Practical problems of having an 18.2hh?

[Dizzle]

Does anyone else have one this big?

If things go well and I get the new job I may have a potential horse in the pipeline but...

What are the practical problems? I know in general he would be more expensive to run but do farrier's charge more? Vets? Livery yards? Would it be a nightmare trying to find a yard that would have him?

Any help, advice or experience would be greatly appreciated!

 

[JessPickle]

She's away for a few weeks at the moment but St_Bernard on here has an 18.1hh

I have a 17.1hh not as big but still a chunky boy. Stabling can be difficult, my boy has to be in the old foaling box with no over hang outside or he bangs his head. If they have big feet then it is more expensive, but thats more for HUGE like shire feet.

Vets don't charge any extras.

rugs could be a problem but I in many cases its easier having a massive one as 7ft3 and above rugs tend to be on sale constantly! bridles and headcollars are a bit of pain to get your hands on as are boots to fir horse.

Oh yeah and if your hacking and have to get back on its hellish!

 

[Nailed]

farrier prices will depend of the foot size more than anything so cant comment

vets and livery the same..

Rug can be a problem..

Lou x

 

[HelsB]

More feed, hay, wormers, bedding (eat more = poo more?)

Would need a bigger stable than your average horse.

Rugs would probably be more expensive (or maybe not, they may be more available in sales than your average sizes??)

 

[Kenzo]

Sometimes transport can be an issue, not all horse boxes and trailer accomodate big horses very well, but they are out there.

 

[JessPickle]

[ QUOTE ]


Rugs would probably be more expensive (or maybe not, they may be more available in sales than your average sizes??)

[/ QUOTE ]

they are in fact cheaper! my YO was buying rugs for all the RS horses, he bought lots of 5ft9 weatherbettas for about £60. The 7ft3 one was £45 same rug! they just had too much stock of them

 

[amandathepanda]

My biggest lad is 17.1 which is quite a bit smaller than 18.2 but still causes a few interesting problems.

Firstly, going under trees when hacking out can be challenging! You do get good at limbo.

I know many farriers charge more for 'heavy horse' breeds because they need more steel for the shoes - it depends on the farrier & just how big the horses feet are as to whether you'll get charged more.

Um... actually getting rugs etc on to a big horse can be fun! Or bridles/headcollars if horsey is unhelpful & puts his head up! My mum is only 5' & watching her putting a headcollar on forever is hours of entertainment.

Finding tack/rugs/big enough stable/big enough horsebox can be difficult & expensive. You may find things like new bridles need to be special ordered/made to measure.

My big lad is a gentle giant & soft as butter. I wouldn't swap him for anything despite growing 3 inches taller than he was meant to

 

[MrsElle]

Stabling was a problem for me with a 17.3. Some yards couldn't accomodate him but the one we are at have a huge old stable, probably a relic from when the farm used horses.

I found transport difficult and on a day to day basis I have problems putting his saddle on (I'm a short arse at 5'3"!), grooming and mounting. Luckily he puts his head down for his bridle!

 

[Hovis_and_SidsMum]

The distance from their brain to thier feet?!!

Rugs, tack, transport and shoeing can all be more interesting but all surmountable. Omar is a very big, full up 17.1HH and Hovis has huge cylde feet so have all of the above issues!

That said as some of the others ahve pointed out rugs etc can be a bargin because no one want rugs that size.

What breed is he / she?

 

[checkmate1]

How would you fit it into a trailer/lorry? Thats the first thing that sprang to my mind, the other things wouldnt bother me!

 

[Enfys]

18.2h?!

My main problem would be carrying the step ladder around with me at all times!

We had an 18h 4 year old in to break once and I used to have to stand in the manger to groom him.

Apart from needing a bit more of everything, I can't see that a horse that height should be more of a problem than the next horse.

Good Luck with the job, and the new horse

 

[Dizzle]

That doesn't sound too bad. I might email the prospective livery yard today and see what they say.

Transport could be an issue, can you get trailers that go up to that high and are they stable? This is all sort of irrelevant at the moment as don't even know if I've got to the interview stage for this job, lol. Never mind I don't have a towing car or have passed my towing test!

 

[MrsMozart]

Start doing limbering up exercise now so's you can get your foot in the stirrup

Friend has a 17.2, so smaller than your lad, but she has issues with transport (he goes in my lorry ok), and boots. Rugs she gets cheap in sales.

