kids on horses?

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1alex1moose

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This is partly a rant and I'm also looking to see what people think.

Increasingly where I live there are more and more early teens (under 16) getting big horses (16 hands plus). Many of them are getting them as first horses or after they've had a pony and many have very few if any lessons. They try and ride them like ponies - often going too fast and without proper schooling. Inevitably the horses get fewer and fewer manners or lose confidence and then start to misbehave... at which point they are sold.

The clueless parents have no idea how to help so obvious issues like back or teeth are completely overlooked as the kids have no idea that these may be needed and parents are often unwilling to pay for these costs.

I find it hugely frustrating to see so many good horses (and they are good and often expensive) going to waste because the riders are simply not strong or experienced enough to cope.

Even a few years ago when i was riding there were no kids on anything over 14.2. If they were heavy built they got a cob.

It seems to be becoming a fashion accessory to have a bigger flashier looking horse instead of a pony.

Your thoughts on this new trend please.
 
i agree, and it's very sad for all concerned, not least the horses, which get ruined. you can get away with murder on most ponies, whereas horses are like a different species. i don't know what the answer is... more training, less ignorance, obviously, but that's not easy to initiate.
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my horse is nearly 16hh, but i swear he's grown 2 inches since we got him! i really should measure him again...

tbh, if i was looking again, i'd go for something small, and i'd love a pony (never had one)


i agree
 
IMO this isn't really a 'kids' issue - it's more inexperienced people over horsing themselves. I think there are plenty of adults who do this as well as under 16's. A friend of mine is 14 and has a 4 year old 16.1 TBx with whom she is doing really well. I think people always try to ride horses like ponies when they first move onto them, but mostly they soon get the idea that it doesn't work!

Don't see a problem with young people on horses, although for some it is a shame that they are missing out on the last few pony years, but agree with you about inexperienced owners!
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I went from a 13.2hh cobby pony to a 16hh TB. probably wasnt the most sensible move ever, but as my mum knew nothing about horses she didnt want to get me one that I would grow out of!!!!.
I was lucky(kind of!!) in that my TB, tried to kill me for the first 6 months I had him, so got an awful lot of help with him, as I refused point blank to sell him to someone else when he misbehaved so badly. I think kids can ride bigger horses aslong as they get the help they need, and would agree that there are alot of inexperienced adults who have horses they cant control etc.
 
I am 12 (nearly 13) and have a 15.1hh warmblood show-jumper. We went to view her and I rode and jumped her, then we took my instructor as well who said she would be good for me.
I do not find that she over horses me, and her flatwork has gone from nothing to working in an outline and everything - we are doing dressage now.

We did not buy her as a 'trend', but because I am quite tall (5'3) and wanted something that I could grow into and not outgrow fully.
 
I have a 15hh Trakehner x and I'm 13, I wish she was 16hh instead, because then I can be sure I won't grow out of her, there are lots of kids that are more competent than adults, look at the mini hickstead competeters! I agree that there are some kids that are as bad as you say, but it is not the size of the horse that matters!! You can get devil ponys too! So I think what you've said in this post is completely unfair and often untrue.
 
i agree to sticking on ponies for as long as you can
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im 16 and still have a 14.2hh but he has been sold and is going on the weekend
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The only reason i now have a 15.2hh horse is cos im out of juniors BSJA (my birthday was the wrong side of the calender year so i have been a senior since i was just turned 16
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), and i do alot of BSJA so i had to get a horse really
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i would much prefure to stay on ponies, MUCH more fun
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I'm 22 and regularly ride a 14.2 and she is sooo much fun. I wish she was 15 years younger. In my lessons I often ride a 16.2 and feel over horsed..I can ride him and get him working correctly but I just feel like a pea on a mountain as I am a petite 5'6''
 
I've never really ridden ponies, given that at 11 I was 5ft 7 and 10 stone! When I was 13 I was riding a 17.3hh horse - ok she was the quietest thing ever even at 3 years old! I rarely rode anything smaller than 16hh until I went to college. Then a few years ago I had a 13.2hh Haflinger x on loan, she was ace, but I must admit I didnt like the feeling of being soo close to the ground whilst going at speed.
 
im 5'3 just about and presently ride horses from 15.1 to 17.1, and prefer the 17 hand horse size wise. i dont feel overhorsed, although he's very strong and tears off with his taller heavier owner, the horse gets on with my style of riding.
the 15.1 feels sooo close to the ground
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although i'll never grow out of him.
 
my daughter is 15 and came off a 13.3hh onto a 16 hh last year, she is 5ft 8 at the moment and i also was looking to get a quiet horse that she wouldnt grow out of in a hurry. they had there problems in the beginning as the horse although 8 was green as grass but with lessons from great instructors they have come a very long way in 16 months.
 
I have never ridden ponies as I was a late starter at 27yrs old. I do agree with others that it isn't necessarily a child thing though. i have seen plenty of over horsed adults and also know a girl, who from at least 13 yrs of age has ridden horses and is a fantastic rider.
 
[quote
I do not find that she over horses me, and her flatwork has gone from nothing to working in an outline and everything - we are doing dressage now.

We did not buy her as a 'trend', but because I am quite tall (5'3) and wanted something that I could grow into and not outgrow fully.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ditto! but i am 14 and i have a 4yo 16.1tbx and she doesnt over horse me at all.
 
I don't think its age that matters. I was 5ft 8 by the time I was 12 so I was riding horses. I would have looked silly on ponies as I have long gangly legs
 
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