Why Do People Have Such An Aversion Towards Ponies?

I didn't say that ponies were limited to 3ft, but that a lot of riders are!
Ok,some ponies have choppy strides, but so do some horses.
Why do people buy horses with paces they can't sit on?
 
BoolavogueDC said:
I think the point is it's down to personal preference, no matter how much people say you CAN you have to feel comfortable. Also how you're individually made matters too :)
Click to expand...

Completely agree. Im not a pony person at all, but looking down on people that ride a pony seems completely bizarre to me! Personally its horses win out every day of the week for me nowadays, but I still never have any comments about me riding my old pony at my age. :p
 
BoolavogueDC said:
Yup! :D Sadly at 5'7 and between 10-12stone, unless a pony was as wide as it was tall, I'd just not feel like my leg was taken up at all!
Click to expand...

I'm 5'9 and weigh, well lets just say around 14st! (big bones, thats my excuse). My boy is a full up 14.2 connie and carries me with no effort at all, in fact sometimes I wish he would find it hard work then he might slow down!!
Bobs2207083.jpg
 
dressage always seems to look more elegant when a slight/med built horse with lovely long legs does it than a pony with choppy pony strides, sorry
Click to expand...

Haha I certainly don't plan on shooting anyone down in flames!
I just wanted to say that not all ponies have little choppy strides, my Connie x has enormous strides, in fact he has bigger strides than some horses which we have come across!

Snapshot906-02-201220-23.png

useee.png

useeee-1.png


I don't think that his strides look choppy? :confused:

Ps. Excuse my ever so attractive attire, it was in the middle of winter and I was padded out like the mitchelin man! :D
 
Bobbly said:
I'm 5'9 and weigh, well lets just say around 14st! (big bones, thats my excuse). My boy is a full up 14.2 connie and carries me with no effort at all, in fact sometimes I wish he would find it hard work then he might slow down!!
Bobs2207083.jpg
Click to expand...

Well that's grand, but I think most people miss the part where a rider says "feel". It's all about how you feel on a horse. Some people might feel right at home on a smaller pony however I just don't!
This is me on my 16.2hh ISH mare (on the right!!), I think I make her look small!
DSCF3216.jpg
 
HOw on earth big is the (gorgeous) horse on the left then?

OP I am really confused about why this is bothering you after the spate of posts about the 17 hander you were now riding!

FWIW I had comments when my daughter was growing out of my Welsh - but there were two aspects to that "growing out". Firstly she has long legs and they hung well below his tummy and secondly she had reached the limit of what we felt he was comfortable doing.
 
Dee O'Dorant said:
HOw on earth big is the (gorgeous) horse on the left then?
Click to expand...

He is from memory, about 17hh. She looks diddy doesn't she? If I told you she was 15.2hh I bet people would believe me!

Just to prove she isn't small... I think I just make horses look small when I'm on them :(
walkingoutclover.jpg
 
Last edited:
BoolavogueDC said:
Well that's grand, but I think most people miss the part where a rider says "feel". It's all about how you feel on a horse. Some people might feel right at home on a smaller pony however I just don't!
Click to expand...

It might depend on the pony, you might need to get used to the different feeling and you might just not like the difference, but plenty of larger ponies would carry you easily and you wouldn't look silly IMO.

I used to ride a 14.1, long backed welsh cob with a long stride and he felt just the same as all the horses I was used to, but my 14.2 arab is definitely all pony (even though as an arab he's officially a horse).

I do think there is a stereotype that "real riders" go eventing on strapping competition horses and inadequate numpties go hacking on the little'uns. It doesn't really matter though.
 
I ride ponies, i love dressage and showing and love getting our connies ready to go out to shows/sell on. people always expect me to ride horses though as im 5'10.
Some people think its down to confidence but actually ive found the young connies more challenging than my 16.3hh ex racer, he was a plod and easy to school.
Ponies are fun, quick and do everything horses do. Some of our ponies jump better than our horses :D
 
People look down on all sorts :) Ponies are for kids, cobs and drafts/crosses are slow-witted and ungainly carthorses, TBs are nutcases only good for racing...and so on. All nonsense, of course :)
 
Not come across it personally. On our yard we have an lightweight lady who rides a 13.3hh section C, and I own a 14.3 hh cob (who actually measures out at nearer 14.1 we discovered the ther day), and nobody says a word. As another poster further on back said, no matter what you ride, there is somebody to knock it.
 
