Too big for her pony ?

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Alex Keightley

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Sorry i dont know how to work that but here http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/album.php?albumid=5706&pictureid=22286 also apologies for the bad photo only recent one i have.


We bought our first pony about five and a half years ago now so my sister would have been nine. Sadly as she has got older obviously she has grown. We suspect she has outgrown him, as he was her first pony and the first she ever really "clicked" with she doesn't want to let him go. What are your opinions ? I know its mainly based on weight carrying ability but i dont know how heavy she is. Blue is an 18yr old 13.2 hackney cross connemara :)
Also when doing a bit of research on this I came across someone asking the same question but the same height as me ( 5'10 and long in the leg) claiming that someone of this height should only be riding a 16.2 or bigger. My mare is reg 15.1 and I think I fit her.

Thanks in advance
 
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Oh gosh, there are many possible answers!

I suggest you search for some of the adults riding ponies threads on here and have a look at the pictures.

If you were my daughters I'd probably be considering tempting you with a ride on a bigger horse owned by me and encouraging your younger sister to ride your mare, which the family presumably know pretty well.
 
I know, hence asking on here. Im currently at university so she does ride my mare, however my mare is quite forward and runs out so she is quite nervous on her. Also my mum is scared of horses and my dad isn't interested in them, so sadly they don't have any.
 
The move up from a pony on which a child feels they can ride in a headcollar with a plastic chair is always difficult.

If the only real option is for her to ride your mare and you mean runs out when jumping rather than runs off then I'd suggest she doesn't attempt to jump the mare and that she is encouraged to concentrate on doing things where she will get to feel as confident as she does on the pony.
 
Don't know anything about children and small ponies, but whether you are too big for your mare depends on the depth of her girth and your weight/her build. There are no standard answers.

My old mare was just under 15.2, and I was the same height as you. But she was deep in the girth, not a cob but an IDXArab. We did a bit of everything in our 25 years together, and though I was working with thoroughbreds and warmbloods during my working days, I never felt I was too big for her (and she was FUN!). You always get some people saying adults shouldn't ride ponies and someone this height should ride something that height. But if you and your mare are happy doing what you do, why change? Especially while you are at uni. At least your family know your horse.
 
jemima*askin said:
The move up from a pony on which a child feels they can ride in a headcollar with a plastic chair is always difficult.

If the only real option is for her to ride your mare and you mean runs out when jumping rather than runs off then I'd suggest she doesn't attempt to jump the mare and that she is encouraged to concentrate on doing things where she will get to feel as confident as she does on the pony.
Click to expand...

Hahaha very true. He is bombproof though cheeky.
I thought that myself, though the chair im sure can be introduced to Taz (my mare, Tasmin) in time :p

Thank you very much I will pass this on to her. I'm trying to help her bond with Taz. She is almost opposite to Blue. During term i cant do much, hopefully over the summer I can get them sorted.
 
FWIW I found that a non-threatening way of handling it was to ask the child to teach the pony some voice control on the ground. So just walking, trotting, stand and wait, turn right, turn left but all from the voice. Play at handy pony type stuff. It's getting them used to each other. Then you get rider on and see if they can put voice control into practice without using the reins or conventional aids.
 
Taz works to voice commands and we have done that a bit. They are working together better and better.
I was asking just what people thought of the height issue, or more if height was an issue.


In relation to my comment about someone at 5'10 on a 15.1 here is a photo of us
picture.php
 
I'm 5ft 10 and rode a 14.3 until I was almost 30. In fact she and I won the riding club cup for the horse with most points over the year when she was 23. She was NF X TB but looked a bit like a cob. She retired at 28 having never been lame except when she broke her splint bone (and was only off work for about 3 weeks - lame for 3 days or so). I owned her for 17 years.

I suspect I weighed about 12 stone so don't know if I technically was too heavy but I never felt too big or that she struggled to carry me. She would jog/ canter on the spot for 15miiles on a sponsored ride and jumped anything x country.

I think your mare looks perfectly happy and you don't look too big. As for your sister I don't think she looks too big/heavy for the pony and if he seems happy I wouldn't worry but let her transfer gradually by riding your mare doing what she feels happy doing. After all it is supposed to be fun!
 
I am 32 and have never gone past pony size :D
Late mare was a sturdy 14.2hh, new mare is sturdy 14.2, think she will make 14.3, i am 5'6 about 15% of horses bodyweight.
I have to say its very hard to tell from that picture but things like weight and balance and age of the pony are all factors of course. A better picture would be good to see how much leg this pony takes up
 
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