Why so big?

I just like the feel of a big horse - No good reason I need a 17hh (i have a 15 hh cob)but it just is the horses I like...

PS no one NEEDS any horse anymore so it's a bit of a moot point
 
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I am probably one of the people your talking about ;)
Im 5'3 and my horse is a 16.2 ID x type.... I did have a 15.2 TB who size wise was perfect for me and id never have gone looking to buy a big horse but he found me and he's very gorgeous so all's good! I do get comments about how he'd be better suited to a man but to be honest he has arthritis so form his point of view to carry a mans weight "V" me I think he's better off with me!
 
When I look at horses I look at anything from 14.2-17hh, just because the horse may be seen as "too big" for me (i'm 5'2) doesn't mean we won't gel when I ride it. For ages I rode my instructors 17.2 warmblood and felt totally comfortable on him, just as I do on a little 13.2 I ride at the minute. It's not necessarily about the height, but whether it's the right horse for you in other ways
 
I didn't mean to buy a big horse. I thought 16.2 was about my limit. In fact, I made a point of saying I'm no spring chicken so would like to be closer to the ground. It said 16.2/3 in the ad but he's at least 17 hh. Still. It's not the size of the vessel, it's the way it sails the seas, and he sails them beautifully. Only capsized once. And that was my fault for fiddling with the rigging.
 
I do think little 5ft people on 18hh warmbloods look a bit silly, just like a 6ft gangly lightweight person on a 13.2 might not look ideal. Doesn't mean there's any real reason why not though...

I do wonder how little people with huge horses must cope with tacking up and doing rugs etc, being tall I rarely have a problem with this on any horse, but I did ride a fairly big horse that put his head up in the air when bridling, and I wondered how on earth his little owner got the thing on!
 
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Brightbay said:
This was last year - he understood to push upwards but only for a second. I don't have a more recent pic, but he now pushes long enough for me to get a fair bit off the ground. I suspect if he'd been 15.2, we might have cracked it by now. I only remember to train it every so often.
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Just WOW! I now want to teach mine to do that!
 
RunToEarth said:
I have read some assumptions on this forum in my time, but that is right up there with the best. From now on I shall yomp around the hunting field looking down on all those little inferior horses and riders to fit your assumption!

I can get on all of ours from the floor, I just choose not to if I can possibly avoid it, for obvious reasons!
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I'm glad I have satisfied your reading. Feel free to 'yomp' (no idea what that means) about all you wish! My opinion was merely based on my own experiences.


I could certainly share some experiences of many people I have come across buying purely horses well over 16.2hh for their self confidence issues. Don't get me wrong the horses have been saints and weren't cheap , but were bought purely for the ego boost. It's not so great though after they fall from a great height and break their ribs once said horse hasn't been exercised in over a week.

I've got nothing against big horses, in fact as a teenager I actually preferred the bigger the horse. As I said before though , day to day duties are easier with a 14hh! Not to mention the poop are smaller :p
 
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well.. im 5'3 and i have a 17.2hh and a 15.2hh. i can get on them both off the floor easily and i do actually look a better size on the 17.2hh compared to the 15.2hh -which i think i look a little big on tbh! When we bought Taz (the 17.2hh) he was rising 3years old and only stood at 15.3hh and was only supposed to make 16.1hh... he continued to grow until he was 9 years old and stopped at 17.2hh so it wasnt intended for me to have a big horse like him but there you go. Rio (the 15.2hh) i didnt even know his height until he arrived off the lorry from Spain and tbh i would have liked him a little bigger because i look more in proportion then but i have no issue with him being 15.2hh. i ride anything from 12hh - 18hh and it doesnt really bother me as im small enough to ride a pony but big enough to ride a horse.

this is me on Taz (17.2hh)


and this is me on Rio (15.2hh which i think i look a bit big on :o)
 
How did you teach your horse to give you a leg up?

My 15'3 is perfect and anything smaller is great too!

