Pony 5e: Stats, Small Riders and the Find Steed Pony

A pony is a CR 1/8 Medium beast with AC 10, 11 hit points, a 40-foot speed and a hoof attack: +4 for 7 (2d4 + 2) in 2014, or +4 for 4 (1d4 + 2) in 2024. It costs 30 gp and carries 225 pounds. Its real job comes from the mounted combat rules: a mount must be at least one size larger than its rider, so the pony is the standard horse for a Small character. In 2014 it's also one of the five forms a paladin's Find Steed can take.

Table of Contents

• •Pony Stat Block (2014)
• •The Pony in the 2024 Rules
• •The Pony as a Mount
• •How Ponies Fight
• •Running a Pony Encounter: Goblin Riders
• •How Players Beat Mounted Riders
• •Pony Encounter Ideas
• •Frequently Asked Questions

Pony Stat Block (2014)

The 2014 pony kicks harder than it looks: 2d4 + 2 is 7 damage on average, more than a goblin's scimitar. It has no traits at all.

The Pony in the 2024 Rules

The 2024 pony loses almost half its damage and gains Strength save proficiency. It matches the 2024 mule's attack exactly.

The Pony as a Mount

Who can ride it. Small characters: halflings, gnomes, Small humans in the 2024 rules, and Small monsters like goblins and kobolds. A Medium character is too big.

What a mount adds. A halfling or gnome moves 25 feet in 2014 (30 in 2024). On a pony they move 40, and a controlled pony that takes the Dash action covers 80 feet in one turn while the rider still gets their own action. Mounting costs half the rider's speed.

Controlled or independent. A controlled mount acts on the rider's initiative and can only Dash, Disengage or Dodge. An independent pony keeps its own initiative and can attack, but the rider doesn't choose what it does. For a Small rogue or ranger, the Disengage option is the useful one: the pony disengages, so its movement doesn't provoke opportunity attacks, and the rider attacks before or after the move.

Find Steed (2014). The 2nd-level spell offers a warhorse, pony, camel, elk or mastiff. The steed is a Celestial, Fey or Fiend, its Intelligence rises to 6, and it understands one language the paladin speaks. A paladin can also make a spell that targets only themselves affect the steed while mounted. A Small paladin can ride any of the five. The warhorse is stronger (19 hit points, 60-foot speed), but it's Large. Under the 2014 squeezing rules, a Large creature in a 5-foot dungeon corridor spends double movement, has Disadvantage on its attacks and Dexterity saves, and gives attackers Advantage. A pony walks those corridors normally. A halfling paladin who spends most sessions underground should take the pony.

The 2024 Find Steed works differently. It summons an Otherworldly Steed that looks like a Large rideable animal of the caster's choice, with its own stat block, so the SRD pony stat block isn't used.

How Ponies Fight

An independent 2014 pony is a decent fighter for CR 1/8. Against AC 13, its +4 hooves hit 60% of the time for 7 damage, about 4.2 a round. The 2024 pony deals about 2.7 a round against the same target. With 11 hit points and AC 10, it doesn't survive long.

Most of the time the pony shouldn't fight. A controlled pony doesn't attack, and an independent one is an animal that has no reason to stay in a fight. It runs.

Running a Pony Encounter: Goblin Riders

Goblins are Small, so a pony is a legal mount for one. Mounted goblins are faster and harder to pin down:

• •A controlled pony takes the Disengage action, moves 40 feet, and doesn't provoke opportunity attacks. The goblin shoots with its shortbow before or after the move.
• •A party on foot moving 30 feet can't catch a pony moving 40.

Four 2024 Goblin Warriors (50 XP each) on four ponies (25 XP each) cost 300 XP, the Moderate budget for four level 1 characters. Under the 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide guidelines (used by our encounter calculator), eight creatures (300 XP × 2.5 = 750 adjusted XP) are well past the 400 Deadly threshold for that party. Two riders on two ponies (150 XP × 2 = 300 adjusted XP) is a Hard fight. Check the ponies in the calculator alongside the goblins.

How Players Beat Mounted Riders

• •Shoot the pony. AC 10, 11 hit points. When a mount drops to 0 hit points it falls Prone. In 2014 the rider can use their reaction to dismount and land on their feet, or falls Prone. In 2024 the rider makes a DC 10 Dexterity save or falls off Prone.
• •Knock the rider off. If an effect moves the mount against its will, the rider makes a DC 10 Dexterity save or falls. Thunderwave pushes the pony 10 feet on a failed Constitution save.
• •Use the terrain. Ponies need room to run. A narrow forest trail or a ruined building takes away the speed advantage.
• •Calm them. A charmed pony stops being a problem, and Animal Friendship works on it in both editions.

Pony Encounter Ideas

The pony express. A halfling courier rides a pony between three villages with sealed letters. Someone wants one of those letters badly enough to ambush the road with a tripwire.

The circus pony. A traveling show's pony bolts during a performance with a gnome child on its back. Catching a 40-foot pony on foot takes clever players.

The goblin cavalry. A goblin warband has stolen a farmer's six ponies. The farmer wants them back alive, which means the party can't just shoot the mounts.

Frequently Asked Questions

What CR is a pony in 5e?

CR 1/8, worth 25 XP, in both editions. It has AC 10, 11 hit points and a 40-foot speed.

Can a Medium character ride a pony?

No. A mount must be at least one size larger than its rider, and the pony is Medium. Halflings, gnomes and other Small creatures can ride it.

Can Find Steed summon a pony?

In the 2014 rules, yes: the pony is one of the five forms Find Steed lists. The 2024 Find Steed summons an Otherworldly Steed that resembles a Large animal of your choice and uses its own stat block.

How much can a pony carry?

225 pounds (Strength 15 × 15). Pulling a cart, it can move up to five times that, 1,125 pounds including the cart.

Stat blocks: System Reference Document 5.1 (2014) and 5.2.1 (2024), Wizards of the Coast, CC-BY-4.0. Tactics, encounter math and ideas are Loreify's own.