DD is outgrowing her horse :-(

[Fazackerley]

She's started to look really big on him. She's easily as tall as me (5 7) and he's only 15hh. He's going really well though and seems quite happy. Please tell me it's fine to be 5' 8" and riding a 15hh??

I'm 5ft 7 and have a 15hh- I think it really depends on type of horse (a chunkier one is going to take up the leg better than a lighter type) and also her weight. If she feels happy on the horse and they're going well together then I wouldn't panic too much 🙂

If he's a cob and she's not too heavy it'll be fine! Totally depends on her weight and the breed.

He's not a cob. She's slim.

It's fine!

it only matters for showing where people care about "the overall picture" - for anything else it doesn't matter.

I'm 5ft 4 and have a 14.2hh, but also ride a 13hh! I look big but pony isn't fussed. There is a lot of nonsense written about height and horse size. The main thing is saddle fit I think, if the saddle fits horse and rider then rider leg length is pretty immaterial.

I ride small ponies. I'm light and 5 ft 5 but don't look big on a 13.2.

I think it's a modern trend for people to ride big horses. I can't personally see the point of a woman of my size or similar riding a 16.2 or bigger horse if they are stuck on top of the saddle with their legs doing nothing.

I'm 5'7" and ride a 15.1hh ISH. I came 2nd in the national championship of my discipline (an endurance related one) and raced in the Man Vs Horse race that was on the One Show last night (I was in it very briefly galloping past Sophie Rayworth .) I look a little tall on Horse but am within the 15% of his boy weight margin so we will carry on together and anyone who says I need a bigger horse can poke off. We are racing in England's oldest horse race against thoroughbreds on Thursday next week. For various reasons I am not allowed to compete him in this year's national championships, so I have been offered a very dainty 15.3hh horse to borrow that is normally ridden in a professional role by a 5'10" bloke. People get very hung up on height of horse. When I was younger 30+ years ago you stayed on ponies till you were 16, no matter what size you were. Jack her stirrups up and she'll be fine. She would have to be a heavy girl to look big on a 15hh-er, whatever her height.

Wow box! Go you! She's just had a lesson on him and she definitely looks on the tall side (her legs are really long) but he went well and jumped nicely so fingers crossed we can get another year out of him

My last horse was nearly 18hh and I'd take the little horse any day. The big one was very 'look at me!' and needed a lot of entertaining. I suspect he'd have rather died in a ditch than race frantically over mountain and moor. The little one knows his job and diligently gets on with it. Little horse is 550kg and big horse was 750kg, both plenty big enough to carry me.

If you worry about whether she looks tall on him, just take a look at photos of William Fox-Pitt on some of his horses and you'll see its OK to have your feet a little below the horse' s tummy and still be able to do well.

Watch Trapped series 2 then you'll feel better.. Fully grown men on Icelanic ponies.

When i did Pony Club 30+ years ago, a rough size guide was withers to your chin. Now at Pony Club it seems to be withers about 6" over the top of your hat!! The kids can't tack up their own bloody ponies as they can't reach, can't get back on if they fall off on a hack (although apparently everyone HAS to ride in an arena). They just bounce around with legs barely extending below the saddle flaps.

If pony and rider are happy, and weight isn't as issue then just crack on and keep going.

I've made her drop her stirrups as she looked like a monkey climbing a stick. Her feet are just the bottom of his tummy. He's going better than ever though so fingers crossed!!

I feel your pain OP!

We have just sorted out the agreement for DS’s new loan horse as he’s finally agreed he’s too tall for his cob. It’s taken two years of gentle suggestion to get him to this point as he just ADORED him and they have been doing so well together. When we got him DS had turned 10 a few days before and was barely 5’.

Lovely cob is 14.2 and wide as a house which helped. Luckily DS is beanpole shaped so about 10.5 stone but measured him the other week and he’s 6’3 and a half . His legs have been a little below his belly for a while but not outrageously so. He looks too tall on him, but not stop and stare too tall, unless he’s unmounted and stood next to him.

He was not too heavy and they don’t do much jumping and his instructors/vet/physio were happy that it wasn’t a welfare issue as he’s so light we haven’t stressed too much. They have been having lots of fun together, doing really well competing etc. They’re both really happy and having fun.

He’s just channeling his inner WFP!

The only issue we had was saddle fit.

We initially struggled to find a saddle to fit BOTH of them.

We had two saddles fitted that fit lovely cob nicely and I (5’5 on a tall day) but DS struggled with as neither previous saddler seemed to look at the fit for the rider.

We were then recommended Laura at bridle path international and she was excellent at finding something that worked for both of them. Unfortunately she stopped trading recently.

But it’s worth bearing in mind that saddle fit is important for both of them.

Dd is nearly 5’9” with ridiculously long legs and for flat work she has her stirrups really long. Her horse is a 16hh ISH, so not as chunky as a cob but not particularly fine-boned either. The soles of her feet are pretty much in line with his tummy but it hadn’t ever occurred to me that she might outgrow him ... I sincerely hope not as she’s still growing and I suspect she’s going to end up at about 5’10”

If William Fox-Pitt and Mark Todd haven’t outgrown their 15.something hand horses, and gone on to win Olympic medals on them, it’s highly unlikely that your daughter will outgrow a 16hh horse! It is not abnormal to have your feet in line with the bottom of your horse’s tummy - go and look at photos of top eventers. However, if your DD is a dressage rider then feel free to go ahead and overhorse her. Apparently bigger horses score better in dressage because most dressage judges just like a bigger horse. But I saw a study that at international level bigger horses are winning after the dressage phase of eventing but failing to live up to that promise once they are asked to jump something.

She'll be fine. At 5'7 I ride 12.2 ponies sometimes. They are too small but a stocky 14hh is fine for me at that height. We're just too used to seeing people on bigger horses. Not sure how tall Marion Coakes was but Stroller was 14.1. Yes he was an exception but really, you don't need big horses.