Modern Obsession with putting kids on bigger and bigger ponies/horses

I was the kid you are on about i was 11yr old super skinny kid on a 15'3" just broken 3 yr old tb, but i rode her with confidence never had any problems (even though she was a complete cow) controlling her and never had spurs or whip, and just rode in a snaffle.
I had more confidence riding her than i did the little 13'2" driving pony i exercised for a friend that bolted and dumped me in numerous horrible suituations, as the pony would set her neck and go and there was no stopping.
So i know some of them skinny kids on big horses look like they would be blown away in a strong gust of wind, but not all are over horsed
 
I have to say I totally agree with the OP.

I have just recently put my mare out on loan - 16.2hh, 13yo TBx. Advertised as needing a confident, experienced rider as she is sharp, forward going and can be excitable.

The number of enquiries I had from parents of 11, 12 and 13 year old children - one who described how her daughter had just about outgrown her 12.2hh so it was time to move on to something bigger....!

Needless to say I politely ended the conversation and made sure to ask the height, weight and age of rider when talking to potential loaners. The number of people who enquire about totally innappropriate horses is staggering.
 
Not sure it's that modern an obsession - 20 yrs ago I was mocked at PC for being 12 and on a 12.2 welshie... HOWEVER - who did they want on the SJ team constantly because we could be relied upon to jump clear unlike the 12yr old's on horses they were too small for :rolleyes:
We actually quit doing PC because of the stick I got "that pony's completely unsuitable for that child" (refering to the size) the year we qualified for RIHS was just one of many comments. They seemed completely unable to understand that competing BSJA was more important to me than eventing (soz eventing folks :p) and that I didn't WANT a horse (which apparently you HAD to have to get on an eventing team).

I did only manage 6 months on 13.2's though - I grew 6 inches over the summer and was totally too big on my fine boned 13.2 so went onto 14.2's and stayed there til the end of my 16th yr :cool:
 
Riding a big horse makes the fences look and possibly feel smaller. ;)

Respect to the pony/small horse riders (me!) - fences always look huge :D:D:D
 
I too remember well the old 12.2 12 yrs and under, 13.2 14 yrs and under and 14.2 16 and under - those classes don't seem to exist in unaffiliated anymore which might encourage some to stick with their ponies. I do agree that some taller children would be better suited to horses ie 6ft 14 yr olds but I do worry about really young children ie 7 yrs olds being put on 14 hh - what if the pony spooked, tanked off etc - they just dont have the strength or mental ability to act rationally in unforseen circumstances.

Monkeybum at 5ft 4 still rode her 13 hh at 16 yrs of age although she also had a 15.3 to ride. Needless to say pony didn't go to PC then as everything else was huge. Now at 17 she's on a 16.3:confused: at least she went up in stages.
 
Horses for courses, (or some such cliche). At age 10 I was riding my father's wise and kind 16.2 ex-flat racer, Finglass Road, with confidence. He was a perfect gentleman, unlike my 13.3 skewbald rogue, who while adorable to handle or ride bareback, got toally stressed out hunting or at PC, bucked and reared for England, and very nearly put me off riding for good. I then moved on to a 14.2 when I was 13, who was the most marvellous hunter, BUTI was a 5' 9" matchstick, and my feet frequently knocked the tops of walls, fences etc. out hunting.

American friends tell me that children there are often started on Quarter Horses or the like, as ponies are not considered 'safe'.

The trouble begins where the child is provided with a particular mount for the wrong reasons - to look good, to compete in certain classes and so on - I don't think you can generalise.
 
This has been around for years but unfortunately there doesn't seem to be the sensible parents around to keep tabs on it. Just clueless parents with more money than sense, wanting there kid to be the next big thing & they can't possibly do that on a tiny little scruffy pony that is safe as houses & worth its weight in gold!

Unfortunatley as well as this it has also become fashionable to have a 'YOUNGSTER' to bring on!WTF! how are they supporsed to teach a youngster when they are still being taught themselves!!!

I was on a 12hh welsh untill I was 14 & then moved to a 13.2hh but I was always looked down on (literally!:p) & people used to say when are you going grow up & get a horse! So obviously Horse = Grown up in these stupid peoples eyes!
There are of course some people that have genuine reasons for horses so not tarring everyone with the same brush!

