Horse Height v Rider Height question.

[Fanatical]

I'm not quite sure how to word this question - or the title for that matter!

What I want to know is how do you know if a horse is too small for you.

Obviously ponies we outgrow as we grow up but once we are adults what factors do you take into account.

Do any of you tall riders ride small horses, ie: under 16hh... I've always thought that I need something between 16hh and 16.3hh but I have seen a horse I quite like at 15.2 but can't decide if it would be a waste of mine and the owners time if I went to view it. The horse in question has a bit of bone, so isn't spindly but I just don't know! I'm 5 foot 8 and a reasonably slim build.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[cheekycharley]

Well i am 5"2 and have a 15.3 horse (shes quite big built) and she probably is a bit too big for me really... I also have a 14.2 (slim built) and i am prob a perfect size for her.

Personally I wouldnt want a horse any bigger than mine (but i am short!!). I guess its what you feel comfortable on?? I think weight is more important really...

 

[charliebo]

I'm 6'4" and event a 15.3hh. Can ride anything from 15.2 upwards as long as they are big enough in the ribcage. I feel more comfy on a 17hh but some little horses "ride big".

 

[Fanatical]

Thanks LGM. That's really interesting. I think weight is definitely a very important factor...but maybe it is just what you're comfortable on and what you're used to.

Do people think it is more difficult to ride a horse when there maybe isn't much in front of you...or is that a personal preference thing?

 

[langside]

im 5'10 and have a 15.2 shes a TBX but i think becauses shes broad built and rides bigger i look the same on her as my 16.3 whos got bone but just not as wide

i find it really difficult to judge what i can and can't get away with as ive fell in love with other 15.2's before but made them look like 12.2's

i think you need someone there e.g partner/parent to video you and tell you what you look like

it depends on your body type too im longer legged rather than top/torso tall and im longer in thigh rather than the calf so my legs might not look so long when on the horse- if that makes sense

 

[MissSBird]

I'm 5.2ft and quite slim. I have a very slim tb who's 15hh high and I would not want anything bigger. I think there is a lot of pressure from the competition circuits to move from ponies onto big horses - the amount of people who refer to my girl as a pony. I correct them and they respond '15 is practically a pony'.

People definately look down on ponies and smaller horses as being easier, which I would argue is distinctly not the case. The problems can be different, but they are no easier.

 

[teapot]

I'm 5ft 11 and long and lanky with it and went from riding the big horses in the yard (16hh+) to now riding ponies (literally only between 13.2 and 14.2 and they're not massively chunky ones either) for almost 2 years now. I feel far more at home on the ponies, despite having uber long legs and feel I get far more out of them.

I'm really long in the thigh bone but this doesn't seem to be a problem even when jumping, I just can't whack my stirrups up as much otherwise I'm out the saddle. I also find that ponies = smaller saddles on the whole and feel far more secure as such.

This chappie's only 14hh odd and definitely not overly wide:

I think it comes down to what you're used to. I never could ride ponies or anything really under 16hh because I'd not had to, and for the odd ride that I did, I could never get used to the smaller stride. Now however I love it

I'd say if the horse ticks all the boxes that you're after then deffo go and view - you've got nothing to loose and if you do ride, find that it is too small for what you want, then walk away openly saying it's too small for you and your riding style. That's not timewasting, that's being sensible

 

[ELF]

I'm 6ft 1 and Gates is a very narrow 16.3 - but I can look bigger on something 17.2! I think a lot of it is down to horse and rider shape and how 'lightly' the rider rides.....

 

[FestiveSpirit]

I'm 5'2" and started off with a 17.1hh.... then moved to a 14.3hh.... then a 16.2hh.....then a 15.2hh.... then a 16.3hh.... now got a 15.2hh

I would say size doesnt matter, I have felt just as comfortable on my bigger horses as my smaller ones - in fact when I got my present horse I felt vastly too big for him, it took me weeks of riding to get used to him

 

[Fanatical]

Thank you all...lots of interesting replies. I think I will have a look and see what I think.

 

[CrazyMare]

I'm 5ft7 with very long legs - My own mare is 13.1h!! I wouldn't go buy a 13hander, but shes fab.

I also ride a 15.2h, and a 17.1h, and 'fit' all of them. At one stage, I looked bigger on the 15.2h, as he was pretty narrow and weak - now hes bulked up and matured I look fine. My 13.1h is a chunky thing!

 

[aidybex]

I'm 5'7 and my mare is 15.3hh (cob x tb - lovely and chunky) - she is the perfect height for me - and still hurts on the few occasions I've bounced off!! The only time I've questioned whether I am too big was when I woman I know came up to me at a show sat on her horse (about 17hh) and said "oh hello little pony". I felt very deflated and wanted to throttle her............but smiled sweetly then beat her in the show jumping. Some actions count more than words LOL

 

[jumptoit]

I'm 5'6 ish (very rough guess!) and my mare is just over 15 HH, she's pretty slight - TB x, I also ride a very narrow 16 HH pure TB and find him too big personally but I've always been more of a small horse person.

I don't think you really know until you've ridden the horse personally.

