I think you need to look at the build more than height. I'm 5'9 and ride a haflinger who is 14 hands when he stands on his tip-toes but nice and stocky. I've been riding him for 6.5 years now and I am very comfortable on him. On the other hand I have ridden horses over 15 hands that I was not comfortable on because they were too narrow.

 

I think you need to look at the build more than height.

Indeed. I'm 6'4" and our 14.2-15hh, stocky Paints are typical height, and that wide barrel takes up a lot of leg.

 

Not at all. Depends on if you're comfy on the horse once you're on board. If you look at show pictures of Mountain and Moorland classes, there are some fairly tall riders riding the little native breeds. You may find on a finely built 14.2hh you're not as comfy as you are on a stockier built 14.2hh. I'm shorter than you but I've found I prefer riding taller horses that have some substance but if I'm riding a small horse then I prefer one with a finer build. For some reason I just don't feel comfy on a 14.2hh cob but I feel fine on a 16.3hh ID that's even wider. It's how you feel while riding.

 

I am 5'5" and my gelding is 16.2hh. I am not comfortable on anything under 15hh.

 

I'm 5'9" and 145lbs and my mare is 14.1. But she is very wide so she takes up a lot of leg and I feel very secure on her, even bareback. I mean, my legs do dangle down a little lower than her belly/chest area but only by a few inches and I've never been told that I look too big for her, so I'm not really worried.

I definitely second what everyone says about the horse's build being more important than height.

Also, just for kicks, over the summer, at my camp, there was a gelding that was like magic. You'd look at him and he'd be maybe 14hh, just eyeballing. But then, you'd get on him and suddenly, he was like 17hh. I don't know what it was about that horse, but when you were in the saddle you felt like you were riding a freaking giant but out of the saddle, he was short!

Another random story: at my camp there's this little QH pony who's maybe 13.2hh on a tall day. However, she is the WIDEST thing I have EVER seen (she's built like a tank, short legs on an average sized body). She's so wide that I put a long legged guy who's over 6ft tall on her over the summer, and his feet were barely lower than her barrel. It was like how I am on Lacey, only the horse made Lacey look like a giant!

 

If you get a very built horse then you could go under 15hh, but I would encourage maybe something between 15-16hh. I'm 5'7 and I just bought a 15hh 3 year old. I didn't really expect him to grow much but he's probably a good 15.2hh now. Saying that a 15hh arabian or fine TB would be too small for me.

Some horses grow until they're 6 or 7, others stop when they're around 3 so it depends. In my experience their height around 4 is pretty much it. They might grow an inch but generally slowly over time, rather than in a spurt. They also seem to grow out more at this age. You see many 3 and 4 year olds that are narrow and small, once they stop growing up they seem to start growing out, getting wider, strong chests and hindquarters.

What breed is the 14.2hh mare? What do you plan to do with her - this will also affect what height will be suitable for you?

 

I'm 5'7" and look ridiculous on anything under 16.2, but then I ride skinny TBs. I rode a stocky Morgan once and felt fine on him. I think he was only 15.2.

 

There's no real answer to the "too small or too big" question. Every horse is built differently, they all have their advantages and disadvantages in their conformation and weight-carrying ability.

At your height and weight, I absolutely doubt a 14.2hh horse would be too small. My gaited gelding is 14.3hh and my mom, who's super tall, did gaming and trail riding on him while he was her horse (this was 15 or so years ago) and he was fine. He's very sturdilly built, though.

Too big? Whatever is outside your comfort range or does not allow you to properly use your aids in communication. I have an advantage at 5'10" that not many horses are too big, but that's me personally. I love riding big horses, so the comfort zone doesn't really apply lol :lol:

 

Height is just a preference if you're not concerned about weight. Most small horses can carry more weight than larger horses due to a higher bone to weight ratio. I know 13H horses that can carry 250lbs easily as long as you aren't looking for a big horse for jumping or something. I prefer shorter horses, I have a shorter leg, its a shorter trip to the ground and the breed I've chosen doesn't reach anything past 15H and even that is tall. I'm biased against big horses because they are part of the reason SMs were almost crossbred out of existence.

When talking height I like to share these articles:

http://msindianhorses.com/id18.html

http://www.donblazer.com/ahorseofcourse/02_10_big_isnt_better.html

 

poultrygirl, I'm 5'8" (may be even taller). My qh is just 14'3", and I don't think I look big on her at all (she's stocky type though). My paint is 15'1 BTW.

Depending on feed, condition, and breed they MAY grow taller after 4 years old. Both my horses were very undersized when I got them, so my paint gave another inch (if not more than that) after 4 yo (my qh stopped exactly at 4).

 

I personally like the short and stocky horses,nothing over about 15.something for me,but that's just my preference. I'm also about 95-100lbs and a little over 5'. My horse is 14.2 and he's just a mutt something. But he's the sweetest little thing,doesn't spook at all,unless a bunch of kids literally come running and start petting him a bunch,then he gets a little antsy,but I can't blame him

 

Holy thread necromancy batman!

;-) as a side note my shortie is probably 14.2 max
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