# Adults on ponies



## verona1016

I'm short and have short legs, and I definitely prefer shorter horses and ponies. On tall horses I always feel like I look silly and can't be as effective with my legs. My own horse is 14.3hh, and I also ride a pony that's about 13.1hh. The pony is a grade stock-type, probably a lot of QH influence, though she's a loudly marked pinto. Her heart girth measurement is only about 2 inches smaller than my horse, and my feet don't hang down below her belly.

Some people I know drool over tall warmbloods, but not me ;-)


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## ponyboy

I love ponies, especially the naughty ones lol. I'm glad I never got too big for them. If I had ever been able to buy a horse I would have considered a pony. (Except I've noticed that a good pony costs way more than an average horse!) Bigger is not always better - If you trail ride in the woods, shorter is better. Plus you can get on without a mounting block.


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## gingerscout

I am an adult, and started riding as an adult, and have honestly never ridden a pony, and at my size I doubt I'd find someone willing to let me have a go.. ha ha ha


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## Endiku

I'm happy to ride any horse but I have a soft spot for ponies. At 4'10 and 90 lbs, I can ride virtually anything. For about 6 months I rode a very intelligent, witchy Caspian mare who was 12.1hh and acted like I was nothing on her back. She was a ton of fun. When I'm in a position to own again, I'll definitely be opting for a shorter horse or pony- somewhere in the 13hh-14hh range. I adore welshes, small arabians, and haflingers and would love to own one. My current lease horses are 14.2 1/2hh and 15.2hh respectively, and I greatly prefer the tacking process, and mounting the 14hh. I have to jump to get on the other! lol


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## Reiningcatsanddogs

I am 5'4 and 110 lbs but have long limbs (my husband and I both wear a 32 length pant). 

I did lose 5# so that I could help my daughter put more buttons on her 12.2 hh Caspian x qh without feeling too guilty, but honestly, I struggled to get used to the shorter size. Kind of like going from driving a F450 truck to driving a sporty car, my perception and timing was all out of whack!

That's my daughter playing kissy face with her first boyfriend. At least he is a Prince (Prince Caspian)!


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## BearPony

I'm a small adult (~120 lbs) and my personal pony is 13.2. I take jumping and dressage lessons with an eventing trainer and also foxhunt him 2x per week, going 20+ miles over varied terrain and jumps up to 3'3'' or so. I've yet to even tire him out as he's a little firecracker!

I also have a sale/project pony who is an extremely solid built 12.2 hands which is smaller than I would typically choose to ride but he was a nice pony in an unfortunate situation who really needed a shot at getting some training and mileage for a better life and is built VERY well for weight carrying with a short back, good conformation and good bone. He's actually built a lot better to carry weight than the 13.2 guy who is a little long in the back and weak through his loin. However, I also mix up the 12.2's riding with ponying and lunging to keep fit, don't take him on long or taxing trail rides (most of the terrain where I live is TOUGH) and I will not foxhunt him, though would be happy for one of the Pony Club kids to. I jump him to about 2' and he's clearly got the scope for much more, but I won't do that myself. Both my trainer and vet think what I'm doing is appropriate for him work wise and the plan is sell him to a child, so hopefully he will have a smaller rider soon.

As an adult on ponies, I try to be very aware of fitness and saddle fit, but really that should be the same for any size horse. I also ride full sized and even quite large horses belonging to other people, but really prefer the little agile ones, even if I'm looking at a sizeable course of jumps. Really the 13-15 hand size range seems perfect to me!


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## jaydee

We used to buy and sell ponies in the UK at one time and I had young sons who competed in pony classes so I've ridden loads of them as an adult, I also decided to re-invent the 14.2 show jumping pony my sons finally outgrew to be my (fox) hunter, something he did brilliantly and he had no trouble keeping up with the big horses or jumping anything they jumped
At roughly 5ft 3 and averaging 130lb I feel fine on something 14 hands provided its got a deep girth and a good neck in front of me but I can't honestly say that I find anything smaller than that really great - usually too narrow and short in the neck


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## karliejaye

I ride an appy who is 14hh if he stretches, lol. I am tall at 5'10" and around 140 lbs. This is how we look:









I am currently training him over fences and have no qualms showing him against bigger horses if/when he is ready.


