[Lou3]

OK i am going to back out of this debate now because this is my biggest pet peeve with horses - Overhorsing children - and i'm sorry but even for a tall eight year old anything bigger than 13.2hh is WAY overhorsed. If the child cannot tack up and mount COMPLETELY unaided they need a smaller horse. I dont know about your kids but my sister physically cannot reach high enough to put a saddle on anything bigger than 14hh and she is a very tall nine yr old.

[Paintlover]

All I have read was the first page.

Please consider buying a more experienced horse. It is terrible for an 8 y/o to take such bad spills with little experience behind her.
Don't turn on your trainer though, there are experienced 3 year old horses out there. I would trust Lou Lou (my 3yo) to carry a 4year old child. Lou Lou and I grew together. I got her when I was 14 and she was a year and a half. I trained her by myself up to a point, and then I got a trainer

[Blistering Winds]

Lou, from what you are saying, since I need a mounting block to ride blister, he is too much for me.

Most 17hh jumpers are WAY too much for their riders. Trained or otherwise from what you are saying.

Again, SIZE ISN"T JUST THE ONLY THING!

I'll trust my daughter with Blister but not a pony. At least not ponies around here. They all seem to have "Little man syndrome". Too big for their britches attitude wise. Even some of the best trained ponies around here have a temper that scares even ME!

Yes, overhorsing a rider is bad. But that isn't a size issue. That is a training issue. Even a pony can run away with a 6' man. (seen it done). So if a 6 ft man cannot handle a little shetland, what makes you so sure an 8 yr old can? SIZE isn't the issue. They are ALL stronger than us.

I've seen ponies that I won't ride due to their training issues. Some love to just BOLT, barn sour, etc. And NO ONE is going to make them. Not the 6 ft 230 lb man nor the 60 - 70 lb 8 yr old.

[lovemyshy]

I'm going to have to agree with BW on this one. I have seen some pony sized horses that were way too much animal for even some adult sized people to handle (other than to just plain strong arm them, which isn't right either). On the other side of the coin, I have known some very large horses that were some of the best babysitter's you would ever imagine for your child. Size is not as important as quality!! When finding a horse for anybody, the first thing someone needs to look for is a match for their ability. If Sad Dad happens to find a 16 hand quiet, dead broke, school horse then it definetly should not be passed up simply because of size. I also agree with what someone else said here, he should not only take a trainer/instructor that he trusts, but he should take his daughter, she will be able to tell her dad if she feels comfortable, and if she thinks that the horse is responding to her cues.

[Blistering Winds]

Trust me, if those kids want on that horse, THEY GET ON, no matter HOW big the horse is. I've seen little kids in the pee wee classes (under 10 yrs) CRAWL onto the horse with NO fence. they are like Monkeys. And their horses stand there quietly. My horse would probably have bolted if one of them tried to get on the way they do.

And most kids have butts of velcro. They can stay on better than many adults when things get rough. At least the kids I see. it is amazing what they can do. Don't under estimate a kid's potential with a horse.

To me, to clarify, overhorsing a kid is taking a horse with not enough training and expecting a kid to finish it. Or train it. Putting a green kid on a wacked out barrel horse that hte parents are afraid of on the ground, let alone in saddle.

But not size.

[QHGirl]

We also have to remember, Lou3, we are not sure what your pony's are like over there.

From looking at alot of the pics overseas.... it seems ponies are COMMON over there for riding.

POA's and Quarter Ponies are the 2 that normally you see VERY calm and common in shows... NOT little ankle bitter ponies. Shetlands yet fun... have little man syndrome (most of them, not all, but a lot of them)

SO our classification of PONY seems to be WAY different than OVER SEAS!!!!



SadDad - What is the status? You still around???

[mylilpony]

Originally Posted by monica-n-shiloh

Im sorry to say but a 3 year old is still a baby herself... A 3 year old with an 8 year old beginner rider just spells trouble in my mind. Inexperience + inexperience = somebody getting hurt.
I suggest getting her a much older horse and one who is kid safe and for beginners.

Goodluck...

I totally agrea! I am sorry that your family had to be the victom to this.I think u should find a new trainer,a good "horse trainer" wouldn't put an inexperienced 8 yr old on a 3 yr old,and wonder what the problem was!

[John]

I think QH GIRL is correct. It is what the area (country) has. I have had many years as a 4H leader had to deal with this exact problem . In our area ponies are not used or trained nearly as well as full sized saddle horses. We have tons of broke to death ranch horses that are probably in short supply in Briton.

[mylilpony]

Originally Posted by Lou3

No it doesnt - you still need well-broke and quiet, however - if you give a child of eight a well-broke and quiet 12.2hh and a well-broke and quiet 15.2hh, they will get much better results and improve their riding a lot more on the 12.2hh.

I am sorry Lou,but i STRONGLY disagrea.I am an incredable pony fan[I own two ponies myself] but i don't think a couple hands higher will have that much better results and improve their riding,for a child.I LOOOOVE ponies.My first,was a shetland pony that i got when i was eight.And i would actually recommend a large pony or horse for someone starting out.As long as they are not intimidated by it,something larger is MUCH better to start out on!Just my lil ol opinion!

[mylilpony]

Originally Posted by Blistering Winds

Trust me, if those kids want on that horse, THEY GET ON, no matter HOW big the horse is. I've seen little kids in the pee wee classes (under 10 yrs) CRAWL onto the horse with NO fence. they are like Monkeys. And their horses stand there quietly. My horse would probably have bolted if one of them tried to get on the way they do.

And most kids have butts of velcro. They can stay on better than many adults when things get rough. At least the kids I see. it is amazing what they can do. Don't under estimate a kid's potential with a horse.

But not size.

I totally agrea here! There was this little skinny 6 year old girl at the peawee rodeo last year,perched on top of this big palamino.The horse must have been at least 16hh,and this kid would take a run and jump,grab on to the horn and swing back and forth for a minute,before swinging up fully and landing on the saddle.Then take off at a fast canter[butt bouncing high] swing down, tie up her goat, then run/jump/swing on her horse again,and canter back.We were amazed she could stay on at all because he legs barely even hung down,just stuck out the sides and she was literally flying as she canterd.But u could tell she loved it,and the size of that big gelding of hers didn't bother her one itty bitty bit!