Still take my 12hh out for a stretch & get frown at all the time & told I am cruel, I am no more then 8 stone & I am about 5.2ft. I am sorry but it is safer than on the ground she would pull my arms out!:D
 
I was 12 (20 years ago) before I got my first pony on part loan, a 12.2 Welsh B newly broken in little ****. I was already too tall for him but definitely not to heavy and beggars can't be choosers. I fell off him more times than I remember but he taught me so much. I did have a bit of pressure to move off him but I did look ridiculous on him!

After a year his owner said I was too big for him and could ride her 14hh Sec D instead. We were both 13 at the time (pony, not his owner). Although he was quite short (I would have been about 5'4"-5" at this point) he was built like a tank and could easily carry me even when I grew to 5'6 1/2". I later moved on from just riding him to loaning him and eventually bought him for £5 (long story!) He was with me until he died aged 27.

All the way through pony club, there was only two girls my age, my best friend who had a 15.2 and one other girl so all of my contemporaries were a year or two younger. They all started off on ponies the same size but within a year or two all had 16hh horses while I stayed on my little hairy monster. The kids put me under pressure but the DC and instructors never did as they knew he was one in a million. We virtually without fail beat all the horses at every jumping competition going. I didn't keep him because I won stuff on him but because I felt totally safe on him.

I now have a 16.3 ID (not what I went to buy, another long story) and although I feel right on him. I really miss bombing about on a pony I had total faith in and knew I could stop in a couple of feet if I needed to, turn on a sixpence and would fly over any fence in front of him. Horses are much harder work.

So does anybody think my friend putting her 4 year old on her 17.1 IDx is wrong? :p..... Before anyone jumps down my throat he has his own 10hh Sec A that he rides properly but has had a sit on Monty and a trip round the school! I reckon he'll be riding him by the age of 10. Will is tall (his dad is 6'6")and Monty is not only a gent and a real schoolmaster ridden by novices in a rubber snaffle but will be 22 by then! I think he might even go straight from the Sec A to Monty:eek:
 
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Enfys, it's the same in Holland with children starting out on bigger horses. There just isn't the variety and quantity of good ponies out there!

I think it depends entirely on the child and the horse/pony. Yes it's lovely to see a child on a pony that is the right size for him or her, but I would rather see that child feeling happy and confident on something too big for them than getting bucked off a pony! It is also down to personal preference, and I think it's good for ones riding to ride all sorts of sizes.

I prefer great big warmbloods - I would MUCH rather be up on an 18.2hh who is giving me hell than on a 14.2hh doing the same, I am 5'8 so I guess I'm considered tall enough to ride my 18.2hh, I have no idea why I would rather be up high, just personal preference! My mother is the same - and at 5'3 she can look ridiculous up on Atlas, but she feels happier on him than on something smaller so why not?
 
My last horse was a biggie and a bit of a nightmare when I first got him. i helped at a trekking centre, and that's where i really realised I am a pony girl.. so here I am with a pony I adore, and who shares a paddock with a mini shetland who i also adore. I grew up riding ponies (at a hang on for dear life rs), and I think it's just stuck. sm x
 
We have had a number of comments about the size of our new boy. My daughter was not ready to move onto anything too big even though she is quite tall. She is on a 15hh now and he will hopefully last her a good while. People seem to think that smaller horses are not able to take their children on to the next levels. A gratuitous picture of them shown just because I have learnt how to post them!
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but sometimes we mothers have horses, i have a 15.1hh/2hh 4yo and my 9yo thinks hes his personal horse i have offered to buy a pony but hes attached and loves my horse and wants to do shows , etc hes just not intrested in another horse or pony and actually, they bond really well and tbh its handy sharing more cash for lessons, etc
mind, i would not have went out and bought him a horse as big as that ! Maybe a 12.2 to keep him grounded !
but we have horse well never grow out of
 
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When I was 11 my 3rd *pony* was a big striding 15hander. I looked like a pea on a mountain! She was 17 though and the only available horse for me to have at a time. She came with a 'not novice ride' tag line and I was quite nervy. She scared me witless for the first 2/3 months but then I got used to her and she was the most amazing horse.
She took me from being too scared to jump a x pole to thinking 3ft11 courses were small. We clicked and she would jump anything. She was tough, brave and amazing and Ive spent the next 10/15 years trying to find another like her.
It can work, sometimes it's not the height of the horse but the heart they have.
My next horse was also a bit too big and strong but he was brilliant too, although he was too strong for me to take hunting or on fun rides.
My horse after that was a petite 15.1/15.2, she was lovely and small. The perfect height for me... She was the trickiest one out of the lot!
 
