Tall people

Daughter is 5'10" with 36" inside leg. Her horse is 17hh. She looks fine on a bigger build 14.2 as slim and perfect on my 16hh.
Mr NN is 6.4 and my 15.3 ID was fine as took the leg well. He couldnt ride my 16hh as much finer build.
I personally think it depends on horse. A small boned horse would look weird with my daughter on.
 
6 foot and slim (70kg) here (but big head and big feet 😅)…. I look like a clothes dolly peg on a tall TB type but okay on a chunky 14.3 /15 hh cob. It’s not your height necessarily, it’s your weight - and ensuring you’re not a sack of spuds at any weight (which I’m sure OP, you’re not).
 
AShetlandBitMeOnce said:
It depends on how your built too, I am 'only' 5ft7 but I am very long hip to knee so I make even my 17.2 look about 15hh
Click to expand...
This is my issue.... If it's not over about 16.2 and wide my legs are under the belly.

I posted a (swiftly deleted) photo on Reddit of myself on a 13.3 and got absolutely shredded for being 'grossly abusively underhorsed' 😐 but most riding schools don't have huge horses, in fact I don't know anyone who actually owns one over 16.2.
 
I am "only" 5'8" but IME width is actually more important than height! (No Carry On style comments please....)

The smallest I can comfortably go is about 13.2 and chunky - Highland, Icelandic, other native type. I would exclude Exmoors from that because although they can carry my weight, they have shorter necks and the length of my torso means that we end up out of balance.
My own horse is a 15.1 mediumweight cob (not optimally put together) and TBH I am towards the upper end of his weight carrying capacity, but that's because of his build not his height. I ride very long but my legs don't look too silly on him.

The same principles would apply to anyone I think. I would also say that I prefer ponies and small horses and have struggled for years with saddle fit; it's absolutely not an insurmountable problem but you just need to be prepared to find a specialist saddle fitter who will tackle it with you, and maybe think outside the box a bit. I have long thighs as well and I've ended up with a treeless saddle because it was the only thing I've every found that really allowed me to drop my thigh properly.
 
I'm 5ft 8, but with long legs, also 47cm hip to knee, my legs are the exact same length as my friend who is 6ft but better proportioned than me!

As others have said, its not just the height of the horse but its more about the build and the width of the barrel. My competition horses are 16.2, 17.1 and 18hh, the widest by far is the smallest, and so they all take my leg very well, and I look the same size on all of them, the horse in my avatar is 18hh.

I feel uncomfortable on smaller horses and I worry about my leg length and weight (63kg) so I really wouldnt want to be on anything under 16hh, and it would need to be a pretty chunky 16hh for me to feel comfortable.
 
I'm 5'11 and make anything under 16.2 look tiny - even on more cob like builds the length of my top half makes them look small. I am super jealous of those who can hop on and school the tinies but find horses behave much better for me on the ground than others and have always wondered if this is to do with my height. The only horse that I ever looked small on was a 17.2 heavyweight ID built like a tank - so nice to actually feel like I had something in front of me for once!
 
I’m 5ft 9, and have an average leg length for my height. My horse is about 17hhish, and I’ve always felt most comfortable on larger horses, although I wouldn’t be too heavy for a smaller cob type. The smallest I’ve ridden as an adult was an Icelandic, which was probably about 13.2. Super comfy, but not for everyday for me.

This is me on my horse. I like to think he looks right for me.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_9557.jpeg
    IMG_9557.jpeg
    250.2 KB · Views: 21
16.1 my smallest the chestnut, the black is the biggest at 18hh
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20260315_214306_com_google_android_apps_photos_SearchActivity_edit_330439015435405.jpg
    Screenshot_20260315_214306_com_google_android_apps_photos_SearchActivity_edit_330439015435405.jpg
    163.9 KB · Views: 17
  • Screenshot_20260315_214223_com_google_android_apps_photos_SearchActivity_edit_330453332627535.jpg
    Screenshot_20260315_214223_com_google_android_apps_photos_SearchActivity_edit_330453332627535.jpg
    342.9 KB · Views: 15
Thank you everyone

So I think general goal for me this yeah should be to ride some taller beasts. The tallest horse I've ridden (ever) was 16.1 and chunky when I was 13 and 5'8" and he felt really rather nice

Feeling really rather defeated after some of the reddit comments telling me I was cruel for riding the cob. Not sure I'm brave enough to put photos up after all the rather fabulous images above 😅 but I'm not heavy, 49/50kg. It's just the 'look' and people are SO opinionated about everything

Cob in question still managed to do a nifty teleport job when startled by a barn cat though, lines herself up for the block now and ears forward the whole time so she's not too miserable about the whole thing I reckon
I jumped on a tiny little thing at the RDA last week as well (just walking) and her legs didn't fall off.

I've really fallen in love with riding again but it's not looking like diva will ever be up too much ridden wise bless her so useful to know for when I have enough saved up for a ridden neddy of my own :) il_fullxfull.817088971_n2ao.jpg
 
5'10" and skinny, currently riding 15hh chunky cob.
I prefer the feel of well-built cobs or big ponies that take up your leg.
Happy hacker so not too bothered about how I look TBH.
 
I’m another who’s “only 5’7”, I don’t feel comfortable on anything huge anymore, at least not as a long-term horse. I realistically like to stick to 15hh and under. Erin is 14hh, I do look a bit tall on her, I’m within 20% and I’m a balanced rider as well. People say I look best on something about 16hh (I have long legs and give a general impression of longness), but I’d never be able to own anything at 16hh and ride confidently regularly.

Below is 14hh hairy fairy Erin

2bdac024-7140-434d-81ab-75d50379c87e.jpeg

Me on a lovely 17.3hh schoolmaster that I went to view years ago (I was a rubbish, overconfident rider back then!)
968b0434-a891-4ad8-a461-450ab92ae39f.jpeg
 
Gosh i didnt realize i am a midget, who has also shrunk a bit with age to 5ft 4

Dark angel was not very big either, mark todd
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top