Riders 5'10 that ride smaller horses/ponies

Chestnutmare

Chestnutmare

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Just curious to know those that ride ponies or small horses I.e 15hh ish how do you feel riding them do you ride short/long?
Can you still jump ok?

Pics would be good too
Thankies
 
I'm not going to be very helpful here but I am 5'10 and 16hh is my absolute bottom limit. That's a CB as well, so something to take up the leg! I just feel paranoid about stirrups dangling by their knees on anything smaller. Would be very interested to see pics if anyone's posting though.
 
I'm 5'9 and my boy is 14/14.1. I don't jump much but manage fine when I do, my only problem is that I look a bit daft. Don't care though cos he's too lovely to swap lol
 
I'm about 5'10 and have a 14.1 and 14.2. I ride long anyway as have knee problems, but can jump both fine currently compete at 2ft9 on 14.1 but can happily jump him up to 1m15 and will be moving up to 3ft/3ft3 this year. 14.2 takes up my leg better as he's chunkier but feel fine on both though 14.1 took a bit of getting used to after chunky one.

Have ridden down to about 11.2 in past couple of years and still felt balanced on them. Though will add the really small ones were as one off as owners asked me to before I get jumped on for being awful.

Can't post pics as can't figure out how to copy and paste on tablet.
 
I'm 6 foot and won't consider riding anything smaller than 15h as a general rule. Though at 15h it would be a slightly chunkier breed or my legs would look ridiculous. I have actually ridden smaller than that but I'm literally a twig so weight has never been an issue and so I just look a bit silly. I think it all depends on the riders weight and what height they feel comfortable riding at.
 
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Well, I'm 5' 9" and this horse is a slight 15h. I ride very long, feel great - all my horses are between 14.2 and 15.1.
 
I'm 5'10. Share a 15.1 heavy cob, that take my my leg quite well. Also ride narrow 14.3 pony, I do ride a little short but don't think I look too ridiculous. Sometimes jump on 12.2 welsh pony... Bareback and only for short periods, my legs dangle right next to her knees!

No pictures I'm afraid.

Sometimes feel a little silly riding 14.3, but I grew up riding ponies and still love the feeling of pony strides.
I'm not really in to jumping (I'm rubbish) but have never had an issue on my share mare.

In all honesty I know I look ridiculous on 12.2 (my avatar) but then I don't ride her often and certainly no where anyone can see me! I always ask if I look silly on the other ponies i ride but friends assure me I don't... Maybe they're just too kind :)
 
I have a 15hh haffy, its a good size for me to be honest as she is super wide so takes up my leg. I ride long and it is fine although I do find I have to put them up one more than I would like as when I try to rise to the trot its like my knees are knocking against the sides of a barrel if that makes sense so need a bit more leg contact! Would go up another couple for jumping.

I would happily ride smaller if I was lighter too. It seems to be especially common in the UK for people to think they need a big horse because they are tall, no such thing as too tall in my opinion, only too heavy.
 
5ft10 15hh appy x we have a go at everything. I have had her for 10 years I do tend to scrunch a bit so I look smaller but I feel fine on her.

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my dad takes her out hacking (he is a complete novice) and he is 6ft1.
 
I'm 5'11" and look fine on my homebred 15.1hh Cob x TB, though she has a good depth of girth and takes my leg up well. No problems with jumping, which imo is more to do with your saddle and position than the size of the horse.
 
Until I married I rode a 14.2 Connemara x TB. I was 5.10 and weighed 9.5 stone. I hunted 4 days a fortnight, rode very long (I have exceptionally long legs, esp. from hip to knee) and the only problem I ever had was that my feet sometimes touched the obstacles we were jumping ...OK for hedges but not so clever with dry-stone walls!). I could not find a saddle that was comfortable, until someone lent me one from the Hong Kong Jockey Club. It had a lot of flap in front, and was light as a feather. My pony loved it. Hope that's some help.
 
I'm about 5'9, 5'10 and my mare is 15'1 - she's a cob, I wouldn't ride a finer tb type of that size but I'm not exactly svelt myself :-). Just ride normal and no bother with doing anything.
I do sometimes ride my sister's 14'2 cob and I look a little daft on him but have jumped him with no bother (not that I jump big)
 
I'm 5'10 and ride my 15.1 tb x knabstrupper quite happily!
I have jumped her up to 1.20 and we've coped fine, I do however occasionally have "I'm to big days" but I love her to pieces, had her since she was 3 (now 7) and I can make do! I have a lovely warmblood foal currently growing up and he should make 16hh at least!

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I'm 5ft 11 and I have a 15.0hh TB mare who is slight and I don't think we look to bad, I can't ŵork out how to post a photo otherwise I would do so!
 
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I'm 5'10, with 36" legs & have a 14.2 connie x tb. Because I've had her since I was a kid, I never really paid attention to being too tall. I was too leggy in my teens, but too leggy lw kids on ponies weren't uncommon at the time. And as I stayed light, I didn't see my height being an issue just because I turned 16. She is very full up, & has a decent length neck, & being mainly legs my upper body looks fine. I jump pretty short anyway, so jumping wise people would often be suprised how tall I was after dismounting. Otherwise, I ride v long. My feet come halfway between elbow & knee without stirrups, & not much better with them. It just meant swan neck spurs doing anything requiring precise aids. We only reached a limit when her size became an issue with striding on senior courses, & dressage neither of us had enough interest to pursue the limit. Certainly my height hasn't held her back. I'll never be anywhere near too heavy for her, so I couldn't care less if people think I look too leggy, if its good enough for the likes of William fox-pitt, its good enough for me. Maybe some people do think I'm too tall purely from the pov of appearance, but tbh unless they look like angelina jolie & ride like Carl hester, chances are I could find something more insulting to say about their appearance on a horse, if I was inclined to make unnecessary personal comments.
Have rode as small as 12.2 chunky types at this height. Got on a 12hh pony once at this height but lighter that was playing up, but apart from very easy stuff, at that size I'm tall enough to compromise the ponies balance for any kind of proper schooling. And whilst I have got on a 12.2 & gone round tiny jumps for a laugh, the fact my head is practically over the ponies, means I would never do it on anything but a been there, done it type, & never at any kind of decent height.
 
I'm 5ft11 amd 1/2, have really long legs, 37inch on inside and weigh about 10st, and i've ridden anything from 13hh up to 18.2hh. Atm i have a 16hh ISH.
Here's me riding a 15hh IDxTB
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Me on a 18.2hh bareback
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And me on a 14.3hh Arab
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Thanks for all the replies as I never considered riding smaller than 15.2hh anymore but I was thinking I might be ok to ride chunkier type 14.2hh I tend to ride short anyway but I also have tall upper body so wandering if I would look daft on a 14.2hh I quite like ponies lol
 
I'm 6ft and 1/2 and my cob is 13.3 :p we dressage/jump/event just fine and he loves it.
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I've had him for 4 years now, however if I bought another horse it wouldn't be under 15.2.

On a 16hh ish -
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