Horse rider/height

I'm wondering what people think about appropriate horse height/rider height?

I'm 5'7 and I am not a "skinny" person. I'm pretty proportionate though - neither my torso nor legs are long or short.

I've been looking at horses between 15.2hh and 16hh. While I am tall and strong enough to have a taller horse I don't want a big horse. Anyway there is this STB horse I saw advertised who is a 3 y/o and is 15hh. His add says "solid,compact build".

Do you think he would be worth looking at? I was thinking he might grow...what do you think?

I am probably very disproportionate in size to my horse. I am 5'3" when I stand very tall :) I ride a 16.1hh paint. I am more about having the right horse for me than the size for the most part. Though I do prefer the stride of a bigger horse personally.

Sounds fine to me. I'm 5'8" and ride a 15hh paint. My other horse was 14.3.

It more depends on how you feel on the horse. I can ride a 8.3hh pony, and I'm 5'5. It's fine. But some have weird short backs, or short necks, and it feels awkward riding them.
But it should be right! I'd go and look, and see how you feel on him. And don't worry about looking stupid. I took a 9hh pony to Pony Club once. It's fun.

It really depends on the horse's conformation. Many people that are tall ride a nice solid stocky horse just fine, while a horse with smaller frame might make you look like a giant.


Also, keep in mind the horses conformation. A horse with a weak back/loin could develop back problems with extra weight.

Doesnt really matter I am 5"2 and the smallest horse I own is 17hands.

It's more about how thick the horse is, how big their barrel is. A big stocky horse will fit better than a tall narrow horse. I'm 5'1" and ride a 14hh pony, he's a solid stocky pony and we look fine together. My boyfriend has even rode him, he's 5'11", pony carried him just fine and he didn't look like a giant on him. I think a solid 15hh horse would be just fine.

It sounds like a good size fit from the little information you give us. But it is hard to tell. It also depends on what you are going to do with the horse.

For example, if you just want something for pleasure riding, as long as you are not heavy for the horse and you are comfy who cares what you look like. If you are going to show hunters then looking too big on your horse is a bad thing so you want to make sure you look proportionate.

I think it's worth a try! If nothing else it will give you experience as to what sort of horse you are looking for. But size wise, you could probably get away with riding a pony if you really wanted to . I'm 5'7 aswell and looked relativly normal on a 14hh stocky pony. =) but 15hh is a good size, as long you like him personality wise I don't see a problem.

I agree that a lot of it depends on the horse's conformation.

I'm 5'7", with long legs, and my current horse is a 14 hh/14.1 hh paint cross, but because he has such a wide back he takes up a lot of my leg and I look pretty good on him. Just go try out the horse, have someone take pictures, etc. If you're not planning on doing a ton of hunters, like Alwaysbehind noted, then it's not really a big deal.