# Adult riding a pony?



## Golden Horse

If she is stocky, fit and sound then she will cope with you I would think, of course pics would help:lol:


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## Prinella

She should be fine if we could see photos it might help. 

What breed is she?


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## themacpack

How fit is she?


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## WSArabians

Generally horses are pretty tough. I would say it depends on the pony. I'm not sure that I'd agree that, say, a Welsh would be a good match. 
However, you can get some pony crosses that have very substantial bone and can be the right height. 
It's really hard to say without seeing pictures. 
It REALLY irks me when I see adults riding mini's, though. Not that you are. That's just a side note.


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## mydaughtersgroom

Here is a picture.


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## Foxesdontwearbowties

She looks smaller than 14 hands to me, but I haven't had much sleep in the past few days. Haha. I would ask them to measure her height with you there. 
She's very cute!


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## Cacowgirl

No, she doesn't look to be 14 hands to me either.


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## mydaughtersgroom

Looking at the picture, she doesn't even look 14 hand to me too. Her ad says 14.2 but she has to be measured wrong. It seems to me that measuring horses is a very unscientific thing. I have been asking people how tall their horses are for over a year trying to get a handle on what size we feels right and one 15 hand horse looks enormous while another looks small. Makes horse shopping frustrating.


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## Cacowgirl

A hand is four inches-that's all there is to it.


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## Golden Horse

ROLF, a hand is certainly 4" and you measure to the top of the wither, and everyone agrees on that, but still one of the very frustrating things about horse buying is that people never know how tall their horses are. Often it doesn't really matter, but it can be a huge difference and you can waste a lot of time looking at unsuitable horses.

I have a measuring stick here, but I seem to measure small, Ben is supposed to be 17HH but I can't get him over 16.2hh. 

People who came to look at Bert kept thinking that she must be around 17hh well no I cant get her over 16'1 no matter how I measure. 16.1hh of G Man I can only get to 15.2 and maybe a little bit...

LOL I have to agree that the pony you pictured does not look 14hh, but she sure is cute


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## Palomine

You are too heavy to be riding her. She is not going to hold up to it.

And you would be better off with stocky QH around 15 hands or so, and I mean one of the old bulldog type for you to ride.

Like it or not, close to 200 lbs is what you are, add saddle to that, and quite a bit of weight. I know, I weigh 212, and I do own a chunky monkey to ride.

With western saddle, you are looking at about 220, give or take which would mean you should be looking for horse that is around 1100 or better, plus need to look at bone structure too. 

While you aren't tall, the amount of weight you carry will really throw your balance off, especially on smaller mount.


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## Golden Horse

????? How can you tell that she wont cope with it? I would like to see some more context and horse and rider together.

If she was indeed top side of 14hh I can see her carrying you OK for short rides, if she is as small as she looks, maybe not so good. 

I would say we really can't tell from that pic.


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## Chevaux

I`m thinking she does look smaller than 14 hh; it would be nice to see a person standing next to her for comparison. I`m also thinking those legs are not quite sturdy enough for carrying weight for extended periods over natural terrain (ie riding out on trails, etc). Otherwise, she`s a smart looking one.


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## faye

WSArabians said:


> Generally horses are pretty tough. I would say it depends on the pony. I'm not sure that I'd agree that, say, a Welsh would be a good match.


Depends if it is a true to type welsh or a crappy one that was bred for the american market and has got no bone and no brains.
This is a proper section C and is up to carrying weight


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## SouthernTrails

mydaughtersgroom said:


> Here is a picture.


I do not see the bone structure of a workhorse Pony breed, also do not see that horse actually being over 14 hands, look at the 48" or less height of the plywood on the stalls, I think 190-200 lbs would be a little heavy for that Horse.


.


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## afatgirlafathorse

I think the biggest reason people have trouble with measuring is lack of level, tbh. My BO sticked my mare at 15.3hh and there is NO WAY IN HELL. He used a measuring cane and it was leaning - I have seen a few measures with levels on the top so when you are measuring at the withers, you make sure the bubble is in the right spot and THAT is your accurate measurement. I don't give much credit to any other measurement.

If you are bent on a pony type, look for something with fjord or haflinger influence, they are stocky little chunks that tend to be good for this kind of a scenario. You do NOT need to have a tall horse to support your weight. (in my world, 15hh is tall, lol)


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## Golden Horse

I FOUND IT!!!! Well someone else did, but it meant I could share it.

The reason why people have difficulty measuring horses


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## faye

^^^The woman is an idiot who hasnt got a clue


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## SouthernTrails

faye said:


> ^^^The woman is an idiot who hasnt got a clue


So true, I always use my toes, much more accurate 


.


