Small dressage horses - where to find?

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MGG

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I am looking for one for my daughter, but they are all over 16h and she is just 5ft 2 and needs a 15-15.2 and there just don't seem to be many this kind of size. Anyone any ideas about where i could look? I have done all the main websites, but nothing suitable. I have a feeling I would be better off going to a dealer who specialises, but am struggling to find. Again most of the main dressage people seem to have big horses.

I have deliberately not put many details about what we want as I am not putting this out as an unofficial 'wanted' just after suggestions for where to look.

Thanks for any ideas
 
Novice now with the ability to go at least Elementary, great if more, but Ele would likely last her a little while...we are happy to travel, but we are based in Surrey. She could manage youngish, but I am not a fan of very young horse + young rider.
 
I am 5'5 and the last horse I bred made 18.1 so I know how it feels to be on something too big! Not honestly sure where you'd find a horse already produced to novice level at that height. What about a career change for an Intermediate show hunter or small hack?
 
Yes - definately looking in that area too, as that occured to me as a possibility. There must be a market for BYRDS horses of this height. I just don't want her on a 16h plus as she (not to put too fine a point on it) has short legs and hasn't yet developed the core riding strength to manage a bigger horse, but I don't want her on a pony that she will outgrow just as she gets to grips with him/her.
 
I think the problem is that anything that stays small but doesn't stay an FEI pony often gets kicked out of the program fairly early on in the game as being too difficult to market to be worth developing properly. It's fairly unusual to see a horse purpose bred for dressage stay that small (they don't have the genes for it) but it might be worth contacting breeders, not to buy from them but to see if they might have produced a small horse that currently be for sale. A lot of "mights" but worth an ask. Another option would be someone who produces FEI ponies but might have something that's gone over height.

What about a horse from another job? Say a show pony that's gone over height? It wouldn't necessarily be produced the way you'd want but it would have ring experience and be a more manageable prospect for a younger rider than a very green horse.
 
TBH, when I was at BYRDS camp the vast majority of horses were either ponies or 16hh+ horses. There was little inbetween.

What about an over-grown connie? Plenty of them end up around 15hh/15.2hh. You just need to be a little selective - some lines are workman like whilst others have floatier paces. Also cause they are generally quite broad, they take up the leg which means your daughter won't outgrow so quickly.

The problem with an ex-show horse is that they tend to be produced to be more up in the bridle, so may need a bit of re-schooling to work in a more classical dressage way.
 
you can have mine if you want. Athletic built Welsh D competing BD Novice, working Elem/Med at home. Gets 8's/9's for his walk. 15.2hh, 9yrs old. Downside - just coming back from stifle injury so dont spose I'll ever be able to sell him.

good luck finding a purpose built dressage horse that height - few and far between!
 
They are def out there. A friend of mine was looking fairly recently and she sent me loads of links of around 15hh. Look on BD, Horse Deals and HQ.

I have a 15.1 myself who is competing Novice/Elementary and working at Medium at home. Admittedly, I was extremely lucky and got him by accident from a family friend, he's a Welsh D but moves a lot more like a WB. So prehaps look at Welsh D's too, but look for something that is built uphill.

There's a 15hh Novice level horse with 100 BD points on Horse Quest ref no. 28758

also look at ref no. 27846 :)

http://www.britishdressage.co.uk/classifieds/category/horses/view/49467

http://www.britishdressage.co.uk/classifieds/category/horses/view/49436

http://www.britishdressage.co.uk/classifieds/category/horses/view/48990

http://www.britishdressage.co.uk/classifieds/category/horses/view/48597
 
I have a 15h mare by the Grand Prix stallion Mooiman that needs to be sold. Fab paces, affectionate but she had a foal at 4 and so was only broken this winter.
I think she will possibly be too green for your daughter. :(
 
Spain ;) (or an English PRE stud)

There are plenty of PREs around that size who would comfortably do what you need and more.
 
In Holland we have what we call "E-Pony's". They are small horses, but we call them pony's. They are mostly NRPS (Nederlandse Rij Pony Stamboek = Dutch Riding Pony Studbook) Registered.

Some of them are KWPN's that have stayed (too) small, so they can't get into the KWPN registry and have to get registered in the NRPS studbook. So they have flowy and showy gaits.

