Following on from too heavy what about too tall?

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MsMaisy

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After all the posts about being too heavy for your horses what about being too tall? Do you think it makes you less secure on the horse or do you feel more confident on a smaller horse?
I have just sold a 17h horse and one of the ones i'm looking at is a 15h cob. I have always had bigger horses because i am 5"8 but now im thinking maybe smaller would be better as im quite nervous and this 15h horse is very quiet etc..
Has anyone of my height got any pics of them on a 15h? Don't want to waste the womans time and then say he's too small but otherwise seems absolutely perfect on paper. Im not very heavy so thats not an issue its just the long legs!
 
I'm 5'3/4 and my last horse was 15hands. I don't think you would be too big/long but i'm not sure it would be the best match.. How about 15'2? that may be better. :D
 
I’m 5ft7, and this is me riding my 15’1hh cob, he has such a big barrel it’s takes up your leg. I think I look the right size on him, what do you think? I ride in a GP.
Riding Short:
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Riding Long:
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I think you look perfect on him! What a lovely pony. My friend is a similar height and has a 15.1 which looks fine. This one is quite a heavy cob so im hoping it will take up my leg too!
 
im 5ft 4 just under and my pony is 14.2 hh. I have relatively long legs but i dont look too tall on him.....if i have anything over 15hh i look silly. We were talking about this the other day at my yard, some people suit big horses even if they are tiny, my riding instructor is about 5ft 5 her horse is 17.2 she looks perfect on him.....i would look utterly ridiculous!! yet if she rode my 14.2 she would look hilarious!
I dont think it really is a set thing, as long as you look/feel ok then go for it! try out some horses of different sizes, see how you feel, get someone to go with you and take some photos so you can see how you look and as long as you are not too heavy for the horse then go with what you feel happy with.
As JoBo says it depends on the horse if they have a big barrel then you can go smaller....as your legs have further to go around so they wont hang as much as if you were on something fine!
 
Daughter is 5'10"...she loves riding ponies
This is her on her 13.3hh

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and on her 13.1hh ( dapple grey in the middle of pic)

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She has never had a problem balancing on smaller horse/ponies
 
My sister is 5'5, and last summer rode a 14.2hh pony who was fairly fine and looked absolutely fine- now she rides a 17hh horse and equally looks just as good! Here are the ponies she rode last summer- little ginger is 13hh, little black pony is a very fine 13.2hh and the bigger bay is 14.2hh.

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All of these she's got dressage length stirrups- the only comments she got were positive, she won quite a lot on them and had a fab time.
 
Everyone seems so obsessed with horses height/ their height, you should be fine! Obviously you couldnt stick a 6 foot man on an 11hh pony but I think youd be absolutely fine :) I am your height and ride 13.3hh-17hh ers' :eek: :) You never know until you try anyway :D
 
In my siggy, the grey i'm riding is a 14.3hh connie. I'm about 5ft 8 and my stirrups were actualy abit too short. I feel pretty safe on him cos i just wrap my legs right round him. My mates have said i could wrap my ankles round themselves under his belly! I think hieght weight is irrelevent so long as you and the horse/pony are happy to carry you. My next horse is going to be 15hh or over. I'm rehoming through a rehoming centre so not sure exactly what horse i'm getting :D
 
it depends on the horse's barrel more than its height. a 14 hander with a wide barrel will take up as much leg as a 17.2 built like a racing snake.
i think the 'ideal' size is just about when, as a very rough guide, with feet out of stirrups and legs hanging down, the bottom of your feet is more or less level with the horse's tummy.
the only big disadvantage of long legs on a little horse (e.g. 5'10" girl on 13.3 pic up there) is that it can particularly wreck ones jumping position. one year on a 14.2 when i was about 13-14 wrecked mine, because i had to swing my lower legs back out of the way to avoid knocking the fences down (didn't have an instructor educated enough to suggest riding very short, and i never thought of it, unfortunately.)
to OP, if you're a little nervous, then a 15hander, being closer to the ground, might well make you feel more confident.
 
I keep seeing these how tall / fat / thin / heavy posts and always resist posting, but I guess it's time to 'fess up'.

