When is does the line go for 'Your horse is too big for you'?

rotters13

rotters13

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I was just hoping to get some opinions as some people look like sparrows on great big rocks and still feel underhorsed while others are happy to stay with their pony all their life (and good for them!!)

I'm only 5ft 2 (yes I know, I'm short and will remain so) and have a horse which is 16hh but I don't feel like she is too big for me although I am told that she is!

What is your opinion?
 
If you're comfortable on a bigger horse then that's fine, nevermind what other people say!

I'm 5'2'' too and rode a 17hh horse in the summer, my only problem, after being used to 13.2hh ponies, was getting on(he was rather unschooled at the whole standing still thing) and trying not to break my legs when I jumped off!
 
It depends on the horse. I am 5FT3 and I could ride a 18 hand horse that was short coupled, light on its feet and well balanced. However if it was long in the back, unbalanced and didnt know what to do with its legs, combined with a really hot/flighty temperment,I wouldnt stand a chance on it,where as if that sort of type was 16 hands, I would be able to sort it out.

So temperment and the horse's balance is a huge factor.
 
It depends totally on what you're comfortable with. I'm 5ft2, and my most comfortable size for me is around 16-16.2hh but I have ridden up to 17.2hh horses quite happily without feeling overhorsed - I just have to work a little bit harder to keep them together.

Build is as much to do with it as anything - a narrow-medium 17.2hh is much easier for me to ride comfortably than a really chunky 16hh cob
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If your willing to "hold them together" riding wise its fine. Oh and the whole management thing, ie. rugging and things. I'm 5ft 6in (and disgustinly overweight) and ride anything from 14.2 to 17.2 but as so many people have pointed out its how they "take up your leg" I ride a 17hh shire alot and we look like we're made for each other but the other week I rode a 16hh cob type and I looked like a pea on a drum!
 
Cant say I will have that problem being 5ft11 and a half lol. Had an 18.1 and was fine on him, rode an 18.3 and felt even better as he was a big chunk.

Downside of being so tall, I cant get anything smaller than 16.2 at a push really.
 
I don't think there's so much of a problem with horses being too big for people, more a problem of horses being too much for some.

I know plenty of people who have over horsed themselves but are unwilling to admit it.
 
I have had a 15hh, a 16.3hh and a 17.2hh at the same time and it is the 16.3hh that I always feel a little big on as he is quite a finely built tb where as the 15hh is a fairly chunky id x arab. I can ride down a little as 14.2hh but I wouldn't do hard,fast work as I am not the lightest or shortest person but I think alot depends on how your leg is taken up and also the proportions of the horse such as whether it has a large shoulder,croup high etc but would ignore peoples comments as my 17.2hh is happiest when a little lightweight person is on him rather than when someone who"should" fit him is riding
 
i prefer to be on a horse thats just too big than one thats just too small - on a smaller horse i feel like im squashing it!
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i would ride anything up to 17hh, and ride ponies 13hh upwards for schooling. for eventing i prefer to be on a 16 - 16.2 as that would be the ideal for me - im 5f7
 
Aslong as you feel secure you can ride your horse to the level you wish to be riding it too and you feel in control then why not?

At the end of the day aslong as you feel happy with your horse and you can maintain a good horse rider relationship without constantly been out of control then its fine.
 
its been interesting reading these posts...i'm horse shopping at the moment and seen a youngster that i really like thats 16.2 as a 3, rising 4 year old and i'm only 5ft 1!!!! however, he's nice and compact in the body so shouldn't be impossible to hold together (no giraffe neck syndrome!) so its something i'm seriously considering....
 
I'm only 5'1", weigh about 7stone7lb & am not gonna grow as I'm 24yrs old.
My own horse is 16.1hh but a very lightly built TB ex-racer, but I'll ride anything. The smallest I've sat on this year was a 13hh pony & the biggest, my friends 17hh Selle Francis. I'm very much of the opinion that it's not down to size but more whether the horse is 'too much horse'. I, personally, have massive problems riding a 14.2hh pony of my friends as he completly takes the p*ss out of me but not much else I've ridden bothers me. I'm one of those people who'll get on most things.
When I first got my horse people had been used to seeing me on my little mare & a few people thought that an extra few inches in height would make my horse the wrong choice. My mare was a horror & tried to ditch me constantly in an attempt to avoid working but my current boy is lovely, honest & hardworking. He is definatley proof that height is not everything.
Also, I have a bad back following a fairly serious opperation & I find finer horses much more comfortable to sit on. If I ride anything chunky it gives me quite bad lower back pain (not sure exactly why but it does).
I think it's all down to what you're happy riding. If you feel safe & your horse is comfortable then surely thats the most important thing.
 
