Harder to ride a big horse?

Skyhuntress

Skyhuntress

Trying to escape reality
Apr 26, 2005
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Alberta, Canada
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I had a really interesting conversation with a boarder yesterday (actually sparked from a different board conversation).
She maintains that it's harder for the average person and rider to ride a larger horse (ie over 16.1hh) properly, then it is for an average rider to ride a small horse.

I disagreed, but I didn't really have much foundation, simply because I've never been on something smaller then 15.3hh.

Said boarder believed that the amateur rider should not be put on a big horse. They cannot properly control the stride, they cannot control the back (since larger horses tend to have longer backs) and some people tend to just get intimidated.

I can understand that. I have a 17.2hh Trakehner (who admitedly, I don't ride anymore) but people were amazed that I could control him. Now I have a 16.3hh ISH who is built like a TANK and people are like "How do you manage to keep him together? He's so powerful."

The problem with the big horses is that (my guys anyways) they tend to have longer backs. I havent' seen too many 17hhers who were short backed, so they ARE harder to put together then a shortbacked 15hh horse with a smaller stride. I don't think the big horses are any harder to ride though, you just have to make different adjustments then you would on a smaller horse.

What do you think? Personality non withstanding, harder to ride a larger horse, easier, the same?
 
Nah, you have 3 weeks thinking time on a big horse, you feel something coming at the back end and it takes a week to ten years for the horse to shift his huge bulk, far easier to anticipate.
 
I find big horses much easier to ride that ponies.All the riding is the same but ponies are sharper,you need far better balance to ride ponies than horses.Also the finer types of horse are harder to sit to.I have a very big welsh cob which i sit into and he is nicely balanced and always on the bit,never strong.I have an ex race horse who really pulls my arms out and its hard work trying to sit into him,the ponies that i have ridden have been keen and quick,great fun to ride.
 
naaah :D the big horses ive ridden were always easier to ride than little, smart, quickthinking ponythings :D by the time a horse is still thinking 'oooh, shall i spin round?', the pony will have already spun twice, bucked and tanked off :D

Julia
x
 
LOL, what Wally said.:D Also, the big guys tend to have longer strides, so its easier to learn things like posting the trot and sitting the canter on them.

My two boys are in the vertically-challenged category - 14.2 and 15 hh - and I love a short horse. But I first learned to ride on the big 'uns. I think my first lesson horse was close to 17 hh. Just like sitting on a big sofa, once you got over the nosebleed from being up so high.:)
 
It really depends on the horse I think. But my 'small' horse is easier to ride than Willie, but that is jst due to different training.
 
I think it depends entirely on the horse and what you feel comfortable riding.If you are used to something with a short stride getting on a bigger horse with a powerful and longer stride is bound to feel a bit odd at first.For me its the other way around.My horse is just under 16.2hh and has an enormous very powerful movement(he is ISH and a very long backed 6'9 in his rugs)and when I ride my friends youngster who is a 14.1hh arab/welsh/cob and very slightly built he feels as though I have to do everything at twice the speed.
 
I find it depends largely on the individual horse ;) .

That being said. . . I suppose it depends on the context of the term "difficult to ride."

Yes, I think big horses ARE more difficult to hold together than smaller ones. Their outline can be harder to achieve and it can be exhausting to maintain.

But I actually think the smaller horses are more "difficult" with regards to "being able to handle them."
With big horses, things happen slower, and most of them aren't agile enough to do anything too dramatic too quickly (not without plenty of warning beforehand anyway).
The smaller oss's have a lower centre of gravity and therefore are able to be that bit sharper in their movements. It's also much easier for them to rear/buck/spin/drop their shoulder much more quickly than the larger horse is capable of doing.
 
I just think they are different.

Bigger horses are obviously more powerful and thats alot of power to try and keep together.

But ponies react quicker and can turn on a sixpence.
 
The only reason I have difficulty riding bigger horse, is because I almost exclusively ride Sevigny and she is only 15.2hh with a shorter stride. When she had a hoof abcess, I ended up riding a gorgeous 16.2ish Hanoverian several times, and although adjusting to his stride was challenging (and I am sure pretty comical to watch), once adjusted, I didn't feel at a disadvantage. I sure did get a better workout though because my girl is very sensitive, and big horse so was not! :D
 
notpoodle said:
naaah :D the big horses ive ridden were always easier to ride than little, smart, quickthinking ponythings :D by the time a horse is still thinking 'oooh, shall i spin round?', the pony will have already spun twice, bucked and tanked off :D
x
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I agree with that totally! ;) Big horses are (in my opinion) in general, although there are some exceptions, easier to handle but they do need a strong rider to get them to really go the way they are meant to go, i.e. get the hinds underneath, use their back and collect themselves.

