Weight and Height on Horseback

[directpressure]

I am an english rider, I do hunters, jumpers, EQ, flat ect… basically a bit of everything english. I am wondering opinions on my height and weight for the size of horses I ride often and just in general.

I am 5 foot, 4 inches and weigh about 130 lbs. I currently ride (most often) a 15.2hh slim boned QH mare, and a 16hh thick boned Warmblood gelding. I occasionally ride a 14.2 medium boned Welsh gelding as well. Do you think I am too tall or heavy for any of these horses?

In a general term, I won’t ride below 13.2hh, but is 13.2hh okay or is that too small for my weight?

Thank you!

[sassy]

I think you are okay on everything you are riding! I am 5’7 and muscular and weigh between 140-145. My personal show horse is a 16.2 Dutch Warmblood, so no issues there. I also have a 14.2 quarter horse that I ride occasionally but have shown him at my current height and weight. Obviously I am much more suitable on my big horse if I’m going to a rated show but I feel perfectly comfortable on my pony. I also hack a bunch of ponies since we tend to have a lot of sale and baby ponies but I don’t really enjoy riding any under 13.2 and I mainly do flat work.

I think a lot of it depends on how the horse is built. There are big bodied 15.2-16h horses that I look great on and then slab-sided thoroughbred types that may be taller but I feel bigger on them. My pony actually takes up my leg pretty well since he’s such a tank I’m just a bit tall on the upper half.

[directpressure]

@sassy Thank you!

[Equestrian.abby]

I have read that horses should carry 20% of a rider’s weight at most. You’re fine at your height and weight.

[tinah]

Given most exercise riders are about your weight, I’d say you are fine.

offhand, when I get much below 135 or so at 5’4", I stay losing muscle and strength. The charts might say I can go lower, but my body says differently.

[directpressure]

Thank you guys! @tinah @Equestrian.abby

[Everlong274]

I’ll gladly play devils advocate here because frankly I think weight is something that depends on your build, not ness. your height. I’ve seen taller, heavier riders carry themselves with ease and perfect balance and smaller, thinner riders have no balance and bounce hard on their horse’s back. While I certainly think there is a limit for the size of each horse (Im 5’8, 170 so I stay off ponies and petite horses. Youd never know that was how much I weighed if you had to guess bc most is muscle), I think we have to remember the balance factor as well. I rode a wide barreled 16h horse for many years and looked just fine on her.

[Scribbler]

There’s how small a horse you can ride and then there’s do you make a pretty picture in your discipline?

Lots of adults in Western ride QH around the 14.2 mark and it’s fine.

But they might not look harmonious in an English eq class.

[Foxtrot_s]

In Pony Club (when we did Prince Philip Games back in the day) the rule was no more than 112 pounds on a 13.2 pony.
Now I’ve typed that I am doubting myself on the exact numbers. The smaller the pony, the easier to vault…
Some PC person will correct me, but there was a rule, and it was probably needed - charging along at speed, leaning over and the poor little thing trying to stay upright!

[Mango20]

Pony Club games rules:

Small = 117lbs
Medium = 130lbs
Large is way higher (maybe 160?)