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## DuckDodgers

I've always had fun on ponies! The smallest one I've ridden was probably in the 12hh range and I had a blast. I prefer horses in the 14-16hh range, but since I'm small (5'3" and 110 lbs) I often end up on the little guys! And yet, the one I'm on now is 16.2hh... Happens that way sometimes.


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## JoyinDriving

Great pictures! I've been taking lessons on a almost 14h arab cross - she is 28 and AMAZING. It's nice to hear about others who prefer horses/ponies a bit on the smaller side.


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## boots

I ride a 14.1 hh pony. Granted, it's at the tall end. She is delightful.


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## SueC

Hmmm. Am 5ft11 and very long legs. Started on Warmbloods as a child, then a nearly 17hh wonderful French Trotter mare, and I'll put in a photo for contrast to what's going to follow:











When she was requisitioned for breeding, I bought an Arabian yearling and trained her from the ground up. She grew out to just 14.2hh but was the old Polish/Crabbet working type with a huge barrel and wide chest - had more girth than many bigger horses, great length of rein, and she had no problems with my weight etc. She was a super endurance horse and we also trained in dressage and showed. We pretty much did everything we could get to except jumping. The small size and powerful "engine" made her very handy at bending races, barrel races and any other thing where rapid acceleration and turning are an advantage. 25 years of fun riding together. Working Arabian horses are wonderful!





























The last two were taken when she was 27. At the start we looked like this:










She died last year at age 32. I now ride a 15.2hh great-grandson of the French Trotter mare. He too is built like a tank and athletic, and great fun. I can't say which I prefer - small, medium or large - they all have something going for them.

I was thinking Iceland horses and Norwegian Fjord ponies too, when I saw this thread. They are very sturdy and adults any size pretty much ride them in their home countries. Anyone got those breeds? (Photos please! )


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## phantomhorse13

Good things def come in small packages!

My SIL had a lovely 13.3 mustang who was an amazing trail mount (he just recently passed at the age of 28 and was ridden until the very end). She was nice enough to let me ride him now and again:











My newest endurance prospect is 14.1 with shoes:


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## JoyinDriving

LOVE LOVE LOVE Fjords!


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## Saskia

I'm 5'7 and quite a strong build so ponies were never really for me. My first horse at age 11, was about 14.3hh, and then I just moved up and up in height. 

However, one time my young horse wasn't ready for competition and we had the yearly interschool when I was 17 and I was offered to ride a 13.3 - 14hh pony. She was a great little pony, stocky and solid. Perhaps we didn't make an elegant pair, but we won a little, like the active rider class where we hand galloped easily across the field, while the dainty Thoroughbreds lost their composure! 

Ponies can be fun.


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## GypsyGirls15

My mare, a gypsy cob, is 13 hands...her foals are taping to be 13.2 and 14.2 so they'll still all be ponies. I got on for the first time this week and just walked around. At 5'3" with short legs, we didn't look awkward. She had no problem even though I need to lose some weight. I wont use her for long rides until I lose weight and she gets into better shape, but my friend who is under 5 feet hopes to ride her this upcoming semester and get into jumping. Can't wait to see them work together!

In the meantime, I'm working on getting her into shape and building muscle now that she's had her foal and we can pony him along. Her colt is already a little tank so I hope he'll turn out to be able to handle my boyfriend...but we'll see.


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## Clava

My nearly 14.1 hh does everything I need form a horse - dressage, SJ (up to 90cms) and Xc. I am 5'4 and 152 lbs. I also have a 16hh TB , but the haflinger is more versatile and more fun (except for galloping)


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## bsms

My 5'2" wife on our 13.0 hand mustang.










OK, I know I look a bit strange on him...but with the right saddle, it might work. I'll say this much - when I ride him, he still doesn't lag behind or seem concerned about my weight...and if I stretch a little, we might have 6 legs on the ground at once :wink: :


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## ChitChatChet

We ride ponies from 12 up to14 hands.

We are all tall and skinny 5'8" to 5'9" and in the 110 to 120 range.

I much prefer shorter horses and donkeys.


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## Clava

Me on Hattie



and my 7 yr old daughter on her


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## ponyboy

OK when I say pony I mean only the Mountain and Moorland breeds - anything else is just a small horse! 



