bertandbeans
New User
I too have seen pushy or ignorant parents putting their children onto ponies/horses too big and therefore too much for the kid. In saying that, it really is a case by case senario. My first horse at 12yrs of age was 15.2hh and he was too much for me really looking back, but that had nothing to do with his size. He would have been just as opinionated if he was 13.2hh! I had him until he died aged 30 yrs.
I learned to ride in UK riding schools and was often put on the 15hh types as was tall for my age. I only did a couple of years of the pony thing. After emmigrating with my family to NZ aged 12yrs was when I got the 15.2hh nutter. Having only experinced a riding school enviroment to being out on open land by myself was most of the problem. In NZ they hunt over full wire (just jump the paddock fences basically) and as my horse had been regularly hunted, he thought nothing of popping any fence that took his fancy.
As an adult my next model was 15.1hh. So in fact smaller although I'm 5ft 8".
I will admit to feeling a little under horsed most of the time. After owning her for about three years, I got a 17hh off the track TB. Definately didn't feel underhorsed on him! However with reschooling he had impeccable manners, disc brakes and therefore was much easier to ride than either of the other two.
In NZ showjumping, kids stay on ponies until they're 17. So you do see some very leggy riders on full sized ponies. However, no one makes comments about it as it's accepted as the norm. At the yard I worked at, all our liveries competed in affliated S/J so had to say on ponies til 17yrs, but they did buy horses when they were about 14yrs and trained at home. Again, their last ponies were often bought because they rode more like a small horse and therefore the step up to a proper horse was less dramatic.
I learned to ride in UK riding schools and was often put on the 15hh types as was tall for my age. I only did a couple of years of the pony thing. After emmigrating with my family to NZ aged 12yrs was when I got the 15.2hh nutter. Having only experinced a riding school enviroment to being out on open land by myself was most of the problem. In NZ they hunt over full wire (just jump the paddock fences basically) and as my horse had been regularly hunted, he thought nothing of popping any fence that took his fancy.
As an adult my next model was 15.1hh. So in fact smaller although I'm 5ft 8".
I will admit to feeling a little under horsed most of the time. After owning her for about three years, I got a 17hh off the track TB. Definately didn't feel underhorsed on him! However with reschooling he had impeccable manners, disc brakes and therefore was much easier to ride than either of the other two.
In NZ showjumping, kids stay on ponies until they're 17. So you do see some very leggy riders on full sized ponies. However, no one makes comments about it as it's accepted as the norm. At the yard I worked at, all our liveries competed in affliated S/J so had to say on ponies til 17yrs, but they did buy horses when they were about 14yrs and trained at home. Again, their last ponies were often bought because they rode more like a small horse and therefore the step up to a proper horse was less dramatic.
