Why so big?

I used to have lessons on a 17.1hh horse - I'm only just 5ft 1in! He was very steady but I lost my confidence riding a 16.2hh ex racer that used to tank off with me.

The most confident I have ever felt was on a 13.2hh welsh section D. I want my youngster to be 14.2hh as I feel that's the ideal height for me but at the moment he's only 12.2hh and I could quite easily ride him at this height!
 
Im 5'8 and ride a 16.2hh warmblood. Yes i can get on from the ground quite easily, but the question is why would i want to haul nearly 10stone up the side of my horse risking his back? I would rather climb anything and everything (like i often do) and mount safe in the knowledge i haven't put any undue pressure on my horse.
 
Interesting, peoples views. I'm not suggesting people should mount from the ground as a regular thing, but I feel it is important that they should at least be able to and without making a hash of it and putting loads of pressure on the horse.
You should also be able to mount easily from both sides.
 
Pale Rider said:
Interesting, peoples views. I'm not suggesting people should mount from the ground as a regular thing, but I feel it is important that they should at least be able to and without making a hash of it and putting loads of pressure on the horse.
You should also be able to mount easily from both sides.
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Why?
 
Well mine are 16.3hh. I'm 5'10.
I cant mount them from the ground, thanks to blowing ligaments in my knees.
For that matter, my friends Fjord that I give them a hand with (14hh) I can maybe just get on from the ground. BUT even on him I use a block!!

Mind I did have my 16.3hh 16years ago. before any of these injuries. And I STILL always used a block!!
 
Pale Rider said:
Interesting, peoples views. I'm not suggesting people should mount from the ground as a regular thing, but I feel it is important that they should at least be able to and without making a hash of it and putting loads of pressure on the horse.
You should also be able to mount easily from both sides.
Click to expand...

No doubt all of us could at some stage in our lives. Age, injury, disability etc prevents many of us being as lithe and athletic as we might have been 30 years ago.
 
I learnt my lesson - bought a 3yr old just under 16hh, grew to 16.3hh. He is retired now. 18 years later, new horse 15.2hh - still can't get on - its the knees you know....
I just accept that I really can't ride a big horse and prefer to ride a small horse well than a big horse badly
 
I'm 5 feet 1 and have two horses, one is 17.1 and a true middleweight and the other 17hh and a lightweight hunter build. Best horses I've ever had. I have no problems mounting - both of them quickly learned to stand next to whichever object I'm using. I feel like I'm in a big, safe armchair sitting behind their big beautiful shoulders, certainly more so than on the narrow 15.2 blood horses people generally put me on. And for showjumping and show hunters, they're a pretty standard size, so to conform to the OP's made-up rule, I would have to forego those activities or look for that exceptional showjumper that is small yet has the ability and doesn't cost over £15,000. However, to confound the OP, I didn't choose them on the basis of their height, but their correct conformation, way of going and temperament. They don't feel big, I'm so used to them. I can't say I have any problems getting bridles or headcollars on them, they lower their heads, we're so used to each other now it just flows.

Then again, I have no idea why people squash themselves onto horses too small for them, so that their feet knock down jumps, or worse still, horses they are too heavy for. Perhaps the OP thinks petite people shouldn't compete in jumping? A bit ironic, since most of the top female showjumping riders are very petite, and Gerco Schroder, the Olympic Silver Medallist, is 5 feet 5, as is Maikel van der Vleuten.
 
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Pale Rider said:
Interesting, peoples views. I'm not suggesting people should mount from the ground as a regular thing, but I feel it is important that they should at least be able to and without making a hash of it and putting loads of pressure on the horse.
You should also be able to mount easily from both sides.
Click to expand...

what about para riders? I'm not being argumentative but really, if someone rides out knowing they can't get back on on their own, surely thats on them and noone else.
 
Wagtail said:
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!
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Personally I think seeing a larger person spilling over the saddle far worse. But can I ask you where you think core strength comes from? As a former member of the British Triathlon Age Group Team and national medallist in both triathlon and 10k running and Universities 1500m Champion, I'm pretty sure I don't lack core strength. And since in most sports which involved propelling your own bodyweight on land for any length of time, tallness is now considered a disadvantage to be overcome unless its combined with very lightweight bones and a short upper torso, that's quite old fashioned thinking.

You do of course get horses which have long legs and a relatively short middle as one of mine does, or horses you can't get your legs down very far on their sides, like my other one. In that case you pick a forward going horse or one very sensitive to the leg and use your core strength to balance them, rather than relying on your legs wrapped round their sides to hold you in place. That can work quite well with a forward going horse. Certainly I started off my 17.1 in British Novice and got him to Foxhunter, while he ditched most big male riders before me. Perhaps he could have been a better horse if the right rider had come along who was really talented, but as it was, he had to make do with me and my puny 52kg. As a result, at 16 he is still going strong.

