My first horse, Bogie, was only about 15.3. At the withers. On a good day, when he hadn’t been shod for awhile. I used to joke that I needed roller skates to ride him, because I’m nearly 6′ tall and have long legs. This fellow has me beat.
During the time I had Bogie, I had the pleasure of taking dressage lessons from Dr. Max Gaywhyler, a well-known judge and clinician. I’ll always remember my first lesson with him when I was petrified that 1) I didn’t ride well enough and 2) that he’d tell me my horse was too small. But Dr. Max was always one to leave you with a smile. He cheerfully pointed out that most women rode horses way too large for them and that being able to mount from the ground was a big advantage. After all, he said, you are only going to be using your legs from the knee up.
So here’s to all those riders with horses that might technically be a bit on the short side. What about you? Do you ride a horse that’s way too large? or a bit vertically challenged?