Adults on ponies!

Nikicb I think I follow you on Instagram! Your mare is gorgeous and looks a lot of fun for sure.

SLH she takes up the leg very well! Good luck in your horse search too. I so empathise with your ‘buy the horse you need not the horse you want’.

Chippers1 you’ve got a lovely selection of ponies! the dun is gorgeous.

Thanks all for the recommendations - my Sunday will be spent on nfed I think!
 
I’m 5ft 1 and have a 14hh. He’s piebald so we reckon cob x with some sort of native pony. I think welsh as he’s as mad as a hatter and can pop in the odd buck, run out or drop of the shoulder if you’re not on the ball! Not overly heavy either, he has 8inch of bone below the knee so still light enough but strong and sure footed. He done superbly at dressage when we used to compete. Basically has a go at anything I want and nice and easy to keep. He takes up my leg nicely too. I actually look bigger on a 15.2!
 
You will fine with a pony, the pics are of a 14.2 connie/tb, the rider was 5'9" and "well built". I'm just a bit taller than you and I suspect a bit heavier but it's width that is as important as anything else. I am long legged and slim hipped so anything wide is a bit uncomfortable which puts most cobs off my list however a native with a bit of TB in it suits me fine. Also be aware that the saddle for a short backed smaller pony may not fit you, the pony in the pics needed nothing bigger than a 16 and1/2inch saddle, rider really needed a 17 or bigger.area dressage 2003.JPG
 
oldie48 said:
You will fine with a pony, the pics are of a 14.2 connie/tb, the rider was 5'9" and "well built". I'm just a bit taller than you and I suspect a bit heavier but it's width that is as important as anything else. I am long legged and slim hipped so anything wide is a bit uncomfortable which puts most cobs off my list however a native with a bit of TB in it suits me fine. Also be aware that the saddle for a short backed smaller pony may not fit you, the pony in the pics needed nothing bigger than a 16 and1/2inch saddle, rider really needed a 17 or bigger.View attachment 31148
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Lovely looking pony. Yes I’m the same - long legs and slim (no!) hips. I struggle with cobs/chunkier horses and get quite bad pains from riding wider horses. Good point about saddles - I used to ride in a 17” but could probably squeeze into a 16.5. Something to consider as I usually go for compact horses, though likely wouldn’t need compact-ness on a pony.
 
I agree with getting a Connie or Welsh. My current pony is connie x and my old loan pony was a welsh. And they're both fab, with enough spark to make things fun and exciting.

What I don't get about ponies is that they're obviously thought of as children's rides (because of size) but there are far more horses 16hh+ that I'd trust to keep a child safe than ponies! I find ponies tend to have more quirk and cheekiness and be more fun than horses (obviously there's exceptions to the rule, as always!). Just my opinion!!
 
pixie27 said:
Lovely looking pony. Yes I’m the same - long legs and slim (no!) hips. I struggle with cobs/chunkier horses and get quite bad pains from riding wider horses. Good point about saddles - I used to ride in a 17” but could probably squeeze into a 16.5. Something to consider as I usually go for compact horses, though likely wouldn’t need compact-ness on a pony.
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thanks he was also very talented and evented quite successfully up to Novice. the other thing to consider if you are used to riding something bigger is how the neck is set on. I like to have a proper neck in front of me as I feel safer. I used to have a whippy 15.2, he's neck was set on a bit too low and if I found him quite easy to come off as there was nothing to "catch me". good luck in finding something suitable, I would happily have gone for a big pony I think they can be a lot of fun.
 
I’m 5’10 with a long body and long legs and yet I still competed in dressage and show jumping on my 13.2 fell pony and then my 13.2 new forest (he was a horse in a pony body). I have also ridden and competed numerous Connemara ponies as we used to buy unbroken in Ireland and have them as summer projects. I can definitely recommend these 3 types of pony :)
 
I can't do wide either, my welshie looked it but wasn't/only MW saddle. But also plenty of TB/small sports pony types that might suit :)
 
I'm just over 5 foot and my welsh section d mare is just under 14.1hh, she's deep bodied and really takes the leg up of much taller riders. Wouldn't go back to horses now, love my ponies and love a welshie!
 
I'm 5'8 and have two 14,1s - both highlands, both very different - in conformation and mentality - but both great fun adult rides (not that you can't shove kids on them, just that I don't :p ). They're both "turn a hoof to anything" type - Fergus has played horseball and polocrosse and does TREC (and pretty much anything else I fancy). Dae just likes jumping and running fast ;)


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ester said:
I can't do wide either, my welshie looked it but wasn't/only MW saddle. But also plenty of TB/small sports pony types that might suit :)
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A lot of welshies seem quite deceptive with their width! I think a native x TB would be perfect by the sounds of it.

