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Brandybrookes · Sep 25, 2021 11:50 AM

Long story short I have been searching for the right horse for me to show with for well over 9 years now. My childhood mare I had outgrew with her only being 14.2hands and wasn't quite show material. Great child's horse though.
In 2015 I purchased an AQHA gelding who they thought would be 16h and came from great lines. He never made it to 15.2h although tall enough he has something mentally going on. He never was quite right. One day he's perfect working with and riding then another day I had something trying to kill you. I had sent him out for training on a friend's recommendation which I wholey regret doing as I knew little of the trainer when originaly starting him "I should have just waited for the ones I know and trusted to have an open spot" "He's had all sorts of vet tests and different trainers working to figure his issues out" so I gave up on him as being my show horse.

2020 I found the perfect mare "I love my mares" she is out of by appointment only and one Kool baby "her full siblings have gone to APHA world multiple times and done very well" . she's flashy and perfect mover and such a great mind and gentle and easy to work with. When purchasing her I was under the impression she was going to be tall enough. She was advertised as being 14.3h as a 2yo.
Got her home and she wasn't quite the size expected.
Today she is 3 and stick measured only 14.1h :(( from my understanding for both APHA and American pinto horse association the horse has to be at least 14.2h and that's the fence of being pony. 14.3h is considered horse. So I wouldn't be able to show her in any breed shows.

My trainer left me some options on what I could do and to really think over.
1. Stop training her "she's had 5 months so far" and sell her then save up for something taller and already started.

2. Don't show breed shows and just show local.

3. Continue training and keep as a show pony for my daughter's then save up for something for me.

4. Continue training and show a little bit for a couple years and then sell for a bigger value as she will be worth much more than she already is and buy something big and fancy.

I already have people wanting to buy her at the place I keep her and I'm not sure what to do. I am a very tall girl 5 foot 7 inches so it would look wonky with me on a pony sized horse and my girls already have my child hood mare who is slightly bigger than my 3yo whose already fully trained.
I feel like finding the right horse can be very difficult .
Have any of you been through something like this? What do you think would be the best option for me?

Any suggestions? :-SS

kgstable · Sep 25, 2021 12:30 PM

Honestly, if you have people wanting to buy her now, sell to them! You'll be able to see her (and maybe ride her sometimes if they let you) but you'll be able to have something to show!
I haven't looked in buying for years but I remember how hard it can be! Best of luck to you

Silverstar · Sep 25, 2021 2:18 PM

I would ask when her siblings finished maturing. My mare's family doesn't quit growing both hight and muscle until 6yrs old. It might be worth the inquiry.

I agree on what @kgstable's advice if you decide to sell her. It's hard to predict the horse selling market.

As for a small horse my mare is in the 14-14.2 range, i'm not sure what her exact hight is, and I also a taller girl at 5'10" while it's not ideal there a lot of bonuses of having a smaller horse. It's the size of their heart and try that counts.

Brandybrookes · Sep 26, 2021 5:12 AM

I've been searching the APHA rule book and all I could find is in major faults if the horse is 14h or shorter. I guess she makes it by an inch. She hasn't done much growing this year I'm not sure if she will have a last minute growth spurt. I looked up her full siblings and in pictures they appear close to her size. The sire was 16h but the mare height wasn't listed although she appears on the short size too.

LEAcres · Sep 26, 2021 1:15 PM

My OTTB was 15.2hh when I bought him at 2 years old and didn't stop growing until he was 6 and is now 16.3hh at 20 years old.

If you have the means, personally I'd give her a little bit more time and use her as a kids pony while you get a secondary horse that suits your needs now.

If you don't have the means, sell her and continue looking for the right horse

High Five Acres · Sep 27, 2021 8:22 AM

Both my oldest mare and her daughter weren't very big by the time they were 3. I think maybe 14.1 or thereabouts, but they both had some good growth spurts around the age of 5 and now they are both around 16hh. As a short person, I was unimpressed by their late sprouting as I have to put my foot up to my ears to mount, but eh, they are worth the extra effort!

If it were me and I was happy with her personality, trainability, bloodlines, etc, I'd keep her and let her grow up a little bit. She might stretch a few inches in the coming years. Good horses can be hard to come by, so you have to have a firm grip on your priorities when you make your decision. Do you want to show breed shows or would you be content showing locally? Are you comfortable riding a horse that might be a bit shorter (aka, does her stride fit your body movements?) or do you need something leggier to sit comfortably? Do you want to put time and money into a project that only 'mostly' fits your goals, or will you always have that niggling regret if you compromise?

Ambervalleyarabians · Oct 16, 2021 1:46 PM

@brandybrooks

If the sire and dam are registered apha they will register her if she is an inch short. I am friends with an alpha breeder and she has had some stunted horses that were registerable. You can try to register her if she isn't already. The worst is they can say no.

I had a quarter mare that was the same way. Aqha registered her as well.

Ambervalleyarabians · Oct 16, 2021 1:47 PM

That is apha. Stupid auto correct

primagina · Nov 28, 2021 9:51 PM

Late to comments section here, but I promise you APHA absolutely does not care how tall they are. The only time you will get hit with a height deduction is in a conformation class. But, I wouldn't take a horse not bred and conditioned for halter in a breed show level halter class expecting to get points at any age.

It might affect what events she is good at, but I had a 14 hand AQHA mare that would prove that wrong any day if she was still alive.

Every single one of the reining/working cowhorse/cutting horses is small, 14 hand range. No one deducts points or keeps them from showing. And they are breeding those bloodlines into barrel horses so there are a lot of small ones showing up in that area too.

She might be a late bloomer, I've bred a few of those over the years - didn't grow at all from 2-4 - not to give you false hope or anything, but that is an issue sometimes.

I'm tall also, 5'7", and while I prefer to be above the 15.3 height on a horse, I don't look goofy on a 14 hand horse either. Many years and many mentors have taught me a good rider can make any horse look good in the ring, no matter the challenges in a horse's conformation or movement.

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