Urgh, I need a moan

When we were at a livery yard there was a 15 year old with a wonderful 13.2 coloured cob gelding, she looked fine on him and they did all sorts together. She and her parents decided that they would sell the cob and buy a horse for the girl. They bought a very pretty 15.2 mare, within 6 months the girl had more or less given up riding, she was frightened of her on the ground, and had been put on the floor many times. The moral of this story is, keep the good one for as long as you can :)
Oh and by the way at 16 and 5'4" I broke in a 12hh Welshie :D
 
when i was 14 i had a 13.2 welsh/arab and all my friends had BIGGGGGGG horses -15hh plus - but guess who had most fun:) oh boy that pony was a bliss - i could jump on back in head collar and lead rope and jump all XC jumps - could my mates nooooooooooooooo so think do you want to sell him because you feel you should or want to have fun which you should be having at your age. BTW im 47 now and think of sunny and smile at the picnic rides lying in sun as he grazed by side, the gallops across field bare back lol and just blissful time of a fantastic little pony RIP sunny you were a blast :)
 
Have fun on that loverly pony in the loverly weather as you will be on the school easter holidays, and why not ask your friends for a little go on their big horses for the experience, or offer to exercise when they are away on holiday.
 
Tonty Tont said:
I own a little 13.1 cob, but I am desperate for a bigger horse.

When I ride him, I'm only about 5'3, I feel huge. All of my horsey friends have gone on to 15-16hh horses and I feel really silly on Tont. I would love to try xc and jumping, things I know Tont won't be able to do.

The problem is, I love my Tont to pieces and I know I would never be able to let someone else take him away. My parents are quite low earners, I'm only 14, so won't have 2 horses, and to get another one I would have to sell Tont. I understand this, but whenever I see my friends on their horses it gets me really down. I just don't know what to do :confused:

Sorry, it's a pointless post but I just really needed to moan.

Nicole :)
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Its a fact of life that all horse owners have to deal with..if you have a horse that can't do what you want to do then selling to buy something that can is often the only option. Even if your parents could afford 2 then your pony would be pushed to the back if you don't feel he can manage what you want him to do. Keeping an older horse is something completely different - I feel very strongly that if you had a norse that has always done well with you and now needs to be retired, you do "owe" that horse. Financially I would be so much better if I didn't have my old mare back but I owe her so much so struggle on regardless.

Onto the positive - you are lucky to have a pony - I would have killed for something like that when I was 14. Take vet advice if you are truly worried about your weight but if your pony is a cob than would think he is upto it. I would also look at where a pony would outweigh a horse - so jumping - the smaller ponies are so much nippier than the large horses!
 
I'm 15, and I'm 5'9! Also on a 13.2 big fat cob :D I wouldn't change him for the world, we went there, trying to sell him for a new, bigger one. Got a 15.2 idX 'the perfect horse'. Took him to pony club camp thinking I now have such a great horse, no, bucked me off on the xc course and jumped the 4ft fence to get out! The owner (who Is a saint when it comes to naughty horses) gladly took him back and now we still have gypsy.
Yes, he's small, he can EASILY take my weight, he's a typical naughty pony when he wants to be! But I love him and he does what I want him to do 80% of the time!

My point is you should be grateful for what you have because I know hundreds of people who would love to have any sort of pony. And if you do get a bigger one (like I did) it may not always be the right choice! Xx
 
My daughter was still riding her 13 hh pony when she was 14. Like you her friends all had 16 hh horses and she did look a bit daft when riding with them, and I know she gave the organisers at PC nightmares trying to find what ride to put her in. But guess what, she invariably beat them in competitions, and generally had a lot more fun than they did with their "posh" horses.
Enjoy your lad, jumping 4ft isn't everything.
 
Is there a particular reason you can't SJ and XC on him? My cob loves jumping, especially XC. Your boy looks like a really decent sort, and you look absolutely fine on him (in fact I think you'd look a little silly on a massive horse).
 
blazingsaddles said:
If the parents of teenage girls have the money to buy them a horse of 16hh, let them get on it with it. I had to wait six years as child before I had a dog, let alone a pony. Be thankful for what you've got and don't resent your pony just because he doesn't fit into the current trend of overhorsing teenagers.:)
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Couldn’t agree with this more! My friend has just bought her 11yr old daughter a 4yr old sports horse who was sold as 15.2hh but he is more than an inch bigger than my 15.1hh - all because the kid was jealous of her friends… The kid is tiny and going by her parents and the size of her compared to other kids her age she won’t make much more than that!
 
