cow at times and often a nightmare to handle but she was so talented. They all seem to have such strong personalities which is what makes them so lovable! Mine could turn on a sixthpence to a huge jump! She won no end and with her previous owner she dressaged very well! I would love another one!


----------



## ladyt25 (28 July 2008)

I've not known of many bad ones but they do have 'strong' personalities from what I believe so providing they see you as the bopss (as any horse should really) they will pretty much turn their hooves to anything. I have a TB x Conn and he's 16hh and v v definitely of pony temperament. He is very clever and very quick to learn. He is great when ridden but can be a s*d to handle on occasion as he knows his own strength very well. He is though never nasty he just takes the p*ss! 

I wouldn't change him though, he keeps us entertained and always wants to please when under saddle so I can't complain about his quirks really!


----------

