Further to size of rider vs horse posts...

i think thats brillaint and mmmmm i was shoved at 6 on a hugggggggggggggggeeeeeeeeeeeee horse (ok prob only 15hh ) and told to get on with it - the post from some one saying taught her boys to ride on her warm blood as didnt want to sell ponies - thats nice :) and to be honest little ponies are wick quick and cheeky lol im tiny but love a bigger horse ( though sneaky love of fun game wick fast ponies hence why was senior gymkana champion 3 yrs running bareback on a shetland ( be it large before anyone shouts cruel)- got told couldnt compete after 3rd year lol best fun ever he he he he)
 
My problem with little people on big horses is that [sometimes] the horse is barely aware that there is a rider! I let someone's little sister (who had her own 12.2hh pony) ride my 15hh mare, and I swear she didn't realise there was anyone on her back and was listening to my voice.
An RS I used to ride at got a 16.2hh heavyweight horse for the school, I was glad they finally got a bigger horse (being nearly 6ft at the time) and there were a lot of Dads who'd decided to start riding, so they really needed a big horse. For some reason the RI kept putting little kids on this big horse, and they couldn't use their legs at all (due to their feet not reaching below the saddle flaps), so you'd see these kids whacking away with a stick to get the poor horse to move - he went whip shy and eventually couldn't be ridden :(

I was really annoyed cos he was (for taller people anyways!) a great horse.
 
This is a common sight in a lot of European countries where ponies really have not "taken off" and become popular in the same way they are in the UK. I think it's partly because the UK has all its native breeds, its mining past etc. and therefore ponies have much more history in the UK than elsewhere. In some countries the most widespread attitude towards ponies is that small = easy and you are only a "good" or "proper" rider if you are on a horse. You also have countries where there's a strong cultural association with horses as working/performing animals (Portugal and Spain for example, with their bullfighting history) and so I suppose their dismissive attitude towards ponies makes sense.

When you have a tiny child on a big horse like in this photo, with feet that don't even come past the bottom of the saddle flap, it may look impressive due to the size difference but there's actually only so much active "riding" the child can do. IMO these kids are not "learning to ride" - they are learning to sit on a horse and steer, which is NOT the same thing! Ponies often have a lot more character than horses and that is why kids can learn so much from riding a less-than-perfect pony ;)
 
I was riding a 14.2 when i was 6 and looked pretty much the same! Legs did not come past the saddle flaps for a good few years but he was a saint and we did a fair bit together.
 
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