How small could I ride, advise?

[EarlGrey]

Hello, I've been posting but obviously in the wrong place as I'm after advice on the size of pony I should be looking to buy. It would a family pony shared between myself and my children aged 3, 6 and 7. Only my six year old has lessons as the other one is not that interested and my three year old too young for riding schools. I'm 5'3" and under 9 stone. If anyone has pics or could tell me what sizes their riding I would be grateful.

[notpoodle]

wouldnt worry too much about size as in height, as long as they are sturdy and can take a saddle big enough to fit you in, and you feel happy riding 'it' you should be fine

i'm 5'6 and ride my two exmoors without any probs, one is 12'2 (maybe?), the other 12'3. i do seem to get sh*t from misguided judges and 'members of the public' quite often though!





and the other one




Julia
x

[EarlGrey]

He's so cute and obviously enjoying it all. I'm really excited about having a family pony hopefully with many good times to come.

[Lot1983]

Getting a pony was also partly to do with having children, OH and I want to start a family in the next few years and my tb hated children, I learnt to ride as a tiny tot on a 13.2hh and she's safe enough to pop a child on (who am I kidding, I'm not really going to share! )

[laceyfreckle]

My pony is 13.3hh, and I'm 5ft 2 and just under 11 stone. I don't share him with my kids though - i went and got the another pony! My 10yr old son's pony is 14hh (so bigger then mine!) and my 7,6 and 4yr old's pony is 12.2hh (used to be my son's)

[sbloom]

As notpoodle says the saddle length it can take can be the most important factor - for most small adults a 16" is the smallest you should really go to, if your pony can't take a saddle that is big enough for you then it may be worth looking elsewhere to save you a tone of agro. If you do end up in a slightly smaller seat size than ideal then do look for something with a decent depth of rear gusset in the panel - a larger rider will often sit on the cantle and push it down - keeping the saddle up at the back (ie level) means you sit in the right place.

[Lot1983]

Are there posts missing from this thread or am I confused?

This is me on my 13.2hh New Forest mare:




I'm 5ft8 so not particularly short, my inside leg is 34 inches. She's not a particularly wide pony either. She doesn't ride like a pony and I find sitting trot comfortable, I don't find she feels small to jump either.

Oddly enough when we did dressage on Sunday it was the first time I didn't get marked down for cutting corners, because she's small I rode her right into the corners and felt I was able to be more accurate than I was on my old horse (16hh).

[bitsnpieces]

I'm 5ft/5ft1 and 7.5/8 stone, I ride everything from 12hh upwards!

I have a 13.3 Welsh PB who I'm sure takes a 16" saddle (would need to double check that though), she is rather wide so really takes up the leg very well.

I'm sure there will be plenty of suitable ponies out there, maybe a nice Welsh C or C part bred? Some of them can be quirky but some are saints

[fairlady]

Originally Posted by Lot1983

Are there posts missing from this thread or am I confused?

This is me on my 13.2hh New Forest mare:




I'm 5ft8 so not particularly short, my inside leg is 34 inches. She's not a particularly wide pony either. She doesn't ride like a pony and I find sitting trot comfortable, I don't find she feels small to jump either.

Oddly enough when we did dressage on Sunday it was the first time I didn't get marked down for cutting corners, because she's small I rode her right into the corners and felt I was able to be more accurate than I was on my old horse (16hh).

Is this your new girl Lot ? I said it before and will say it again, she is a real STUNNER and you look super on her

[Tillytoo]

At your height and weight any natives could carry you no probs.

The saddle might be an issue, my boy is 13.2, I am 5'3'' and 11ish () stone, he is a Fell and short backed so the biggest saddle he can have is 16". It depends how wide in the beam you are, and how much of your height is leg, but I don't exactly have a small bum and my legs are on the chunky/short side.

I find it fine to ride in, but we don't do any really long rides as I am still recovering from an ouchie, I can do an hour max at the moment. I may be reporting back next summer for advice about treeless options when we start going further afield.

[Lot1983]

Originally Posted by fairlady

Is this your new girl Lot ? I said it before and will say it again, she is a real STUNNER and you look super on her

Thank you! She really is amazing the most fun I have ever had on a horse! (well, pony )

[Mary Poppins]

When i bought my horse last year I didn't even consider my children wanting to ride. At the time they were not interested at all so I got something that suited me. I ended up with a completely perfect 16hh shire x. He is fantastic in every way, other than he is far, far too big for my children. Recently I took my 5 year old for his first riding lesson and now he wants to ride on a regular basis. It would be so much easier if I had a pony I could share with them, but I haven't and he isn't going anywhere!!

I hope that you find something suitable for all of you.

[MPR]

Lot: I don't see the picture you posted.


My pony is 13.1 hands. I'm 5'6" and 109 lbs. But I've had friends ride him that are 130 to 140 lbs. He had no problem carrying them.

If you find a pony that you like and can't find a saddle that fits, you can try treeless saddles. I ride in a Sensation Treeless and my pony loves it!!

[EarlGrey]

13.2 7 year old grey gelding called Freddie. Any thoughts welcome x