I have a 16.3 tb. He has had 12 year olds ride him in the school and do some smallish jumps on him in the school, as he is a nice well behaved horse (with a reasonable rider). However, put the same 12 year old child on him round a cross country course and it would be a complete and utter disaster. I struggle to keep him together round an XC course, I am 5ft8 and no weakling. No child would be able to ride him round.
 
hmmmm My first pony was 13.2. I was probably a bit tall for him when I got him, age 10. My second "pony" was a 16hh TB ex racer I got him age 13. I did not "race round" on him as I was too scared of breaking him (he was a massive hypercondriac! :) ), I had way more breaks and steering on him than I ever had on the 13.2, and in a snaffle, and we taught each other masses- he didnt cost masses either. He was my horse of a lifetime!

Dont think every 13 year old who has a horse should be tarred with the same brush!
 
I completely agree OP, I too am sick and tired of seeing children far too overhorsed at competitions.

As for being too big for ponies, I'm 5'10"(and a little bit) and at the moment due to my mare (who is only just over 15hh) being lame, i'm riding a 14 (and a little bit)hh connemara pony - all my height is in my legs, however they do not hang below his body and i do not look too huge on him at all, we dressage, xc, jump, pleasure ride etc etc. I do feel comfortable on him, as well as a 16.3hh horse, however i'd choose the smaller one every time! when i see a child on anything too big i cringe!

Sorry, i should add that i am not a child but an adult - but just making the height point!
 
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lexiedhb said:
hmmmm My first pony was 13.2. I was probably a bit tall for him when I got him, age 10. My second "pony" was a 16hh TB ex racer I got him age 13. I did not "race round" on him as I was too scared of breaking him (he was a massive hypercondriac! :) ), I had way more breaks and steering on him than I ever had on the 13.2, and in a snaffle, and we taught each other masses- he didnt cost masses either. He was my horse of a lifetime!

Dont think every 13 year old who has a horse should be tarred with the same brush!
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I'm not sure anyone is tarring or brushing. I am sure there are 13yos on 16.2hhs who are nicely mounted.
My beef is with the overall thrust of the Pony Club, starting at about 6 years of age, to CONSTANTLY tell you your child is too big for its pony *when it is not*.
I don't have an issue with individual 13yos, one of my best friends is 14 and has a big TB, I have an issue with the growing disease of wanting to see children over horsed and ponies consequently overbitted and undercontrolled.
I know someone whose 8yo was totally happy on a nice little 12hh jumping pony but no, she was told incessantly she was too big, so bumped up onto a 13.2hh, who promptly went up and toppled over backwards on her. The point is, the child was never too big for the 12hh in the first place. It's as if they just can't let it rest, the minute (and this is only barely an exaggeration) the legs appear below the saddleflaps, we're talking 'moving on'.

Of course there are taller, stronger children, who go up the sizes quicker, and then there are super talented children who might move on a bit quicker, but it's the incessant pushing of the normal sized normally able child about which I am ranting.
 
my daughter has a miniature horse which she had when they were both 2, they are now both 4, have the most amazing bond and he will turn his hoof to anything for her, jumping, gymkana, hacks etc etc, we get looked down on when there are younger kids on huge ponies, people seem to think we have no chance, however they have tons of rossettes and are now winning round 1ft6. She will stay on him til her feet touch the floor lol
 
I think it must be specifc branches of the PC thats like this. My daughter is 15 next month, still rides at area level on our 14hh mare, jumping 3'3+. I think our DC will shoot me if I threaten to sell Jess. They have said I should keep her for another year then move up to horses. We do have a range of 15yr old girls on bigger horses, one in particular is 5'11 and rides a 17.2, she gets on it from the ground!! She would look silly on something of pony height. I think it all depends how "keeping up with the Joneses" the PC branch is.