BearPony said:


> I'm a small adult (~120 lbs) and my personal pony is 13.2. I take jumping and dressage lessons with an eventing trainer and also foxhunt him 2x per week, going 20+ miles over varied terrain and jumps up to 3'3'' or so. I've yet to even tire him out as he's a little firecracker!


Wow, I'm pretty sure if I showed up for foxhunting on a 13.2 pony around here they would laugh and tell me to go home (not that we have any hunts left around here...)


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## DuckDodgers

ponyboy said:


> OK when I say pony I mean only the Mountain and Moorland breeds - anything else is just a small horse!
> 
> 
> 
> Wow, I'm pretty sure if I showed up for foxhunting on a 13.2 pony around here they would laugh and tell me to go home (not that we have any hunts left around here...)


I know a couple of ladies who foxhunt on their ponies (MAYBE 14hh) and do quite well. I would love to see the response they'd get from these ladies if anyone tried to laugh at them 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## gingerscout

I still think if someone saw me on a pony.. they would laugh me off..LOL


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## LilyandPistol

DuckDodgers said:


> I prefer horses in the 14-16hh range.


Oh my gosh, exact same as me lol. When I was looking for my first horse I wanted between 14-16 hands but 13.3 was acceptable, and I was willing for anything up to 17 hands actually, but my nanny wasn't lol.
My first horse is 14.2, my mare is 15 hh, and my colt, who is still growing like a stinkweed at 1 yr, is currently 14.1. I hope he hits at least 15 hands. Being about 5'6" ish and weighing in at 160 lbs, I feel bad about riding anything under 14 hh.


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## BearPony

I did have some folks think I was a bit crazy for going out hunting on my 13.2 pony and even a couple of the more senior members tell me "your parents really need to buy you a larger horse if you are going to be serious about this" as I'm quite young looking and when I ride my pony, some people assume I am a junior. H

However, the country we hunt does not really contain tall fences. The max is really 3'3'' and most of them are in the 2'9'' range. We also don't have a whole lot of fast gallops on good footing as it is muddy and slick with trappy terrain, so being on an agile and surefooted horse even if he's a small one is what is key to keeping up and having a good time.

Last year, I even did quite a bit of whipping in off my pony and he really enjoyed that. He is not the fastest at a dead gallop and certainly doesn't have the biggest scope of any horse in the field, but he tends to be one of the quickest in the bunch simply because he can negotiate tricky footing really well and doesn't stop at jumps or ditches as he can pretty much jump a small/moderately sized jump from any approach.

I think more adults should hunt ponies and some in my hunt do hunt ponies or at least 15 hand or under horses, though my little guy is the smallest adult ridden horse that goes out regularly.


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## DraftyAiresMum

My old gelding was 14.2hh, so at the upper height for ponies. He was an Arab/NSH cross. Still not sure how he ended up so darn short. :lol:

Rode a little mare at the Girl Scout horse camp named Sassy who was 14hh with shoes on. She was registered APHA and a little barrel of a thing.

My friend had a registered Arab mare who was 13.3hh. She could single-foot and could out-walk horses two or more hands taller than her without trying.

I have pics of all three I'll have to post later. Hate posting pics from my phone (it's a pain).
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Clava

ponyboy said:


> OK when I say pony I mean only the Mountain and Moorland breeds - anything else is just a small horse!
> 
> 
> 
> Wow, I'm pretty sure if I showed up for foxhunting on a 13.2 pony around here they would laugh and tell me to go home (not that we have any hunts left around here...)


My friend is 24 and I am 48 in this photo - my friend is on my pony and he is 11.3hh, he kept up and had an amazing time.


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## Clava

and this is me on my other haflinger who is only 13.3.

http://s306.photobucket.com/user/Pi...52763241360558_6566260178206824678_n.jpg.html


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## Endiku

Clava, what is your opinion on the haflinger compared to those of a full size horse or even another pony? Are they pony like gaits, or does it just depend on the pony? That's my only thing against the smaller ponies. Some of them have such choppy strides no matter what you do and being a western trail rider a good gait is everything to me. That doesn't seem to necessarily be dictated height though, as much as it is by conformation. Nacho, the 14.2hh paint I ride, has the crappiest trot I've ever ridden, bless him. But the 12.2hh Caspian moved much like a full sized horse, as did the 13.3hh Arabian I rode a few times


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## bsms

Gotta admit - from a western perspective, it sounds strange to hear a 14.2 horse called a pony. I think Trooper is 14.3, which is barely inside the "horse range", but I've never heard anyone ask if he is a 'pony'. At 15.3 and with a slender build, I had a lot of folks tell me Mia was "a tall horse". But where I live, no one jumps stuff in the real world, since rocks and cactus are likely to be waiting on the other side...

