Why aren't small adults riding ponies?

[jme]

My favorite horse at horse camp was a mid-sized pony named Sufi. She was Arabish, mixed with goodness knows what else. I picked her specially due to her size. She was fast and would jump anything, stationary or moving.

When we were kids my younger sister’s “horse” was actually a large pony. Granted he wasn’t a jumper, but he was a nice moving animal and the pair would clean up in the show ring.

Until my TB now, I always rode the littler horses/ ponies. I’m only 5’3" so I think that’s why I got “stuck” with them

I would never overlook a pony, in fact, I might even look for a pony.
And I would never turn down a nice $700 pony!

[QUOTE=Sakura;2022727]
The only complaint I have is finding tack that fits… Bridles tend to be too bulky and hide his pretty face and girths are a headache to find in the right size. [/QUOTE]

I don’t know how fashionable it is these days, but I used a rolled bridle (dressage) on my Arab/Swedish WB cross and he looked cute. I think that type of bridle works well for the little horses and bigger ponies.

[Lori_B]

I am shopping (god help me), and am 5’5" and stocky, and would happily consider a 15hh horse that has a sturdy build, whose body takes up my leg, etc. I’ve been riding a very sturdy Morgan, and I love not being so far from the ground. Of course, having said that, I tried a 16’2" ottb yesterday that is now a contender…

NOT SOLICITING! NOT TRYING TO DO BUSINESS IN THIS THREAD! Just commenting on the topic. I am not in the market for fancy gaits, but am in the market for kind and quiet. Ponies can be ornery, god knows.

[Blugal]

I’ 5’2 1/2" and have a pony whom I adore! Right now there is a child riding him part time and I am jealous of her… He has a great temperament which I think makes all the difference. Smart, good feet, easy keeper, good looking - but you are right about the trot. Going for a 2 hour trail ride alternating between rising updownupdownupdownupdown or just 2-point. :winkgrin: I think if you take one of those hunting, you just get them super fit and canter everywhere! :lol:

[Perfect_Pony]

I am not small (5’6" and 140+ lbs) but I ride a Hony. She’s maybe 15.2. Everyone thinks she’s a pony, or a part Arab - she’s actually a Hanoverian.

At least around here more people are getting into German Riding Ponies, as well as a lot of Halflingers, Icelandics, etc.

[MistyBlue]

I have a 15hh and a 17hh horse. I’m 5’2". I adore, adore, adore ponies. I would love to find a nice scopey pony with reasonable gaits. (no Singer sewing machines, but giant movement not necessary either) I’d never turn down a nice pony and if I were equine shopping the size range would be 13.3 to 15.2hh for optimum fit for me. Those German Riding Ponies are indeed lovely…but I like all ponies.

[clanter]

We don’t ride ponies because there aren’t any Morgan ponies all Morgans are horses regardless of size. Most of ours are under 14.2H however they appear to be much larger in size.

When shown is open classes that are separated by size we often have been challenged having the horses measured to prove they are under 14.2

[WindyIsles]

4’10 and -100lbs - I ride ponies. My family has bred ponies - 2nd generation - I will be 3rd.

I WILL ALWAYS have Ponies!!

LOFF my Connemaras - nothing better~

[Auventera_Two]

I’m 5’7" and my girls are 14.1 and 15 hands. I feel most at home on them. I love ponies and small horses. It’s like driving a sport car. Neat, quick, precise, responsive, and lightning fast. Riding my mother’s warmbloods always felt like maneuvering a semi truck and trailer. I always felt like I’d smack my head on the arena rafters, and your 6 canter strides ate up the diagonal and you were in the other corner already.

No thanks, I love having double the strides down the long side or across the diagonal. Small horses are very challenging, in that the gaits are quick and rapid fire. Tiny little horses/ponies can spin on a dime and give you a nickle change, while the 18 hand ogre is still getting his left front foot on the ground. I love reaching around and scratching my pony’s forehead and giving her a little treat after a really hard movement. With the warmbloods, you had to order special, long reins because their darned neck is 18 feet long. It feels like communicating with a person across walmart. You know, yelling and waving and saying “I’m over here! Can you see me!? Can you hear me!?”

[Auventera_Two]

@Blugal;2022871

but you are right about the trot. Going for a 2 hour trail ride alternating between rising updownupdownupdownupdown or just 2-point. :winkgrin: I think if you take one of those hunting, you just get them super fit and canter everywhere! :lol:

:lol: That’s hilarious!! My mares are the same way! We just canter everywhere because the trot is so fast I feel like I can only post every 2 or 3 strides. A good friend of mine grew up with a tiny little Morgan mare. She said she always just did 2-point or canter on trail rides because posting was exhausting.

