What breeds of horses are typically narrow? My Fells (particularly our mature gelding) are wide enough to host a dinner party on their back with big ribcages so I was wondering what breeds were at the opposite end of the scale?
Narrow breeds of horses
- Thread starter Lottie86
- Start date
My Arab is. I rode a Fell pony yesterday and have been rather stiff today - not used to the width lol. Although Fell pony is at least a hand a half shorter than my Arab he took up my leg better than mine and I got the impression he could carry 5 of me and not notice!
I cant ride horses with wide or broad flat backs. No cobs for me. And may be one can't generalise. But over the last twelve years and riding lots of RS horses plus a few privately owned I can report on my own experience.
First horses may well be less of a problem than ponies. The senior judge and RI who told the riding school what they should be doing with me, told them to take me off the Exmoor pony and put me on a horse size horse. It was thanks to her that I learned to ride at all. I have ridden various RS ponies since but several have been too broad for me.
I have ridden and love to ride Irish horses or sort of Irish including my share and Maisie. I find them excellent and narrow but that must surely depend on their breeding? When you cross two breeds of horse to create a riding horse, you will find the results depend on which characteristics are inherited from each side. Mary Poppins horse for instance which I think is Irish looks far too wide for me.
I have ridden a number of Quarter horses in USA both on trail rides and belonging to individuals. Also having Western lessons in UK. I have never sat on a Quarter horse that was too wide and that includes the Western saddle.
I have (without realising it at the time) ridden a few TBs - all have been fine.
OH is currently riding a horse of Arab extraction. Riding schools dont generally own pure Arabs. Tho I have ridden alleged Arabs I cant comment.
First horses may well be less of a problem than ponies. The senior judge and RI who told the riding school what they should be doing with me, told them to take me off the Exmoor pony and put me on a horse size horse. It was thanks to her that I learned to ride at all. I have ridden various RS ponies since but several have been too broad for me.
I have ridden and love to ride Irish horses or sort of Irish including my share and Maisie. I find them excellent and narrow but that must surely depend on their breeding? When you cross two breeds of horse to create a riding horse, you will find the results depend on which characteristics are inherited from each side. Mary Poppins horse for instance which I think is Irish looks far too wide for me.
I have ridden a number of Quarter horses in USA both on trail rides and belonging to individuals. Also having Western lessons in UK. I have never sat on a Quarter horse that was too wide and that includes the Western saddle.
I have (without realising it at the time) ridden a few TBs - all have been fine.
OH is currently riding a horse of Arab extraction. Riding schools dont generally own pure Arabs. Tho I have ridden alleged Arabs I cant comment.
Not my pony! He is Connie type and has a flat sprung back wide enough to play 4 card patience on. My Arab has big ribs, too.
Hmm yes I've heard that. A very wisely experienced horsey lady looked at Ziggy's front (which is wide) and nodded approvingly and grunted "Plenty of heart room".
Narrowest horse I've ever ridden is my friends French trotter, I couldn't believe how narrow she was and that was after Oscar who was a TB and didn't feel narrow at all, although compared to Belle I think anything is 'narrow' 
The Arabs I have ridden have been wide with very well sprung ribs, The Orlov trotters I drove were not wide horses, they were built for speed and endurance.
We have several of the old style farm Icelandics, descended from the original Scottish imports. and now we have several of the modern competition styled ones and find all our X wide saddles redundant. Saddles that I never thought would ever see light of day are coming out of the closet.
If you own the horse it is possible to have a saddle made with a narrow twist to fit a wide horse and make them much more comfortable. Surprisingly all our ex flat racing tbs after retraining take medium wide saddles and my favourite saddle from my old Welsh x Hannovarien is too narrow to fit anything we have currently on the yard!
This just confirms my feeling that I need to sit on a horse plus its saddle before I know whether I can ride it (physically).
Can a horse get wider as it ages?
Before I could canter, I regularly hacked a nice TB. She has just returned to hacking. When I rode her last week my legs felt wedged to her barrel and this made me feel very insecure, in the sense of being unable to communicate.
I may try her again with shorter stirrups.
But now you say that it might be the saddle, eml? I shall have a look.
Can a horse get wider as it ages?
Before I could canter, I regularly hacked a nice TB. She has just returned to hacking. When I rode her last week my legs felt wedged to her barrel and this made me feel very insecure, in the sense of being unable to communicate.
I may try her again with shorter stirrups.
But now you say that it might be the saddle, eml? I shall have a look.
I believe that the conformation of a horse's back, ribs and shoulder is probably set when it is physically mature (which may not be until 7 or 8 for the heavier cobbler horses) but after that it wouldn't get wider. But I am sure that someone here knows better than me!
Well it's funny, because having been fitted with an XW saddle yesterday (admittedly narrowed slightly to fit) I suppose Raf technically is wide. But honestly he doesn't feel wide at all. At 15 hh my legs dangle beneath his barrel, whereas on YO's 13 hh Fell pony my legs touch all the way round - and I can really feel the difference the next day on my walk from the car park to work lol.
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