Calling all adult pony riders. Opinions please.

[lucy007]

Hi, query on behalf of a friend. Would a 13hh medium/heavy built native type pony suit a mature lady of 5'1" for general pleasure riding / hacking? and if so what sort of weight would you expect him/her to manage comfortably.
Any opinions welcome, thanks in advance.

 

[Abbeygale]

I'm 5'7" and about 9.5st and ride a 13hh newfie cross - my girl always seems quite happy to take me out, and never had a problem at any of her back checks etc.

 

[Minnies_Mum]

I ride a 13.2hh, I would call her medium weight (although she looks heavy because she's too fat!) and I'm 5'7" and 9.5 stone. Not really sure about top weights though.

 

[samstar]

I ride a 13.2hh qt xdartmoor and i weigh 10'7 and she doesn't have a problem carrying me.

 

[ttt]

A 13hh Forester will carry a small adult.
Foresters, as with most Natives are 'big about' and take up the leg and usually have little difficulty carrying adults. It would depend on the weight of your friend. It is said that a true Forester can carry 1st. per hand, although personally, I think that is too much.

 

[Honeypots]

It depends alot on the riders weight and ability and the fitness of the pony. A 10 stone good rider will be easier for a pony to carry than a 10 stone unbalanced rider..and a fit pony will be more up for the job than an unfit one.
I would say at 5'1", if your friend is average weight then a 13hh native pony would be absolutely fine.
Exmoor ponies are smaller than this and quite capable of taking an average adult weight.
My daughter is 5'8" and weighs 10 stone. She rides a 13.1hh Connie type with no problems

 

[blackcob]

Gosh, at only 5ft 1" I wouldn't be looking at anything bigger than 14 hands - a 13hh pony would be just the job. I wouldn't worry too much about weight, especially if it's a chunky little native. A Highland or NF for example would happily cart 11 stone about for a full day's hunting.

 

[KMW]

I'm 5 ft 1 and would have no qualms about riding a pony that size, especially as it is a native cross, I used to be asked to ride smaller, finer ponies at my old yard

 

[Apalacia01]

At 5;4, I love my 14.2hh! Been riding bigger (16hh) and feel like a pea. Guess I just never grew out of ponies. Can still ride the smaller ones too!

 

[Kallibear]

5'1 is tiny! My mum's 5'1 and is dwarfed by Pink, who's 15.2! She used to ride a friends 13.1hh MW hairy thing and looked just about right.

I'm about 11st with all my riding gear on - I'd happily ride most 13.1hh heavy native pony's and only won't go smaller as I'm tall. The weight isn't the issue.

 

[kizzywiz]

I'm 5'1 too & weigh about 8st, happily ride my 13hh Welsh sec c & my slightly larger!! 14hh Welsh X, think your friend will be fine & have loads of fun.