You will get used to the different feel, but if the pony is too too small, especially front to back, that feeling of riding a unicycle does not go away entirely. That is my experience anyway. Your own balance and position are amplified, which is actually pretty cool.
2 Likes
I came off a 13.something pony the same way - a little spin. I couldn’t believe it! Just gone 
I’ve seen a lot of longer necked, wider body ponies or honies out there. My kid’s 14.1 Welsh/TB has a longer neck than most of the 15-16 h horses at our barn. He’s nimble and sure-footed and has lots of body to take up leg if he spooks. His round withers make saddle slipping the real threat! 
Personally, I think a QH or cross is a great option for adults - short, sturdy and sane.
3 Likes
Except not all QHs are sane. 
My last mare was a QH and was quite reactive. I’ve no experience with the reining or cutting bred horses, but I hear they can be quite hot. I think 14-14.1 is perfect, but it’s not easy to find, especially already going. And the hunter pony market makes it even harder because I can in no way compete with that pricing.
Patience. 
3 Likes
OMG Gypsy Vanners?!?! I’m falling in love with this breed (except the hair and mallander/sallenders issue).
My friend has two right now, a two year old gelding and a broodmare that’s working on a third.
She actually got into them because she was looking for something smaller but stout enough that she didn’t feel like she was crushing her horse (she’s not big but about 5’10" and solidly built, if a bit squishy having had 5 kids).
She bought the two year old as a weanling and she also has a paint/arab cross that’s 4 and she has had him since he was a weanling also.
The arab/paint (cute and a people pleaser - don’t get me wrong) is just very sensitive and spooky and NOT for a timid retiree-didn’t-start-riding-until-her-mid-30’s person.
She currently rides a 16.3 drafty Canadian/TB cross that is a homebred and great but tall and a bit of an attitude. She wanted to be closer to the ground.
She was thinking the Arab would be her next horse but I think he is more suited for the husband due to his sensitivity and smaller build. Examples are - Arab did not come in for dinner because he would not stop staring at the sheep who got a bucket stuck around her neck and was running around in a panic. When we ran the tractor through the sacrifice area to get hay to the cows, the Arab, the older gelding, and my mare stood out of the way. The other Vanner was busy eating inside, the 2 YO…didn’t move from his hay…like please, dear, we need to get the tractor through.
The broodmare was initially standoffish but didn’t have a great start. Initial plan was to breed, sell the baby (broodmare came with 2 live foals guarantee) then breed again and sell in foal. Well, we started riding her as it’s a thing all horses should know (riding/driving-basically being anything other than a broodmare means later life career choices are more open). She was a little feisty at first but her go to is to just stop and stand. She has, however, decided she likes us and my friend has been getting on her and walking around with her (we feel bad trotting her late in her pregnancy, especially since she isn’t used to work like that). Friend loves her, she’s unflappable, not spooky at all, doesn’t really care where the other horses are, just great.
I do think right now she prefers to be in front on trails and that worries my friend a little. Her walk is also very nice and forward but something my friend is getting used to - but she’s also ridding her gelding exclusively for the last decade so any other horse is something to get used to. The mare is tall for a Gypsy at about 15.2 (same height as my Warmblood)
Anyway, yeah, this is an awesome breed! I remember my friend saying she researched them and a lot of comments were condescendingly about the breed being for “old ladies that want to brush and pet there horses more than ride” and she was like “Well, I AM an old lady and I DON’T want to do much more than hop on and walk/trot around or go on a trail ride.”
1 Like
As far as Morgans go, are there any Amish horse sales or dealers close enough to work with?
I see a lot of Morgans go through the Bowie Livestock site; too far I know, but many are from Amish origins. Very nice ones from time to time.
Just an idea. FWIW I don’t think you could wrong with a Prairie Hill Morgan, everything there is nice. The wait is longer for a riding horse if you buy young, but that might be a reasonable trade off if you are being particular.
I see nothing wrong with trying to find your dream horse, be picky.
Best of luck to you in finding the horse that makes your heart skip a beat, in a good way! 
3 Likes
It can be very difficult to find a trained, sane Morgan. The breed is small to begin with (now around 2200 foals registered per year after a big dip in the late 2000s). There are always youngsters available (2 and under) and older untrained or very green ones.
The 2 rescue organizations, Morgan Safenet and Forever Morgans, often have horses. Morgan Safenet (which I prefer) also has good ties to the Amish for horses that aren’t taking the heavy driving miles but are sound enough for general riding. There are Amish that don’t want to send these horses to auction. They don’t tend to have a lot of ponies, though. MSN is in Texas but works with Amish in IN, PA, OH etc
There are several FB groups with Morgans for sale, like Sharing Our Morgan Horses, Morgan Horses We Love, Morgan Horses Under 10K, etc. And morganshowcase.com, though they tend more towards show horses. That’s where I found Lola.
3 Likes
We love our guys. They live in run ins like normal horses- I rebraid their hair every few weeks and that’s about it. Luckily neither of mine have leg issues or feather issues!
The broodmare has skin issues but we aren’t sure if that’s her start to life - born in FL, moved to TX where she was “fed like a TB”, then to Ottawa, then to where my friend bought her from in PA (about 40 min drive from the farm). She’s only 6. I’m glad to know yours don’t have skin issues - the gelding is fine so the mare may just be from previous inappropriate care.
