[GoForAGallop]

However, some breeds can carry more weight than others. A 15.2hh draft can carry a lot more weight than a 15.2hh lightbreed based on bone mass/density. Adding obstacles makes this even more apparent, though, drafts are going to have a hard time anyways because they can be too heavy of course. The mare in question is a bit more on the light side, and her owner even thinks she is too big for her.

I understand that there really is no clear answer to this question, vague or not. When I posted this I just wanted to hear some opinions on the subject, not on anything else.

Did you even look at purplnurpl's website? Somehow her gigantic 6' frame does not seem to be crushing her lightboned, non-draft 15-something hand horses into the ground. In fact, in all of her pairings, they seem to be doing quite well.

[Kalila]

Did you even look at purplnurpl's website? Somehow her gigantic 6' frame does not seem to be crushing her lightboned, non-draft 15-something hand horses into the ground. In fact, in all of her pairings, they seem to be doing quite well.

I'm sure they do quite well together and I applaud her efforts to condition her horses so well to perform. She looks very well suited to all her horses.

[purplnurpl]

I believe it was Mark Todd who said his biggest issue with Charisma was that his (Mark's) feet would sometimes hit the rails in SJ??

Charisma was a 15.2h TB and 1/16th Percheron I think.... But mostly looked like a TB.
Mark Todd is SUPER tall. Over 6' I believe.
They won the Olympics. Twice.

http://www.insidethegames.biz/images...es_July_21.jpg

Should we talk about legs hanging down past the horses body in dressage?
I believe it is acceptable. LOL!
http://www.nzhorses.co.nz/NZequestri...cs/markch2.jpg

[magicteetango]

I don't know the answer to your question but see nothing wrong with the description of what the rider was doing/his or her size. Sounds to me like you were being judgy. Doing regular courses at a certain height is different than a single fence.

[subk]

Mark Todd (6'3") won two Olympic eventing gold medals on Charisma who was 15.2. If "to your eye" or "your opinion" is that 5'8" and 15.2" look mismatched then I would encourage you to continue to educate your eye and perhaps hold your opinions until your eye is better educated.

If the original question was in relation to whether a 4 year old horse should be asked to jump 4' then I would suggest that there are many better arguments to defend/condemn the practice than how high the average TB can jump.

[Beam Me Up]

I think most most people interpreted this as a capability question (how high can a TB jump?) vs an advisability question (should this rider jump this horse this high?)

Agree with the masses that 5'8/15.2 is not a big deal. I don't usually jump 4 yo that high, especially this early in the year, but it sounds like an isolated event.

I think nearly all TBs, even those without tons of scope or training, can jump a single 4' fence, especially if it is set up in a gymnastic or something to help them. A 4' course is much harder, especially for shorter strided horses, though not out of reach of most TBs, probably.

[GoForAGallop]

I don't know the answer to your question but see nothing wrong with the description of what the rider was doing/his or her size. Sounds to me like you were being judgy. Doing regular courses at a certain height is different than a single fence.

I noticed from past posts that OP comes from a hunter background. It all makes sense now.


I joke, I joke!

[Kalila]

I think most most people interpreted this as a capability question (how high can a TB jump?) vs an advisability question (should this rider jump this horse this high?)

Agree with the masses that 5'8/15.2 is not a big deal. I don't usually jump 4 yo that high, especially this early in the year, but it sounds like an isolated event.

I think nearly all TBs, even those without tons of scope or training, can jump a single 4' fence, especially if it is set up in a gymnastic or something to help them. A 4' course is much harder, especially for shorter strided horses, though not out of reach of most TBs, probably.

Thanks for your post.

I guess I just felt like that certain pair looked off to me. I just want to say though, that even the rider in question said she was too big for the filly. So, I wasn't the only one thinking it. I wouldn't have said anything if the rider hadn't herself. That would be really rude and disrespectful.

I don't doubt at all that tall riders can successfully compete at the high levels with horses that are not considered "ideal' heightwise for them nowadays. For example, even though Theodore O'connor was 14.1hh, I thought he and Karen looked good together.

[Kalila]

I noticed from past posts that OP comes from a hunter background. It all makes sense now.


I joke, I joke!

LOL! Even I found this funny.

Personally, I don't like to ride horses that are larger than 16.2hh. I look like a bug on top of the big ones. Whenever I ride our 18.0hh Hanoverian, my trainers laugh at me. LOL.

[deltawave]

I'm 5'8". Keebler is 15.2 *if* he has his wedge shoes on. We've jumped up pretty close to 4' and my feet don't come anywhere NEAR hanging below his tummy, even in dressage. My trainer is 5'11" and her feet don't, either. He is, however, a fairly stocky 15.1-and-a-half.

One thing I did notice as a somewhat-tall-rider-on-somewhat-small-horse is that there was a lot less horse in front of me, so if we landed from a drop or he decided to put his head down and buck or act silly I had damn well better be in the back seat! That was actually a nice part of my education courtesy of a small horse.