Perhaps someone would like to tell our para riders that they can't ride their horses because they don't conform to some pre-set random physical ideal?
 
Pale Rider said:
Para riders are an exception.
I just think it's a joke if you cannot get on the horse. Justify being too small or unfit any way you like.
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Where did I say I could not mount from the ground? I can if I put my stirrup down to its bottom hole. But its actually bad for your horse's back. I should think your criterion would rule out most riders over a certain age, but strangely not people like me who are genuinely tiny, or most jockeys, who can jump on.

It depends on your riding priorities I guess. Some people are happy hackers and will never progress beyond that. As an athlete, I'm always absolutely astounded by the lack of attention to how much riders weigh and power to weight ratio in this sport. And then this strange justification that being heavy somehow means you can ride better. Quite bizarre.
 
Pale Rider said:
Para riders are an exception.
I just think it's a joke if you cannot get on the horse. Justify being too small or unfit any way you like.
Click to expand...

At the risk of repeating myself I ask again why? What is the problem of not being able to get on your horse if you get off? Is this if one doesn't have control from the ground?
 
I disagree with Mithras more often than not but on this occasion she is quite right.

Most jockeys are pretty small and they all vault on so not sure height is hugely relevant! Strength and fitness perhaps but height, not so much I don't think
 
I can't get on from the ground, I am not fit enough, but am working on it. I am 5ft7 and my mare is 16.3. Luckily I can usually find a gate or a stile or something to use, if I couldn't I would walk, I can control her just fine from the ground if i had to
 
I'm just over 5ft 3" and can't get on my 16.3hh from the ground. I got him at 5 and he kept growing! He is well trained so stand next to things so I can scramble up thou. Oh and he's not a warmblood so I guess that means I don't have him to feel superior ;)
 
I used to have a 17.2 Shire , i couldnt get on his back from the ground, i am about five foot four! He was the horse in my sig! ;)
 
I think the happy hacker remark is silly. Hackers probably encounter situations where getting on and off easily in sometimes remote locations is a must. Jockey's and other 'sports' normally take place in quite well regulated areas, lots of helpers and people about to assist when things go wrong.
 
I am 5'10" and would not ever have been able to mount the following from the ground...and I would imagine that I would not be the only one either.
Apart from the fact that I couldn't get my foot anywhere near the stirrup - I did not think that the big lad would appreciate me hanging off the side of him with my rock climbing gear. It took a mounting block 4 bales high to get on him.
Yes I managed to ride him just fine - he was impeccably schooled and evented to 2* level with a very petite owner/rider. What say you? For those of you who want to know - he is 19hh

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Pale Rider said:
Interesting, peoples views. I'm not suggesting people should mount from the ground as a regular thing, but I feel it is important that they should at least be able to and without making a hash of it and putting loads of pressure on the horse.
You should also be able to mount easily from both sides.
Click to expand...

For some of us horse ownership is a long term comitment- and we age too . When I bought my horse I could mount from the ground , but now am having trouble with my knees. But would not dream of gettong rid of horse while there are so many things to stand on to help with mounting.
 
Many choose not to mount from the ground for the sake of their horses, some physically can't. Most people hack but the thing about hacking is that in the main there is changing scenery which handily more often than not provides natures own mounting blocks with a little imagination and maybe a short walk. :)
 
Couldn't give a rats bottom how big or what breed the next horse I get is, so long as its above 14hh (I'm 5'10") but still fits in a single trailer, and I click with it, trust it, and it's capable of RC stuff.
 
Also, saying para riders are different - where do you draw that line? Lots of injuries, age-related joint problems etc can mean a rider can no longer mount from the ground, but still ride well once on from a block. For example, I have hip problems, which stops me riding wide horses without pain. Thats why I have my 17hh TB - because he is narrow compared to a 14.2hh cob for example. Therefore more comfortable for me to ride. Height nothing to do with it - if anything, it's further to fall, and if they made a model with the same specs only 15hh, I would want it!! ;)
 
I think Im probably the tallest person so far on this thread at 5'11"...I cant mount ANYTHING from the ground lol.
My horses are 16.2 and 15.3/16hh (growing)..I generally like my horses BIG as I jave very long legs and feel like a wally on little ones...these are the smallest I have had.
As long as the rider can control the horse who cares how big it is?? Why is it relevant??
 
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