Jumping/ eventing - does size really matter?

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Kelpie

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Sorry, couldn't help the title
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What I'm wondering, is about the relationship between the size of your horse (i.e. hh) and the max height he's able to jump.

I was amazed to hear that one of the horses jumping at Olympia was a mere 15.2hh, which has actually given me great hope that my 15.1hh lad will still be able to get some decent height.

However, is it something of a one-off to have a horse so small able to jump such great heights? How big are your horses/ what sort of max height can they jump?

I'd like to get my 15.1hh lad as far up the eventing tree as I can but I wonder at what stage the jumps will be physically just too heigh/ big for him? Or is it more about jumping ability/ technique than simple height of the horse?
 
Height has nothing to do with it -

http://www.clevedonridingcentre.co.uk/About_Us.htm

scroll to the bottom and you will see Clevedon Merry Lady who was 15hh.

Little Tiger is about 15.1hh and Teddy O Connor was even smaller. Its all to do with bravery and ability than height. I know 17hh horses who are completely talentless over a fence.
 
as above, scope doesn't have anything much to do with height of the horse. tbh i think most 14.2 ponies are better jumpers in relation to their height than a lot of horses!
Stroller was 14.2 (then re-measured as a horse) and won Silver at the Olympics SJ, and the Hickstead Derby...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroller_(horse)

size doesn't matter, other than that a small horse MIGHT struggle slightly with the distances in combinations. Teddy O'Connor managed just fine when Karen O'Connor rode him as if he was a horse, but if she rode him on a more holding stride, as if he was a pony, he struggled with the distances, apparently...
he was a really exceptional pony though, phenomenal scope.
 
My 14.2hh pony can jump a metre, and I'd like to work him a little higher. My 15.3hh horse cleared 1.10 today with lots of scope and I'm sure we could hit 1.30 maybe more with time. I know Olympia is much higher than that but height really doesn't matter.
 
size has nothing to do with it really...i know a good few 17hh horses that are completley pants over a fence...and some 13hh which are equally pants, but then there are a lot of small horses that are amazing, and a lot of big horses that are amazing. depends completley on the horse.

i think it was called Stroller? (not sure though) that was only about 14.2hh and did amazing showjumping, tbh a lot of 14.2hh bsja ponies are better than a lot of bsja horses in relation to fence height.

xxx
 
Two current Swedish team horses - Saint Amour and Ninja La Silla are 16hh - so they jump fences as high as themselves. All to do with talent and ability, much less so with height. Though a smaller horse needs a canter big enough to work within the distances, or it will be harder.
 
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Lucinda fredericks horse "britt" won Badminton and Burghley CCI 4**** titles, and that horse is a 15'2hh
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she won Lexington 4* too...!

another little one with phenomenal scope!

Does anyone remember a little French sjer called Jappeloup de Luze, he was only about 15.2 and jumped huge tracks.
 
Hardly a theodore o'connor or a stroller....but somewhat more achievably, mine is only 15hh, built like a whippet (a TB ex flat horse) and, to be honest, has pretty dodgy techinque.

But - hes been lumbered with me since he was 5 and is now 9, and jumping ints and ** quite happily - I'm hoping he'll go advanced this year. He does loose distance in trebles, but other than that his attitude carries him far farther than his abilities. He certainly doesn't know how small he is!
 
[ QUOTE ]
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Lucinda fredericks horse "britt" won Badminton and Burghley CCI 4**** titles, and that horse is a 15'2hh
wink.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

she won Lexington 4* too...!

another little one with phenomenal scope!

Does anyone remember a little French sjer called Jappeloup de Luze, he was only about 15.2 and jumped huge tracks.

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yup
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seen vids of him on thrills and spills video.
awesome little pingy pone
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A long way away from the action!

He also looks to go round with his reins braced all the time with double reins which I dont think I have seen before?

or maybe not and I'm seeing things?
 
It's all about their attitude with smaller horse tbh. I remember reading an interview with Phoebe Buckley somewhere where she said Little Tiger comes out out the start box thinking she's 17hh....she has no idea she's so small and never doubts her own ability to get over a fence.
 
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It's all about their attitude with smaller horse tbh. I remember reading an interview with Phoebe Buckley somewhere where she said Little Tiger comes out out the start box thinking she's 17hh....she has no idea she's so small and never doubts her own ability to get over a fence.

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but then, why should she?! 14.2 ponies jump HUGE tracks, it's not as if they would think "jeez, i could be 17.2, then these would look small"...! as long as they've got the talent and scope, and haven't had their confidence wrecked, why shouldn't they jump a big track?
imho it's the fact that most riders wouldn't want to ride 15hh into Centaur's Leap that makes the biggest difference...!
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that, and the distances, as i said before. these can break a small horse's heart if s/he has a short stride...

btw, i've known 17.2 horses who had no athleticism or scope to speak of, and would have struggled to jump a 3'6" track cleanly...
 
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He also looks to go round with his reins braced all the time with double reins which I dont think I have seen before?

or maybe not and I'm seeing things?

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I'm a little confused by the "braced" comment as he doesn't seem to be going much differently than the average show jumper, so far as contact and shape are concerned, but the horse did jump in a pelham. He was notoriously difficult in the mouth (as some people feel French horses are inclined to be) and the most successful set up for him was a straight rubber (or vulcanite, I can't remember) with a leather curb strap - so not that "harsh" a bitting arrangement at all. He schooled at home in the de facto snaffle.

On the size front, obviously there are some very small horses that succeed and some very large ones, as well. But both ends of the spectrum are relatively rare - I think if you polled the average showjumper or eventer they'd say something in the 15.3 to 16.3 range would be ideal. Given suitable scope, obviously.

A bigger issue is stride length, particularly for modern courses where related distances make up such a big part of the test. A horse with a naturally very short or very long stride will struggle with the adjustability modern courses demand. It doesn't have to be size related, either - I rode a barely 16hh horse with an enormous, slow "lopey" stride and he always struggled with tight distances, preferring to lope to the long one if he could. It worked fine when the jumps were small and the distances generous, not so much at everything got higher and tighter.
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Lucinda fredericks horse "britt" won Badminton and Burghley CCI 4**** titles, and that horse is a 15'2hh
wink.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

she won Lexington 4* too...!

another little one with phenomenal scope!

Does anyone remember a little French sjer called Jappeloup de Luze, he was only about 15.2 and jumped huge tracks.

[/ QUOTE ]

I saw Jappeloup at Hickstead many years ago - Awesomely handsome and talented ....
Sharonxxx
 
I don't think it's the height of the horse that really is the issue. Bigger tracks aren't necessarily the problem, it's the distances in combinations and also making the time that can be a problem.

There are several smaller horses that compete at top level and they do phenominally. However, these horses are, in my book, utterly exceptional and by no means 'the norm'! Also, unfortunately, *sometimes* they can have a shorter competing career due to the strain.
 
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Also, unfortunately, *sometimes* they can have a shorter competing career due to the strain.

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Really? Charisma didn't break down, Teddy O'Connor was a freak accident and Brit is still going strong. I lost my 16.2hh because his huge movement caused issues strain-wise, so I guess you could say the same about any size horse, for different reasons?

Can understand why you'd say this though.
 
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