What size pony to buy?

[Fudgeball123]

So we are still pony hunting after the pony we liked failed the vet check..

Riding instructor has suggested 14hh+ as child is now 5ft and otherwise she will grow out of it in 12-18 mths.

But others advise against 'over ponying' and say go with what feels comfortable now rather than something to grow into. Currently she looks perfect on 13.2hh.

Or does size (2") not really matter and its whether the pony is the right one more than the size?

We have a younger sibling to follow so outgrowing the pony in say 2 years time is not a disaster.

If she looks just right on a 13.2 I’d be buying a 14/14.1
Over horsing is far more to do with ability than size really.

Lastqueenofscotland2 thankyou, that's helpful. TBH I'm weary of this pony hunting. We are seeing one tonight and then taking a well earned rest...

I think the pony is far more important than the size, both temperament and type, a chunky cob type 13.2 will carry the same size and weight as a very fine show hack 14.2 really, and the two will move and 'feel' very different. On the whole I would have thought your instructor is right and you should be aiming for something around 14hh, but the most important, number 1 thing for any child's pony, but particularly their first pony is that they're a good personality match and I would always, always go a degree quieter/safer than you think you need to avoid the dreaded 'overhorsing', it's much easier to fire up a quiet pony with exciting activities, getting them fit, bit of hard feed if necessary (and the process will only help the child's riding and confidence) than it is to quieten down something too sharp, the latter is both trickier in management terms but also much more likely to hurt the child's confidence (or literally hurt the child!) along the way. Any 14hh healthy sound pony is likely to be able to cope with doing PC activities, a course of 80cm showjumps, prelim/novice dressage etc which is what the majority of kids want to do, so I wouldn't be particularly thinking about competition potential unless she wants to do BSJA or qualify for horse or the year or similar, in fact a horse advertised as a competition pony would actively put me off. This is particularly the case if they're used to riding school ponies, privately owned ponies tend to be a lot 'more' than the well-schooled and hard-worked RS ones, so even if s/he is used to the faster/trickier end of the RS pony scale that isn't what you want to look for in your own pony. Apologies if I'm teaching you to suck eggs here!

maxelly no I think that's all good advice thankyou. We have already learnt that 'forward' is not for us. A friend of us advised to go with something more relaxed than wired.. its a learning curve ;-) .

Hope the pony viewing went well! My daughter is 12 and about a year ago we bought a 14.2 lovely cob mare, but now I regret not buying something a bit higher as she's still growing and I don't know how long before she gets too tall for her, although cobs are quite hardy (touch wood).

Agree with Maxelly. It's more to do with temperament and match. In my early teens I was riding horses and ponies between 12 and 16.2hh. Often the bigger horses were far kinder which made them easier in some ways.

Plus some 14.1 ponies move with the stride length of a horse and are fine for adults, whilst others look like they'll blow over in the wind. And a pony with more barrel can take up more leg, so chunkier ponies are less likely to be outgrown.

Find your DD a friend she can have fun with, that's a reasonable size to handle on the ground, and don't worry too much about their actual height.

I'm 5 ft 3 and ride a 13.2 Highland pony. It depends on the build of the pony of course but lots of men ride Highlands. They are suitable for children and adults alike if you get the right one.

I've recently bought a 16h for my 11 year old DD (5ft 1ish) based entirely on the character of the horse (and his track record as safe and steady). She is moving off a finely built 13.2 on whom she has started to look very tall. I thought she would look tiny on a 16hh but when she sat on him she looked absolutely fine!

My dd is 5'1 and already looks a bit too big on her new 13.2 share and he's a chunky boy. I'd definitely look at 14-14.2. Over horsing is nothing to do with height and everything to do with the ponies nature (and ability to a point). Good luck in your search, not easy atm.