How sellable are larger horses? (17hh+)

becca1305

becca1305

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Ive always had a bit of a penchant to own a "big" horse and have been keeping my eye vaguely on the market for the past year or so. I decided I wanted a 17.2hh approx youngster to hunt (anything with no more than half TB in it, reasonable scope and sensible brained) just to teach to hunt and have fun with before selling on before next years hunt season. I have finally spotted one and may fit the bill (not a coloured *sigh* but got to be realistic!) and I am going to look on friday. My main concern is saleability of these larger horses, as naturally their size seems to restrict the market a little and I often see 16.3hh advertised which are clearly 17hh/17.1hh! The horse Im going to look at is 17.2hh advertised so could well be 17.3hhish! I was thinking of being able to sell it as a man's sane (hopefully!) hunter as I am tall (6ft) and relatively heavy myself and the horse is a weightcarrying type (tho I am hoping not too chunky!) so I will be the perfect test dummy :p. So my question; has anyone sold big horses recently? particularly hunters. How easy did you find it? I desperately want a big beastie to look over hedges on :p but not at a substantial risk of struggling to sell as it wont be a forever horse. Any advice? :)
 
Hmm got a 17.3hh monster but wouldn't have another if it was being given away with bells on!! My lad is gorgeous in all ways, BUT.. a nightmare to find tack and rugs for. Nightmare to find a lorry they fit in, don't fit in trailers! Poo for England, Eat for England, Scotland, Ireland & Wales!!!

My lad is currently lame, but vet and farrier both agree that his size/weight (he's a WB) on his legs/joints is bound to be a problem!
 
I sold 17hh horse for hunting but he rode small and was not very wide as 7/8 TB.

If buying to sell I would look for 17hh and not really any bigger. If they are a MW which is sounds like you are looking for they tend to take up the leg. I am 5'9 but look smaller on the 16.3hh MW hunter than on my over 17hh who is narrower.

A 17hh MW hunter will tick a lot of boxes as will carry weight, be tall enough but not too tall. Anything bigger than 17hh starts limiting your market. They just do not last and always seem to have niggling problems. I would never have anything bigger than 17hh and I like big horses.
 
yeh thats what i thought *sigh*. That being said I see a lot of men with big hunters out hunting near us. Ideally I would want a bigger version of my ISH mare in my dp so not too chunky but nice strong legs and capable of taking an average weight bloke. Ideally i think a 17hh/17.1hh would be perfect but Im still going to look at this mare on Fri and measure her!:)
 
I bought a "17.2hh" full Irish Draught 3 years ago, but he is nearer 18hh with 10" bone, but not coarse. He needed a lot of work but he is the nicest hunter (in a snaffle!) I've ridden, all in respects. We have turned many, many heads out hunting and I could have sold him several times over on the field at 3 times what i paid for him! I would definately buy this sort again. I'm 5'8" and I don't feel at all small on him. He takes a 7ft/7ft3 rug and an extra full bridle. Occasionally bits can be a bit tricky! He's quite a dab hand at dressage too! :D
 
thanks PML lovely to have such a positive review of larger laddies and lasses! :) The head turning factor (+manners) is I believe one of the big selling points of larger hunting horses, hence why I was ideally looking for a coloured (and because I love them), there is a 17.2hh coloured ISH who goes out with my hunt and I cant keep my eye off it lol :p my poor lily must feel very jealous! :p
 
I bought my boy as 17hh, but we measured him last week (without shoes) and he comes up just shy of 17.2hh. Eep! He's basically ID (officially ISH as has TB somewhere back in his lines) so is a weight carrier. Not sure whether he's ever hunted as don't know too much of his history, but when we were down in Co Clare in serious hunting country - not that I ever hunted, I'm a wuss - I was offered big money for him, over three times what I paid for him, on more than one occasion... so there's a market there for that type at least!

I love him to bits and, although it's not always smooth going with him, he is a star - TOTAL character though, plenty of quirks! Very laid back when it comes to jumping and has serious scope. Doesn't ride as big as he is - I'm just short of 6 foot tall and you can see in my sig, he doesn't look huge. Luckily he's quite compact for his size so only takes a 7 foot rug, but takes a x-full bridle/headcollar etc.

Only problem you might have if you get something like him is that you won't be able to sell him on cos you'll be far too attached :p
 
I have a 17.1British warmblood and a just shy of 18h german warmblood and I love them! The 17.1 gelding takes 6'6 rugs and the big mare takes 7'0. I can always find cheap rugs for her in the sales. They both do well on just hifi, they are both well mannered and friendly, everyone comments on them.
I love having big horses, I'm only 5'6 but I can ride and handle them fine.
The only thing is my girls legs fill a bit if she is kept in for long periods, eg 48hrs when she was wormed. Although she is fine once she has come out and moved around a bit.
I often have people asking me where I bought them and what their breeding is as they would like a big horse at some point.
 
I think for the market you are aiming for you will be fine - I see alot of large horses out hunting, as you say men tend to want/need this sort of size. When my husband used to ride he had an 18hh ID type, horses for courses really.

Also if you find something with enough quality to show then the bigger the better!
 
I think you are right. I only went to see Catembi because he was advertised as 16.3hh (I am tiny), & wouldn't have gone if he'd been advertised as 17hh.

After I lost him, I drove 200 miles to look at something advertised as 17hh & it was easily 17.3hh. DEF wouldn't have gone if advertised at its true height.