She was just bought late last winter and her skin issues seem better this winter. Her forelock is braided but other than that, both have free-flowing hair. They have a 4 stall barn (of course with 5 horses!) but like yours, regular access to field and choice to be indoors or outdoors. Usually, it’s the summer that finds everyone indoors because the herd leader is a wimp about flies.
Side note: The feathers aren’t an issue, so much as a lot to clean…but I lament my horse’s back socks and keep admonishing her for getting them dirty…same reason (and only reason) I tend to stay away from gray horses.
1 Like
Gypsy cobs: can I be heretical and say that all that feather and mane can be shaved off to produce a functional, low maintenance horse? But then, people are paying top dollar for all the hair.
9 Likes
Absolutely! My MIL has a retired one we just shave his feather twice a year and I thin his tail- he lives outside and is a pig pen and he doesn’t need the feather.
And if we didn’t do breed shows I’d be tempted to shave mine’s off too and cut his mane like a hunter hahaha. Don’t let the real Gypsy people year me say that lol.
But it’s just hair and it’ll grow back. I love them for their good personalities and trainability.
4 Likes
You can say it 
3 Likes
The breeder my friend bought her Gypsies from totally said that when my friend bought her. My friend expressed annoyance at taking care of the feathers and concern about potential issues and the breeder said " then shave, it doesn’t matter!"
She just leaves the manes and tails (her own horses have full manes and tails as well - mine is the only one with a short mane) and cuts the feathers enough that they aren’t in the way for the farrier.
1 Like
If I were going to buy an Amish horse from a sale, I would buy it from an Amish sale. Some place like Bowie or New Holland is not where solid equine citizens go. The Amish are pretty tight knit, so if they unload an orangutan on Joe Schmo Yoder at an Amish sale without warning, it will likely come back to bite them.
The BusyBeaver is a good place to find an Amish horse or sale. It’s old fashioned classified ads, mailed in magazine form every month or two. FYI, if something is listed as a “school” horse or pony, it doesn’t do lessons, it takes kids to school every day.
You are more likely to find ponies where it is flat. They use a lot of ponies in Indiana and western OH, not so much in PA. The pony I’ve got is probably a Morgan cross (x racing pony?). She is absolutely & literally BOMB PROOF. Saddle horse barn, so we break out the smoke bombs occasionally. She plowed the smoke like it wasn’t there. I had a tire blow while I was driving her. She flipped an ear back, but never changed stride. Fire trucks, trains, semis, nothing fazes her. It does make it a challenge to get her ears up sometimes.
8 Likes
100% true lol. With a horse you at least get the “oh shit I’m falling” second to maybe save yourself but with a pony you’re in the dirt before you know what happened. I fell off my little one recently and I swear it was like a cartoon where the horse scoots out from underneath the rider and they’re just hovering mid-air still in saddle position. I don’t know what she spooked at, just that suddenly I was no longer sitting on anything at all.
3 Likes
If you ever watch the YouTube channel Free Spirit Equestrian, she often goes to sales where a lot of Amish sell horses and ponies. And gosh, they’re all really nice and bombproof. She’s in Michigan I think, but has traveled to other states. So many nice crosses for sale in all sorts of colors.
1 Like
Another happy Morgan owner here. He is supposed to be Morgan/Quarter cross, but his brain is definitely all Morgan. My 16:3 OTTB retired, and I decided I wanted one more horse. At 15 hands, I am very happy to downsize. Plus, I went from grey to bay for the win. My TB is built sturdy, and a bit long backed so there was an adjustment period. The other big adjustment was when viewing something scary, my Morgan puts his head up, looks, thinks, and moves on. His big grey TB brother sticks the head in the air, and you have just enough time to jam your heels down before the airs above the ground.
4 Likes
I think this is a good consideration. I’m 5’4 but I have a long torso, so while I can ride ponies when I’m at the right weight, a too short neck is definitely a consideration because in addition to us potentially looking out of proportion together, it means that since my center of gravity is higher, I have to be way more aware of how my balance is affecting my mount. A larger mount with a longer neck gives me a little bit more leeway in my ability to mess up and still be able to recover for both of us.
And while I have no issues with ponies and have loved riding some, 15.2hh to 16hh tends to be the sweet spot for me (and my current lease is 16hh with a loooong neck, lol).
2 Likes
Fortunately, not only am I 5’1", I have a short torso. I have about an inch between the top of my hip and the bottom of my ribcage. It means I never look svelte at any weight, but it certainly gives me a low center of gravity.
6 Likes
I had a 13.2hh welsh mare, and I’m 5’5 and not as light as you. She was a STOCKY thing- and we didnt look too bad together. We did the adult “bronze” hunters, where we had to add in every line lol. I took her in the jumper ring and she was a chiiiiicken. Eventually sold her to a kiddo doing the pony hunters, where she remains today being absolutely perfect.
My next horse, Raz, is 15.1hh. I like that height- unpopular opinion to some- but it’s great for me. I dont feel I need a 17.2hh warmblood at this point in my life (scaredy-cat adult ammy)
5 Likes