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You are absolutely fine on him, just right. I'm 5' 1" and I've got a 14hh gypsy cob. Wouldn't swap him for anything he's fab, don't care if I go out with people on large horses and some say I look silly, I can do all the gates hehehe :D
 
My step son has a 13.2 Tont-type pony and has won four trophies at pc this year - against kids on much bigger horses. He is particularly fab at xc and working hunter. He is going to be tall, and is starting to look long in the leg on the pony, so I have been trying to get him onto our bigger horses, and he hates them after the super pony. He is 13, and I'm quite happy for him to go out hacking alone on the pony, but wouldn't dare leave him alone on a horse. Enjoy your time on the lovely Tont. It won't last forever. There will come a day when you'll probably have to give your friends on their big horses a lead past something frightening on Tont, or open gates for them because they can't reach!
 
I've known so many teenagers go onto horses only to give up not long after. Have fun while you can still ride ponies. I have horses but get to ride ponies for work and they can be so much fun and are in general much less hassle than horses. I don't understand why you can't jump your pony, there are horses and ponies of all shapes and sizes out competing. Also if you watch people around your age at competitions you may well find that the ones on ponies are the ones flying round the open hunter trials and winning sj while the ones on horses are just trying to get a clear round because they've yet to really learn to ride horses.

Have fun on your lovely pony and ignore any stupid comments :)
 
Try mounted games, I think you will find you will both love the fun and ponies are ideal, also get some dressage lessons so you can get the feel of teaching a horse flatwork, and offer to ride your friends horses sometimes, you might find you have the best ride!
 
I once knew a wee girl who had a cracking 12.2hh pony. She used to show and do some jumping and would do really well with pony. Everyone else on the yard were adults, with bigger horses. She wanted a bigger pony. So she traded the beautiful smaller pony in for a bigger model (14hh or so). She was overhorsed, rider was tiny. She met the floor on many occasions. Months later, they traded that pony in for another one. Same deal. Traded again...and again...and ended up with a similar (to the cracking first) smaller pony that she went out with and did really well on.

Shame....they must have spent a fortune in trading ponies about. :(
 
I had to wait until I was 14 before I got my first horse and yes it was 15.2, but that ruled me out of all the pony showjumping classes that at that age I should have been competing in, instead I had to enter senior classes! (maybe things have changed), so make the most of it while you can! I also helped a friend school her 13.2 at that age, I jumped that over 4ft, I swear it must have grown wings!!! Ponies maybe smaller than horses, but what they lack in height they more than make up for in temperament and tenacity, try telling a jumping pony it can't jump!! They are tenacious and fast! And can turn on a sixpence, something your friends 16hh's would struggle with!! Enjoy him until you really have grown too big for him, and don't worry what your friends say.
 
abaddon_1974 said:
I wish I could still ride a 13.1.
Great fun to ride, but unfortunately I am to big for a pony that size.

Craig
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Ditto this!! I'm in the wrong end of my twenties, 5ft6in, boats 33" legs and have a 16.2hh Thoroughbred who is growing like a weed (he was a nice 15.3hh nine months ago) & i LOOONNNGGGG for a go on my stable-neighbours little 12hh!! He's so cheeky, so quick and so cunning he'd have me off in a second if i didn't touch the floor already!

A 14yr old girl on my yard got Mummy and Daddy to sell her gorgeous jumping-machine 14.1hh. They bought her a 16.2hh ex-racehorse. It lasted 3 months and has been replaced with a more suitable 15hh horse. D'ya know what would have happened to me? My parents would have made me keep it and suffer the choice I made, just to teach me a lesson about wanting things I really didn't need.

PONIES ARE ACE!!! Hang onto Tont as long as you can :)
 
competitiondiva said:
I also helped a friend school her 13.2 at that age, I jumped that over 4ft, I swear it must have grown wings!!! Ponies maybe smaller than horses, but what they lack in height they more than make up for in temperament and tenacity, try telling a jumping pony it can't jump!! They are tenacious and fast!QUOTE]

Ditto this too!!

I was at the FEI European Pony Championships last year and I tell you what those ponies are A M A Z I N G. Jump - blimey, they were jumping 1.30m and 1.40m!!
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