Height Challenge

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Rich_Ladbrooke

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19 April 2018
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Hi All,

After receiving a couple of comments on here, I was wondering about the whole height issue. In my v limited experience I don’t feel that comfortable when riding. I put this down to nerves, but I’m starting to worry that this will probably be a longer term trend.
Does anybody know anybody super tall - I’m 6ft 7” - who has managed to overcome this?

Cheers
Rich
 
It's pretty normal to feel a bit uncomfortable when you start riding - it's a completely different way of using your body. Your height shouldn't be a disadvantage, as long as the horse you are riding is big enough to take up your leg, and with enough shoulder and neck in front of you that you don't feel like you're leaning over the edge of a cliff!
There are several world-class male riders who are very tall - William Fox-Pitt being the one who springs to mind
 
Fix Pott is 6ft 5 and seems to manage quite well with the whole thing.

(Well done on entering the forums completely inconspicuously)
🥂
 
You just need to find the right horse and the right riding school. In my day there was always one very big horse on the yard, perhaps it is not so these days.

Core strength is the key to riding so establish good balance in yourself off the horse and you will find it easier. When I was teaching, the difference in teaching dancers and non-dancers how to ride was noticeable.

In a way there are many advantages to being taller you have so much more to dangle either side of the horse so less easy for horse to fling you off in all directions.

If you end up with your own horse, what you need is a Percheron, massively impressive horses, lovely nature and you will get altitude sickness sitting on them.

Riding aside - do you get fed up with people getting focused on your height? We have a new chap move into our village and the ladies (even 70+) have gone a bit giddy over him, the blokes are a bit "well, yeah I suppose he's tall...but whatever". He must be 6ft 5ins at least, if he was 5ft 5ins nobody would have noticed him. I thought it was strange behaviour until I bumped in to him dog walking his dog and must admit to being almost giddy myself.
 
I've found that over the last decade or so, fewer and fewer riding schools have 'mansize' horses, and more and more are introducing weight limits. As far as men riding, it's a sad spiral, since fewer men will be able to take up the sport.
 
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