Folks in southern Arizona may laugh at how slender my horses are, and ask "Where is the other half?" - but no one thinks twice about their height. A couple of weeks ago, a guy we met came out and rode Trooper (and was actually the first person to come ride with us who really HAD been riding all his life instead of just saying so). I'll admit - at 6'3", he seemed a LITTLE tall on 14.3 Trooper...but neither Trooper nor our friend had any trouble.


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## DuckDodgers

LilyandPistol said:


> Oh my gosh, exact same as me lol. When I was looking for my first horse I wanted between 14-16 hands but 13.3 was acceptable, and I was willing for anything up to 17 hands actually, but my nanny wasn't lol.
> My first horse is 14.2, my mare is 15 hh, and my colt, who is still growing like a stinkweed at 1 yr, is currently 14.1. I hope he hits at least 15 hands. Being about 5'6" ish and weighing in at 160 lbs, I feel bad about riding anything under 14 hh.


Haha yep, same basic size range as me! Back in the day looking for my first horse I didn't want to go any smaller than 14.2 in case I grew a couple more inches. Plus, my trainer was a bigger lady (not huge, but big enough that she wouldn't have felt comfortable riding something small for me) so that helped to set the lower limit. We did find one mare that I liked, but we ended up passing because she was at the lower height limit and quite lightly built. I personally wasn't comfortable riding anything taller than 16hh at that time. I don't really know why, they just seemed giant to me! Probably because at the time I was looking I hadn't ridden very many taller horses, and was flipping between a 13hh pony and 14.something pony in lessons. 

Either way, I ended up with a reasonably well built 15hh QH for my first horse. I personally think he was the perfect height for me. Big enough to easily keep up with the big guys, small enough to be fairly nimble and ground mount easily, and my leg hit in just the right place. I've only had access to larger horses (16+hh) so I'll probably expand my size range to 14hh to no firm upper limit. On the smaller end it would have to be a bulkier horse able to take up the leg well, and on the upper end it couldn't be so tall that I can't convey leg aids properly or mount from the ground if necessary. Guess we'll see when the time comes...


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## DraftyAiresMum

BSMS, I'm with you. I never thought of Dakota as a "pony." The way I learned, regardless of height, ponies were specific breeds (like welsh, connamera, Shetland, etc) and anything shorter than 14.2hh that wasn't a specific pony breed was just a short horse of whatever breed it was. I didn't even know "quarter ponies" were a real thing until I joined the forum. We just called them short QHs.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Clava

Endiku said:


> Clava, what is your opinion on the haflinger compared to those of a full size horse or even another pony? Are they pony like gaits, or does it just depend on the pony? That's my only thing against the smaller ponies. Some of them have such choppy strides no matter what you do and being a western trail rider a good gait is everything to me. That doesn't seem to necessarily be dictated height though, as much as it is by conformation. Nacho, the 14.2hh paint I ride, has the crappiest trot I've ever ridden, bless him. But the 12.2hh Caspian moved much like a full sized horse, as did the 13.3hh Arabian I rode a few times


 
Hattie, my haflinger, can keep up at walk with her 16.3 Irish Draught neighbour, she has a long swinging / marching walk which I love. My small grey pony has a small pony walk, short choppy strides.


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## jaydee

No one ever laughed me off when I took our 14.2 hunting - though he was a real idiot the first time and someone did refer to me as 'the child on the grey pony........'
I took one of our son's 13.2 jumping ponies a few times and she had no trouble keeping up, though she was built like a miniature TB and not as comfortable to ride (for me) as the stockier pony breeds


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## ponyboy

Endiku said:


> Clava, what is your opinion on the haflinger compared to those of a full size horse or even another pony? Are they pony like gaits, or does it just depend on the pony? That's my only thing against the smaller ponies. Some of them have such choppy strides no matter what you do and being a western trail rider a good gait is everything to me.