I have come across it alot!!! My pony was 14hh and when I finally stopped riding her I was 5ft 10, but I only weighed 8.5 stone. Herself was a complete fruit loop tb/welsh and had a stuck a child on her (and then only a teenage) much before she reached the age of 19 it would have been a suicide mission! I was subject to a lot of comments whether out at shows or even out hacking. Yes, my legs were a little long, but no worse than pictures of some adult pony squashers that I have seen on this forum. I lost her in March this year, and still am totally devastated, she was absolutely awesome
 
I bought a 2 1/2 year old NF x in November last year - she was about 13.1hh when I got her - slim built little thing. My intention was to keep her until next year when she will be broken in and then sell her.....but......I didn't realise how much she would beef out - WOW! Eight months on and she is a little chubber - just getting to 14hh and still bum high by quite a lot......looks like I might have to keep her for myself, what a shame! :)

I have a feeling she will actually take up my leg far better than my 16.2hh fine built TB!

PS How chunky do these Foresters actually get? She is out of a coloured mare which I was told was a cob x but she ran in an area where there were three stallions, so not sure which one is the sire!
 
I have a 140cm pony and a 172cm horse.
When I'm on the pony I can look 'down' on everyone on the horses as the vast majority at the level we compete at (only elem/80cm) are no where near as long striding and flashy as him and get their legs in a knot.
When I'm on the horse I can look down on all the people with horses limited in height development as they're smaller and not as classy and don't have as much natural potential.
;)
 
I get it and my horsey is 15hh! She is always being referred to as a pony. And it's not meant as a compliment :(
 
I've spent most of the day fielding comments from people who were rather envious of Ferg's short stature, well mannered behaviour and general ease to be around (and mount) :p

Never really come across that attitude. Have had some odd responses about dressaging a non-flashy (but very correct and tidy) pony, but the better judges tend to reward his correctness, since that's most important anyway :D Every other field I compete or train in (sj, xc, trec, horseball), people seem interested to see a pony of his type out holding their own against the big horses - of course, Fergs does have exceptional amounts of personal charm, so it's unsurprising really :D
 
Last edited:
I did laugh at a show a couple of years ago! I rode my Shetland mare, won the class, came out of the ring and was promptly set upon by a gaggle of teenage girls there watching. "Oh your pony is so cute! She's fab! I love Shetlands!" and then ... "You should really be riding horses you know. I have a 15.2hh warmblood" So ...

2 hours later I meet the same group of girls when going for my next class and asked them what they thought of my new ride - a 17.2hh chestnut ex-racer :D :D :D Well they were speechless then :D :D :D

Just 'cos I ride Shetlands it doesn't mean that I ride nothing else! :D :D :D
 
I've noticed that most of the horses I like in the ads are in fact 14'2" ponies. There may be another advantage at my age - if I dismount (voluntarily or otherwise) I will be able to get back on.

Paula
 
I've never come across anyone looking down on others because they ride a pony nor have I ever felt self conscious about riding one if I am riding one for someone. However judging by how frequently you post these kind of threads you appear to be quite self conscious about rising your pony in competition against horses
 
I suspect that you don't see the attitude as much in the UK as we have so many smaller native ponies, most far too much horse to be ridden by kids. Almost all highlands and dales and fells are shown by adults and most exmoors and NF too so you get used to see adults on ponies.

I do agree with what you feel comfortable on. I have a 14.2 (and a smidge) traditional cob that I feel FAR too big for: he's really not that wide across the chest and I'm tall and long legged. I feel far better on something taller. So I've also bought a big ISh that's going to be nearer 17hh.

Me on ikkle Pips
156409_10151655506800437_630373020_n.jpg


Compared to me on huge Kalli, where I felt much more at home (16.3hh tall and 18hh wide)

167030_10150403101330437_4583171_n.jpg
 
It's not an attitude I've come across at all tbh, in fact it's usually the other way round! I'm telling all the horse owners to ditch them and get themselves a pony ;).
 
gingerthing said:
It's not an attitude I've come across at all tbh, in fact it's usually the other way round! I'm telling all the horse owners to ditch them and get themselves a pony ;).
Click to expand...

Why would you do that? The attitude is no better the other way round. If they are happy with what they have got who to say any different.
 
Riding an exmoor I've had more snotty comments than you can shake a stick at (normally from peas on drums).

However, my midget horse scaled a bank yesterday to go round yet another fallen tree (with me muttering 'Mummy mummy mummy!'). I don't know many horses that could do that, or climb through the fallen trees we came across the last ride I was on (with me lifting branches and stepping on them as appropriate!).
 
QueenOfCadence said:
I understand ponies might have a disadvantage jumping but certainly not too much of a disadvantage for dressage?
Click to expand...

I dont think they're at a disadvantage jumping at all. Have you ever tried competing against (and beating) ponies on a horse, its very difficult! They go like the clappers, turn amazingly and are very quick with their feet even if all goes wrong. Even on my superstar competition horse, he struggles against ponies! I used to (and still do) ride ponies sometimes - I have a 14.2hh Welsh Cob youngster at the moment. They're brilliant little things and we've regularly beaten horses out jumping (be it pure SJ or eventing). The striding difference makes no difference as ponies can chip in so easily and size-wise, just because they're small doesn't mean they can only jump small. I wouldnt worry about what some people say, their idiots ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top