Friday 13 July 2012

School holiday pony fun for ages 2-10

Our tiny, gentle ponies are waiting to entertain your child-

Pony experience

A wonderful hour for between 1 and 3 children grooming, pampering and riding one pony. 
Book onto one of the scheduled times or request a time to suit you.

90 minute kids holiday activity 

- a popular activity for between 5 and 8 children including grooming, pampering, riding plus another activity eg a wander around the orchard to look at the fruit trees, a pony quiz or mucking out the paddock!!!
THESE ARE NOW AVAILABLE FOR UNDER 4s - on alternate weeks.
Book onto a scheduled times or gather a group for your own private session!
£17.50 per child

 

3. Pony Agility

Coming VERY soon!!! Yes it's like dog agility only much slower!!!
This is a test of understanding and relationship between handler and pony and gets people thinking about how to interact with their pony to get the best out of them - some good life skills there too me thinks!!
Children will be taught how to handle a pony correctly and safely before attempting the course.
More details to follow shortly!!!
Maybe not suitable for tiny tots!!!


Whatever the reason for your visit to Cheshire Pony Parties you will be greeted with a warm welcome and receive personal attention.

You will then be blown away when you see our tiny, gentle ponies, happily grazing in our idyllic orchard setting.

You/your child will enjoy a very special time here, with the emphasis on fun and confidence-building. No prior experience of ponies is required.

Yes your child will groom, pamper, decorate and ride one or more of our ponies, but a visit here is so much more than that-

You will learn some fascinating facts about ponies (ask me about their ears!) and their behaviour, plus hear some personal pony tales.

Some visitors tour our orchard and learn about a few of the many trees and animals in and around the orchard.

No wonder little visitors want to come back every day, or that we have people visiting from as far away as London.

"Nobody does it like Cheshire Pony Parties does it."

Amanda Keech


Amanda Keech is an experienced owner of horses and ponies. She has owned, trained, competed and bred horses/ponies for over 20 years. She has experienced teaching her daughter to ride and how to be safe around ponies.
She is one of the first and longest established pony party providers in the UK. 
She holds the British Horse Society Stage 1 in Stable Management and is keen to understand more about improving our communication with equines to keep ourselves safe as well as have a better relationship with them, which may mean being able to catch a pony to improving our riding.
Amanda enjoys offering her ponies to delight visitors!


Pony fun for 8-14 year olds


I don't just cater for 2-10 year olds -

Here are 3 things that Cheshire Pony Parties can delight 8-14 year olds with this summer:

1. Pony experiences

An hour's fun catching, grooming, plaiting manes then attempting our obstacle course OR having a go at 'driving' a pony (but without the carriage)  - this is quite a challenge, especially negotiating our trees!!!
For 1-3 children from £45
Find out more
Book here

2. Pony Club with Amanda

2 hour sessions providing a great introduction to being safe around ponies AND learning a little about their care. VERY hands on, no riding involved.
Perfect for anyone new to ponies plus
those who love ponies plus
those who perhaps are less confident riding but would love 'messing about' with ponies!
£22.50 per person per week (4 weeks with flexibility for hols!!)
Find out more
Book here

3. Pony Agility

Coming VERY soon!!! Yes it's like dog agility only much slower!!!
This is a test of understanding and relationship between handler and pony and gets people thinking about how to interact with their pony to get the best out of them - some good life skills there too me thinks!!
Children will be taught how to handle a pony correctly and safely before attempting the course.
More details to follow shortly!!!


Whatever the reason for your visit to Cheshire Pony Parties you will be greeted with a warm welcome and receive personal attention.

You will then be blown away when you see our tiny, gentle ponies, happily grazing in our idyllic orchard setting.

You/your child will enjoy a very special time here, with the emphasis on fun and confidence-building. No prior experience of ponies is required.

Yes your child will groom, pamper, decorate and ride one or more of our ponies, but a visit here is so much more than that-

You will learn some fascinating facts about ponies (ask me about their ears!) and their behaviour, plus hear some personal pony tales.

Some visitors tour our orchard and learn about a few of the many trees and animals in and around the orchard.

No wonder little visitors want to come back every day, or that we have people visiting from as far away as London.

"Nobody does it like Cheshire Pony Parties does it."

Amanda Keech


Amanda Keech is an experienced owner of horses and ponies. She has owned, trained, competed and bred horses/ponies for over 20 years. She has experienced teaching her daughter to ride and how to be safe around ponies.She is one of the first and longest established pony party providers in the UK. She holds the British Horse Society Stage 1 in Stable Management and is keen to understand more about improving our communication with equines to keep ourselves safe as well as have a better relationship with them, which may mean being able to catch a pony to improving our riding.
Amanda enjoys offering her ponies to delight visitors!
http://www.cheshireponyparties.co.uk/

Thursday 12 July 2012

Pony Club with Amanda

FUN FUN FUN guaranteed with Pony Club with Amanda -
4x    2 hour enjoyable sessions introducting how  to safely handle and care for horses and ponies

Perfect for

*  children who just loves ponies
*  children and adults who are new to pony ownership
*  children who go to riding school who'd like to understand more about ponies, their care       and safety around ponies.

