Who is out there with a little horse (under 16 hands) who is tall? Does it become a challenge when you get to prelim+? How do you compensate for the pendulum effect when your stirrups get short enough? Do you find a particular saddle helped? Core strength? Leave stirrups at taller horse length?
I am 5’10 and have two under 16 hand horses. I do not have any difficulty riding them. I don’t have any difficulty riding my stocky 13.1 kid’s pony, either. Any pendulum effect is probably more in your mind than anything else. Put your heels down, sit up and you will be fine. Put your stirrups where they ought to be, don’t jack them around oddly because of your horse’s size. It never hurts to be fit but that is true on any size horse.
Now, neither of my current horses is competing at prelim but I have competed a 15.3 hand horse at 4’3 jumpers, and two 14.2 ponies at 4’ jumpers. For what it is worth.
If you are having a “pendulum effect” it is probably because you are not waiting with your upper body if front of the fence. It is a riding flaw regardless of what size your horse is, but can feel more awkward on a tall rider/small horse combo. Riding a small horse is a great time to refine and improve your upper body control!
Good to know, fordtraktor! There is hope for Agnes and I then!
I’m not currently have any particular issues, I was just curious. I’m 5’11 and my horses seem to be getting smaller and smaller. Agnes, the 4yo OTTB I bought, is maybe 15.3 but narrower than a fence board. I’m sure she will grow and fill out some, but right now you can see my whole foot from the ankle down under her belly. I’ve never particularly had any problems with my upper body. It isn’t particularly long for my height (my medium sized CO vest used to hit the back of my saddle with some frequency), although I’m cursed with a large chest.
We aren’t even jumping X rails yet, so no concerns at all now. I was just curious if it would become more of a problem XC down the road. Obviously WFP and others don’t seem to have trouble riding smaller horses. It is just a new thing for me, so I was curious about other’s experiences. I’m from the H/J world and in my experience me riding anything under 16 hands would be dismissed out of hand.
Just curious to hear more about people’s personal experiences.
I’m 5’9" and simply prefer the smaller “sports car types” to the semi-truck types and have competed several of them to and through Prelim. Ride with your stirrups where they are comfortable for you, regardless of horse size. I do tend to ride shorter on smaller, narrower horse because they don’t take up your leg as well as the bigger ones. And keep your upper body quiet over fences. I’ve had some 4* riders I ride with tell me how imperative this is, while others say if the horse is a good jumper it doesn’t matter. Still a good habit no matter what size the horse.
I’m not an eventer and only jump around 3’ so I can’t chime in with a lot of over fences advice. I am 6’ tall and the only horse I’ve ever ridden who truly fit me was about 17.3 and rather long. My two current rides are a 16.3 slab-sided TB and a stupid wide 14.1 QH.
Core strength is very important. Any big move on the rider’s part will be magnified on a smaller horse, and you normally don’t have a long neck to help you out. My stirrups are pretty much the same length on whatever size horse. Maybe a half-hole shorter on a really narrow beastie. What can sometimes throw my balance off is going from a long horse to a shorter-coupled one. I don’t have much of an issue going from my TB to the QH because the QH is quite long backed.
I don’t own a horse but I’m 5’10" and ride everything from large ponies on up to 17+ hands. I do sometimes get ahead with my upper body and you can certainly tell that flaw more on the ponies!
I think you will grow to love the sportscar little horses if you give them a chance, OP. I sure do. I go out of my way to buy horses this size. In my biased view, they are more fun to ride, tend to be more sound/last longer, and can do as much as the big guys. Enjoy your little mare and don’t approach her thinking her size will hold her back! That’s not the right frame of mind! Look at Beezie Madden’s Via Volo, she is 15.2 and can jump around the Olympic Games. She only had issues there because she OVERjumped those huge fences.
Teddy O’Connor was what? 14.1? Not sure of Karen’s height but she’s not tiny.
I notice that the smaller the horse, the better my sports bra needs to be, otherwise I get tipped forward really easily. My balance is really affected by that both riding and skiing. It’s more about being able to pull my shoulders back than about the size of the girls, but a good compression bra saves me a lot of trouble.