I've just sold my 17.1 hh (and still growing) warmblood because he was too big for me. If I'd just wanted him for a happy hack he would have been fine but 'keeping him together' when schooling and jumping was very hard work. He had a long back, was green so a bit unbalanced and also lazy. I stopped having lessons on him because halfway through them my shoulders actually went numb!
It's just what you feel comfortable with. It's not just the height of the horse but it's the build, way of going etc. I wouldn't take any notice of what people say, if you feel safe and happy then your horse isn't too big.
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I think it depends on the horse as if you have a horse thats 18hh and a schoolmaster and you can ride it, fine, whereas you might have a 14.2hh that is uncontrollable. Best to ride it and find out and not worry about size until you are up there tbh. I had a 17.3hh and he was to big but thankfully he was a gentle giant and its nothing a big pair of spurs didnt help with.
 
Totally depends on you and the horse. I'm 5ft4 and had a 14.2hh Welsh cob for years. Always felt fine on him but then outgrew him in terms of ability, so he's out on loan and I had a 15.3hh Hanoverian. She felt huge for a long time because her movement was so big, took a lot of getting used to after a pony! I've now got a 17hh (poss 17.1hh) IDx who is HUGE but he doesn't ride as big as my mare did! I feel safer on him than I have on any of my others and he has the best attitude of all of them too. He tries his heart out, has a go at anything whereas my mare was contrary and my cob was just plain naughty!!

I am converted to big horses!!
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I ride a 14.2hh and a 15hh and i an 5ft1 (well i like to claim 5ft1, might be closer to 5ft!) i am quite petite otherwise but i have riden 17hh fine. T, the 15hh is rather a chunky monkey to say the least and there is a lot of horse there. i often feel slightly over horsed on her, but then i regularily ride 16hh ish horses in lessons.

It is totally to do with the horses shape! Tia is big/wide so feels much larger than 15hh, whereas a TB/a lighter horse even at 17hh can feel small so to speak!
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I ride horses from 14.2 to 17hh and are fine on all of them. TeaBee has hit it on the head for me when she says about it's all to do with the horse's shape. The 17hh is quite finely built so your legs hang down more. A 15.2 that I ride is built like a tank and very broad so I look more perched on him than anything else!
 
I dont think of over horsed as a size issue but more of an ability issue, My boy is 17.3 I am 5ft 4in when I first got him he hadnt been ridden in over 2 years so yes I was a bit over horsed... Now after 5/6 months we get on a treat I would say I am no longer over horsed
 
I'm 5ft3 but my OH is 6ft6 and used to have a 17.2 ex hunter who I happily rode but he was v. well schooled and behaved perfectly. My own is 14.3 and a very unbalanced wobbly youngster which is fine for me at her size but if she was 17.2 i'd really struggle to hold her together

depends on horses temperament, build, balance and of course riders ability etc
 
Depends on the horse really, I have ridden anything from 13hh to 18.2hh in the past, and I'm only 5ft3 and just over 8.5 stone. I had to work harder on the 18.2hh mare to keep her together, but still managed to take her over a course of jumps and get some nice flatwork out of her
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Im 5'10, my mare is a 15.2 chunky cob that thankfully takes up my leg.. I don't feel underhorsed, in fact when the mood takes her and the horse "demons" are out and shes being a spooky witch I sometimes feel distinctly overhorsed !! But.... that's when my long legs come in handy
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im 5ft2 and have a 17.1 middle weight and we get on great so it does just all depend on the temperment of the horse i think! it also depends on how good you ride and how comfortable you feel on horses in general i will ride anything so i never have difficulty riding bigger horses. but i no some1 who is taller than me with a 16.3 warmblood and she is well over horsed because he isnt an easy ride but he goes great for me. so just make sure you dont over horse your self cuz it must be a horrible feeling and i think you would definatly be able to tell if it was goin to be to much!!
 
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