I am 51 years old, male, 6' 1" tall, 12 1/2 stone and I ride a 14.2 NF gelding, know affectionately as 'the fat lad'. He's not fat, just round and he has legs like tree trunks. We have done all sorts of things together, schooloing, jumping in an arena, fun rides all with no problems whatsoever and last year we spent the day at Stockland Lovell, where I estimate we went over something like 60 jumps (all under 3 ').

By comparison I recently spent 20 minutes riding a 17.2 shire in a school, it was a lovely ride and very enjoyable, but a pony keeps you on your toes and my reactions are as fast as a cat.

I have given up on worrying about my height and that on my dobbins, we are happy together and we have a lot of laughs. I know there are things I would like to do as a rider that I can't do on the fat lad, as I would need something taller for eventing for instance, but for the riding I currently do, H is perfect.
 
Well I'm 5ft7 & 9st and my girl is 13.1h on her tippy toes. Last night we were schooling over 1.10m fences.

Here she is

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And proof that small ponies don't neccassarily wreck your jumping position - I just have very short stirrups

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I'm 5ft6" but have 33" legs - I ride anything between 15hh upwards. Personally I prefer taller horses but the smaller seem to be that bit sharper - I want a little hrose in a big hores body!!

Good luck and I hope you end up with what you're looking for X
 
I think you'll look fine and feel secure. I feel much more confident on Prince who's 15hh than my last horse who was 17hh. When i got him he felt a bit narrow but he's really filled out over the last year and has a decent barrel now which makes us look a bit better together. I'd probably look better on something bigger but i don't think i look bad on him - I'm 5'8:

Jumping length
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Flat length:
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It all depends on a number of factors such as how long your legs are, how deep the horse is through the barrel and how wide. My daughter 5' 8" competes our 15.1/15.2 warmblood in affiliated dressage (long saddle flaps and stirrup leathers) and looks fine.
 
At 5'8 (same height as me) 15hh isn't exactly 'small'!

I've got a 15.1hh (poss 15.2 now) LW cob type

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And showing someone's HW 14.2hh cob

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You get used to it pretty quickly. I though Toby (the 15.1) initially was really small, having been riding a big 16.3 Kalli but now he's 'just right' and when I get on Kalli the first thing I always think is 'bloody hell she's huge!'
 
i am 5ft9/10 and weight 9 1/2 stone, i ride a 15.3 matchstick tb (who's height is mostly withers) and a 16.1 hunter type tb

15.3 on general lenght
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jumping
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and 16.1
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Well I'm 5'10" and a bit, and I've got a lovely 15.2/3 cobby type - i was really worried i was going to be too big for her - but I absolutely love riding her and feel more comfortable on her then my old horses the 16hh chestnut TB and 16.3hh bay TB in sig!

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I'm 5ft11 and always used to be given the big horses to ride - I feel SO much more secure on something smaller and I'm currently riding a 13.2 and a 14hh!

Pic of me on the 13.2:
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i have to say that i much prefer riding big horses!! im 5"8 and my horses are 16.2hh and 17hh, but i think its due to the fact that i show jump and the jumps look an awful lot smaller on a 17hh!!!
 
I`m 5ft 10, 9 1/2 stone. Like most above I have been riding 15h1 to 16 cob type horses. I`m looking for a nice Welsh D later in the year and as most tend to max out at 15h2 it has been really useful to see all the pics above to confirm that I don`t look to big for them.................I have private lessons and can`t ride and take pics at the same time!
 
Is that Mayhill Stud Teapot :-)

I'm 5ft 8 and 10st and I rode a 15hh connie for 2 years. Bought a 16hh WBxTB last year and I look the same on him as I did on my loaned connie...

Who cares - as long as the weight is fine, people should be happy to ride what they want to. I am happy riding 14.2's to 17hh, but you can't beat a fun pony imo.
 
I'm 5'8" and Dylan's 15.1, he's got quite a deep barrel and I've got longish legs so we look ok together :) I always preferred horses around the 15-15.2 mark, I like a nice smooth horsey stride, but with the nippiness of a pony.
 
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