On the plus side, think how many garden walls you'll be able to nosey over

 

[checkmate1]

Lol, thats a really good point Mrs Mozart!!

 

[jemmeg]

I was brought up with Shires, I am only 5'2 all ours were taught from a young age to put thier heads down for tack and collar's. To plait for the shows I stood on a large bench. They all travelled in a wagon very well. The stables were made for them ours is a working farm and the stables are huge and very old. My horses that I ride are 16 and 15.1. but I did always ride the shires bareback up to the field leading one I used the cattle crush to get on and once there its like a very comfy sofa. To be honest I found dealing with my neices little pony harder work all that bending down !

 

[Darkhorse007]

is he heavy or warmblood?

i have a 17.2h warmblood - a big softy! no problem to get anything for him and I also found him a nice big stable (12x15), farrier also no problem and charges same as for OHs 14.2 welshy...

the one thing I can't find is a sharer. he occasionally buck a bit and most people are freaked out by a cat leap / handstand of a horse that big

anyway, if you are after a heavy lad - tack can be a bit tricky to get hold of, but a good tip may be to look on the french / german websites ... riding heavies is quite popular over there and you get lots of stuff at reasonable prices (they send here, too).

http://www.loesdau.de/websale7/Kaltblutz...a70f4c%2fmd5%7d

http://www.kraemer-pferdesport.de
go to Artikelsuche (top right) and type in Kaltblut

... one of the sweetest things I ever saw was when my lad was in working livery and the tiniest girl in the yard decided to have him as her 'pony' for prettiest turnout ... she had to stand on top of the highest mounting block to plait his mane (23 little plaits) and even then couldn't quite reach his back ... but she so adored him - and he so adored her - and they just made it work aaaaahhhh

 

[Cop-Pop]

18.2hh!!

I'd want some glue to stick me to the saddle in case I ever fell off

I used to work on a yard that had an 18hh shire X something and the main worry with him was his joints but he was 19 years old

 

[ISHmad]

Practical problems to me would be getting on (stepladder needed in my case I reckon) and finding a stable big enough if the horse couldn't live out 24/7.

Otherwise my view is that there's just a lot more horse there to love and I wish you luck if you get him.

 

[badgerdog]

I've just sold my warmblood (around 17.2hh and still growing) because he turned out to be too big. He was a lovely horse and easy to handle but I found that when I was schooling and jumping him that he was too big horse to keep together for me. If I'd just wanted him to be a happy hacker he would have been fine. He was also too big for my trailer and even some horseboxes because of his height and length. If I'd got a bigger trailer I would have had to get a bigger vehicle to pull it and I just couldn't afford it.
Headcollars and bridles are a bit harder to buy in shops but you can usually get things ok off the internet and as someone has already mentioned, at knock down prices!
I don't think it would be a nightmare to find a yard, bigger horses are becoming more the norm anyway.
Good luck, hope he turns out to be what you want.

 

[BigBird146]

[ QUOTE ]
The distance from their brain to thier feet?!!



[/ QUOTE ]

Joking aside I personally would steer clear of such a big a horse, every one I've known of that is so big has been a bit thick and injury prone! (no offence to all of you out there with big ones, but personally I prefer mine a more managable 16-16.2)
I know someone with an 18.2 and they had to cut a hole in the stone door lintol of their barn to get his withers through... and the amount it ate and poo'd was eye watering! Like having 2 horses in 1 expense wise!!

 

[AmyMay]

Stabling and the cost of his keep - plus tack to fit.

I stable with a friend who has an 18hh heavy weight hunter - who is an absolute saint.

He is stabled in a bigger stable - just smaller than a foaling box, which would be more ideal. However, the overhangs are too low for him.

His rugs are around the 7' 3" mark - so more expensive. And his shoes are pretty big, and worn very regularly.

Ifor Williams do a big trailer that will happily take an 18hh and 17hh horse. The average horse box will take a horse of this size too - although the roof may be a little low, and the horse will have to be travelled at an angle.

 

[badgerdog]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The distance from their brain to thier feet?!!



[/ QUOTE ]

Joking aside I personally would steer clear of such a big a horse, every one I've known of that is so big has been a bit thick and injury prone!

Yes, I forgot about that. He wasn't particularly injury prone but he was a bit thick! He never really grasped the fact that to get through the gate you had to walk round the gate and walk through the gap, he always banged against the gate trying to walk through it. I never corellated his 'thickness' with his height before I just thought he was a bit dim. He was very sweet though and a lovely horse.

