Riding Horses and Ponies.....

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Parkranger

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Was having a discussion about this the other day. I know I'm not the best rider in the world but I can never get comfortable on a pony......even horses with shorter necks (ie cobs) unnerve me - think it's the lack of neck!

Just wondering if it was only me - I actually feel safer on my TB when he's messing around than I go galloping around on a pony/smaller horse.

Not sure if it's just the bigger gait that I prefer.....

Very odd!
 
No your not alone I used to have 17.2 that bucked huge, bolt,etc and he never got me off I felt right on him, now am only small so got on my daughters pony when she was playing up only 12hh sec a she done one buck and I hit the ground so I to prefer big horses to ponies.
 
I think it's probably the neck thing for me too - I like having something in front of me.

Took a horse out hunting over Christmas that really didn't seem to have a neck at all - although a pretty substantial fellow. Most unnerviing for the first hour!
 
Glad I'm not the only one! Think I'm too lazy to rise to a fast shorter trot too!

Mangobiscuit and I swapped over once in the school, only walking around, and although our boys are the same size we couldn't believe how different they felt!
 
See I find the opposite now, I've got so used to having a short thick neck in front of me that when I've ridden 17hh hunters or TBs then the endless neck and lack of girth is a bit disconcerting. And the rising trot is so slow after my nag's pony-like strides.
 
I'm exactly the same i have a 15.3 cob x thoroughbred who is quite chunky but has a long neck. When i get on my friends pony who is a 14.2 welse it makes me feel so uncomfortable and i feel like i could just slide off the side
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I must admit i do prefer rding my TB to anything else i feel like i have a horse in fron of me and if he bucks or does his scared spinning thing i havent fallen off i like someone said you sit toa horse and on top of a pony i think!
 
Another opposite here, I rode a friend's 16.3hh sports horse and felt like I had nothing between my knees or in front of me. I much prefer my pony, she has far better shoulders!
 
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Another opposite here, I rode a friend's 16.3hh sports horse and felt like I had nothing between my knees or in front of me. I much prefer my pony, she has far better shoulders!

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Agree, I am used to chunky natives, TBs always feel like I am riding a snake
 
Depends entirely on conformation I think. Often ponies tend to have a lower head carriage. If a pony (or cob!) is working correctly and has good conformation, then you should feel fine. I ride a number of different horses, and with a decent saddle, most of them feel similar to ride even though they are very different types.
 
Difficult one for me really - my boy is 17hh horse but rides like a pony, figure that one out!
He's very compact, not long and gangly, so is easy to keep together (especially for me being a midget!), he has an unusually short neck (which doesn't look too bad as he's so compact but would look ridiculous if he was a bit longer in through the back!). He's not sharp like a pony though, has horse gaits etc! He sounds like a freak but he isn't, honest!
I must admit I would rather ride a horse than a pony - think they are usually a bit slower so reactions don't need to be as quick and I also don't like to trot too fast!
Here's a pic of him so you can see what I mean about his compactness!
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I can do either easily, but I do find the large upwards 'not going anywhere' trot in some horses I have ridden annoying, ie a PRE, and some Warmbloods, though I think some of it is the owner holding it up, as one of our ponies had the tinyiest trot imaginable, and that was the previous owner, as all her horses/ponies do it, I have ridden them when she first got them, and after a few months, but some are like it.

I am used to riding ponies from 12h upwards, you get used to no neck for guidence, some of the ponies I ride are not chunky, some are.

Both of my ponies ride BIG! I have had several friends say my 13.2 strides like a 14.2 etc, and my 14.2 like a 15 if you get what I mean, I forget the are such small animals until I drop my whip/phone etc and lean over and pick it up without getting off.
 
Lol i cope with both on a daily basis having a 14.1hh welsh cob and 16hh coloured horse!! They do feel extremely different though and i struggle when swapping from one to another if i take both to the same competition!!
 
i dont particularly mind either way!! i rode ponies as a kid (obviously) and still get on a couple of the ponies at the yard sometimes. it dosent bother me when they mess around.

when i got archie his size was a bit daunting when he was being naughty, and Bloss used to get me abit worried when she messed around! now due to me being used to archie blossy dosent bother me at all when shes being silly, and nor does archie now!
 
I also cope with both, my mare is a stocky welsh cobs section D and my gelding is a big frisian. They both have a very elevated trot and both are great fun to ride. However I have come off the mare more because she can be very sharp I do seem to sit better on the big guy but with my little short legs anything can happen !
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If I get on a tb type I always think they feel so narrow! There's just a skinny long neck in front. I do like the slower trot they have though. Chex has the fastest, choppiest trot ever, end up rising at super speed lol
 
I would much prefer something chunky to ride. I prefer horses because I like to wrap my leg which you simply cant do with ponies. Its always ponies that have me on the floor as there is nothing there to support you.
 
well, I'm just strange, I hate to ride anything bigger than 15hh.
I don't think I'd buy anything bigger than 14hh, I think it's cos I'm scared of heights lol.
 
Nope - I feel safer on a more compact horse!!

I find, rather than the length of neck, it's how they hold it....or I feel like I'm riding (as someone else said!) a snake or a giraffe!!

I think it's what you get used to....my boy's got a shorter neck but nice broad shoulders so I feel like he's easier to collect up and get him right underneath you!!

x
 
much much prefer riding horses to ponies. Feel a lot safer on something bigger and cant turn as quickly.

Saying that though - Baron was only 13.2 and have been hacking out a 14.1 fine. But know the feeling - I need to have shoulders and a neck in front of me
 
I'm the opposite as well; I would never be without my Dales pony - I feel soo much safer on him (and any pony) than I do on a horse - Sonny is VERY short coupled, he's like a little tank, but because of this I feel very secure on him!
 
i dont mind riding horses although i am pony person. horses trots are so slow though, that they give me sore legs (shows how unfit i am!) but if im handling them from the ground, im a little nervous of bigger horses.
i once rode a friends pony who was the same height as mine and extremely fine. after riding my half a tonne welsh cob with a neck like a bull and getting onto something with a neck as wide as my arm i felt alittle insecure!!
 
My pony is great fun I love whizzing about on him & popping jumps he is the only horse who (waiting to be shot down) I feel is truly predictable.

He is great for getting my confidence up if the big one dents it!

But on the other hand I love how powerful the big guy is & he has endless scope, where as the wee man isn't comfortable over much bigger than 3'6.

However in the stable horses have manners, ponies have opinions!
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I think everyone has a preference as to which horses they feel 'safest' on. I have a very narrow horse with a long neck and my welshie who has a very upright short fat neck. I get the 'safe' feeling from the Welshie. I think just because he feels more leg-at-each-corner stable and I know if I go up his neck then I tend to bounce off it back into the saddle again! Whereas with the TB there's no neck for any help! I trust both 100% but its just the general 'feeling' I get when I get on and look down. Size-wise Im not really bothered! Mine are from 13.2hh to 16.1hh but I dont feel safer on the smaller ones by any means (they can be the nutters!).
 
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