Why does everything have to be 16.2+?

[heronponie]

As a super tall person, I have to say this trend is a huge pain in the wallet for me. Finding a horse that actually matches my size is nearly impossible to do on a budget, because a 17h horse is always priced waay higher than its 15.2 counterpart.

My main riding horse for many years has been a 15h horse. We look a little dorky together (she takes up my leg fine, but my upper body has always looked tall on her). She has a notably long and smooth stride- everyone that meets her is surprised by how huge her step is- and yet I still find her gaits a bit jarring because her step stops just short of where mine would. My newer horses are taller at 16.1-17.2, and even though their gaits are less fabulous than the mare’s, they are much more comfortable for me to ride. Meanwhile, my 5’6" friend fits my mare perfectly.

[dontskipthecafe]

[QUOTE=heronponie;8031525]
As a super tall person, I have to say this trend is a huge pain in the wallet for me. Finding a horse that actually matches my size is nearly impossible to do on a budget, because a 17h horse is always priced waay higher than its 15.2 counterpart.[/QUOTE]

I once saw an OTTB who had just left the track, with no off-track training, who was listed for $15k because he was flashy and 17.2. And he sold.

[Cabaret_SK]

I’m 5’1", and when I was shopping, I wanted 16-16.1. I fit smaller horses fine, but wanted at least 16 for resale purposes.

What did I end up with? A 16.3 TB who is all legs. Like Denzel, he just happened to be what I wanted in all other aspects, and fit my budget. It sure is a lot farther to the ground than when I rode a 15.1 horse, though! And gone are the days of mounting from the ground - I used to be the one who would hop off and get a gate or move something out of the way on the trail. Now, if I get off, I’m not getting back on without help.

[SnicklefritzG]

[QUOTE=Cabaret SK;8031566]
I’m 5’1", and when I was shopping, I wanted 16-16.1. I fit smaller horses fine, but wanted at least 16 for resale purposes.

What did I end up with? A 16.3 TB who is all legs. Like Denzel, he just happened to be what I wanted in all other aspects, and fit my budget. It sure is a lot farther to the ground than when I rode a 15.1 horse, though! And gone are the days of mounting from the ground - I used to be the one who would hop off and get a gate or move something out of the way on the trail. Now, if I get off, I’m not getting back on without help.[/QUOTE]

I was used to riding smaller horses (~15:2 or so) before I bought my current horse who is 16:1. Within the first month of owning him I sprained my ankle. It was such a stupid thing. I had momentarily forgotten how tall he is (for me) and landed as if I were dismounting from a smaller horse. I torqued my ankle and ended up doing 6 weeks of PT. Oops.

I don’t even attempt to mount from the ground. I used to be able to do it, but since I’m not a teenager with limber muscles, I don’t even bother. lol.

[Dressagelvr]

I’m 5’3 with long legs. I like horses with nice big gaits, so I look in the 16 to 16.3 range for horses I own. I’m happy to ride a taller horse so long as it isn’t too wide. I look fine on them.

People want bigger horses for their gaits in dressage and so they can walk down the lines on the hunters. There are smaller horses who meet these criteria, but they are the exception rather than the rule.

This has been the trend for about 15 - 20 years now, so it is nothing new.

[horsepoor]

I’m 5’5" and currently horse shopping. My ideal would be in the 15.3 to 16 hand range, not too big bodied, or smaller in height but bigger bodied. Everything I find is either <14.3 or >16.3. I’ve been looking at a lot of QHs and if they are under 16 hands, people think they can’t jump. And over 16 hands, they must jump. It has been an odd experience.

I used to think all the ads overstated the size, but in those I’ve seen recently, the opposite has been true. Every horse except one has been larger than advertised (being exactly 16.1 myself, I can be used as a good ruler!). Went to see one that was listed at 16.3 and I thought, maybe it will be smaller and worth a try – pull out of stall and he’s GIANT. Over 17 hands and built like a truck, surely outweighing my now-retired warmblood that tipped the scales at 1,500 lbs. when last at the vet school. Rode him anyway, and he is the nicest horse I’ve sat on in forever, but I just don’t want one that big.

I remember my trainer shopping in the past for tall clients and having the hardest time finding horses big enough for them. Times have changed as that seems to be all I am finding!

[fourfAlter]

I’m 5’10, with very very long legs. I had a 16h jumper forever, because he was quick and fast, but no joke I had two rails in our career, yes me with my foot, paint on my boot and everything!

I prefer taller horses because I am taller. It makes a better picture! Plus, most 16h horses I’ve sat on can’t leave out strides in a J/O (mine could, many others could not). It has been much easier to leave out strides with my 17.3, 17 and 18.1 jumpers

[TheJenners]

@Pennywell Bay;8031258

I agree with you. I think a 5’2 person riding on a 17 hand horse looks ridiculous. “Suitability”?

However, with an emphasis on “lines” and “strides”, a larger horse can “generally” make it down the lines without the ammy owner putting in much effort or thought. I mean, god forbid.

This is why, IMHO.

