It looks like my new horse is going to be short. I’m 5’6" and currently ride a 16.3 hh Friesian cross. The new guy is 3yo and only 15.2 hh so he may, if I’m lucky, top out at 16 hh. He’s KWPN, so may still take up my leg (hopefully). Are there any other people out there who are on the taller side but ride small horses? Are there challenges? Benefits? Do judges make any comments about it?
So a big problem for me is physically getting my leg on a horse…I’m 6’ tall and leggy. In my dressage saddle, with my stirrups adjusted to the proper length to keep my knee behind the knee roll, contact with my horse’s barrel ends just below my calf muscle. There’s no simply turning my toe to use a spur because my spurs are level with my horse’s elbow. Another problem arises if the horse has a short neck. I’m pretty good with upper body control because I learned through trial and a LOT of error to keep my torso back.
I rarely show, but I’ve never had a judge comment negatively on my height vs. the horse’s size. I do try to watch videos of tall riders like William Fox-Pitt to study their position. I know he’s not purely a dressage rider, but he does ok in that phase.
The last time I truly appreciated riding a small horse was back during my time as a ranch hand. When you have to get off to open a gate and there’s nothing resembling a mounting block nearby and btw there’s RATTLESNAKES around, you learn to like the 14.1 cowpony more than your 16.3 TB.
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I’m 5’8" and ride horses anywhere from 14 hands to 17 hands. I prefer horses somewhere in the 15.2 to 16.2 range. I find shape is more important than height for most riders. JJ Tate shows FEI on a 15 something hand horse and she is several inches taller than me. Ultimately fit is an individual thing.
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I’m 6’0 tall and evented a 14.3 hand paint for several years. Now, we called him the “corgi” because he had short legs but a big body–he wore an 80 blanket. He’s the best and is now teaching my son.
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I have a student who is 6 foot tall and rides an Icelandic horse that is 14.1 hands. He was AA tolting champion in the country several years back. He entered his first dressage show last month and got scores in the upper 60s at training level. Mostly 7s except when there are a couple of steps of tolt into the canter.
He does get annoyed when the judges make a comment about the ‘pony’. Icelandic horses are horses not matter the size according to the registry.
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I’m 5’5" and my primary show horse is 15.0h. My other horse/hony (who I have shown in the past but am not currently) is 14.0h. I have never had judges make comments except for things like “well matched pair”, which I have gotten quite frequently with both horses.
A lot depends on proportions – how much leg you have and how much barrel the horse has.
It can also make a difference whether the horse is a “square” or “rectangle” horse – my 14h guy is very compact front-to-back, which means staying balanced is tricky. There is less margin for error front-to-back.
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Wait a minute. 5’ 6" is tall? You just made my day.
(I’m 5’ 6" and look fine on a 15.2 horse that takes up my leg. Also remember that Lippizaners are usually around 15.2 and men of all sizes ride them and look fabulous. I don’t think you’ll have an issue. 15.2 isn’t all that small and 5’ 6" isn’t really all that tall, even though I wish it was.)
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Ha. 5’6" isn’t that tall… seems like a fairly average sized woman.
I am 5’9-10" depending which doctor measures me… and while I am a bit more on the tall side(and a bit proud of it too), there are many gorgeous woman who probably can claim the TALL moniker even better.
I have owned and trained about everything.i have now chosen to have most of my horses are 14.3-15.2h big bodied Arabs, with an oddball warmblood and friesian. One of my TALLER 16.2h) geldings is also the narrowest and takes up my leg the least…
It isn’t the horse’s height that matters, but their heartgirth. And honestly, most ammys can get overhorsed with some of the behemoths that are out there.
The big horses are fun in their own ways, but they are also harder to collect, a bit less handy in the arena with their turn radius and often take much longer to mature. Many of my big geldings have grown until they were 9!!!
I like my slightly smaller horses, and I have placed just fine on them.
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I am 5’10", and my current horses are both about 15 hands. One is a Purebred Arabian, and the other is a part bred. They wear a 72" and 75" inch blanket respectively.
At one point I was showing a client’s 13.3 hand pony 1rst level.
I know I look better on a deep chested warmblood, but I can ride these smaller horses better, and I think riding better is more important. It does take some getting used to though: my leg contacts the horse differently than on a bigger horse.
Judges have never commented on the size discrepancy.
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Ever watch Heather Blitz? She’s retired giant Paragon but the other horses she rides are around 16.2. And she’s 6 foot tall. Looks fabulous.
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15.2 to 16 hand will be fine. You are simply used to your 16.3h horse.
I’m 5’8" and muscular and ride everything from 15h or slightly less to 18h. I’ve seen pics and I don’t look overpowering on any of those horses. Even Mr. 14.2ish. Though he was chunky and moved really big. I prefer a bigger horse, but the ones that are the most fun are the big moving small horses.
You’ll be fine.
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I’m 5’4" and ride a 13 hand pony. Love my little pocket rocket.
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I’m 5’9" with long legs. I was pretty uncomfortable on my 15.1 round app, but partly because she was not very forward, and needed a lot of leg. I have a more forward 15.3 mare now and feel quite comfortable, though my ideal is a beefy 16.1 h horse.
If I was 5’6" I’d enjoy the freedom to ride the smaller horses. Enjoy!
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I’m tall and feel a taller horse fits me better, I like the bigger step and the rythms of the gaits suits me. I feel I ride the jumps better on a larger horse…in fact, I fell off my daughter’s pony when she stopped at a jump.
I’m 5’8. My two are 14.1ish and 17. I like them both for different reasons, but have way more fun on my catty lil quarter honey. (Even if I look a lil silly)
I’m your height, 5’6" and I’ve ridden and even shown ponies as an adult. (All in the 14-14.2h range.) No way are you going to be too tall for a 16h horse. Lots of people much taller than that ride horses of that size and you’d never think they look awkward.
I also wouldn’t count on him topping out at 16h. He may only grow 2 more inches, he may grow another 4. A horse I used to ride was maybe 16h at 4, by 6 she was closing in on 17h. That’s just to say there’s no guarantee with height.
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Thank you all for talking me off the ledge. He’s such a great horse in so many ways. I just have to stop obsessing about this one aspect.
I’m not tall - 5’3", but I ride a 14.2 hand and a 15.1 hand horse. And I have a long leg. So far, I have never gotten comments about being too big for my horse. As long as your horse has enough barrel to take up your leg, so you can USE your leg, the height is irrelevant.
BTW, I did get a comment from a judge once when I was on a bigger horse - she commented that he was too big for me. I thought that was interesting, and not very useful, but…
As long as you are comfortable on the horse and can use your leg aids, size is not a problem. Look at the reiners - often big men on 15 hand horses!
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So that makes it ok? I think most of those men are too large for their horses and most horses. Of course on a thread with this topic, you will attract others that are riding small horses and think it’s just fine. I think riders need to select horses that fit them size-wise. Especially in dressage. I also think JJ overpowers that small horse and is unattractive to my eye. I haven’t see Blitz riding her smaller horses.
I’m 5’9" and show FEI on a 15.2 FSHR mare, and am bringing along a 15.2 RPSI as an eventer. They’re very different shapes, and I’ve had to learn to ride with mostly seat and upper calves (in my dressage saddle, at least). If a rider has good balance and rides tactfully, like WFP, size isn’t such a big issue.
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