I cannot mount my 17'2 from the ground. I physically can't get my foot to the stirrup, its too high.
He was 16hh when I bought him at 4, he wasn't supposed to be so huge.

I see people riding horses too small for them all the time. At least I am not doing any damage to my big guy!
 
I fall into this category at 5 ft 4 and have a 17.1 warmblood he wasnt this size when i brought him!!! I just go everywhere with my trusty steps! I do worry that i look stupid on him but im reassured i dont and i love him to pieces so at 5 yrs old im guna start squashing him so he cant grow anymore!!!
 
holeymoley said:
It's not so great though after they fall from a great height and break their ribs once said horse hasn't been exercised in over a week.
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I've never come off my big horses and could get on at any point (latest had been off work about 5years). The ponies on the other hand..
I find bigger horses a much more relaxing ride in general.

The worst accident I've witnessed was a girl going under a pony. Tend to see people thrown clear of bigger horses. Im after pootling around over competing though
 
Because my shetlands simply wouldn't grow big enough?!?

Before I started working on a racing yard I hadn't sat on anything bigger than my 13.2hh fell pony for more than 5 mins.

The first horse I brought home from racing is 15.2hh and I feel fine on him. The next one was 17.2hh but again that is no problem for me, even at 5'4". I then got a 17hh and to be honest they go just as well for me as my ponies do. I didn't set out to get big horses they just happened to adopt me.
 
I much prefer smaller horses. Nothing worse IMO than a titchy woman trying to ride a huge WB. Most seem oblivious to the fact that they cannot get the best out of them. They just don't have the core strength. I am 5'10" and very experienced and have competed to reasonable levels in both show jumping and dressage. But I don't like riding anything over 16.2 hh as I find it just too much effort to get a proper 'tune' out of them. I don't like riding at my limits, I like to have a bit spare in the tank!
 
Alphamare said:
He was 16hh when I bought him at 4, he wasn't supposed to be so huge.
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There does seem to be a theme here :D I know I was naïve to expect a 16.2hh 4 year old wouldn't grow, but he actually didn't, until he got to 6, and suddenly shot up... I only noticed when I was riding with a friend who has a ClydieX, and one day it occurred to me that I was now looking down at her when we were riding side by side!

The leg up I got the idea from a YouTube video, which sadly I've never been able to find again! I started just asking him to lift his leg - he'll already do that if I touch his shoulder. Then I would stand beside him, lift my foot, and ask him to lift his leg, until me standing beside him "in position" was a cue to lift his leg. Then waited for a time when he lifted enough to touch my foot with his hoof, made a huge fuss and fed loads of polos. Once he'd got that, I waited for a time when I felt definite upward pressure on the sole of my foot and rewarded that. At the moment, I'm rewarding for him folding his leg with hoof up (he has to push my leg up a bit to do that) and I'm doing a little hop so he gets used to the idea of weight pressing down as he presses up.

I should do a bit more over the next few weeks and video ;) I generally train stuff like this over winter when there are days when it's too nasty to ride.
 
I used to ride big, tall dressage horses - I'm 5'10" - and enjoyed that at the time. Now, they go from 14.2hh, my tallest horse is 15.1hh; and I find tall horses too much work to do EVERYTHING with, so I definitely prefer the shortys. But it doesn't particularly bother me what other people ride; why would it?
 
I don't think it matters if they are riding them well. Just like I wouldn't like to hear myself slagged off for being nearly 5ft8 on a 14hh pony (that has blooming shrunk an inch since I bought her!!!)
 
Agree with you PaleRider, ridiculous trend, the bigger horses cost far more to run, are more prone to problems.

I'm 5' 7" and loved my 15.1hh mare, my Clydesdale is 16hh and I do use a mounting block but only cause my knees are stuffed.
 
I love my 17hh IDx he is like riding around in an armchair! He is such a polite boy and goes equally well for any height rider, as a show horse he has to go well for both a long legged male judge or a shorter woman. I'm 5'7 and can easily get on from the ground if I need to as can my 5'2 sister.
 