But if you are talking about how easy it is to sit in their paces, I think sitting on a really bouncy Shetland pony in fast trot is as difficult as sitting on a big gaited 17+hh horse.. ;) I personally prefer the big horse.

Nina x
 
I don't think it matters what height the horse is, or what the breed is. Some horses are easier to ride than others - full stop.
I've ridden easy big horses and difficult ponies, and vice versa.
The only thing I would say is that big horses can be very very much more powerful and strong, so if you have one with attitude that throws a strop, it can be so much harder to deal with.

But in general I don't think size matters :p :)
 
I think it depends on what sort of horse the rider is used to along with self belief and confidence levels. If you think you can't - then you probably wont.

I've been riding a mare of about 17hh recently, and I'm used to about 15hh. I found her intimadating to start with because she is so big, and I'm not (5'2"). It's a bl**dy long way down.

I've never had much trouble adjusting her stride, but maybe that's because she is reasonably well schooled. But she can be tense and argumentative.

Now I've got my confidence riding her she doesn't feel so big. In fact during my last lesson I rode her better than her two previous riders who are similar ability but a bit taller than myself:D I should have had more problems because she would have been tired and fed up by the time I got on board.

However I agree with ponies everything seems to happen a bit faster, but there is less power (but that probably depends on the individual animal). I know this because I have also recently ridden a pony of a little over 12hh.

Notice the brag I managed to slip in there:eek: :D
 
The only thing I would say is that big horses can be very very much more powerful and strong, so if you have one with attitude that throws a strop, it can be so much harder to deal with.

I think this is one of those philosophies that divides people :cool: .

Personally, I've seen my little 14.2hh middleweight take off across a field dragging a 6ft tall, 6 ft wide ex-paratrooper behind her.
He came back with 1 inch rope burns on his hands and wearing a very dirty T'shirt and trousers :rolleyes: .

Only the other day, I spotted the yard owner being bolted off with by a 14hh connemara type. She galloped (flat out) for a full 5 minutes before he managed to pull her up.
He's 5ft 8" and at least 12 stone.

Just mulling it over now, I can think of dozens of similar examples.

Ruby (a very big 16.3hh) was sold to me as a "man's" horse.
But having owned afew "man's horses" (thanks to me being very tall and parnoid about looking too big on horses ;) ), I've yet to meet/own one which was genuinely only suitable for a larger, stronger rider.

I tend to think - if a horse (of any height) really decides he's going to throw his weight around, then no amount of strength from his handler/rider will stop him. And that it comes down to aids, confidence and experience.
 
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DeirdreBarlow said:
The only thing I would say is that big horses can be very very much more powerful and strong, so if you have one with attitude that throws a strop, it can be so much harder to deal with.

I think this is one of those philosophies that divides people :cool: .

Personally, I've seen my little 14.2hh middleweight take off across a field dragging a 6ft tall, 6 ft wide ex-paratrooper behind her.
He came back with 1 inch rope burns on his hands and wearing a very dirty T'shirt and trousers :rolleyes: .

Only the other day, I spotted the yard owner being bolted off with by a 14hh connemara type. She galloped (flat out) for a full 5 minutes before he managed to pull her up.
He's 5ft 8" and at least 12 stone.

Just mulling it over now, I can think of dozens of similar examples.

I tend to think - if a horse (of any height) really decides he's going to throw his weight around, then no amount of strength from his handler/rider will stop him.
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See that's interesting, because I find the exact opposite.
I see people being bolted on with the big horses, not the small ones, simply because with the littler ones, you can throw your own weight around a bit more.

Personally, I've never ridden anything under 15.3hh. I HATED it. I felt like the horse wasn't going anywhere and the strides seem so much shorter and choppier. That being said, it WAS easier to collect the smaller horse (and God knows jumping was a heck of a lot easier).
 
Absolutely Dierdre Barlow.
On a strength versus strength basis the horse will always win if it puts its mind to it. I wasn't suggesting that with a pony, one would be "strong enough" to stop it bolting or whatever.

Simply that some big horses are extremely powerful and need a certain amount of leg and arm strength (but we're not talking force here) to keep them in an outline, get them to jump straight or whatever.

Since my accident I really do not have the stregnth in my legs or arms to school my horse properly. He is too strong and powerful. Whereas I had him working beautifully before, I can't manage that now that my legs are damaged and I don't have the strength in my arms to hold him together.

I'm sure some smaller horses would be the same. I wouldn't dream of generalising. Just an observation
 
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