Moving up to bigger horses ...

[maxapple]

Is it just me that has a bit of a phobia about big horses? I have a 15.1 Tb and a 14.1 pony - and being small has meant all through riding school I was always given the ponies to ride and sort of stuck with smaller ones.

I am now on the hunt for number 3 and have a possible horse to look at - but she is much bigger than I'd planned (16.2 sports horse)

However - she does sound quite perfect - and I'm tempted to go see her. I'm just a bit worried I won;t be confident on a big horse.??

 

[beckiebeckyboo]

just because shes 16.2 doesnt mean she ll ride like a big horse, go and see!!!!

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

Everyone who has ever moved on from ponies to horses has had similar feelings to what you are feeling at the moment. There is only one way to relieve these feelings & that is to go & look at the horse. Take a friend with you to provide you some support. Let the owner ride the horse first & you watch them. If the horse goes well then have a ride yourself & just se how you feel. I'm sure everything will be fine.

 

[Achinghips]

Lol -How tall are you?

 

[millitiger]

i moved from a 14.2 to a 17.1 when i was 15- i never felt overhorsed.

i actually feel safer on a big horse as they can't move as quickly as the smaller ones- you can feel a buck or a spook coming up 5 strides before on a big horse as they have so much more body to organise!

 

[maxapple]

I'm actually 5"4 ish so I'm not short really. I was just always really skinny when I was a kid and now am still a size 8 so even when we go on holidays / for riding clinics I get the smaller ones so have never really been given an opportunity to ride bigger horses. I rode (well - sat on!) my friends 18.2 horse recently - that was scarey!!!

Interestingly I've fallen off my pony more times in the past year I've had him than in all the years I've been riding as he is so quick / sharp - so the point about feeling and being safer on a big horse is probably true isn't it!

Think I should probably go and have a look!

 

[Snowysadude]

My first horse was 17"2 and 4, i never felt overhorsed and i would still have him if he hadnt broken his leg. He didnt ride big though!

I then had a couple of others till i broke my back, then i bought a 14"3 cob and had him for a good few yrs (sold in summer as outgrown ability and he was perfect ladies hack

!). I now have a 17hh warmblood who rides huge! And for the first couple of weeks (and when i tried him) he felt massive but now i am used to him and wouldnt change him for the world

! So go try it, she may be the one!

 

[Achinghips]

Hmmm... she does sound a little big for you. But, who cares, if she's the right horse, for the right price, you're doing the right thing.
Lol - you'll find her massive, aftyer a 15.1hh!!

 

[dressager]

Depends on how big it's paces are and how easy it is to hold together. I'm 5'4" and size 8 also and have a 16.2hh WB. I find him more difficult to put together than my friends 17hh TB, or the 17.2hh schoolmaster I used to ride, so all depends on the horse, level of training etc. As for feeling confident I think a lot of people are apprehensive of a new horse regardless of size, it will come with time.

Agree with above, at least you can feel a buck coming! Feels like slow motion compared with smaller horses.

 

[NeverSayNever]

i have been in exactly the same position as you OP. and i agree with dressager... it depends on the paces and if the horse is a big mover or not.

ive always ridden ponies and am currently moving up from my 15hh, to something ideally about 16hh. ive found it hard as ive tried 15.2hh's that felt too small, i rode a 15.3hh that was such a big mover i couldnt sit to her trot, and a 16.2hh that was just fine....

 

[Riverboy]

I had River a small 14.2hh for 7yrs after loosing my confidence on a 16.2hh IDxTB. Then I got Luca a 5yr old unbroken 16.2hh TB. I thought his size was going to be an issue but when I was on him I didn't feel like he was that big, the only time he seemed huge was if I rode River first and then him... so I always did it the other way around!

It actually felt good to ride a horse that I 'fitted', I'm small but tallish with long legs - if that makes sense, so for the first time my legs weren't below the horse/ponies belly!

Go and see, and see how you feel onboard!

T x

 

[SarahX]

I personally feel much safer on bigger horses for some reason!

 

[Pearlsasinger]

We have had 2x15.3hh Appaloosa mares. One rode like a much bigger horse and the other is far more pony-like. People who have seen her ridden are often surprised when they realise how big she is, they often think she is more like a 14.2hh. The pony-like one is much sharper than the 1st. IMO the only way you can tell what this horse is like is to go and ride it. I personally prefer bigger horses for the reasons suggested above. They are often less willing to throw themselves about because it takes so much effort.

 

[ecrozier]

Totally agree with above re how they all feel different and doesn't depend that much on physical height! My arab who I have had for 6 years now is only 14.2hh, but rides bigger and has the same stride as most 16hh.....OH's previous mare was 16.2hh ISH but built like a brick sh*thouse...and she felt way way too big for me (I am 5'5, not a size 8 sadly but probably not more than a size 12...but also have long-ish legs for my height.) New youngster is 16.2hh sports horse and now after a few months he doesn't feel huge....but he is quite compact and also doesn't 'use' his size to throw his weight around like prev mare did! Also riding friend's 15.3hh ISH at the moment and she is so wide (think XXW wide saddles...) and like a table to sit on that she looks much bigger for me than the youngster does!
So def go and try the horse, no harm in giving it a go!

Oh and also entirely agree with millitiger about being able to geel things coming more on bigger horse, when Roo goes to spook and spin it feels like he takes forever turning compared to a the arab who can spin on a sixpence! Think titanic vs jetski!!

 

[maxapple]

This is me on my 14.1 pony .. I can't imagine feeling good on something a whoe 2 hands bigger.

I'm starting to think 16.2 is too big. I think i MAY have a look, but I have a 15.2 to see on Sun which might be better.

 

[JoBo]

I did this, went from a 14’3hh to a 16’2hh, didn’t like it, went back to a 15’1hh.
It’s just what you feel comfortable on. I also don’t like skinny horses, prefer something chunky, but everyone to their own. You have to try to find out.

 

[Dizzykizzy]

What are you looking for? I have a fab 15.1hh mare for sale......

 

[MilosDad]

I started riding very late (older than 50) and I am a boy so 2 things against me and I have only been riding 2 years.
I learned on a sharp 15.2 then got my big lad (17.3 warmblood) and would never go small again. He is like an armchair to ride, things happen far more slowly, its comforting to have so much horse in front of you and within a very short time he 'shrank' to 'normal' size.
Go try, you can always say no, if you dont try you will never know