horse heights and peoples perceptions

riding_high

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I have a 12.2hh pony up for loan and had a few people ask me about him and if I can send them some more pics etc. afterwards they say oh he's a bit on the small side isn't he? ummmm no he's 12.2hh in pics and in reality.

a few years ago I advertised for a sharer for my 17.2hh, someone came out after lots of talking on the phone and first thing she said was "he's bigger than I thought". again it's clear he's 17.2hh.

why do people think that 12.2hh should stand more like a 14.2hh. when I see adverts for horses I know roughly how big it will be compared to me yet a lot of people I've "dealt" with over the last few years seem to think that it should either be bigger or smaller than they've been told.
has anyone else noticed peoples perceptions when it comes to height?
 

windand rain

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Not sure really why people do this but when people meet my connie they say isnt she big she is exactly 146cm see her in her HOYS class she is the smallest one there. The perception of height is a bit odd when I teach I before I go I asl the owner what size and age their horse is and get a variety of answers I have seen loads of 12hh described as 13.2 and a few 17hh that are described as bigger. Everyone thought my warmblood was a big one but he was 15.2 measured.
Also was asked if I could make my 13.1 welsh c 13hh for workers classes well no unless I chopped her legs down
 

riding_high

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my 17.2hh rides smaller than my old 14.2hh mare, she was always on her toes and made you feel you were riding a big horse, my 17.2hh just plods around and isn't phased so feels a lot smaller than what he actually is. he's not even a wide horse.
I have 2 12.2hh's, one rides bigger than the other but is chunkier as well so takes up a riders leg.
it is annoying to be told by people that your pony is smaller than they hoped and when you ask how big they are looking for they show you with their hands and it borders on a 14hh pony, when I tell them that they say no no no I dont' want one that big, a 12.2 would be fine but your pony is too small. very confused with it all! lol
 

Tern

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yes... although never for sale i have had people rudely exclaim that my 13.3 was infact not 13.3 and should not be in the class because it was for ponies, if anything he's 14.1 max - therefor still a pony even.
 

Cortez

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Sorry, that doesn't make sense............
yes... although never for sale i have had people rudely exclaim that my 13.3 was infact not 13.3 and should not be in the class because it was for ponies, if anything he's 14.1 max - therefor still a pony even.
 

Ealana

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I get this a lot with my boy. He is a big '16.3' and is in fact 16.3 just about if ever measured but many people think he is bigger with exclamations of 'he has to be at least 17.1hh.' I promise though he's not. I also find it slightly irritating those with 15hh horses that they insist are 15.2/15.3 with shoes on! People's deception of heights make me laugh
 

Cortez

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But wither height is actually a fairly inaccurate way of evaluating a horses size. Some horses have very high withers and a low back, which means that you will be sitting somewhat lower than a horse with indistinct withers of approximately the same height. Horses with a very round barrel will also feel taller. Wither height can vary according to the horses posture, fitness, relative calmness (or the opposite), even the temperature and time of day. People who take ponies of, erm, "disputable" height to be measured also know this :)
 

Sallyfinn

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Looks can be deceiving. My 15.2hh looks more like 14.2 because he's a lazy s** who wanders along with his nose on the floor. My saddlle fitter summed it up nicely: that's a17hh horse on a 12hh pony's legs. Not showing material me thinks!
 

MiniMilton

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Oh it's my absolute pet hate. When viewing horses (after being lied to so many times in the past) I'm going to start to threaten bringing the measuring stick along to prove them wrong.
I had a 20 minute argument with an experienced lady who advertised a 158 only to arrive to see a pony not even 14.3. She swore blind he was 158. I had many 158 horses at the time and a few 151. This 'horse' was smaller than them all. If only I had put the stick in the car it would have left her redfaced

Oh and I hate the phrase "158 with shoes on"
If I wear 6 inch heels I don't go around telling people I'm 6 foot
 

criso

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I also find it slightly irritating those with 15hh horses that they insist are 15.2/15.3 with shoes on! People's deception of heights make me laugh

I think there are alot of horses out there that have been sold at a height and the owners have never questioned it so this skews their perceptions.

I have two 16.2s, both tbs. But one looks so much bigger, partly because he in chunkier so there is more horse, partly because he is built more uphill and the way his neck is set on and partly because he has more presence. I even had an argument with my vet who insisted he was bigger and got his measuring stick out of the car and he couldn't make him more than maybe a quarter inch over 16.2 no matter how he angled that stick.
 

LittleRooketRider

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.although irritating and in many cases it can appear to be incompetence i think that how a horse is built/confirmation/shape etc. can be a factor in people's perception
 

FfionWinnie

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But wither height is actually a fairly inaccurate way of evaluating a horses size. Some horses have very high withers and a low back, which means that you will be sitting somewhat lower than a horse with indistinct withers of approximately the same height. Horses with a very round barrel will also feel taller. Wither height can vary according to the horses posture, fitness, relative calmness (or the opposite), even the temperature and time of day. People who take ponies of, erm, "disputable" height to be measured also know this :)

Yes exactly. I have a 14hh and a 13hh at the withers, both are 2" taller at the rear end and have no withers, so over all they look bigger than they actually are. My friend has a pony which measures almost the same height as my 13hh but he has very high withers and is overall, much smaller.
 