The course is designed to provide an enjoyable introduction to safely handling and caring for horses and ponies.
Children will learn by doing. They’ll will;
*  understanding how to safely approach a pony,
catch and lead a pony safely,
groom using the correct brushes,
*  put rugs on safely
*  put the saddle and bridle on
*  make up pony feeds
check the fields for weeds and dangers


To ensure plenty of hands on learning there will be a maximum of 4 children to 1 pony with everyone having the opportunity to practise the excercises.

Numbers will be restricted to a maximum of 12 on each course.

They’ll understanding a bit more about how horses/ponies think to understand how to be safe around horses/ponies and improve their relationship with horses and ponies.

Want to grab a place now - click here


The course is led by Amanda who has over 20 years experience of looking after her own horses/ponies. She has trained, bred and competed horses and ponies for many years, holds the British Horse Society Stage 1 Certificate in Stable Management and is keen to understand how we humans can better 'connect' with our horses and thereby improve our relationship, whether that be being able to catch a pony in the field (!!) to acheiving better scores in ridden competition.

The course is appropriate for ages 8 and over including adults.

All activities will be ‘on the ground’ ie there will be no riding.

There is a choice of dates to avoid holiday clashes!

£22.50 per person per week, £20.50 per person per week for 2 people booked at the same time.

Click here to book one of the 12 available places

(If you are looking to buy a pony and would like a private session please get in touch (see the contacts page) and we can tailor a session or two to your particular needs!)




Monday 14 May 2012

One VERY angry pony!

Well, Saturday was a bit of a worrying day - I'd found one of the ponies had dodged the electric fence and having 'stuffed' herself silly was waiting, asking to return to the starvation paddock!!
When I tried to let her back into the paddock one of the other ponies kept coming over, preventing the over-indulged pony from coming back in, which was a bit strange.
When I finally got the pony back into the paddock the other one started attacking her - she was chasing her round, biting her bottom.
Now you do sometimes see this when you introduce a new pony to the group and you sometimes see older ponies attack younger ones - they'll chase one til it's exhausted - I have once seen the after effects and it's just not pleasant.
I didn't have time to figure out WHY this was happening - I just HAD to get the pony that was being attacked OUT.
I grabbed a headcollar, jumped into the field at which point the attacker stopped - the worry is that the one being chased will do ANYTHING to get away - even go through a seemingly impenetrable hedge onto a road (my concern).
Anyway I soon got the headcollar on and moved the pony under attack to another paddock.
By this point we were running late for my daughters opticians appointment so we rushed over and 'did' the eye appointment which gave me time to think about why the attack might have happened - I've never seen these 2 ponies be aggressive in any way to each other so it was a bit odd.
I came to the conclusion that
  • the attacker is the dominant female in that group and as such should 'lead' the group to food, water, out of danger etc
  • the attacker didn't like the fact that the other pony had found some really delicious, long grass, as they were all supposed to be on a diet on my starvation paddock!
  • because the escapee had found the grass, it was taken to be a sign of trying to take over as leader
  • hence the attack

Well that's my verdict anyway!

So much for trying to keep them trim!

I have to say I'm now giving them a tiny morcel of hay morning and night, they're all in together, I have kept watch over them and 2 days later all is still calm.

My verdict - the starvation paddock was a bit too restricted for them and they may have been a TINY bit hungry but also they were bored - and what does boredom create - problems (just like in kids!).

Solution - give them something to occupy them and a TINY bit of food - ie hay - it just seems to be enough to keep them and their tummy's happy.

Anyone got any other ideas??

Thursday 8 March 2012

Choosing the best pony party for your child

You don’t get a second go at your child’s birthday party so choose wisely, using our handy guide!


Do they listen to your requirements?

It’s important to create a party that’s suitable for the age group and number of children including any special requirements – does the organization take these into consideration?

Testimonials
A really good indication of children having had a fantastic party is reading any testimonials the organization publishes from happy customers.

One or two is good but a string of current testimonials is a very reassuring sign.

Check out their facebook page - Facebook provides you with a feel of the person behind the business – what they put on facebook can give a hint as to their approach to parties.

Can you visit before the party
A visit to the location is a great opportunity to meet the person who is going to be responsible for entertaining your child and party guests. You can also see the location where the party will be held and look over the ponies, who should appear happy and healthy – not too fat nor too thin.