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## Golden Horse

faye said:


> ^^^The woman is an idiot who hasnt got a clue


If she wasn't so dangerous, is watch the splint boot one, she would be really funny, this is my favorite though, closely followed by stopping from the hand gallop:lol:


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## faye

what is a hand gallop? i think this may be a term that is lost in translation


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## Golden Horse

LOL, you'll love this

*:* a fast pace in horseback riding between a canter and a gallop *:* a very fast easy canter *:* a moderate gallop 

So that will be a 3.5 time pace then, :rofl:

Unless you prefer Sarahs, standing up in the stirrups at barely more than a WP canter makes it a hand gallop


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## afatgirlafathorse

Oh good old Sarah Stetner...


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## Fellpony

I am an adult that rides a pony I am 5 ft 6 and ride a 13.2 fell pony its great fun nearer to the ground should you fall off or want to mount,Cheaper to keep.


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## trvlingheart

I think this is a hard question to ask on a forum. You will know if the horse is able to handle you when you ride it. Just trust your gut and instincts and don't try to force anything. Also if you feel a horse is too small for you when you are standing next to it, then chances are you will feel the same when you are on it. 

I fluctuate between 190 and 220 at 5'2" and my 'pony' is a 14hh Arab / pony of America cross, and she had no issues carrying me for 7 years, and I'm not talking about an hour ride in a riding ring, I'm talking about hours out on trails (in the mountains, fields, hill country, etc.) at a time sometimes twice a day. She is now retired to pasture on my parents farm because hubby and I are military and can't take her with, otherwise we'd still be riding no problem. 

So I really feel like this is a thing that can't be accurately discussed online, because you'll get a range of opinions and even a few harsh comments. I know if I asked if I could ride an Arab/POA cross that stood at 14hh at my current weight of 220lbs I'd be told no by 98% of the people who responded; and even now if asked for an opinion I'd probably get told I was killing my horse. But time tells and my pony never showed strain, pain, discomfort, nothing. In fact she would perk up and be excited to hit the trails with me on her and we had tons of fun at all speeds in all terrain and even over natural jumps.


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## Oldhorselady

My horse/pony is 14hh at the moment. However, she turned 3 in April so she may grow slightly still? Parents were both horses. I think how much weight a horse can carry varies. I think you need to look at the bone structure and if if it is a 'stocky' horse. I also think the shorter ones are better since they have larger bones maybe? My horse/pony has draft influence....so I am told anyway. She has a nice stocky build. I am comfortable riding her at 5'2" and 180lbs. I only trail ride and don't jump or anything fancy. She seems to hold up fine to me and I have always refused to ride a horse that made me feel that I was too big for it. Also, some horses have very little withers and some have mountains....so measuring at the withers to me is kind of odd....even though that is how it is done. I horse with highter withers can have a lower back compared to a horse with no withers being taller at the back...which is where the saddle is....making the other horse seem shorter...but since the withers are higher, the horse it taller. How would the horse react if I was too big? She always seems happy and willing to do anything I ask.


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## clippityclop

I am 5'6" and weigh 140. I use a wintec dressage to ride my 13.2 pony to 'tune him up' from time to time for my young girls, but I do not ride him regularly. He is a half Welsh (the paint in my horses tab under my avatar) and can do all three gaits with me, but I would never ask him to carry me on a regular basis. Even tho I am lighter than some of the other ladies riding ponies here and am a good rider, I am taller and can tell that my taller frame throws him off balance a bit. Don't know what good that info will do for you, but all info can be helpful at some point. 

The roan pony in question is super cute and I would take her home in a heartbeat and teach her to drive my cart (that's what my pony does for me). I agree with the others - a picture is worth a thousand words - so send us some!!


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## chasingfireflies

If the gate behind her head is made of 2x6's (approximately), then the stall wall is about 4' tall. That would put her at somewhere around 12 hands. Is that right? There's a huge difference between 14.2 and 12 something!! 

But she is super sweet looking!!!


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## chasingfireflies

Golden...is that "shin" splint boot for real?? That was crazy! I'm no expert...and I was looking at her asking myself...really?? is this a joke???


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## CMC

I agree--it looks like there are a lot of people using different methods to measure.

On another note, I am watching the posts on the topic of POA's and how much they can carry. I've read a lot recently, and there seems to be two camps. The first states that POA's, like other horses, should not carry more than 20% of its own body weight. The other camp says that ponies have shorter backs, thus enabling them to carry weight more easily; and if the pony has denser bones (such as Arabians), that furthers their ability to carry weight as well. Since POA's are bred from Shetlands, Appaloosas, and Arabians, their bone density ought to be (in my opinion) better than average.

This being said, I'm still uncertain if my POA is a tough little girl with power in those muscles, or she's just a little horse and should carry a smaller load.


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## Golden Horse

chasingfireflies said:


> Golden...is that "shin" splint boot for real?? That was crazy! I'm no expert...and I was looking at her asking myself...really?? is this a joke???


I am never quite sure if she was joking or not, I struggle to think that any of the videos were serious, because if they were, that would make you cry:?


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