Ponies to Horses?

I ride both regularly! As long as the horse/pony can take your weight comfortably, I dont see a reason to stop, there are a few people on here who own and ride ponies!
 
My daughter moved from her 13h NF pony to my 15:2 horse when she was about 12 and a half because she grew too tall & I didn't want to buy her a larger pony.
 
I have always loan ponies but stopped when my parents said I could have my own the Christmas before last, I was 14, nearly 15 at the time and fairly tall. I decided to get a horse because I most probably won't outgrow him (he's 17hh :p ) and if I got a pony I wouldn't be able to compete it for very long. We decided that a horse was the most practical choice and I got Red last year when I was just 15 :)
 
My daughter has just moved onto a 15hh horse from a small 14hh pony. She is 5'5'' and just 13. I spent a lot of time looking for the most pony like horse I could get though! She is hoping to start some BE next year.
 
At present I have a 14.2 sec D and a 17.2 Dutch Warmblood (Semi retired) still ride both but I was given (long story) the 17.2 as a 17 year old (ie I was 17) and he's always been a safer ride than the cob (who is typically welsh and likes to stamp his feet...)

Blitz
 
At 5ft3 you don't ever NEED to ever get a bigger horse/pony. The only reason to ever upgrade is if you outgrow your current pony's ability and are absolutely sure you want to move up from where you are now.

I had to stop riding ponies when I was about 13 as I just began to look ridiculous on them as I am tall! If I was shorter I would have a pony, they are so much fun.
 
i used to ride at a riding school so i rode anything from 14hh to 16.3hh whilst i was there!
i first rode a 16.2hh when i was 11? hey, i was a hefty 11 year old i needed something that could carry me ;)
whilst i've been looking for a horse, i've ridden a 17.2hh to a 15.1hh and looked no different on either!
pftt!
i'm 5'5 and still find it hard to believe i look the same on both :( ;)
 
Think it depends what you want to do tbh.

If it's a leisure horse or showing, you can get away with it for as long as you feel comfortable with really as there's no real restrictions.
If you want to compete in SJ, eventing or similar...then obviously it will limit you being on a pony still against horses. [Yes, there are exceptions I know. But they are few and far between and novelties face it :)]

If it's any consolation, I had my 14.2 mare up until 2008 ridden by myself. I then ended up riding show hunters full time [so 17.1hh-18.3hh] and then went to bring her back into work after being turned away for a few weeks during moving and she just felt absolutely tiny and way too small. Which I then put her out on loan.

We have a 14.1hher here, but I very rarely ride her as she is just diddy! I can't take not having any horse underneath me now...though she is a fun little ex-ja pony and a novelty to ride every now and then :) But not for long and definately not over big jumps as I swamp her! Barebare, my feet come past her knees. Haha.

I just like my big neddies though :) And hated the thought of holding my mare back from not doing as much with her as she could do once I felt too big for her. She'd done everything I wanted of her and taken me to the top of what I could ever do...so felt oblidged to not be selfish and keep her with me and her not be used still just because I felt too big for her. So put her out on loan and now get to watch her teaching a young kid everything she taught me :) It's lovely. Kids gone from being nervous jumping to now flying round hunter trials, ODE's and doing 3ft courses! All in less than 4months. I love that mare, she's just a superstar. :D

So personal preferance really.
 
I ride both regularly and I'm 19. I own two horses but still love riding ponies! I think most people only move from ponies to horses if they become too heavy to ride ponies or if they are competing in an affiliated competition such as BSJA where you can only compete ponies up until you are 16.
 
I bought my first horse at 17 after years of riding anything from 12.2 - 14.2.

He died when I was 21, so I got another 14.2. At the grand old age of 46 I have never since had anything else bigger than 14.3 and never will do if I can help it.

Ponies are soooo much more fun.
 
I think it depends on how competitive you are as with affiliated show jumping/eventing there are age restrictions for riders on ponies - you can't do BS on a pony if you are an adult.

Non M&M affiliated showing also has age restrictions for pony riders.

Height wise you don't need to get a bigger pony yet.
 
My daughter got her 14.2 Fjord when she was 9 as we wanted something she wouldn't grow out of quick. Turns out that she'll never outgrow him cos she's 5ft 5" (16 years) and I don't think she'll get much bigger, plus I ride him and I'm 5ft 7" . She also started riding my 16.1 warm blood when she was 11 years old. She even competed at local pony club SJ classes with her when she was 11 against the adults and won! She has been riding her on & off ever since and plans to start competing with her again in dressage.
 
When I was 13, I made the transition, from my 14.1 welsh/thoroughbred to a 16.1 (now 16.2) oldenburg. I have always had long legs, so I didnt look too small on her..... I had ridden stolensilver's mare, Charlie (16.3hh? - sorry if thats wrong if you're reading it) a few times, the first time I was 12, and didn't look too small. We made sure, as Dela was a young horse, that she was suitably sane for a first horse, as my instructor and my mum didn't want her to frighten me.... 3 years later and she's pretty good, even if I do say so myself :) She's not been easy the whole time though, but oestress has fixed that problem (her problem was ridden, not on the ground) I'm glad I did it though, it gave me an excuse not to do pony club - I hate jumping :p (apparantly, on the 14.1hh, we weren't *good* enough for the dressage team. They soon wanted us when we were 10th at the nationals lol)
 
I had a 14.2 TB X which I sold and brought a 16.2 warmblood when I was 14, I had a growth spurt which meant in one season I completly outgrew my pony, now I'm 6ft and still going! :D
 
I moved onto horses in my late teens and then moved back to ponies again in my late 40s :)
I now have one horse who is retired and two very cheeky ponies who are both far more troublesome than my big girlie ever was. I think they keep me young and I just love people's faces when they realise the person on the 13.2 is a very middle aged lady and not a youngster! :D
 
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