Do people over estimate the height of their horses?

We'll have to agree to disagree :) I know it doesn't mention height and obviously most come in at the 15-16 height bracket but they were genuinely often below 1000lb and some jolly tall. I was just trying to show that if average is 450 it's not outrageous for one to be below :) They all went on the scales as they came in the door so nothing went unweighed! Frankel was down at 1100lb at 16.1 as a mature horse. They're not my horses (mine are perfectly average sizes and weights as they have LHC/FEI measurements so no guessing) so nothing to prove!
 
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I'm guilty of being in the bigger than I want her to be so say 16.3 (that's what her passport says!)
Really she is easy 17 if not 17.1 but she has high whithers so it's like Riding a 16.3!!
 
This is a 400kg 13.2hh pony,
4.jpg

Now 15.2hh striped for racing tb I can believe would weigh in at around 450kg but not a 17hh one

1100lb is just short of 500kg which isn't unreasonable for a stripped for racing 16hh horse.

A yearling standing at 17hh will be at least 18hh at maturity, very few racehorses are 18hh
 
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IME more over in the US do make silly heights. I don't know if it's because of the dirt tracks? If they make good horses, or even make it to maturity, who knows, I doubt it, but they breed such quantity you get the odd pony and odd giant come out! The yearlings at the breaking yards I've visited in the UK some look like ponies under their riders, presented to me on the height of scales some of the US ones looked far from pony size :p I'm not saying they're all 17hh 400kgers but it's not an implausible RSPCA case example ;)

My 13.3 middle weight (140cm) comes in at 362 (weighed by the transporter prior to going abroad a fortnight after this picture)
37788_459698472931_5246826_n-2_zps3rprzuqz.jpg


And here we have the biggest 14.1 (146cm LHC completed earlier this year) known to man- my dad is 5'9

http://ardsphoto.photoshelter.com/g...12pm-2pm/G0000XcdKpfAangI/11/C00007qis39yP9TI
 
Some horses just look massive because of their build. I used to think for ages that a highland at the yard was 14-14.2hh. Then found out he was 13hh. Really didn't look it and shocked me.

My horse confuses people as he looks enormous but really he is only just 16hh. He might be actually at that height now as I measured him when I got him and he was underweight. Plus I did measure him with tape not a stick as it's all I had. But he is only slightly bigger than a horse next to him and that one is 15.3 so I stick to 16hh whenever someone asks.
 
I over estimated my youngsters height for ages, guesstimated 13.2hh in August, but he was actually 12.3hh. Since then I've been a little more hesitant not wanting to overestimate, so guessed at 13hh but measure him a couple of days ago and found that he's 13.1hh and a half!
 
I solved the problem of my 6 year old horse's height. A friend thought he was 18hh, I thought he was 17.2hh, so when he was in the Weipers Centre (Glasgow Uni vet school) for surgery, I asked them to weigh and measure him. We were both wrong, he measures at 17.3hh and weighs 660kg. Now I know his height officially, and for the purpose of travelling in my 3.5 ton horsebox, his weight!
 
We like 17hh++ horses and it is amazing how many people overestimate the height of their horses when they are selling them. We have been to see a lot of 17.2hhs that are a hand smaller than estimated. Including one that was 4 hours drive away that was a 16.1hh coloured cob.

Interestingly, our 17.2 TBxID who looks like a heavyweight TB is frequently thought to be taller than our 18hh RID - it must be the way he carries himself, although I think as a plain bay, he lacks the presence of the giant white draught!
 
Everyone overestimates my fillies height.
She is 3 now and has been 15.1 since she was 2 hasn't grown an inch.
Everyone thinks she's "growing like a weed" and is anything between 16hh and 16.2hh.
No one believes she is only 15.1 and hasn't grown for over a year.
 
My new cob was sold as 15.2hh but I'm not sure...he seems more like 15hh to me. He lives with my friend's mare who is 15hh and she looks enormous compared to him but she is a Breton (French draft horse) so is built like a sher man tank lol. If we are sat on them side by side then mine seems taller though.
 
I was sold my then 4 and a half year old tb as a 16.2 (I'm 5'9 so do like a bigger horse). Measured him at home and he was only just touching 16hh with shoes on! 1 year down the line and he's just touching 16.1 with shoes on.

He's mega short coupled so sometimes I think he seems about 16hh but when he stands up and looks alert he can look much bigger. Saddle fitter asked if i was sure he was only 16hh at the time and remarked what a big 16hh he was.

