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[QUOTE=chism;8032472]
HA! I’ll admit I’ve read NONE of the responses. One of my friends and I got into a disagreement the other day because she called a 16 hand horse “small”. She breeds 17H+ dressage behemoths, so that’s her “NORMAL”. I tried to explain to her that a 15-16 hand horse was AVERAGE and she simply did not agree.[/QUOTE]
My BO routinely breeds ~17h ASBs, which are large for the breed. One topped out at 18h. We think there must be something in the water. He bred my mare who is ~17.2. “Normal” horses DO look small after a while. My trainer (in a different state) had a nice yearling last year. The colt was average size, but if you’ve only seen 15.3 2 yros for the last 5 years, he looked little.
If you’re showing in a ring full of horses, size is an advantage. A 17.2 horse will catch the eye quicker than a 15.2 horse. In the large coliseum type venues used today, 15 h looks like a pony. It wasn’t as bad in outdoor rings with lower fences.
I bought a 6 yo Hanoverian. He was 16h, and I’m 5’2". He’s actually finely built, so I fit him very nicely. He had several growth spurts, and is now 16.2 with no end in sight. His sire tends to throw off smaller offspring, so I thought I was safe. So sorry, I guess I’ll be the one you think looks ridiculous!!!
Regarding size - I’m small and like a smaller horse or large pony. I don’t really care about winning, I care about riding well and being comfortable.
Regarding dismounting - I pull up to the mounting block for dismounting my 14.2 mare. I don’t care how silly it looks. At 46 with a couple of knee injuries in the past, and a beautiful new calfskin saddle, it’s the best way to get off without damaging myself and my saddle.
Let me tell you, it is one of the easiest things to teach a horse because they know they are done!
I don’t care how tall the horse is- but I do want one that takes up my leg. My mare happens to be 16.2. I don’t wish that she were taller but I do wish she had a slightly wider barrel. I would be happy to ride a shorter horse so long as it had adequate barrel width. Smaller horses are easier to deal with in terms of fitting into a normal sized trailer and ease of grooming tacking up etc. Not to mention probably easier to keep sound than some giant animal.
I don’t show so I could care less what I look like up on my horse. I don’t care if the horse underneath me is 14.1 or 17.2. My only preference is that they are sound and sane for what I do.
I have a gelding who is 15.1 if he stands up really tall. He seems very small to me, but I took him to a reining trainer and his first reaction what “He’s a big one, isn’t he?”
It’s all what you’re used to. I’m 5’9" and have always preferred bigger horses, usually in the 16.1 and up variety. However, as I’m getting older, my horses are getting shorter.
My vet says he’s seeing that, too, as his clientele is aging.
The answer to OP’s question is: Since sellers advertise their 15.2 and 15.3 horses as 16.0 and taller, buyers don’t want to go look at horses unless there is a slight chance that the horse will be 16.0 at least.
I’m 5’5" and one of the reasons I love drafts and draft crosses is because I don’t feel like i have to have a horse that’s way, way too tall for me just so they’ll be able to handle my weight. I’m a beginner, and the lesson horse I rode yesterday was a 17 hand bruiser. I had a choice between four horses, and I picked him because he was the biggest and thickest. My dream horse is something like a Gypsy Cob or a short Belgian cross. Thick enough to carry my weight, but not so tall that I feel like I’m in serious danger of injury just because it’s so far to the ground. I’ve been assured by my BO that my weight isn’t a problem for anything in her stable other than the ponies (and i’m too tall for them, anyway), but after being turned away from a couple of barns because my weight is over 175 lbs, I still feel like I need to ride the largest horses possible.
I don’t think people have much of an idea what size a horse really is, which isn’t very surprising, since people also have no idea how tall they are! I’m 5’10" (measure by a laser), but I meet people who say they are also 5’10" who are several inches shorter than I am - all the time. My 6’8" son has people think he is over 7’ regularly, while other guys think they are almost as tall as him, and they barely clear his shoulder. It’s all perspective, I guess.
