Too small, or a cozy fit? (horse people, I need you!)

[JuniorxMyxLove]

I'm counting down the days until I start riding. 21 days.

I'm pretty sure my instructor will put me on Obie[look at the siggy] because i rode him alot when i was riding last. but, the reason im posting this thing is this: my favorite pony at the barn is this ADORABLE little paint named Junior.
Junior is maybe 13 or 14 hh? (i've never measured, so im guessing.) and I'm 5'4"....do you think I'm too big for him? he is...not fat but very wide, so my legs dont exactly hang off of him, but I've been on horses that make my legs hang halfway (well maybe longer, but you get it)down their barrel. I love riding him, and he's a great jumper(not over 5 foot fences, but perfect for the height I'm doing). when I drop my stirrups, my feet are a little bit below his belly, well my toes are anyways.

Do you think I'm too big for him? Could this be the reason I suddenly stopped being assigned to him?

[sweetpatata6]

I think that it's a good idea to START riding on Obie, and after you get used to riding again, I think you should ask your instrucer what she thinks. It would be a good idea to ask her personally, in my oppinion.

[buttercup132]

do you think I'm too big for him?

No. Trigger was a small pony and I'm tall and I still rode him. My barn owner has a little Shetland and I even ride her! Your deff. not too big.

[JuniorxMyxLove]

haha little shetlands are soo cute!

Theres a little pony, bigger then a shetland but sort of narrower, and my feet almost touch the ground on him, that i'm too big for. I know i'm not to heavy for the little horses, but my legs are just too long.(at least I hope i'm not too heavy....)

I love Obie, he's such a gentleman and is so gentle. He's our gentle giant. IO...well..she's a hot horse, I rode her once and she spooked at her own shadow 3 times...anyways, I love Obie, but he's not so nice once you actually get on him. He's really lazy at the trot, and soo spastic at the canter. he'll be all excited about cantering up to a jump just to stop, put his head down, and buck. I haven't fallen off yet, but I suspect someday I won't be able to stop myself from losing it. I love him so much, but the truth is I'm really scared when I see Obie next to my name, because I know I'll have a really hard lesson. Not just hard, but I get to where I'm holding my breath when I trot up to ajump or canter up to it, becaue i know he might decide not to go over it. And there's nothing I can do. A 1200(maybe more?) pound horse againt a 92 pound girl? Obie would sooo win. I know this is off track of the post, maybe I'll start another one about this...I need help with him.

Anyways, back to too big or not, I'm glad to think that I might be able to ride JR again. I ride this pony named Joey alot, he's a little bigger, probably 15 hands. But he's very skinny. My legs reach the same spot on his stomach as they do with JR (in relation to the horses barrel) so I'm not thinking I'mm too big for Junior. I'm so confused.

[mike001]

If you're 5'4" and he's 14 hands you aren't too big for him at all. Ponies are incredibly strong for their size. Go for it, if you are comfy riding him you'll feel more secure.

[Kalei]

Yay Now you know you can ride JR! You must be happy. Ponies are very strong, and you could be 5'4" and the perfect weight. I could see maybe if it was someone that was 5'4" and 250 or 300 pounds, then it might be slightly heavy for a pony

Have fun riding Jr, I hope you can soon

[whomeee]

Actually ponies are very strong and can handle more weight than you think. You look at their size and dont think a bigger person can ride them. I once saw a picture of a lady using a pony to rope a cow, and he wasnt having any trouble. You kneed a horse that is suited for your ability, a little challenge but not to hard for you to handle.

[Miss Z]

Your weight should never be a problem for horses and ponies as chances are they can carry about 3 of you no problem. For leg length, basically as long as you can give him the aids properly then it's fine. Ideally your legs should be in line with a horse's belly, but as long as your heels can make contact with his sides, you can easily get a secure lower leg and it's perfectly fine to ride that pony.

I am nearing 6' and I still ride 14.2hh ponies from time to time, just with quite short stirrups

[JuniorxMyxLove]

well my heels sorta go longer then his belly...well, the heel of the shoe, not my actual heel. besides, I squeeze his sides, if he doesn't go, I lightly kick him, if he doesn't go, I kick him hard, if he doesn't go, I kick him lightly and tap him with the crop, if he still doesn't go, then I kick(and smack w/a crop, but not too hard) the snot out of him till he goes, lol. quite effective, actually.

[Suki Wingy]

I am nearing 6' and I still ride 14.2hh ponies from time to time, just with quite short stirrups

That sounds funny! I'm 5' 9" and I ride a 16.0 hh TB and my heals hand off a bit, but it's easier to wrap your legs around him.

[JuniorxMyxLove]

I was watching a video of me riding, and there's a girl TALLER THEN ME riding Junior! Sooo hopefully my insstructor just thouht I needed a break from riding him...i was riding him like every other lesson in the summer. :]

[JuniorxMyxLove]

NEWS! I rode on friday(so much fun!) And my trainer i think andswered my question. She said he was lame for a while because a bone(do't remember which she said it was triangle shaped though) was rotating around. He's on medicine though and he might have to have special shoes. (they'll see for sure when the vet comes for anotherhorse). So hopefully thats why I never rode him...although other people were riding him for a while....But after he gets the special shoes(if he gets them at all) I might be able to ride him again! Which is nice because Joey kept biting me on friday(i rodde joey). He bit me on the hand and it left a big mark. But apparently Junior was getting really bad about that too, so who knows.