My guy is 14 hands and a hair, he’s fairly narrow too, I’m only 5’7" but I’m fairly big on him. I will say that I don’t typically have problems with balance, I keep my stirrups really short like 3-4 holes shorter than my 16h horses. Of all my horses that I ride he’s one of my favorites. Sports cars have nothing on this guy!
I don’t do high levels by any means, but I still ride/jump my 14.3 QH that I got when I was 11. 23 now (and 5’8) and I just ride with my stirrups a hole or two shorter than I normally would. Sometimes I have to remember to keep my shoulders back but I find myself very balanced on him. He is pretty wide though and has a decently long neck.
I’m competing training on a morgan/appy cross who’s a whole half inch over 15 hh, and will be schooling prelim this year. We have showjumped quite successfully over 1.10 and will be upping that this year. Shorter stirrups help anchor your lower leg against the ribcage, and solid lower leg is what is needed to stabilize upper body. I have found a neckstrap helps big time, and I can ride Kuna totally off the neckstrap, full control, so just holding neckstrap and letting reins loop means I never chop him in the face if I get left behind. He’s a scopy happy jumper, and I tend to be a bit in the back seat, to avoid getting out over that short neck.
My horse is a hair over 15.1h and has a tiny build (I call her my “OTTB Pony”). I am 5’9".
I don’t really find her size to be a challenge - she is SUPER fast on her feet so occasionally there are moments where I get left a little if she darts sideways/forwards, and I think this wouldn’t happen with a slightly larger horse. Otherwise, no issues. I ride with my stirrups a bit shorter to find my balance point on her. Otherwise no special tack or tactics!
I love my little jumping bean - one of the most athletic horses I have owned.
I’m 5’9" and had one at 15.3" who I got up to Prelm but jumped well over 4’. And several others that I’ve ridden who were even shorter. Obviously the ones that take up your leg a bit are slightly more comfortable to ride but it doesn’t really matter.
I’ll second that core strength is KEY. You just need to be very quiet with your body…but I find that should be true for EVERYONE–it is just that you see and feel the consequences much faster when you are tall on a smaller horse!
William Fox-Pitt doesn’t seem to have any problem, and almost ANY horse is too small for him. Balance, core strength, and not moving around much seems to work for him.
Tall riders on small horses often require a saddle with certain features, esp. if they’re long legged or riding at upper levels. A longer/more forward flap will accommodate a longer leg w/o the rider’s knee going over the block, and a swept-back cantle will maximize seat size (and also keeps the rider from getting goosed by the cantle when coming down off a big drop fence). A shorter/upswept panel will keep the weight-bearing surface of the panels on the right side of T18.
Thanks, Kitt. That is really helpful. I definitely need a new saddle. Mine just doesn’t accommodate my leg at all. Knee hangs over the front in regular stirrups, let alone shorter stirrups. Need to save up some money, get mine sold, and find something else.
I feel better after hearing from so many people with small horses. Thanks, guys!
5’9" with a 15 hand (and half an inch, give or take his shoeing cycle) horse here. He has a fairly well-sprung barrel, so he takes up my leg, but I do find I fall into bad habits about the way I use my leg sometimes to feel like I really have it on him. I’ve never felt a pendulum effect, but I do not have a whole lot of weight up top, shall we say.
I prefer 16hh and smaller, and it’s been years since I’ve ridden something as tall as 17hh.
I’m 5’8" and Bailey is 15.1hh in high heels. 
I do feel big on him though, but I think its just personal preference. We get the job done and went through Training. We can school a few Prelim fences here and there but he just doesn’t have the scope for the level. I definitely needed shorter stirrups on my jump saddle in order to get off his back, and keeping my shoulders back and waiting with my upper body is key. On the flat I have to ride with shorter stirrups than I normally would so that my lower leg can actually reach his barrel. He’s not particularly wide so that’s a challenge.
I do feel more comfortable on Sky, who is right at 17h. Don’t get me wrong, I love my “sports car”, but I have a very long thigh and a long torso, so I always felt like I ended up at Bailey’s ears. However, I seriously need [keep] working on bending at the hip and pushing my butt back rather than leaning with my upper body. I feel that if I am more consistently doing that then I’ll not feel like I end up at his ears. :lol:
