What horse for tall 13 year old?

[sophiegairdner]

Hi
I am a thirteen year old horse rider who has only ridden at a riding school. I can happily jump 90cm courses but am not that confident a rider when doing things like cross country or hunting. I am also very tall 5’9 nearly 5’10 and I was wondering what height horse would suit me best. At the moment I ride a 14hh pony and love her so much but I do feel way too tall on her. Any advice would be much appreciated. I am looking to loan a horse for the summer so was just wondering what kind of horses I should be looking at.
Thank you very much,
Sophie

 

[Flicker]

Hi Sophie. I am tall too. I had the same dilemma as you - all my friends were on cool ponies, but I was too tall. My dad bought me a very gentle, older TB. He was about 15.2, had been there and done that, and really was a wonderful schoolmaster for my first horse.

I think that you should be looking at the temperament and ability of the horse as well as height. Do you want to jump, do dressage or hack / Trec? Will you be keeping the horse on livery or elsewhere? How confident are you, do you mind a bit of sharpness or need something a bit quieter?

I hope these questions give you a bit of help and direction.

Just a few tips about staying safe online: never engage in private messages with anyone you ‘meet’ online, remind people of your age, NEVER give any personal details (phone number, name of your school, where you live etc), make sure a responsible adult knows which online sites you use and NEVER NEVER NEVER send photos of yourself to anyone.

 

[Red-1]

Hi, I would definitely go bigger than 14.2 if you are wanting to do the full PC type experience and jump bigger. A 14.2 thickset horse may be big enough but then perhaps not athletic enough for more (there are exceptions, but this is a general observation).

I would go for a part bred, so best of both worlds. I would personally avoid a continental warmblood type. They paces tend to be 'bigger' which can be harder for a young person, who likely would like to be wizzing round some, having fun.

15.2 is still a great, fun height, they (IMO) tend to be a bit quicker thinking than big horses, and a half bred will still have enough bone that 5'10 won't look silly as long as they have a decent barrel to take your leg up.

I would go for one who has already succeeded at whatever you would like to start doing, so you can have fun straight away. Then if you decide to take one thing a bit more seriously, hopefully you can take the training forward.

 

[sophiegairdner]

Thank you I do at the moment still ride small ponies as I am lucky enough to be quite light but am now getting too tall for me to comfortably ride them. I’d say I’m an intermediate rider because I am quite happy to ride 90cm showjumps etc and I would be happy to have a horse that is a little quirky does a buck or is forward going or pulls faces when being tackled up but I don’t want a horse too forward or would that would do dirty stops before fences or jog around because that would make me nervous. Thank you for your reply x.

 

[sophiegairdner]

Hi, I would definitely go bigger than 14.2 if you are wanting to do the full PC type experience and jump bigger. A 14.2 thickset horse may be big enough but then perhaps not athletic enough for more (there are exceptions, but this is a general observation). I would go for a part bred, so best of both worlds.

15.2 is still a great, fun height, they (IMO) tend to be a bit quicker thinking than big horses, and a half bred will still have enough bone that 5'10 won't look silly as long as they have a decent barrel to take your leg up.

Yeah I think I might be looking at a 15.2hh thank you I am very light so can easily ride a 13hh but my legs would look ridiculous!! Thank you for your reply x

 

[Shay]

For a first horse (indeed pretty much for any horse!) you want to look at temprement and suitability as much as height. Obviously height is a factor - but you want to be confident in the horse and it needs to be able to do what you want to do. Especially when you are younger and wanting to get the broadest and best experience you can.

Sadly the 15.1 - 15.3 bracket is probably the most suitable height wise - but it is also the most sought after height which keeps prices boyant and good stock relatively scarce.

Your height alone isn't all of the equation though. If you are very long legged with your height you will need a horse that takes up more leg. So taller or with a broader girth (you can get that withouth being a slug - an over height Connie for example often has a good depth of girth.) But if you are taller in the torso than leg you can get away with something smaller or thinner - but not so much so that you are then out of balance with your upper body and feeling unsafe.

Start looking in the 15hh bracket - but don't get so stuck on it that you overlook soemthing suitable that might be a bit taller or smaller. The most important thing is that it suits what you want to do and has a nice temprement.

 

[sophiegairdner]

For a first horse (indeed pretty much for any horse!) you want to look at temprement and suitability as much as height. Obviously height is a factor - but you want to be confident in the horse and it needs to be able to do what you want to do. Especially when you are younger and wanting to get the broadest and best experience you can.

Sadly the 15.1 - 15.3 bracket is probably the most suitable height wise - but it is also the most sought after height which keeps prices boyant and good stock relatively scarce.

Your height alone isn't all of the equation though. If you are very long legged with your height you will need a horse that takes up more leg. So taller or with a broader girth (you can get that withouth being a slug - an over height Connie for example often has a good depth of girth.) But if you are taller in the torso than leg you can get away with something smaller or thinner - but not so much so that you are then out of balance with your upper body and feeling unsafe.

