Coth community, I am horse shopping. I keep finding really nice horses that tick my boxes except one. They are all 15 maybe 15.1, frankly some of them would have to stretch to make 15.
I feel too big and tall to be comfortable on a 15h horse. Now in part I am sure that is because it has been years since I have ridden one under 16h.
AND when I was a teenager was sharply teased because I rode a 14.2 gelding. Now he just happened to be the one in a million absolutely perfect boy, but since my horses have always had more size.
How does a 5’8" person look on a 15 hand horse? I am size 12 mostly.
I have long legs and my current mare, 16’1 has a small barrel, my heels are below her belly. I can’t help but think I would look ridiculous on a 15 h horse.
I do know horses have different barrel build and a particular15h might even take up my leg better.
What do you think, is long leg 5’8 silly to think of anything less than 15.2?
What do you want the horse for? There is no problem with the horse carrying your height. Look at all the men on reining QH.
Smaller horses can be more handy, and more sound. Feral populations, unless there is fairly recent draft blood introduced, tend to breed down to about 14 hands, or smaller in harsh environments. 16 hands is generally cited as the cut off point where above that, you have to be alert to height related body strain. Obviously not all horses, conformation and fitness will have a big impact.
At the lower end of the market, draft blood adds size, bone and strength, but can work against aerobic endurance and agility. At the higher end of the market, some of the big, big moving, very expensive dressage horses are turning out to have connective tissue issues and to be too big for their build. You can’t necessarily carry 17.5 hands on essentially TB legs. So bigger is not always better.
If you are in a discipline where the total picture matters, like hunters, then size might be a legitimate issue. Otherwise for an all around horse, pick one with a nice big barrel and some neck, and 15 hands is not too small.
Also try to let go of teenage trauma. Your frenemies teased you because they could, not because you looked silly on your wonderful little horse. Btw from my observations 5 foot 8 with a long leg is the perfect riders body type. I am 5 foot 5 with average legs and a long femur and I see the difference.
I would also add that it’s torso height not leg length that can make a rider look disproportionate on a horse.
There was a woman at our barn who was maybe 5 foot 1, tiny. But she had a noticeably disproportionately long torso and was a little plump. She got a horse that was maybe 15.2 and had a short neck, some kind of not-ideal Appendix QH (which can be a great cross or a fugly one). She agonized over whether she was looked too tall on him. I always said no, but after a while I could see what she meant. She did look a bit disproportionate on him. I wouldn’t have said “too tall” because she was tiny. But she had basically the opposite of the “ideal rider’s body” and while she was indeed quite experienced and skilled, she didn’t look secure, though she was
So it’s not leg length but torso length that makes a rider look tall on a horse.
There’s also a difference between seeing someone that looks really poorly matched with a given horse and seeing a pro riding a smaller horse. You don’t usually think “horse is too small” in the latter case unless they are trying to school the naughty 12 hand lesson pony
I think the trend towards bigger horses has made a lot of normal-sized people convinced that they need something 16.2h+ to not be “too big” on a horse. As long as you feel comfortable on the horse, that’s all that matters!
I think people get too hung up on height, and don’t pay enough attention to things like barrel size, or even if just the horse’s way of going is comfortable and in harmony with the rider’s style.
my daughter is 5’10" her primary horse is a Morgan that stands 14H even, she surely does not look out of place on the Morgan as the horse like so many of the breed that look much bigger then they actually are.
Horse is is used and is competitive in multiple different divisions
I’m 5’8 and ride everything from 14hh - 17+hh. I find barrel and neck carriage are more important than height in aesthetics and my comfort level - I rode a 14hh cob stallion and he took up my leg just fine and his big neck balanced out my tall upper body. The first pic is me on an very average grade 15.1hh pinto, prolly some sort of quarter horse cross, the second is me on the cob stallion.
I am 5’9 with a slightly long torso but just LONG looking overall. US size 4 on top (flat chested) and US size idk maybe 6 on bottom now that I am 33.
I took a little ridiculous on slab sided horses with thin / straight necks. I took best on something 16h+ and can make a 17h+ horse look exceedingly normal sized and not large at all. It depends on both rider and horse confirmation TOGETHER. I do best with a slightly thicker bone, short back, and a cresty neck.
I am 5’7", and I don’t have short legs. One of the horses in this picture is 14.1, the other is 16h - but they wear the same size girth. It is very likely that you would look just fine on a 15h horse.
You said it yourself - really depends on the horse. If you otherwise like one I would at least ask the seller how it takes up leg and consider going to try it for yourself. Get a feel for it from the saddle and have someone take a picture from the side so you can see how you look on that specific horse.
If you just don’t like the feel of a smaller horse - or just don’t feel like spending time trying something that you think would be too small - that’s fine too. I think 5’8 with long legs is tall enough that no one could fault you for limiting your search to taller horses, if you’re ok with potentially having fewer options. You’re the one paying for the horse, you should buy whatever makes you happy!
My 14.2 Morgan (very traditional with the big butt, round barrel, big shoulders, high-carried head on a curvy neck) looked completely fine with a 5’11" schooling rider this summer. Now if she’d been a slab-sided little thing it would have been completely different. She isn’t a little thing, and don’t call her a pony to her face!
How tall your horse is isn’t nearly as important as other things.
And price wise you can do a lot better with a shorter horse. By that I mean that you can get a better quality, more highly trained horse for your money if they are short.
Imo (as a 5’10 rider who is all leg-I have a very short torso) I think you would be silly if you refused to consider horses under 15’2. It is absolutely all about the way the horse is built. My first horse was 17’0 and you could see my feet underneath him as he was, while broad up top, rather slab sided. My instructor’s 16’1 gelding (who had a much rounder barrel) took up all my leg. Similarly, my current mare (who might be 15’3 on a tall day, likely is more accurately 15’2) takes up leg spectacularly well even with a long dressage length stirrup because she is very wide and very round.
Someone else above mentioned it, but I think we’ve seen the trend of large horses getting more and more normal so we “feel” strange on something that actually carries us well and is, ultimately, completely appropriate for us to ride. I would maybe see if you can remove yourself from the idea that it’s height that you should be looking at: search for broader horses with more bone that have a fuller barrel.
