Moving from ponies to horses...?

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sazzle44

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Hi everyone :) I'm just wondering how other people found it, moving from ponies to horses. What type/breed was your first horse and what age did you move up?
I'm starting to think I should probably make the swap sometime soon, but it seems to be a bit of a mental block for me! Completely stupid, I know, but I've always been far more comfortable on ponies. All the horses I've jumped I've just found horrificly uncomfortable :/
Saying that, I quite enjoy getting on one of the dressage horses my mum rides :) thanks for reading xx
 
I have a 15.2hh at the moment and before him had a 13.2hh.

Inbetween horse and ponies for other reasons I had a 5 year break, so it made starting competing again even harder!

I have found horses cant just be thrashed about like a pony, its hard to describe lol but they dont turn as sharp at 100mph

My riding is a lot better than on a pony as i think more as to what the horse is doing and other than the stride being a lot bigger and there normal walk pace feeling a lot faster it was fine

good luck :D
 
i went from a 14.2hh to a 17.2hh :) but to be fair, i was riding horses at the time i had my 148cm so i was riding ponies and horses for a year.
 
thanks for the replies :)
I just find the jumping wierd. Like...they drop their heads riiiight down,but I dunno if it's just the ones I've ridden (probably about 7 or 8 over a fence) or the way I'm riding lol and on the flat I think I tend to wind them up a bit or something. I've always had ponies that needed to be wound up to get the best out of them (I'm getting better at not doing it with my current pony though!)
The thing is, I really want to get into show-jumping more. I've always evented as my mum pushed me more in this direction. I love eventing, but am better show-jumping (not amazing, just better at it than anything else lol) and enjoy it most. But at 17, I'd have to do seniors, and don't know how my pony would cope.
 
i didnt really notice a difference jumping really, having said that it was 5 years since I had jumped and the last comp I did was a 1.15 track on my 13.2hh and I havent jumped those heights on my horse yet so cant really compare haha,

my horse is a horse with the brain of a pony so really he isnt that different!!

oh yeah you mentioned what breed,

I went from a 13.2hh 6year old ISH Chestnut Mare (maybe that explains why she is fast!) to a 12year old Appaloosa x TB so very similar builds except a little older
 
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I went from a 12.2 to 15hh and I found it difficult but I am not very tall and he was a welfare case with A LOT of issues! I know from experience of riding horses they aren't as "fun" as ponies. I'm not sure fun is the word to use, but because they are bigger you can't play with them so much. They don't tend to have a 5th (and 6th) leg like a lot of ponies and also won't tend to help you out as much RE striding etc.

As FH is only 15hh he is still ponyish so doesn't experience the problems as much as say a 17hh but it is still noticeable when I look back at some of the turns and strides my 12.2 could jump off and FH is equally if not more talented at jumping than my SP
 
Could you find a good equestrian centre loally, with nice horses for you to have lessons on occasionally? To help you get a feel of bigger horses?

My stepson is on a 13.2, and growing outofit fast, so I'm hoping to wean him onto my own mare over the summer as I won't be able to ride. We're planning for him to do PC rallies on mine, and shows on his own...
 
Honey08 said:
Could you find a good equestrian centre loally, with nice horses for you to have lessons on occasionally? To help you get a feel of bigger horses?
Click to expand...

That might be an idea. I was thinking of asking my senior instructor at PC if there she had anything to hop on but I dunno if she does...
I think the whole, not being able to play about with a horse as much is the trouble. All my ponies have had a real sense of humour (Danny used to buck in a one stride double, just for a laugh! lol)
 
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