So perception can be skewed!
 
I've never put a stick on Alf, but I suspect he isn't as big as I think he is. He was sold to me as 17hh-ish. I reckon he's under 17hh, although I could be wrong, as he has high withers, and is very short in the back, so looks more compact than perhaps he is.

I may try and measure him this weekend - if I can do it without him having heart failure. He's never been beaten with a measuring stick in his life, but you can bet your life he'll act like he has been!
 
My cob is 14.2 and weighed 508kgs last time she was on the scales. I think she has put on some muscle since then.

She was 15.1 when I bought her, 14.2 when she arrived off the boat, 14.1 when I had her over grown shoes removed and feet trimmed and a year later has grown an inch so we're back at 14.2. Incidentally she grew that inch in the last couple of months and I brought her in the other week and thought gosh she looks enormous I'm going to measure her and sure enough she had shot up.

She wears the same tack and rugs as my 15.1 Welsh cob and feels a bigger horse to ride. Probably weighs the same (haven't weighed this Welsh but have weighed a similar sized one!) and people often tell me she's definitely bigger than 14.2. I agree she is, in her body, but she has short legs!
 
Auslander said:
I've never put a stick on Alf, but I suspect he isn't as big as I think he is. He was sold to me as 17hh-ish. I reckon he's under 17hh, although I could be wrong, as he has high withers, and is very short in the back, so looks more compact than perhaps he is.

I may try and measure him this weekend - if I can do it without him having heart failure. He's never been beaten with a measuring stick in his life, but you can bet your life he'll act like he has been!
Click to expand...

I read that as 'he thinks he is 17hh ish ;) )

Frank's always been 14.2 :p
 
It's so difficult - I have two ponies, both are the same height at the back but the difference in their withers means one is 14h3 and the other 14h1. The 14h1 feels bigger when on board...
 
My boy is only 16hh on the dot (spirit level stick) and people are always surprised by that. Most put him at 16.2hh.

When I sold the 14hh pony (advertised as a chunky 14.3hh - was skin and bones so bought him to get him out of his home) 2 potential buyers just left as he was too small!

In my experience people do over estimate!
 
My cob is 15.1 and every one always thinks he is bigger. I think partly he very chunky , that when you ride you look shorter than you are!!!
Any body that has ridden him always tell me he rides bigger.

When it comes to height I always find it frustrating when advertising a horse for sale....they always claim their bigger than they actually are......why!
 
yes my luso was advertised as 15.3- she was 15hh and my mare was advertised as 14.1 (I very nearly didn't view as I was looking for 13-13.3 max but I was willing to compromise on a couple of things) I'm so glad I went with my gut and viewed though as she is actually 13.2 so ticked every box on my list and she was the first one I viewed too! 😃
when i viewed my old warmblood he was advertised as 16.3 but he seemed sooooo much bigger, when I sold him as approx 17hh the lady who bought him asked if I was sure he was only 17hh as he looked a lot bigger!
my Anglo was supposed to be a 3yr old 14.3, he was infact a 2yr old 14hh
 
Oh yes I know this one all too well - we have a number of liveries who are apparently 17hh+ - strangely enough they are all smaller than our 16.1......!
 
I wish my mare was a little taller! But, I'm honest!! 14.3 (I'm sure I measured her once at 14.3 3/4 - aka, 'small' 15h, but I can't get that reading again, so 14.3 she is!
I find smaller ponies and bigger horses easier to accurately guess, it's those in the middle that I need the stick to confirm.
 
j is over 17.1 unshod he looks smaller to people who are always surprised when they see him in a stable .
I know how big he is every time I try to find something to use to get on .
 
Haven't read the whole thread, but as a retired surveyor, I am a bit funny about accuracy -- or rather allowing the correct amount for error. Even paper shrinks and tape measures stretch!

So I bought a proper measuring staff off Ebay. £30 (and a bit of glue when it broke). Surely every yard should have one?
 
My Haflinger was advertised as 14hh. I fell in love and bought him. It was only a couple of years later when I bought my youngster that I measured them. My 14.2 NF pony was actually a smidge under 14hh and my 14hh Haflinger is 13.1hh on his tip toes! The Haf is completely flat backed and very wide so rides much bigger than my high withered, more narrow NF. To look at the together, you'd guess they were both around the same height.
 
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