Hallo2012 said:
5'7 on a 13hh sec B.
he is THE easiest pony, a real go anywhere do anything sort even at only 4yo :)
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Ah I love him! I follow you guys on Facebook and he’s just gorgeous. Didn’t realise you were that tall though, he takes up your leg well!
 
JFTD-WS said:
I'm 5'8 and have two 14,1s - both highlands, both very different - in conformation and mentality - but both great fun adult rides (not that you can't shove kids on them, just that I don't :p ). They're both "turn a hoof to anything" type - Fergus has played horseball and polocrosse and does TREC (and pretty much anything else I fancy). Dae just likes jumping and running fast ;)


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Oh I soooo love your boys. I need to add highlands to my list!
 
I used to be on a yard which had lovely show pony/riding pony types - like mini tb and Arabs.
(She still had some for sale just before Christmas but they'll probably be about 8 years old and unbroken)
Very much for adults or very competent kids rather than kids ponies if natives aren't quite your thing, that 'type' might be worth looking at too.
I'm 5ft 6 on a 14.2 cob x, honestly in an ideal world I'd like something just a couple of inches/hand bigger, especially now we've started doing a little jumping, but we get by fine so she's not going anywhere :)
 
Tried to post a picture of me on my little'un but it said "file is too large to process".WHEN oh when will this website make it possible to post photo's easily? How hard is it?? FFS.

Anyway....... having had 15hh'ish types for the last two horses I've had, this time round I seem to have ended up with a pony!! She's a youngster/gypsy coblet, 13.2hh. I'm 5'3 and we're just the right size for each other.

Think you may find it a bit of a culture-shock going onto ponies from a TB type TBH: everything but everything is different! Particularly their way of going for one thing, obvious I know, but you'll need to be prepared for a huge difference in stride (and comfort!!). The other thing is temperament, rather a lot of ponies do seem to have that cheeky temperament more than you may be used to with a TB/WB type (that's why we love 'em :) ). But if you're not used to something answering you back with a bit of cheek, or if you haven't been around ponies for a while, it can come as a bit of shock!!

Again obvious, but if going to view bear in mind that there's something that's described as a "14.2" which is frankly more like a 13.2, OR you'll get something like my other horse, which states on her passport "14.3", but just isn't!! She's more like a 15.2.

If you wanted to go towards the bigger end of the market, i.e. 14.2 and above, you will find the price goes up!! Coz this is what everybody wants! Having said that, there are some very nice native breeds, if you fancy it, which are around and which can reach this size.

Or go for a trad...... if they've been decently backed and brought on they are great little horses, but if you get one (like my old boy) that had been battered around the markets a bit, they do tend to find they can easily intimidate their handlers with their sheer bulk, and often a bit of remedial is needed.

Or you could think about a cross, that'd give you the best of both worlds and having been a TB fan it wouldn't be quite such a culture shock as going straight onto ponies!. I saw a very nice little Welsh D X TB the other day. New Forest X TB/Arab always works well too.

Depends on your fancy really.
 
I am 5’8 on a 14.2hh Connemara. He’s the best pony ever- has jumped around HOYS wh courses, competed at BD elementary, will be doing his first freestyle this summer, and more importantly is safe as houses with a bit of sparkle. Connemaras can do a bit of everything and are sporty enough to make great jumpers/dressage ponies. Some of them are definitely a lot sharper than my boy is, he’s very laid back bless him, but like others have said, the pony brain does take some getting used to!
 
Just to (pointlessly) add to this thread, at 6ft tall with a 38"(!) inside leg I would dearly love to ride a pony but I'm stuck with big, daft horses 😂
 
springer-tb said:
Just to (pointlessly) add to this thread, at 6ft tall with a 38"(!) inside leg I would dearly love to ride a pony but I'm stuck with big, daft horses 😂
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My 6ft 6 brother used to ride my 14hh Connemara and definitely didn't look daft on him at all. A lot of native ponies realy take up your leg
 
Ah I love him! I follow you guys on Facebook and he’s just gorgeous. Didn’t realise you were that tall though, he takes up your leg well!
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he does! hes a proper B, not a flimsy show pony sort :)
 
I have always had ponies (40 years) - I am 5'7" and 9 stone. First pony was 13.2ish NF type, current ones are a 14.2 Welsh D and a 14.1 Fjord . I ride in a 16.5 saddle. When "horse" shopping for the fjord I didn't even consider looking at anything over 15 hh! Fjord takes up my leg far more than my Welsh.
 
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