Start looking in the 15hh bracket - but don't get so stuck on it that you overlook soemthing suitable that might be a bit taller or smaller. The most important thing is that it suits what you want to do and has a nice temprement.

Thank you yes I am looking for suitability I do have long legs and average torso I am looking at a 15.2hh horse as well as a 16.2hh horse I am just trying to go in with an open mind and I don’t infer how tall I will feel on a 16.2hh compared to my 13.2hh at the moment ?

 

[Red-1]

I am not saying that this horse is right, I don't know it at all, but Horsequest Ref #: 232981 is the stamp of horse I would go for.

 

[sophiegairdner]

I am not saying that this horse is right, I don't know it at all, but Horsequest Ref #: 232981 is the stamp of horse I would go for.

Yes that looks like a good horse thanks I think I will ask my mum to enquire for photos etc thank you x

 

[Cloball]

I have a friend who sounds very similar to you and her first horse ended up being a 17.3 cob X tb (who I had part loaned previously) who was quite backwards thinking and generally very just very chill. She built up her experience and now has a 15.2 Welsh X TB pocket rocket.
I definitely think older and sensible 'been there done that' type to start out with especially if it's a loan. You don't want to ruin your confidence and it means you can always move on to something quirkier or younger when you are more experienced at the ownership side of things.

 

[Red-1]

Yes that looks like a good horse thanks I think I will ask my mum to enquire for photos etc thank you x

There are a couple of phrases in there that I would want clarification on... such as recently passed 5 stage vetting. Why was she recently vetted? Is the cert. available to look at? How long have they owned her? The advert says private, I would want that clarifying.

Says she loves work. What is she like without work? Does that mean she is fizzy when worked?

Has hunted before... sometimes this means that someone was brave enough to try it once, but never again LOL.

I would also FB search the tel. no. plus Google the phone number. Search the first line of the wording too.

 

[sophiegairdner]

I have a friend who sounds very similar to you and her first horse ended up being a 17.3 cob X tb (who I had part loaned previously) who was quite backwards thinking and generally very just very chill. She built up her experience and now has a 15.2 Welsh X TB pocket rocket.
I definitely think older and sensible 'been there done that' type to start out with especially if it's a loan. You don't want to ruin your confidence and it means you can always move on to something quirkier or younger when you are more experienced at the ownership side of things.

Yep I think I will find something more sensible first the pony I loan and ride at the riding stable is 13.2hh tiny and loves dirty stops and she has taught me to stay on but I don’t want something to confidence damaging for my first horse thank you x

 

[J&S]

Have a look at the New Forest Equestrian directory (NFED) and see if there are any up to height New Forest Ponies. They will carry you as well as any horse, be cheaper to keep and have excellent temperaments. I could jump mine against horses in WH classes/SJ and compete in dressage to gymkhana or ride 20 miles a day! Grown men can ride them all day so your height/weight would not be a problem.

 

[sophiegairdner]

Have a look at the New Forest Equestrian directory (NFED) and see if there are any up to height New Forest Ponies. They will carry you as well as any horse, be cheaper to keep and have excellent temperaments. I could jump mine against horses in WH classes/SJ and compete in dressage to gymkhana or ride 20 miles a day! Grown men can ride them all day so your height/weight would not be a problem.

Sounds like a good idea the only problem is I’m not worried about weight I’m just worried about me looking ridiculously tall as at the moment I can literally ride shetlands and still be in the right weight limit ? it’s just I don’t want to look too big my sister rides one at the moment and they are the sweetest ponies thank you for your suggestion?

 

[Chinchilla]

A wide native/cob would be fine for you. I'm 5'9" and have ridden wide 13.2hh cobs without looking tall. But it depends if you want a horse to last you rather than having to get something bigger in a few years.

 

[Misty 2020]

You’re probably going to need a horse that in the 16 hands range if you’re that tall at 13 years old.

 

[sophiegairdner]

A wide native/cob would be fine for you. I'm 5'9" and have ridden wide 13.2hh cobs without looking tall.

I know I ride a 13.2hh cob at the moment but I’m looking for something bigger as I still look tall on that and also I want to jump bigger than what she is capable of

 

[sophiegairdner]

You’re probably going to need a horse that in the 16 hands range if you’re that tall at 13 years old.

I hope I’ve stopped growing now but I’m not so sure I think I will be looking at 15.2hh-16hh

 

[Chinchilla]

I hope I’ve stopped growing now but I’m not so sure I think I will be looking at 15.2hh-16hh

Girls stop growing at about 15 - 16 usually. I've just gone up another 1/2" at 18 though.

 

[sophiegairdner]

Girls stop growing at about 15 - 16 usually. I've just gone up another 1/2" at 18 though.

I haven’t grown since I was ten so hopefully not and my doctor thinks I have stopped so hopefully he’s right