At 5’5, I would feel so weird on a big horse. I’m also too old for tall horses. Shorter horse = closer to the ground = less brokenness during an unplanned dismount?
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Interestingly, I’ve seen this trend towards enormous horses fade a bit. When I was shopping for a youngster 15 years ago, every breeder marketed that the foal was “guaranteed to be over 17hh!!!” and it was hard for me to find something more average sized. But I feel like I’m seeing more 16-16.2hh horses for sale these days.
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Ditto… hence my new Gypsy/QH cross mare at only 14.2 
Used to be, the bigger the better for me. But like you, the older I get, the farther away the Down is LOL - No more 17.3+ equines for me.
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I started shopping in 2020 and waited 2 years for the market to drop. I finally gave up and ended up going over budget and buying a 17h horse when I really wanted a 16h horse. He has actually turned out to be a great horse for me, but I often look down at how far away the ground is and wonder what the heck I’ve done.
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Was looking at stallions for a hypothetical breeding to my APHA dressage pony (would want something at least level if not uphill, TB/APHA/AQHA, a good walk), and the options were not encouraging. So many AQHA and APHA giants (still not great walks). And if not a giant then built like a playground slide with meh gaits. I’m small, I want a small horse to be able to actually get my leg on!
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It depends on the breeding. Some breeders are investing a lot of money and effort in breeding top quality stock outside Europe.
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We have two at my barn and I was a bit snobby about them at first, but I’ve really come around. They’re very sane and sweet and one of ours is actually quite sporty and athletic. He packs around his beginner owner, but has a LOT of engine when asked and is a blast to ride… our pro is making him quite the little dressage horse.
I think they’re a great option for an amateur who wants something a little jazzier or more unique than a QH or typical draft x, but doesn’t want a big warmblood. They’re just fun and easy to have around, there’s a lot to be said for that.
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Yeah but…
sound of clippers turning on
And then…
sounds of scissors snipping
Then maybe I’d like them. 
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The exception being the Gypsy Vanner stud horse shown on our local circuit. I’ve never seen a horse quit in the show ring like this one. He just stopped. Didn’t back, circle, or go sideways, just stopped on the rail while the rest of the class continued moving. Of course the woman who owns him is going to breed him. BTW, this thing is a few inches below the breed standard of 14.2. So a short horse with loads of quit, who wouldn’t want to breed to that?
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Well I never said they didn’t have a lazy streak 
Mine did occasionally suggest that he’d be much happier living a life of leisure out in the pasture. I usually found it pretty funny, he had quite a personality and this was all part of the package. He was never mean or dangerous about it, and when I insisted that he did actually have to work today you could almost see him shrug like “well, can’t blame a guy for trying,” and then he’d be fine. The lazy side was also part of why I trusted him 100% not to do anything stupid - it’s just too much work!
But seriously, if a young stallion’s strongest form of protest in a heightened show environment is to just… stop moving? I’ll take that over the alternatives any day. The “I’m bigger than you and you can’t make me” move is hardly breed-specific, some of them just do it with more fireworks than others. If you’re looking for a horse that’s 100% try all the time then this may not be the breed for you. But most people don’t need that and really shouldn’t seek it out. They need the safe, good-natured horse whose occasional rebellions involve standing still or walking very slowly in the wrong direction (mine’s signature move).
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This is an option! I kept mine very well-groomed, much to the disappointment of the little girls in the barn who thought his flowing locks were just the prettiest thing ever. Even if I liked the long-hair look (which I don’t) it’s just frustrating to maintain. Mine had a talent for getting all kinds of stuff tangled in there for me to extract even when I kept it pulled, I didn’t need any more hair to worry about than I already had. And don’t get me started on white feathers during mud season… those had to go too. As an upside, their coats are actually really good at repelling dirt so I found he was much easier to keep clean than your typical grays and paints.
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I once watched a darling pony-sized Fjord rock around a hunter course at a local show - really really good mover and knees-to-eyeballs jumper - and absolutely horrified the owners by saying I’d buy her in a heartbeat and immediately clip the feathers and roach the mane. Not a feathers fan!
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In the 90s weanlings at ISF started at $30k
$50 doesn’t seem outrageous, in that light.
I’m 5’3" and my horses are a 15.1H OTTB and a 14.1H TWH. Got the TB free, fresh off the track, in 2011 and a friend gave me the TWH as an unbroke 3 or 4 year old. Both are plenty big enough for me and they are nice trail horses.
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On this I question the quality.
Do the breeders in Europe sell their best, or keep those for themselves?
Is a US bred WB, from breeders with deep pockets who buy the best from Europe, really lesser quality than what you will be offered to purchase in Europe?
Here I’m seeing lesson horses in the five figures who then ppe unsound.
Same for prp eligible Ottbs.
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Absolutely. I didn’t understand it myself until I sat on one of these horses. There is quality, and then there is quality. Some of the dam lines state-side are very valuable, and came at great cost to the breeder to secure and import them from overseas. My filly’s breeder was selling foals in utero for 15-20k pre-pandemic - but these were legitimately proven PSG+ lines for her sport of choice (dressage). I’m sure they’d be much more now.
I am seeing the market soften a bit for the green horses in my area. Last year anything listed for four figures was flying off the shelf and anything green but with a bit of show mileage (BN or less) was going for $20-30k. Now I’m seeing some stay on the market a bit, and some price adjustments to a lower value seem to make them move.
@Knubbsy Did you look at straight TBs? There are some standing to non-racing that have great walks - most modern TBs do have good walks.
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Does the market really need that many PSG-ready horses? I understand that pros want horses that can take them to that level, but the average ammy won’t have the time to really get their mounts to that level. In addition, I would think that ammies aren’t really able to handle the big movers especially when the horses are going through the 5-6 “teenage” (read rebellious) years.
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knew a gypsy that was sent to a qh trainer to be broke, very traditional type, went just fine w/t than he tried to make him do a wp lope. Gypsy said nope and slowly went down like a camel and whenever the trainer came near him did the camel again. Trainer sent horse home as a write off, little old lady who owns him has spent the last 5 yrs happily riding all over the country side at w/t and loves him to bits. He’ll trot thru a war zone without batting an eye for her, not so keen on doing a canter that he’s not built to do.
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Why in the world would they try doing a WP canter with anything? No horse deserves that, lol.
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Not every foal from those breedings is going to be PSG material, though, so why not aim hight, and the ones that aren’t FEI quality will be amateur horses.
Seriously, if one is going to the expense and often heartache of breeding, one should aim to produce the best foal possible.
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