Horse people! Pony aficionados!

An Arabian is never considered a pony. Ever.

LOL way to go above and beyond guys :rofl1: turns out I was REALLY REALLY wrong

We were like in this cracking up screaming match like "A PONY IS A SMALL HORSE WHY WOULD YOU NAMED SOMETHING A MINI SMALL HORSE" but turns out I was wrong lol

I had no idea it was so complicated. Horses aren't my thing. I categorize them by..
size (big, mini) and then by color lol

I've never known someone who has worked with or owned horses long term that hasn't been seriously injured by one. Compared to cattle, where I know many people who have worked cattle for decades with zero injuries.

Good mules aren't always stubborn. That walker/mammoth jack cross was very laid back and sweet, he was pretty happy to do whatever people asked him to. His owner trained him for civil war reenactments and he never really cared about people shooting firearms and cannons around him, even from the beginning.

Neither are Morgans.

But...they're seriously entertaining! And adorable! :lol-sign:

Correct.

Unless you are showing in a non-breed sport and they are under 14.2 (or whatever the FEI pony cutoff is, which I think is slightly different). Your 14.1 Morgan/Arab is going to be a large pony hunter no matter what the breed people call him, not a small junior.

And your 15 hh Connemara can enjoy being a small junior or a children's hunter, but he can't be a large pony.

Just for added confusion

Pretty much in the english world, it is what its by height, breeds be darned. The definition of pony vs horse is height. So that is what they go by.

I bred my irish tb mare to a world class swedish warmblood stallion. Thought for a while I was going to have a pony! But he ended up being 14.3 hh. Which sucked, he was worth a fortune as a pony. Next to nothing as a 'hony'. Both parents were over 16h!

It's like that with many local 4-H's too. Under a certain height you are classed as a pony regardless of breed.

Here are some pictures of my minis! Some are ones I've taken and some are from previous owners.

Okay, the dark one with the stockings and snip may make me eat my words "I don't really like minis".

To add to the confusion again, "polo ponies" aren't actually ponies. Most are quarter horse or thoroughbred (or some mix), and may be any height. Small-ish horses are generally preferred for because they need to be agile, and for being closer to the ball (though there are different length mallets to compensate), but I've seen and ridden polo ponies who were easily 15-16hh+. I would guess most are over 14.2hh, making them not true ponies at all.

That one is actually 1/4 Shetland and 3/4 Mini! A lot of show bred minis have some American Shetland in them and some AS are even small enough to hardship into the mini registries. The black one is my most 'horse-like' mini and I'm hoping he makes a really striking driving horse. Any of my future minis will definitely have some American Shetland in them!

Oh, phew! Apparently I just like Shettie crosses! That makes more sense. I do love ponies!

I'd like him in a 16hh version, please and thank you.

I think the height of the rider and what position they play has a hand in how tall the horse is, doesn't it? I remember reading that somewhere.

Not in my experience, but I'm certainly no expert. As with any horse/rider pair, a tall rider might feel more comfortable on a taller horse, or a short rider on a shorter horse, but they're close enough in size (probably 14.2-16hh) that I don't think it hugely matters. You just get different length mallets to compensate.

I've only played indoor polo, so I'm not sure if people choose horse sizes based on position. I could absolutely see choosing a horse for agility vs speed depending on position, but a hand difference in height is probably not as important as the horse's structure.

Out of all the ponies on my college string (25+ horses), there was very little difference in height. They probably averaged 15-15.2hh, with one or two shorter, and one or two taller. The two over 16hh were the "beasts". Haha

Lolol... wouldn't want you to start liking those minis! Though, admittedly, I always wondered why people even bothered with owning minis since they seem so obviously useless. Now I can't even imagine living without them! I never thought much of driving either and now I have zero interest in riding!

I used to ride Welsh ponies and welsh cobs. Great ponies. <3