Ponies or Horses?
Size matters. Most children will learn to ride on ponies, whilst adults are likely to start their equestrian career on larger ponies, or, more usually, horses.
To give you an idea, a pony is no bigger than 14.2 hands high or about 4 feet 10 inches measured at the withers, the bump at the bottom of the horse’s or pony’s neck. Anything above this height is a horse.
A hand is four inches ( 10cms) and is the traditional method of measuring the height of a horse or pony, although European measurements of centimetres is more commonly used today
Some horses are stronger than others and are capable of carrying a heavier rider. A riding school will match each rider with an appropriate size and strength of horse or pony. The height of a horse or pony does not indicate its spirit: a smaller animal is not necessarily quieter than a larger one, or vice versa!