My KWPN is 160 cm (16 hh?) and is still quite big for me, but not too big. He's still got the flashy gaits of a dressage horse and definately the breeding of one (Scandic x Gribaldi). So, maybe the NRPS/KWPN direction might help you?

Importing from Holland isn't that expensive I've heard and you can get good quality horses for a good price now!

Jansenvandenhout.nl deal international and have some good horses (in all kinds of breeds and sizes). Or I could recommend you Benny de Ruiter (bennyderuiterstables.nl), he has fabulous horses for a fair price and in all kinds of sizes! Not all of the horses that are for sale are on his website, so you should give him a ring or send an e-mail if your interested.
 
How about a 15hh welsh d x pbqh? 7 yrs, competing at Nov, won his first ever aff class, a Nov. Hasn't done anymore BD atm as exam commitments take priority. He BSJA's too, cracking worker. Very smart little horse.
 
If she's that small, and at that level, then you could look at ponies too, as you can compete a pony as an adult at all national comps, just not at FEI level. I'm 5ft4 and I currently have a flashy 14hh who will go far further than elem and a sweet little 13.1hh who will get at least to medium. The first is dressage bred (and has the feisty quirky temperament of something that will be amazing once she's grown up a bit), the second is WelshxFell, 10yo, done next to nothing all her life, and is learning at the speed of light lol! Look out for good moving grown-up ponies that have just been bimbled around on, or 15hh jobs with the same sort of history. They'll be safer and saner, not mucked around at all, and they learn SO fast as adults!

Also if you're not aiming at GP, you don't need stupidly flashy paces or amazing breeding, just a nice correct movement, so that should widen your 15hh market. I've seen a fair few Welsh Ds that moved nicely and did good lateral work/extensions etc.
 
Try Anna Brown http://annabrowndressageponies.co.uk/ She specialises in FEI ponies so perhaps a bit too small for your daughter (although they are so stunning I have been seriously tempted myself!), but she has a lot of contacts with German breeders and is a very nice person so I am sure she could help you find something.

Alternatively try Carolyne Saynor at Highwood Dressage, http://highwood-dressage.co.uk/ who specialises in smaller Hannoverian horses. I got Freddy from her and he's 15.1hh. Again if she doesn't have what you need (she only brings on a handful of horses a year) she can keep an eye out for you.
 
I would give Sheepcote Sutd a call and see what they have as they breed dressage horses and ponies so may have a few in the 'in between' category?
 
Just to add, I've ridden Anna's Valedo's Starlight, who's currently for sale, and although he's 14.2hh he does not feel it at all. I am 5.2" as well and he has such elevated movement he felt like a 'proper' horse under me, so much so that I stoomped myself getting off because I expected the ground to be a lot further down! So maybe some 14.2hh ponies/horses would be suitable, don't dismiss them off hand.
 
measles said:
I am 5'5 and the last horse I bred made 18.1 so I know how it feels to be on something too big! Not honestly sure where you'd find a horse already produced to novice level at that height. What about a career change for an Intermediate show hunter or small hack?
Click to expand...

I went looking for my Mum- saw two 158 int show horses and a 16.1hh dressage horse and I am not joking the 16.1hh was easily the smallest although to be fair one of the 158cm was for sale as it prob wouldn't measure in! I also thought both the show horses were too set in there ways to do a good dressage.
 
One advantage to buying an actual pony - as mentioned, some of them are very big - that could measure for FEI is resale. If your daughter puts a few years work into it and gets it from Novice to doing Pony tests competitively, then you will have no trouble selling it on when she's ready to move on to a much larger horse. A lot of the kids doing Ponies are much taller than 5'2"! (I'm 5'10" and have schooled, even shown, large ponies on the flat. It's not ideal but they are certainly well up to it.) It does also open the Pony programs to your daughter.

The disadvantage, of course, is price. A proper pony with the potential to go FEI will cost. If you do find an "extra-large" with the same ability, it's likely to be more reasonably priced.
 
Thanks. She is 5ft 2/5ft 3 but of solid dimensions. So probably weighs around 10stone. She is fit and active, but poor love is a real good-doer and despite her best efforts is always going to be curvy. I don't want to put her on a pony and have her worried about her weight.

Here she is on her 15.1 TB - baggy tee shirt not doing her any favours!

DSC00124.jpg
 
A friend of mine has a couple of smaller horses in to sell at the moment which could be worth you looking at. Details on kontaktdressage.co.uk
 
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