Stride length mostly depends on build. Haflingers, Fjords and Dales are stocky so tend to have choppy strides. Welsh, Connemara and New Forest ponies usually don't. The Welsh C I used to ride had a 12' canter stride same as the horses in the barn.


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## bsms

A single data point on gaits:

13.0 hand Cowboy walks fast enough to keep up with 15.3 Mia (past) and 15.0 Bandit (present). It is 14.3 Trooper who falls behind at a walk.

Cowboy's trot is like trying to ride a sewing machine needle. It makes me feel like I'm going to pee blood. :eek_color: I've yet to meet anyone who could post that fast. It is bearable if you stand in the stirrups.

His canter is the smoothest ride I've ever experienced. I think you could set a glass of wine on the horn and not spill anything, at a canter. Of course, the glass would shatter during his trot...:icon_rolleyes:


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## JoyinDriving

*My 13.3hh pony cross*

named Libby. She was a Heinz 57 model and gaited. So much heart!


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## Clava

ponyboy said:


> Stride length mostly depends on build. Haflingers, Fjords and Dales are stocky so tend to have choppy strides. Welsh, Connemara and New Forest ponies usually don't. The Welsh C I used to ride had a 12' canter stride same as the horses in the barn.


 Nothing choppy about either of my haflingers, in fact dressage tests include comments on lovely paces and even floaty.


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## clwhizy

I own 2 15.3h mares, and just this past spring finally got the opportunity to ad my dream pony to the herd  He is a 13.2h Newfoundland Pony (I'm 110lbs, 5'2"). I love my bigger girls but I'm not a fan of heights so I LOVE ponies! Looking forward to post-pregnancy to start his training again!


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## SueC

bsms said:


> A single data point on gaits:
> 
> 13.0 hand Cowboy walks fast enough to keep up with 15.3 Mia (past) and 15.0 Bandit (present). It is 14.3 Trooper who falls behind at a walk.
> 
> Cowboy's trot is like trying to ride a sewing machine needle. It makes me feel like I'm going to pee blood. :eek_color: I've yet to meet anyone who could post that fast. It is bearable if you stand in the stirrups.
> 
> His canter is the smoothest ride I've ever experienced. I think you could set a glass of wine on the horn and not spill anything, at a canter. Of course, the glass would shatter during his trot...:icon_rolleyes:


:rofl:


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## Saddlebag

The shorter coupling of ponies makes their backs stronger. I rode our Shetland mare of 44", bareback. That was a trick and a half. I weighed 120 and she carried me easily.


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## DraftyAiresMum

Pictures as promised.

Me on 14.2hh Dakota (I'm 5'7" and about 165lbs in this pic...he was REALLY narrow)


14hh Sassy (my friend in the second pic is about 5'6" and there is a slight downward slope from where Sassy is walking to where my friend is walking)


On second thought, Candy, the other mare in this pic ^^ is a pony too at 14.1hh. She was also registered AQHA.

And last but not least, my 5'9" friend on 13.3hh Cassie, the purebred registered Arab mare


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## Reiningcatsanddogs

Anybody here own now or ever own a Chincoteague pony? I was wondering what they were like to train up and ride.


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## DuckDodgers

Reiningcatsanddogs said:


> Anybody here own now or ever own a Chincoteague pony? I was wondering what they were like to train up and ride.


I've known a couple of very lovely ones, but have never owned one personally. One that's between 25-30 years old and his adult (small adult, my age and close to my size) is still riding him heavily. I personally think doing too much, but her horses are always winding up injured because she pushes them too much. Either way, he started out as her h/j pony when she was a kid and she started doing barrels and games on him when she "outgrew" him and got a new jumper. Fantastic little horse!


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## ponyboy

Clava said:


> Nothing choppy about either of my haflingers, in fact dressage tests include comments on lovely paces and even floaty.


I have heard they are breeding them more sporty these days. The one I rode years ago was very bouncy. They still aren't ponies though.


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## rocky pony

I love ponies, I always have. They just have a special kind of spunk that I don't often find in big horses. I tried a 16.1hh TB for awhile...tucked my tail between my legs and got out of there. I like my little guys.

I'm just shy of 5'7", weigh just under 140, and my ponies are a 14.1hh Haflinger x Arab and a 13.3hh Rocky Mountain Horse. Well, Rocky's not mine anymore currently, but he will be again a couple years, so he counts in my book.

Merry









Rocky


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