Yeah, of course when I’m doing ring work, I collect the stride and ask for a nice medium trot (and get it.) But on trail rides when we’re keeping up with the pack, it’s just better to canter all the time.

[goponies]

God Bless you all!

But you guys seem to be the exception to the rule! I know in the hunter world it’s near impossible to ride ponies but how about dressage?
The 13.2h mare I’m riding is a fab little dressage queen (don’t you dare tell her otherwise!) but there aren’t any others like her and she’s not likely to ever be sold. There’s no market for her as a children’s pony (mom and dad want bigger and something that JUMPS) and there’s no market for her as an adult pony (too small say the adults…but she does take the leg in a lovely fashion) Oh well I guess I’ll just have to show her in open dressage classes myself! I’ll get some looks! Maybe I’ll start humming to myself too on the showgrounds just to make things even more interesting!

[Huntertwo]

I’m 5’4 and love my 13.1 POA. She is a bit stocky and I don’t look or feel big on her at all. She doesn’t have the choppy fast pony gaits.

And she is the best little trail pony. Today she and I went out all alone for about 2 hours.

[mp]

No ponies here, but all my horses are between 14.2 and 15h. (I’m 5’4" and some change). I recently went to my first dressage show with my 14.3 gelding. We got a good score and great feedback. My most treasured comment from the judge was “this is a nice picture.” I’ve always thought we looked good together and it was nice to have it made official.

[pintopiaffe]

I am 5’4" and not small. I need to loose 50 more lbs. (I’ve lost 50, but battle meds for every ounce <grr> )

I ride a honey I guess. He was sent to me as 15 or 15.1. I tended to believe it, because in the trailer next to the “15h” H U G E Qh mare, his rump was actually higher. Well, neither of them were 15h. :uhoh: I think he’s 14.2 or 3. STILL never officially sticked on flat cement.

I love smaller horses, though according to most I should be on a draft cross. I find the smaller guys cheaper to clothe, easier to trailer and house, all around just more economical. Plus, WAY easier to get around a small arena. :yes:

Mine have excellent gaits, and pretty much clean up in SHIH and now undersaddle. As DB said, I find them quite EASY to sit in comparison. Several well regarded BNTs have proclaimed loff for them. I’m not purposely breeding for small size… but I AM purposely breeding for the adult amateur, first-time-foal-owner etc. So rideability and temperament first, competitive gaits next… size is the last thing. Full sibs can be drastically different, so even repeating a cross doesn’t guarantee anything size-wise. Long term plans for me include adding Iberian blood, to ‘up’ the dressage factor without upping the size exponentially.

Part of the problem with finding the small dressage-bred horse, is it seems as if buyers want them w/t/c maybe doign 1st or 2nd etc. Most of us who breed them aren’t in a position to keep them (all) that long to get them going. Finding a talented trainer small enough–or just plain willing enough–to work with them can be a challenge.

I think it’s great that there are just as many different kinds and types of horses as there are people who love them. I do think a rider in the learning stages really does need a mount SUITED to their size… shorter doesn’t necessarily mean a good fit–some tiny riders are so small in the hips they can’t sit properly on a Fjord or Haffie or a honey built like such… Some quite long and lean tall riders can’t ride a huge horse for the same reason. you need to find one that SUITS you.

P.S. Goponies–you campaign that great little mare (I think I saw pics of her on an older thread no?) and get your scores… then you’ll be able to move the comma over a couple of places on her price–just market her as a SPORTpony broodie prospect. :winkgrin:

[pintopiaffe]

@Lori B;2022831

I am shopping (god help me), and am 5’5" and stocky, and would happily consider a 15hh horse that has a sturdy build, whose body takes up my leg, etc. I’ve been riding a very sturdy Morgan, and I love not being so far from the ground.

I find this VERY interesting. To me, there seems to be a lack of Big-Little horses.