Both of mine that were rideable (once a long time ago . . .) are both around the 14.2 mark. But, the fella I ride now is nearer to 16.3 and tbh I ride him a) because I love riding the big uns (I'm 5'4") and b) because he is so lovely steady, kind and is giving me back my confidence. I can just about get on from the ground, if he's in a slight hollow (I never have been very flexible and RA is beginning to set in with a vengeance), but I love him to pieces and once up, as I have long legs for my height we look wonderful together (according to his owner - I'm not being big headed) and riding him is no trouble at all. The worst bit for me is getting the bridle on when he has his head right up looking into the distance. But hey, that's not even a real problem, eventually he notices this small person waving a bridle in his face and he puts his head down!
 
Throughout my life I've flit from preferring tall horses to short horses, back to tall horses, back to short horses and now I have all sizes to fit whatever I feel like riding. If I'm out breaking trails then I always take my little working AQHA horses as they're such tough, unflappable little creatures and I don't end up getting caught up in low branches. My tall horses are all English ridden horses and I tend to do far more 'sensible' rides on them. I'm a TB girl AND a pony girl at heart though so I do very much enjoy my horses who have a bit of zizz about them :smile3:

Over here I used to find it quite peculiar that little kids rode huge 16.2hh horses but now I'm so used to it that I barely notice it anymore unless the little kid is a teeny little 4 or 5 year old and they look like little peas on top of a mountain.
 
I like little horses! I'm 5ft5 and a little bit and my boy is 14hhs just, but hes as tall as is he is wide :D I'm lazy! I dont like reaching up to put rugs and saddles on, I also like the fact hes cheap to keep :D
 
I don't nessassarily think its all about the height of the rider/horse that is the problem, its more of a case of how cabable is the rider of keeping a big horse together or how well mannered a big horse is to not run away with a small rider.

However, I do see where you are coming from OP as I have seen people go out and buy 17hh horses which are clearly too much for them and then struggle as a result and end up with problems like tanking off and bolting, both in hand and under saddle. This then ends as a sad story where said horse is then sold to a dealer because it has "issues"
 
AdorableAlice said:
All mine are taught to kneel down like camels do so I can just step on to them......it is a parelli training game.
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Gosh mine too! We must have been on the same course. As soon as i raise my carrot stick, he gets on his two front knees and if i wiggle my hat he does the back legs as well.
 
I prefer riding a bigger horse as I like having more underneath me. A longer neck, more shoulder. I ride a narrow 16.1 TB and actually I think he's perfect for me. I can wrap my legs round him really easily and don't feel like there's nothing in front of me which makes me ride a bit rubbishly, especially jumping.

To be fair I'm 5'8 with long legs so suit a taller type better but light so can ride smaller ones too. I just prefer bigger horses, I always have. At the age of 11 I was riding a 15.2 Irish type and was happier riding him than the 13.2 ponies.

I'm only 22 and can just about scramble on from the ground! But Larry is good at standing next to random things to let me get on. I don't mind riding smaller types but preferably only down to about 15hh!
 
A1fie said:
Gosh mine too! We must have been on the same course. As soon as i raise my carrot stick, he gets on his two front knees and if i wiggle my hat he does the back legs as well.
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Fantastic, does he roll over to have his tummy tickled too ?

On a slightly more serious note, I have just downsized to 16h. Smallest I have ever had, and still cannot get on from the ground. I have a Mount Everest of a mounting block and step across rather up to the horse. It does not matter how big the horse is as long as it is correctly schooled, not on the forehand and mannerly. My RID show/dressage horse was 18h and as light as a feather to ride. Bring them up properly and size does not matter.

Plus if you come apart, there is plenty of time to sort out which bit of you hits the floor first, I even had time to cuss the 18 hander, before I hit the floor.
 
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