@whitney159;8031351

Let’s not forget that at least in advertising, a 16.2 hh horse is generally found to be 16.0 when seen in person. No not everyone fudges, but I rarely, when horse shopping, found one that was as tall as claimed when advertised. So if I was looking for something 16.0 minimum (I’m tall with a lot of upper body and like a bigger horse), then I would be looking at ads for bigger horses.

And this is just frustrating. Want to get someone’s goat? Tell them you’re bringing a measuring stick and it will be the first thing you do upon arrival to look at a sales horse. The reaction is amusing. The “solidly 17hh” horse that was advertised is now “oh I eyeballed him…”

[QUOTE=SnicklefritzG;8031589]
I don’t even attempt to mount from the ground. I used to be able to do it, but since I’m not a teenager with limber muscles, I don’t even bother. lol.[/QUOTE]
I never mount from the ground; not because it’s hard for me but it’s murder on your horse’s back and not so good for your saddle either. Ask any chiro/massage person and any fitter.

[clanter]

![](y daughter who is 6ft on one of our Morgans that is 14.1h

[IMG]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b386/clanter/trail-1.jpg)

same daughter on a 18.3h Clydesdale
[IMG]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b386/clanter/photo4.jpg)

[PNWjumper]

I will say that walking into a very large jumper class on a 17h horse versus a 15.3h horse really can make a visual difference to the rider, so while I don’t shop by horse height and don’t care all that greatly, height can be a good thing and having shown a 15.3h and 17+h horse at the same time, I definitely preferred walking into the ring on my big guy. But to be fair to my “little” mare, she was my favorite to ride

With all of that being said, I recently bought a medium pony for my daughter. I have more fun jumping him than any of my big horses! Every day while I’m riding him around with a giant smile on my face I wonder why smaller horses lost the “cool” factor somewhere along the way. The pony is only 13.3h, so definitely a tiny bit on the “too small” side for an adult (mainly because there’s not a whole lot to hang onto with your leg and I have come off because of it!), but a hand or so more height and I feel like you’d have just the coolest little mazerati ever!

And scope-wise - I’m pretty sure this pony could jump the moon, and though I’ve only jumped him maybe 3’-ish to date, it felt easier for him than just about anything I’ve ever sat on.

But I think that people judge “scope” the same way they judge it via jumping form - bigger is always better and a horse has to jump like a top hunter to jump big. Both are false, but so many people on the circuit today don’t know how to gauge factors “outside of the box.”

[KateKat]

If a horse is smaller in height but built like a larger horse with a rounder barrel, I have no issues riding them. Its when they’re slight all over that I feel like I’m a giant on top of a horse, coming to destroy a nearby village I’m not super tall at 5’8", but I do have a longer torso so a taller horse with a longer back just fits me better (as in we’re a prettier picture and its easier for me to stay in balance).

My personal preference is probably 16-16.3. Any bigger than that and the ground is really far away!

[furlong47]

At 5’10" I ride and jump everything from large ponies up to 17+ hands. IMO rider weight and corresponding build of the horse is more important than height. As long as the horse can comfortably carry me, I don’t really care how tall he is. And I don’t think I look ridiculous at all on the larges.

[SnicklefritzG]

[QUOTE=PNWjumper;8031637]
I will say that walking into a very large jumper class on a 17h horse versus a 15.3h horse really can make a visual difference to the rider, so while I don’t shop by horse height and don’t care all that greatly, height can be a good thing and having shown a 15.3h and 17+h horse at the same time, I definitely preferred walking into the ring on my big guy. But to be fair to my “little” mare, she was my favorite to ride

With all of that being said, I recently bought a medium pony for my daughter. I have more fun jumping him than any of my big horses! Every day while I’m riding him around with a giant smile on my face I wonder why smaller horses lost the “cool” factor somewhere along the way. The pony is only 13.3h, so definitely a tiny bit on the “too small” side for an adult (mainly because there’s not a whole lot to hang onto with your leg and I have come off because of it!), but a hand or so more height and I feel like you’d have just the coolest little mazerati ever!

And scope-wise - I’m pretty sure this pony could jump the moon, and though I’ve only jumped him maybe 3’-ish to date, it felt easier for him than just about anything I’ve ever sat on.

But I think that people judge “scope” the same way they judge it via jumping form - bigger is always better and a horse has to jump like a top hunter to jump big. Both are false, but so many people on the circuit today don’t know how to gauge factors “outside of the box.”[/QUOTE]

who is going to be the first to take the new pony into the jumper ring?

[JenEM]

I assume in the jumping disciplines, it’s for the reasons mentioned above–the length of stride and size in relation to fence, which makes a mental difference to the rider, anyway.

I’m 5’10, and people are always astonished when I tell them my mare is only 16.1. She’s pretty solid for a TB, with a good sized barrel that takes up my leg nicely, so she seems bigger, and I think most people also have a really poor grasp of what size actually looks like. I’ve ridden hony sized horses, and feel reasonably OK on most animals over 14h, though obviously wouldn’t be looking for something that size if I was shopping. But IMO, it’s more about the size of the barrel and the length of neck in front of me than distance from the ground.