OP, you came and asked this question on an eventing board. You will find that very few of us give a rat's behind about what is "suitable" in the looks, fashion, or tradition department. Handsome is as handsome does and getting the job done well comes in all shapes and sizes.

[GoForAGallop]

LOL! Even I found this funny.

Personally, I don't like to ride horses that are larger than 16.2hh. I look like a bug on top of the big ones. Whenever I ride our 18.0hh Hanoverian, my trainers laugh at me. LOL.

It's just that in the hunter world if you're over 5' tall you need to be on a 16.2+hander to look "appropriate," or at least that's what current fashions dictate. In eventing/dressage/any other discipline, there is less concern about the "look" as long as the pair is comfortably doing their job.

[JenEM]

I noticed from past posts that OP comes from a hunter background. It all makes sense now.


I joke, I joke!

But coming from a hunter background, I'd assume they'd know that Small Junior Hunters are under 16H, and regularly jump around 3'6". I'm not sure why a horse that size's ability to jump would be surprising Now whether a 4YO should be doing that height is an entirely different discussion, regardless of breed.

I'm 5'10 and have a 16H horse, and have ridden friend's horses in the 15.something range without feeling oversized in the slightest. The lack of neck in front of me bothers me more than where my legs are, but I think that has more to do with my particular horse's giraffe neck than height.

[vineyridge]

Just so you'll know, the cavalry, which was composed of all men, some of whom were large and some of whom were small, had a suggested upper limit for their horses of 15h3" in the remount breeding programs. Anything over that was sold to private riders who preferred bigger horses. The cavalry didn't need them.

[bornfreenowexpensive]

I competed a 15.2-15.3H TB mare (chestnut too)...I'm 5'9" with long legs. At the time I was thin (125-135lbs). We competed Training level, schooled Prelim and was about to move up to Prelim when I sold her. I jumped her over 4'6"...courses. She was easiest to jump when the fences were above her head! Almost unrideable at anything under 3'9"....she was opinionated! She ended up in a jumper home....as the fences in eventing were a bit too small for her Can't always be riding around Burghley!

My long legs were NOT the issue at all. Because she was smaller, I just had to be very very quiet with my upper body as I could influence her more. She was NOT too small for me but I did have to be a better rider on her than I probably would have to on my bigger horses (although my current 16.1 hander is just as sensitive).

[RAyers]

Geez, I am just reading this thread to see how much taller everyone is than me.

How does my 14.2 TB pony look at 3'9"?

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...1&l=cd9b5df0d1

[JER]

I'm feeling a strange compulsion to post something on this thread, except that I can't figure out WTF this thread is about.

[Xctrygirl]

Ok so lets see... I had a 15 hand 1/2 brilliant mare, jumped over 5' (twice) with me I am 5'8". I had a 15.2 Irish Tb jump at least 4' with me a couple times. I currently own a just turned 5 TB gelding who is fine boned barely 15.3+ guy. He's very scopey and showed it one day in November....while he was still 4.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...type=3&theater

That's 4'3" just fyi.

He did "big" jumps only twice last year. And handled it fine.

Have you seen the newer video of the pony currently doing 1.5 meters in Europe?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__oJKUIAf3o

Now that's a hell of a PONY.

Her name is La Luna. Google her.

~Emily

[purplnurpl]

I'm feeling a strange compulsion to post something on this thread, except that I can't figure out WTF this thread is about.

LMAO. That's awesome.
I remember a thread a year or so ago that addressed how anyone over 150 lbs should never start horses and I had to speak up because my 6 foot 160 lb figure ONLY starts horses. And how it comes down to the riders horsemanship, balance and ability to "feel" what a young horse needs from it's rider at the exact moment adjustments are needed.

I think a single event when this little mare jumped 4' is totally acceptable. But as a 4 year old I would not expect someone to jump their horse often at that height.
If I had a super scopey and super balance 4 year old I might play around in a gymnastic once just to .see. : )

Heck, my 3 year old OTTBs first time over fences (1 month off the track) was a gymnastic that ended up being a bounce to a 2'6" vertical with flower boxes. It's pretty easy to go from there to a 4' oxar on the way out.
just sayin...

[fordtraktor]

I'm 5'10 and my ponies regularly jumped over 4' back in the day. Sure, I looked big on them -- but they were fine. Had a lot of fun, too. This was my 14.1 grade pony playing around 4'3 bareback at home:

http://fordtraktor.shutterfly.com/pictures/17

I hit more than one rail with the sole of my foot over the years. You learn to keep your stirrups short and your toes up. Not bad ideas anyway. I did learn to pinch with my knee because there's nothing else to hold on with.

A 4 year old doing one 4' fence is not the end of the world, either.

[normandy_shores]

Geez, I am just reading this thread to see how much taller everyone is than me.

How does my 14.2 TB pony look at 3'9"?

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...1&l=cd9b5df0d1

I think your little TB looks awful and you're definitely too big for it, you should send it my way snazzy horse!