 

[AmyMay]

[ QUOTE ]
Joking aside I personally would steer clear of such a big a horse, every one I've known of that is so big has been a bit thick and injury prone

[/ QUOTE ]
Have to disagree with this. So much depends on their education and breeding. Big doesn't necessarily mean dumb. And the one that I refer to above is beautifully bred, and certainly not stupid!

I would trust my life with him actually, and be totally confident in his ability to look after me in absolutely any situation. More so than my own horse actually.

 

[BackInBlack]

my prince is 18.2+ . main problem with him is that he is soo destructive, he's broken 2 fences and snapped a wooden gate in half leaning over it to reach grass on the other side! he really chews up the field when its wet as his feet are massive. he eats huugghh amounts of food and does the biggest poos. he just about fits in my stable so he doesn't have rugs because he has access to stables 24/7, and he's a big woolly beast. handling and temperament tho he is faultless.

 

[JessPickle]

[ QUOTE ]
Joking aside I personally would steer clear of such a big a horse, every one I've known of that is so big has been a bit thick and injury prone

[/ QUOTE ]


I also disagree with this, pickle is very intelligent. Not remotely injury prone. Has had one injury in 3years which only involved 2 weeks off! I trust him completely, in many ways he is too clever as he knows exactly when he can get away with stuff with certain RS clients

 

[ironhorse]

Tack is an issue - but you have been given some good links on here and if he is a WB stubben etc do x-full bridles.
I had a 17.2hh to show in ladies hunter classes - the judges didn't really like his size so he didn't do that well.
Worst thing was that he didn't really fit in a herringbone lorry - however we wiggled the partitiions and whatever protection we used his tail was always raw.
He'd probably have been fine in the forward facing one that drowns our 15hh mare now !
If you're jumping, he might struggle with distances to begin with - the ladies hunter never really got the hang of jumping indoors but adored XC.
Get a really good solid block or stool to do jobs like trimming and mane pulling - I even used to stand on one to ensure that I brushed his back and quarters properly. Luckily for me he was a big soft git who adored grooming and attention.

 

[BigBird146]

Well I did say 'no offence' and 'I personally'! Although I do remember having a discussion about size and injury proneness with my blacksmith and a very experienced horsewoman who both agreed with the general principle of the bigger they are, the more troublesome they tend to be. There are always going to be exceptions, of course!
Just can't see why anyone would want such a big horse unless it was required for a particular job, why make life hard (and expensive) for yourself?!

 

[JessPickle]

[ QUOTE ]
Well I did say 'no offence' and 'I personally'! Although I do remember having a discussion about size and injury proneness with my blacksmith and a very experienced horsewoman who both agreed with the general principle of the bigger they are, the more troublesome they tend to be. There are always going to be exceptions, of course!
Just can't see why anyone would want such a big horse unless it was required for a particular job, why make life hard (and expensive) for yourself?!

[/ QUOTE ]

my sisters 15.1hh is ten times more troublesome and accident prone than my 17.1hh.

I have to have a big horse as my dad rides as well and is 6ft 3

Also expense wise he costs the same as my friends 14hh highland to keep

 

[Lucy_Nottingham]

I used to ride an 18hh2" shire.
He was amazing, everyone loved him he was soft and kind and willing.
Problem was getting on but I am 5ft 10 with quite long legs but I still needed a mounting block (just get a big one!)
Feed etc and management all will cost more as you will need more
Farriers yes they will charge more, especially is getting him shod, but some might be more understanding with it than others (don't know)
vets will only charge more as medication quantities will be slightly greater..... a general call out will still be the same!

travelling problem due to size, wont be able to share with other horses unless in a lorry or something.
Hacking, just learn to duck low and fast!!!

but I wouldn't ahve swapped him for anything! He got put down at 6 though because of ring bone! be aware bigger horses carry more weight and so CAN have problems from this on their legs

 

[LizScott]

We have an 18.1hh ...rugs are generally cheaper cos they're not wanted by anyone else, our farrier charges more for him than the other 2 but he has to make his shoes so guess that's understandable! The only trouble we have with livery is finding somewhere with a box big enough (but to be honest most decent yards are used to big horses so shouldn't be a problem) and occasionally get charged more for haylage as he eats loads! Good luck!