[goodhors]

[QUOTE=whitney159;8031351]
Let’s not forget that at least in advertising, a 16.2 hh horse is generally found to be 16.0 when seen in person. No not everyone fudges, but I rarely, when horse shopping, found one that was as tall as claimed when advertised. So if I was looking for something 16.0 minimum (I’m tall with a lot of upper body and like a bigger horse), then I would be looking at ads for bigger horses.

The other side of things is that I think americans just like things big. I did competitive horse judging in college. Back then in the QH world, my coach told me the rules of judging halter, and how simple they really were to follow and correctly place a class:
Big is better than little. Pretty is better than ugly. A dink is a dink is a dink.
He was right every time we watched a class get judged based on this. He only shared this gem of knowledge because of the dink part of the rule. If a horse is a dink, stop trying to talk him up, just place him at the bottom of the class and move on.[/QUOTE]

I have a horse measuring stick, cement barn aisle, and do measure a horse when we sell one. Folks ALWAYS say he is much larger (often a hand more) when they come to look! You can’t win on the height thing. Ours stood a true 17H, but many of the shoppers were afraid of his size, and he was NOT done growing then!

And I believe you about the QH Judging rules back then. Sure seemed to be the case anyplace I showed. I had a smaller horse then, so we “placed” but never first or second. She was a working fool, so we made up our points in the riding classes, aiming for Hi-Point. Small worked for me.

Now we have tall horses, which we have bred and raised ourselves. They are not lame, don’t have any problems or issues with their sizes, extremely athletic. Stay sound for years of hard work. The Breed standard PROMISED horses around 16H, so we figured an inch or two either way was fine. The boys ALL got up to 17H, and you can’t just throw them away when everything else about them is PERFECT! I just use step stools to stand on to clip or mount up these days.

I wouldn’t look for a tall horse if shopping for myself (husband and I share the tall ones), but a lot of folks want big horses until they have to deal with it for very long. 15H would suit me fine for a horse, but only the 2yr old is that small here.

[ybiaw]

People are slightly ridiculous.

I also know someone who, when she was looking for a horse, refused to even CONSIDER anything older than 6, smaller than 16.2, or anything other than a bay WB gelding.

So she went out and found herself a 4 year old 16.3 bay Warmblood (though unpapered/unbranded) gelding. I could see right away that this was too much horse - she didn’t even sit on him for three weeks after she brought him home, and when she did, it was in the round pen under the supervision and tutelage of our resident “cowboy.” She was intimidated by this thing from the get-go. Ended up getting DRAGGED across the barn property by him THREE TIMES, then sending him away to be sold, he never sold, and now he’s back and she has someone else riding him and he is up for sale again. Her sale ads say she is looking to sell or trade for something “a little further along.”

:lol:

(PS - this is a “professional” who owns/operates a riding school and teaches lessons)

The moral of the story is: If she had been a little more open to maybe a 16h 7 year old, I’m sure it would have been a different story, but people get so set on what they think they want that they become blind to the fact that there may be a horse out there that fits their needs better than one that “ticks all the boxes” so to speak.

[cowboymom]

I like a taller horse-I’m short but not when I’m on a horse and I like the bigger stride and movement of a taller horse. That said, mine is probably only 15.1 or so, if that.

My husband is tall at 6’ 4" and he’s not at all comfortable on a horse less than 15.2 or more. He likes having the tall legs for picking through the mountains and he likes the bigger stride. His first horse that he rode for nearly 20 years is only 14.3 and I figure he rode her enough to know where’s he’s comfortable. She was tougher than heck and full of heart but I know she worked her Morgan tail off hauling him around.

I’ve been shopping for a horse for him the last few weeks and it’s been a struggle here in cutting horse country, all these short fat quarter horses! Anything an honest 16 hands or more was an instant price increase.

I’m 15 hands high, exactly. I AM the measuring stick! :lol:

[Appsolute]

I am 5’6" and I like my horses to be 16.2 to 17 - honestly that feels right and “fits” for me.

BUT - I also prefer TBs and TB crosses, I have never owned a WIDE horse. I have ridden some very wide 15.2 handers that I “fit” fine on, but they are not my type of horse generally (thinking of my mothers PRE for example).

Here I am on a 16.1 hand horse (baby photo - she is now 16.3) - I am glad she grew and filled out a bit. I def. do not feel like she is “too big” for me.

[candyappy]

I am tall with long legs. Up until about 9 years ago I always rode horses 16.2 and over. A small horse just felt like not enough under me. Some people just like a big horse, some people I have known think it makes them look like a better rider if they can handle a huge horse. As I have matured( aged) I am just fine with my wide bodied 15.1 hand mare.

[Beverley]

Oh, there’s nothing new about this, I was amazed to enter the world of Tall Horses in transitioning to hunters in college after growing up riding western. That said, I converted my 15.2 western horse to foxhunting and he was fine by me. I did hunt much larger horses now and then, biggest being 18 hands, I was the guinea pig to see if he would actually hunt as advertised. Over the years I’ve had a couple at 16.1 or 16.2 but my preference has always been 15.2 or thereabouts. These days I have one that grew to 16 hands, oh well, but my other one is 14 hands and we get the job done just fine.