Growing up there seemed to be a lot of 14-15h horses as wide as they were tall. Sturdy, kind and more athletic than we gave them credit for. These days it seems as if the larges are pretty refined, and even small horses are refined. Sure, we have Fjords and Haffies now, but they are $$$ and not all are suitable for the english disciplines. MANY are–don’t get me wrong, but I think they’re definitely a step up from what I’m talking about…

I’m considering trying to breed the kind of cob you see much more of in Ireland/UK/Europe. Uh… not to stir pots, but god forbid, I think the GV’s are this type. I don’t care so much about hair though. :lol: But, good movign, big bodied, sturdy and yet not overly tall. I think a little draft blood --1/8 or 1/4 is probably needed… I’ve one 1/4 perch mare whom if I didn’t keep her trimmed, could probably pass off as a GV. I think she’ll finish under 15h. She’ll be the starting point.

Just interesting to read it, beacuse I’ve been thinking it for a long time.

[philosoraptor]

@goponies;2022554

Pros: ponies are for the most part friendly, they let you know right away what’s wrong. Ponies are tough, eat barely anything and don’t need as much room as a big horse. They also cost less to buy. There’s less manure to pick. Don’t need a mounting block the size of, well,… a mountain. Don’t need an oversize trailer, small is fine. And the list goes on!

Ponies can only support kids and a very lightweight small adult. A horse can support the weight of kids AND adults – economics. Heck, at some riding schools they’re moving up from small horses to huge ones.

Ponies can go laminitic a lot sooner than a horse. Budget in grazing muzzles & careful limited turnout.

Some ponies honestly aren’t very nice. Too many people figure since they’re small and cute they don’t need to learn manners. As a result a well mannered pony is worth his weight in gold, but these aren’t cheap.

Some little ponies have problems when they’re the little guy in a herd of big horses. Some full sized horses will run the little pony around for fun, and this isn’t so good for the pony. You can’t totally get rid of the regular horses, so what do you do?

I don’t see a barn switching to more ponies tearing out their stalls to make pony-sized stalls. Or selling their normal sized trailer for a “pony” one. By being able to handle larger horses, they will remain more flexible.

Ponies are cute, don’t get me wrong. They just aren’t for everyone, and it doesn’t make sense to keep on lots of ponies that are useless for the average adult student.

[MistyBlue]

Another good pony point…they tend to stay sounder for longer. And they last forever. (as most pony people know, evil lasts forever LOL)
My 17hh big boned mare is a very special lady…we really click and I adore her to pieces. However, she’s only 18 years old and starting to really get crickety and stiff easily. In the last year she’s been much more prone to illnesses and allergies. Weather changes affect her much more than they should/used to. She’ll still bounce around in turnout from time to time and move and act like a 4 year old…but I’m noticing her aging more and more from season to season. I’ve already started warning my husband (who is extremely attached to her) that there’s a good possibility she won’t be one of those horses who stay healthy and going strong into her mid to late twenties. And I think a lot of that has to do with her massive size. 17hh is tall…but many are taller. However…she’s huge built and huge boned. This girl last tipped the scales a tad over 1600 lbs. And she’s not even close to fat or overweight. Some might say she could use a tad more fat, but that’s because she’s so big boned that her hips tend to look like they’re sticking out. (she has well covered ribs, spine, tail head, etc) Her head from poll to nose is longer than my body from the top of my head to my inseam. She wears a size 4 shoe. She’s big. Too big.
Ponies…well they seem to get better as they age. I rode one medium pony ages ago who was in his 30’s…and full of piss and vinegar. He lived to his mid 40’s. :eek:

[YankeeLawyer]

One of mine is just barely 15.2 but is a big horse otherwise; he is a WB, weighs 1100 pounds, and has a very deep barrel. I am 5’6 with a 32" inseam and do not look big on him; he completely takes up my leg. He also has big gaits, I love the little-big ones. If I were smaller I would love to have a pony.

[Astraled]

Ponies can only support kids and a very lightweight small adult

I don’t think the OP is suggesting a fine-boned American Shetland show pony. Most adults can safely ride the average large pony, many would also be fine on a medium.

I have arabs (you must never refer to them as ponies :eek:). The new one is 14.1 and change, the mare was 15h when she was young and fit, the gelding was 14.3 when I last measured him three years ago (he’s six now).

[MeredithTX]

I love ponies. I have a “hony” of an Andi who is 15.1 on a tall day and compete him in breed shows and dressage. He has a half sister that I would LOVE to have who is 14.2. I rode her some before her owners decided to breed her and she has incredible movement in a very cute little package. I used to ride a lot of big horses, but I find that I fit the honies and ponies better with my short legs and small frame.

[mayhew]

I’m 5’5 and very long legged, and still fit well on a large pony. I love ponies–they’re smart, versatile, and so darn cute.