LaurenNutini

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I went to look at a loan horse who was 16.3hh. When I was talking to the owner she said the last person to view her arrived and refused to ride her because she was too tall - yet her height was clearly stated on the advert :p
 

chorro

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I have someone on my yard who insists their barely13hh pony is 14.1. My Arab is 14.2 and is at least 6 inches taller. She can't accept it no matter what. Her pony's withers are half way up he neck when she measures it.
My Arab is actually only 14.2
 
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hnmisty

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Well, Barry was advertised as 15.2 and his passport says 15.2. I was out riding with a lady whose horse is 15.2...and I was definitely higher. One terrifying tape measurement later and batty Barry is 16.1.

So guess it also depends on whether the height you think your horse is is correct! If I still thought Barry was 15.2 then I'd think all actual 15.2s were being described as bigger than they actually are.
 

Tern

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Sorry, that doesn't make sense............

It does so i will put it in tots language. I have a 13.3 pony whom i show, I have been told by other people in classes that he cant possibly be 13.3 and shouldn't be in the class because it's for 'ponies' (14.2 'n under) And max he may possibly be 14hh/14.1hh but that is still a pony so i was just claiming who rude some can be.
 

Kadastorm

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haha, it cracks me up. So many times i have heard 'my horse has grown, he's 15hh' when know he hasnt, he has just muscled up and gives the impression he has grown and is still 14.2hh. My pony is 13.2hh but because he is chunky, people have thought he was 14hh. unfortunately not!
 

micki

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When i had my horse up for sale he was advertised as 16.1hh. He was measured with 2 measuring sticks and was definietly just 16.1hh. Someone viewed him and told me was too big as he was at least 17hh. He has grown since then(2 years ago) and even now he is just coming upto 16.3hh, he's quarter of an inch under it.
When viewing horses alot of people had then advertised as bigger than they were, i took a stick with me after the first one and measured them up when viewing.
 

riding_high

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my ponies have very flat backs, they are very slightly bum high but even when I show them on a measuring stick (yep I've done that and even when I had the person there to view my 17.2) they don't believe it. no matter how I measure them they are 12.2hh. one is a proper chunky monkey and the other is finer. the chunky monkey will take up your leg easy but people even argue that he's smaller than the other one. talk about confusion!!! lol

the other problem I've come across is people saying that their 8yr old daughter would be too big for them so now that they've seen him they think they should go for a 14.2hh. that wouldn't be a problem but the kid was tiny but because the "in thing" now is to overhorse kids little tiddlers aren't getting a look in apart from parents wanting something for their babies who can't even crawl yet!
i'm not saying everyone is the same but certainly the selection of people I've met have been that way. not a generalisation, just first hand experience of a handful of people! ;)
 

JLD

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I have a 13.2. One friend is as adamant he is bigger, another insists he is 12.3. No - he is 13.2, he has been measured several times. If he was bigger I could ride him, if smaller he would be better for my daughter but he remains an unhelpful size ! ( I didn't buy him, he found me )
 

Megibo

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My mum bought a dales x tb mare passported as 15.1 but using a proper measuring stick she was only 14.3! Very chunky mare with a lot about her so you could easily mistake the couple inch difference!

My mare is a full up 13.3, some ex liverys we had back when we rented our own place got a pony on loan.. both they and the (then 16 yr old) owner insisted that he was 13.2... even had the height certificate to 'prove it' but when measured THREE times he was 12.3...and sure enough stood next to my 13.3 he was a good hand smaller! But still they insisted he was 13.2... still do though he's too old to serve purpose to any of them anymore so he's been given away free so I don't spose it matters what height anyone thinks he is!
 

w1bbler

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I have a Welsh d passported at 14.2 - she measures 15.1
Went to view a 15hh conny, that turned out to be considerably smaller than her, bought her & she measures 14.2.
Hardly surprising people are confused about heights when you have supposed legal documents that are completely inaccurate.
 

MagicMelon

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Hmm like others have said, some horses / ponies can look different in height depending on their build. As an example, a few years ago I had a 15.2hh Welsh D and one of my current horses, a 16hh Luso x TB. I felt perfect on the Welsh D because he was solid and had a high head carriage but the 16hh is very slim built and short coupled so I actually feel a bit big on him! I guess that's what people mean. But I do understand what you mean, someone came to see a 16.2hh warmblood I had a few years ago and on seeing him "oh, I think he's too big for me" and he wasn't even a "big" 16.2hh.
 

Blythe Spirit

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we have a 17.2 that everyone thinks is much bigger - he has really long legs which i think gives him the impression of being huge. After someone one insisted he must be at least 18hh we borrowed the measuring stick and he was as we thought 17.2. Some horses do mature late though, our PB lippi was bought at 6 and measured 15.2 but now at 19 he is 16.1 (he grew three inches between 6 and 8.) I did once go to see a horse advertised as 14.3 and asked if I could go catch him from the field to be handed a tiny pony sized head collar - lo and behold he was 13.2 if a day - but i didn't have a stick so couldn't prove it.
 
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