Liz
 
skewbald_again said:
My beef is with the overall thrust of the Pony Club, starting at about 6 years of age, to CONSTANTLY tell you your child is too big for its pony *when it is not*.
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Presumably this is a problem within your individual branch, rather than the Pony Club in general, as we have never had any pressure to 'move up' heightwise at PC, and indeed many of the Sprog's friends are still on 14.2hhs and I've never heard them being told they need a horse either!

Do the people who urge parents to 'up-size' happen to have ponies for sale, perchance?
 
TGM said:
Presumably this is a problem within your individual branch, rather than the Pony Club in general, as we have never had any pressure to 'move up' heightwise at PC, and indeed many of the Sprog's friends are still on 14.2hhs and I've never heard them being told they need a horse either!
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Yes, and presumably all the people on here who have agreed with me are all in my branch, which is odd as I don't seem to know any of them.

Or maybe it is a fair few branches?
 
SORRY - but if William Fox Pitt can cope on a 15 hand horse, and go round 3* 3 day events, then people can manage on far smaller horses.


I an 5 ft 7. I will still happily ride a 13'2 and do so regulary. I have schooed 12'2 ponies for people which are too much for the kids. I competed a 14'2 as a pony and then as a horse in affiliated jumping sucessfully. Rode 3 different ponies round PC area show jumping. All were GP ponies, not show jumpers and were made to do every activity through to Prince Phillip Cup Gymkana! Bred another horse - it grew to 15'3, and it has far more issues and problems!

Ponies eat less, stay fitter, dont tend to have the same issues as horses, and have far better legs and dont go wrong at the drop of a a hat.
 
skewbald_again said:
Yes, and presumably all the people on here who have agreed with me are all in my branch, which is odd as I don't seem to know any of them.

Or maybe it is a fair few branches?
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I could well be wrong but... back in my day (hate saying that makes me seem well old :p) it seemed that the branches that encouraged you to go onto horses early were those that were predominantly occupied with eventing. Those that were more focused on SJ or mounted games encouraged you to stay on ponies.
To be fair our branch had a great eventing team and produced some good eventers - but they were rubbish at SJ and as for mounted games couldn't understand why you needed to do more than a collected canter or would want to be competitive :o
 
skewbald_again said:
I'm not sure anyone is tarring or brushing. I am sure there are 13yos on 16.2hhs who are nicely mounted.
My beef is with the overall thrust of the Pony Club, starting at about 6 years of age, to CONSTANTLY tell you your child is too big for its pony *when it is not*.
I don't have an issue with individual 13yos, one of my best friends is 14 and has a big TB, I have an issue with the growing disease of wanting to see children over horsed and ponies consequently overbitted and undercontrolled.
I know someone whose 8yo was totally happy on a nice little 12hh jumping pony but no, she was told incessantly she was too big, so bumped up onto a 13.2hh, who promptly went up and toppled over backwards on her. The point is, the child was never too big for the 12hh in the first place. It's as if they just can't let it rest, the minute (and this is only barely an exaggeration) the legs appear below the saddleflaps, we're talking 'moving on'.

Of course there are taller, stronger children, who go up the sizes quicker, and then there are super talented children who might move on a bit quicker, but it's the incessant pushing of the normal sized normally able child about which I am ranting.
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Blimey- If i were you i would move branch of pony club! We were encouraged to stay on ponies at our PC.
 
MagsnPaddy said:
I could well be wrong but... back in my day (hate saying that makes me seem well old :p) it seemed that the branches that encouraged you to go onto horses early were those that were predominantly occupied with eventing. Those that were more focused on SJ or mounted games encouraged you to stay on ponies.
To be fair our branch had a great eventing team and produced some good eventers - but they were rubbish at SJ and as for mounted games couldn't understand why you needed to do more than a collected canter or would want to be competitive :o
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An interesting point. Those who have made comments to us are all concerned with the eventing team . There has been a big push towards eventing in our branch and I wonder if that is fueling it.
 
I sold my 13.3hh pony when I was 16 and my next/current horse is 17.3hh :/ I'm 19 now. There is nothing wrong with children riding ponies, as they should. I was told to sell my pony for years, but I kept her until I had outgrown her mentally etc. There is also nothing wrong with riding large horses, as long as you're capable.
 
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