Safety aspects
Are there safety signs around the location and/or is there a safety briefing at the start of the party?

How do you know the pony handlers have sufficient knowledge and experience to handle the pony and children mix!

Does the saddle/equipment appear in good working order and to fit the ponies?

You should also check that the organization has appropriate insurance (public liability insurance is compulsory)

Cheshire Pony Parties is one of the longest established pony party providers in the UK. We welcome pre-arranged, pre-party visits and can work around most requirements.

Our safety rules are born from many years experience of managing equines, based upon sound knowledge.

Our aim is to provide ‘smiles all round’ whilst keeping everyone safe and our ponies healthy and happy.

Want to find out more?
http://www.cheshireponyparties.co.uk/ponypartyintheorchard.php

Tuesday 6 March 2012

What makes Cheshire Pony Parties special?

We want to your visit to be a memorable one with smiles all around.


The following offers a taste of what you can expect.
• Visits here provide a very personal and unique experience.
• Our setting is idyllic, rural and rustic. We are not a large riding establishment simply a horsey family – your visit provides exclusive access to our private garden/orchard which include a variety of established fruit and other trees and bushes.
• Our ponies are adorable, tiny, child friendly, patient, cuddly, gentle, well-mannered, healthy and happy.
• We don’t just ‘go through the motions’- we interact with our visitors to ensure they feel special and make the experience really enjoyable for them – our testimonials give a flavour of the attention we pay to the children
• We also unobtrusively adapt each session to the needs/confidence level of the visitors, taking care to build confidence where needed or challenge more confident children so everyone goes away having had a great time
• Parents also enjoy the relaxed atmoshphere as well as the chit chat about ponies in general and our personal pony tales.
• We’ve got heaps of experience of working with ponies and children and plenty of knowledge, experience and tales from riding, training, driving, competing, breeding and generally caring for horses and ponies over many years.
• We also enjoy giving children such immense pleasure from spending time with the ponies.

But don't just take our word for it-see what our customers say at http://www.cheshireponyparties.co.uk/customertestimonials.php

Wednesday 8 February 2012

Half term pony fun for the kids


February half term is fast approaching and I've put together a summary of what your children can enjoy here -
They can ride, groom and pamper a pony - we've got red ribbons and hearts for a valentine's themed week!!
Depending on the activity we might do an orchard walk, see if the snowdrops are out yet and find any acorns that the squirrels have left! We may even see if the fairies are playing!
They may do a quizz about the ponies or if they're really lucky go in the paddock and stroke all 4 ponies!
Older children can attempt leading one of the ponies around our obstacle course - a bit of a challenge!!!

As you can see the ponies are fairly hairy at the moment - sporting full winter coats! Lots of brushing required!!!

Here's why we think you should bring your kids;
  • Visits here provide a very personal and unique experience.
  • Our setting is idyllic, rural and rustic. We are not a large riding establishment simply a horsey family – your visit provides exclusive access to our private garden/orchard which include a variety of established fruit and other trees and bushes.
  • Our ponies are adorable, tiny, child friendly, patient, cuddly, gentle, well-mannered, healthy and happy.
  • We don’t just ‘go through the motions’- we interact with our visitors to ensure they feel special and make the experience really enjoyable for them – our testimonial give a flavour of the attention we pay to the children
  • We also unobtrusively adapt each session to the needs/confidence level of the visitors, taking care to build confidence where needed or challenge more confident children so everyone goes away having had a great time
  • Parents also enjoy the relaxed atmoshphere as well as the chit chat about ponies in general and our personal pony tales.
  • We’ve got heaps of experience of working with ponies and children and plenty of knowledge, experience and tales from riding, training, driving, competing, breeding and generally caring for horses and ponies over many years.
  • We also enjoy giving children such immense pleasure from spending time with the ponies.
But don't just take our word for it-this is what our customers say-
  • "I cant thank you enough for such a fabulous day. You, your daughter and your ponies were all fantastic. Thanks a million for making it so special."
  • "I just wanted to thank you again for Francesca's wonderful experience last Sunday. She hasn't stopped talking about Poppy and her "horse riding teacher" since. The whole session was perfect for her and she now has lots of envious little friends whose Mummies are gutted you're not closer to us.
  • Thank you again, it was truly wonderful and both Rich and I thought great value for money. Hopefully we'll be able to come and see you again next year when we're back at Fishpool."
  • "You're one in of a kind"
  • "Just wanted to thank you for a lovely party you made the birthday girl feel really special and although Olivia is extremely shy she chattted about the pony tricks being the highlight. She will always have a memorable time to cherish and I have no hestitation in recommending Cheshire Ponies."
To book either ring on book online.

See you next week!

Amanda

01829 741919

amanda@cheshireponyparties.co.ukLink