Oh dear, this is the 2nd time I've mentioned Cat in a post today, & it's making me feel sad.
 
I think in the hunting world you'd have no problem selling the bigger horse as lots of people seem to want as big as possible, I think this is because it avoids the mud and makes the jumps look smaller!
 
I've got a 17hh MW hunter and prior to him had a 17hh warmblood, I really love big horses and would have another ID cross again in a second in fact going to put my TB mare (hopefully) to Janet George's lovely ID stallion next year.

I'm about 5'7 and not that heavy but it doesn't put me off at all (although I do sometimes need a strong bit with my current horse if we're doing fast work) I don't think I look too small on him?

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The only thing I would say is that I have had soundness issues with my current horse and the previous big horse I sold also had soundness issues after I sold him (vets thought due to feet) so I think it is true that the extra weight does take it's toll.
 
I have a 17.2hh mare - she was advertised as 17hh otherwise I'd never have gone to see her (even that was pushing it as I'm 5'3!) but when I realised her true size I'd already fallen in love with her.

At 12 she has joints of an older horse due to her size - this is the only downside in my opinion.

Sure, it can be a bit difficult to get the saddle on, but I adore her and she is so light and easy to ride - she competes 1.10m BS with me (should do bigger but we've had set backs due to injury) and BD Elementary with my 5'5 sister and is largely speaking, an absolute angel. I wouldn't hesitate to get a big horse again personally.

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Lynsey&Smartie said:
I've got a 17hh MW hunter and prior to him had a 17hh warmblood, I really love big horses and would have another ID cross again in a second in fact going to put my TB mare (hopefully) to Janet George's lovely ID stallion next year.

I'm about 5'7 and not that heavy but it doesn't put me off at all (although I do sometimes need a strong bit with my current horse if we're doing fast work) I don't think I look too small on him?

The only thing I would say is that I have had soundness issues with my current horse and the previous big horse I sold also had soundness issues after I sold him (vets thought due to feet) so I think it is true that the extra weight does take it's toll.
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:eek: Can I have him? Pretty please, I'll trade you an uppity dressage horse
2nx8o0

He's 17.2hh and I could sell him 100 times over. However he too has rubbish feet, and if he decides to take his shoes off (:cool:) he can take half his shoe off too. :mad:
Another thing to consider is that when taking to shows, there stabling is often too small for Rossi so I have to demand the biggest available or stable off sight.
 
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Although not a hunter, we recently sold out 17.1 WB and had a ridiculous amount of enquiries for him. We had viewings set up everyday for a week but the 1st lady to try him came back for 2nd viewing and bought him before anyone else could view! Size definitely didn't seem to be an issue.

I'm 5'8/5'9 and feel more comfortable on bigger horses, even if it is then further to hit the floor if you fall!
 
I do not understand the obsession some people have with small horses (often horses actually too small for them). That said, I do think its easier to sell a 16.2 than a 17.2 because of the preconceptions people hold about big horses. I am 5 feet 1 and have a 17.1 MW, whom I do everything with. I have ridden small horses that are far stronger and more difficult to handle. He is also, at 14, one of the soundest horses with not even a windgall, never mind a splint or a curb or bad joints. He does better with plenty of turnout and exercise though. Very good doer and my 16.1's rugs all fit him, at 6 feet 9 to 7 feet. Lowers his head to have the bridle on and I stand on a chair to plait him! Hopefully we should be starting Foxhunter soon. Travels in a 3.5 tonne box and will squeeze himself into an IW505 if need be.

Because of the quite frankly strange notions people have in this country about big horses, you can actually get far more quality for your money if you go over the 17hh mark. Having worked with showjumpers on the Continent, you would be laughed at if you made an issue about a horse being too big, you simply ride whats there and therefore its quite common for relatively tiny girls to be out and about on big horses.
 
thanks for all the feedback. It seems to be okay for the market Im aiming it at which is great :). Im not looking at horses I would classify as heavyweight, just solid m/w ones. I am also very careful that my lot dont become obese :p although they seem to self maintain their weight on our fields very well and they get turn out every day (apart from a few horrific ones in winter) so hopefully shouldnt have any continual problems associated with stabling. Also all my stables are decent sized but the one I would put big horse in is HUGE 18x14 or something ridiculous like that :p so hopefully would still have enough room to help prevent issues from stabling. Horse will be vetted and legs and feet inspected very carefully.

I know absolutely nothing about showing :p do they have to have completely unmarked legs for all the classes etc? my mare is a pretty lady and someone suggested I show her but she has a scar on her inside hind where she decided to pull travel boot off and stand on her own leg in the trailer when she forgot how to travel *rolls eyes*, didnt even need the vet but it has left a scar.

PS. There are some very beautiful big horses in these pics and none of you look too small for them :)
 
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becca1305 said:
I show and it just really depends on who you are up against on the day, if there are two horses who the judge thinks are equal but one has a scar then you will be dropped down behind the one without a scar but in my experience scars are not marked as harshly as conformation faults or other lumps depending obviously on how bad the scar is. Working hunter classes tend to be more forgiving of scars too.

Can you try and disguise it with make up? You could try camrosa on it, rub it in everyday and see if it helps the hair grow back, it has worked for me in the past.
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thanks I may try camrosa as I already have a pot and I think if the hair grew back it would barely be noticeable. Im not really interested in showing myself tbh but would maybe try a working hunter class, and would obviously like her to be able to do as much as poss for future owner (sidesaddle lesson also going to be planned in soon :p).
 
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