 

[Ladybird]

I'm 5"9 and my mares a 15.3hh TB, she feels the perfect size for me

 

[LauraWheeler]

I'm 5ft 2in and lucys only 13.2hh. I have also started ridding a 12hh dartmoor in the show ring and i look fine on him. I wouldn't have a horse bigger than 15hh. Who says you have to out grow ponies i'm 26 and love them they are so much better than horses. (in my opinion anyway) also they are cheeper to keep and not so far to fall.
Ponies rule (maybe i'm just a big kid after all)

 

[Eventerlad15]

I'm 5''10 and i'm riding a 15hh, and were fine together!

My first horse was 17hh though, when I was a scrawny 14yr old.

So....it doesnt matter!

 

[sachak]

im 5ft8 and ches is 17.1

 

[alwaysbroke]

I am 5ft 7, ponies/horses that I ride on a regular basis, 14hh, 15.1, 16.3 & 17.0. When OH allows his 17.1 and 18.2. Have been known to trot round the school on sons 11 hh as well, but only for a min or two!

Feel comfortable on all of them, well perhaps not the 11hh, but find the 17.1 has a very powerful jump find that I am pushed out of the saddle on landing and just take a split second too long to sit up, which makes tight courses a little more interesting! Wont stop me riding him though!

 

[lizzieb]

I have the opposite problem in that I'm only 5'2" and wonder how big a horse I can have without being overhorsed!

 

[SO1]

I never out grew ponies as I am only 5.1ft and I have a 14h - pony. At 5.8ft you are 7 inches taller than me so if I am fine on a 14h a horse that is 7 inches bigger would be 15.3. I don't look big on my pony at all but he has a body like a barrel so that take up loads of leg - so it will depend on the body of the horse in question. I would also be fine on a 13.2 with a big barrel body shape.

[ QUOTE ]
I'm not quite sure how to word this question - or the title for that matter!

What I want to know is how do you know if a horse is too small for you.

Obviously ponies we outgrow as we grow up but once we are adults what factors do you take into account.

Do any of you tall riders ride small horses, ie: under 16hh... I've always thought that I need something between 16hh and 16.3hh but I have seen a horse I quite like at 15.2 but can't decide if it would be a waste of mine and the owners time if I went to view it. The horse in question has a bit of bone, so isn't spindly but I just don't know! I'm 5 foot 8 and a reasonably slim build.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[/ QUOTE ]

 

[MegaBeast]

Depends totally on the horse. My girl is a 16.1hh and the smallest I'd consider for her type (think skinny TB) but would happily ride smaller if take my leg up and ride bug. I'm 5'9.

 

[Firewell]

I think its whatever you feel comfortable on! My sister is 5ft8 and slim (weighs 8/9 stone) theroetically she should prob have something over 16hh but shes nervous and best suited to 15hh. Shes light enough that smaller horses dont have a problem carrying her. Personally I dont like riding something too small because I feel as though im hitting their elbows with my toes and that im carrying them lol! Too big and find I it hard to wrap my legs round them and contain them.

Its more weight of rider vs bone of horse that concerns me in terms of welfare.

 

[millitiger]

i am 5'10 and have currently got horses between 15.3hh and 17.1hh.
my 15.3hh is built very powerfully though and i only notice how small he is when we go down a big drop as he totally disappears!

 

[Lucy_Nottingham]

Im 5ft 10/5ft 11 and weight between 12 and 13 stone.....
I can ride 15.2 upwards horses, the shorter end of the scale are generally of the chunkier cobbish variety, but I can look ok on most things which are bigger than baout 14.3 upwards!

 

[Leg_end]

I'm 5'7 and my boy is 16.3/17h I am more legs than body so i find this height is perfect for me but agree with everyone who has said you need to try before you can say yay or nay! Look at WFP - he rides all sorts!

 

[finefeathers1]

I;m 5 foot 5 and ride a 14.3hh lw-mw irish cob - not too chunky but with a leg in each corner and an armchair ride. I have short legs and a long body and I look ok on him and on my daughters 15.2 hh wb/tb as well.

 

[JosieToby]

Hi, I own a full up 15.2hh gelding and my sister is 5ft8 at 12 years old... EEEK! She fits him perfectly and he really takes up her leg. If your a slim build It wouldnt matter if it was 15hh it would be able to carry you. Aslong as the horse is well built with a deep girth you wont look out of place. I am 5ft6-7 and I fit my 13hh section C because she is deep in the body.

If its good enough its big enough!

 

[GinaGem]

I'm 5'8 and Prince is 15hh and I don't feel big on him. I have the odd pic where i look a bit leggy but it doesn't bother me. He takes my weight fine and he was perfect for me so I didn't rule him out because of his height. They are all different anyway, I had a 16.3hh who I felt great on and I had a 17hh who I felt a mile from the floor on!!!

 

[Daytona]

im 5ft 10 and long legs and my WB mare is 16hh my sister is same and she rides a thinner 16HH TB.

My mate is 5ft 6 and has a 17hh and a 15hh

I think as long as you are comfortable and the horse carries your weight then size does not matter....!

You see a lot of tiny people on 17hh horses where there feet hardly even come to bottom of saddle - is that right??

Hmmm i not sure on how well they can ride that size of horse!