6’8" kid rides our 16.1 ish Friesian Sport Horse. They fit just fine. I don’t get the huge horse thing, but we trail ride, and those 18hh ones just aren’t fitting a lot of spots in the TN mountains.
I admit, although I’m not tall (5’5"), I look and feel most balanced on a tall horse because I’m long through the ribcage. Horses under 16.2 need to be long backed or quite drafty or I feel like I look awkward. The horse that I felt most balanced on was 17.3 but very narrow so he didn’t take up much leg.
Conversely, when riding western I look best on ponies. My versatility mare was 13 hands with a very wide barrel and was a great fit.
I had a lady come out to look at my 16.3 hand horse just to meet her and see if she liked her enough to try her out and she said she didn’t think she would work because she was too big.
I said, I put 16.3 in the ad, she said she didn’t think she would actually BE 16.3 
[QUOTE=st_francis;8033394]
I had a lady come out to look at my 16.3 hand horse just to meet her and see if she liked her enough to try her out and she said she didn’t think she would work because she was too big.
I said, I put 16.3 in the ad, she said she didn’t think she would actually BE 16.3 :)[/QUOTE]
Lol, there is a point where sellers seem to start to take off inches, but I think it is 17.1 or above!
I have looked at a couple of horses recently that were listed at 17 hands because I assumed they would be a bit shorter. And they were!
I had a lady come out to look at my 16.3 hand horse just to meet her and see if she liked her enough to try her out and she said she didn’t think she would work because she was too big.
I said, I put 16.3 in the ad, she said she didn’t think she would actually BE 16.3
For me, that’s what fit: at 5’10", with a 32" inseam, I need something to take up my leg.
Check out this video: the retirement ceremony of Seldom Seen, champion dressage pony competed. Turn up the volume so you can hear it:
I personally don’t care about height, personality and heart are far more important to me. I can comfortably ride anything from 14hh on up as long as it has the width to take up my legs. My pony is uncomfortable for me now because I have gotten old and my knees don’t like the tweaking they take to keep my lower leg on him. My “big” horse is all of 15.3 but he is larger bodied enough thtlat he is very comfortable for me.
I wish all you who don’t care or don’t want over 16 hh would come shop at my barn. Seems you can’t hardly give away a 15.2 horse no matter how talented they are.
[QUOTE=partlycloudy;8034342]
I wish all you who don’t care or don’t want over 16 hh would come shop at my barn. Seems you can’t hardly give away a 15.2 horse no matter how talented they are.[/QUOTE]
you are trying to selling them to the wrong people, find some competitive trail riders who have to mount/dismount on rides (also dodge low limbs)
a very good competitive trial horse has to do it all
I used to be ALL about the huge horses. The bigger the better. I suppose that came from my background in HUS, where a lot of those buggers (at least in my area) were 16.3+. The trainer I worked for got all her prospects from a breeder friend in Washington and they would step off the trailer as a 2yo @ 16+ hands.
I rode those horses for years. Even when they are light and responsive, it still felt like maneuvering a freight train in the indoor. Forget riding if there was 2+ other riders in the arena at the same time and we had a HUGE indoor.
Then, I helped out on a ranch for a few years and rode a lot of good AQHA foundation stock and cutting bred horses who topped out at 15h. Those little horses were so damn athletic and I’m sure breeding and training had some influence there, but they just felt “right” under my butt. And I am 5’7".
I will say though, my mare although not huge @ 15.3, has a longer back and is probably THE most comfortable ride.
Also, I agree, a 100lb person looks SILLY on a MASSIVE horse.
I own an 18.2hh, big-boned gelding and he is a much more comfortable ride than any other horse I have sat on. He actually takes up less leg than the 15.1hh (and fat) pony that I schooled a few weeks ago. Granted, I am 6’ currently and will probably top out at 6’2, but still. It is entirely about the build of the horse, not the height - at least in my opinion.
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