Am I too big for this horse??

Meoldmucka

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My mother in law has said I can practice riding by riding her horse who otherwise would pretty much stay in the field. He's a beautiful 14.2 cob.
I'm 5'9" and around 65kg. Do you think I'm to big for him? I don't want to look daft if I were to take him to a show etc. At the moment I would describe myself as a competent beginner, I can do a rising trot but not much else.
Here's a photo, although it's not me riding him in the pic. Thanks in advance!
 

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Meoldmucka

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I finally figured out how to add a photo, so here's me riding him (this was me last summer, very much a beginner!)
 

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Meoldmucka

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Thanks Alice, I've gotten better since then so now I ride in proper boots and jods. Might treat myself to some new stirrups at some point too...
 

sbloom

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The saddle is the issue, it could have been upper body leverage which can be an issue with taller riders on shorter horses, balance is harder, but you have relatively long legs and shorter body which helps. What is does mean is the saddle is a bit of an issue, but if you're able to now ride with longer stirrups that may also be fine. A taller rider may be pushed to the back of the saddle, leaving the saddle unable to spread your weight correctly, so have someone (ideally a proper saddle fitter) assess the balance of the saddle with you riding, and advise on any changes to the saddle or to the pad you use that would be needed to level it. Different riders can even cause saddles to slip when they didn't before, so it's a really good idea to have it checked for you.
 

Leandy

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What a lovely looking pony. You are very lucky. You are absolutely not too big for him, in fact I'd say you look perfectly well matched. At 5ft 9 you would likely look a bit tall on some 14.2s but this one has substance and takes up your leg well and you look great on him. You are certainly not too heavy. I am very much opposed to "overhorsing" children and novice riders, you need to feel that the horse is of a size you can be in control of so I would actively say he is a good match sizewise for your stage.
 

Meoldmucka

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Thanks very much everyone!
Thanks sbloom, I'm pretty clueless about saddles so that's really interesting. Do you think it would help if I lengthen my stirrups? Looking at this photo now, they seem quite short. What should a saddle that fits me properly look like, just out of interest?
 

sbloom

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Thanks very much everyone!
Thanks sbloom, I'm pretty clueless about saddles so that's really interesting. Do you think it would help if I lengthen my stirrups? Looking at this photo now, they seem quite short. What should a saddle that fits me properly look like, just out of interest?

That's a piece of string question I'm afraid! For this pony, with that short a back, for you to ride that short, you possibly need a jump saddle, which has the most forward cut flap, so that the block can be placed ahead of or above your knee. If you ride longer your knee won't be as far forwards, and a GP or general purpose saddle has flaps that are less forwards than a jump saddle, but much more forwards than the show saddle you are riding in. You would still be advised to work on lengthening those stirrup leathers. A saddle with blocks on velcro would enable you to move them depending on whether you have longer stirrups for flatwork, or shorter stirrups for fast hacking, or jumping, yet still have the blocks gently supporting the leg.

If you wanted to do dressage you could POSSIBLY have a straight cut saddle, looking a bit like the one you have now, but it would still need to be less straight, and have a flap that again allowed the block to sit at least above your knee (above instead of ahead of always gives more space for the upper leg) with a much longer stirrup.

You can Google all these terms and see some images of what these sorts of saddles look like, but ultimately only having a good, recommended saddle fitter out and trying some options will start to narrow down what would work best for you.

Going for the stirrup length at the ankle I think stems from our hunting days, as a horsey nation; it's still fairly short, for flatwork they are likely to need to be a little longer.

And treeless isn't a no brainer, they don't suit all riders or all horses (they can slip, they can be uncomfortable etc), there are tons of different models, some may work for you some may not, the only difference is that if your horse changes shape you may not need to make too many alterations, and those are usually to do with changing the pads under the saddle. However, sometimes a horse STILL changes shape so much that their treeless no longer works for them. Traditional saddles need checking and potentially adjusting regularly and yes, some horses, especially younger ones, or those starting different types of work, will change so much they do need a different saddle.
 
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