What is the smallest horse she can ride?

gypsytack: What is the smallest horse she can ride?
Ok, well my friend is in the process of looking for a horse. I am helping her, giving her second opinions, etc. I want to know what the smallest horse she should be looking for is. She is a trail rider like me. She weighs 250lbs and is 5’10”. Whats the smallest horse, weight and height wise that she should be looking at?
Thanks!

Answers and Views:

Answer by pugbug
she should be looking for at a 1100 pound 16 hand horse

Answer by oregano13
Rider should be no more than 20% of the horse’s weight. So she needs to be looking for a horse of at least 1250 pounds (preferably more in case of weight gain and also to account for the weight of her saddle). For a horse of average build, that’s about a 16.2-17hh horse. If she went with a draft or draft cross that was quite heavily built, she could go a bit shorter, but not much. If she wants a more lightly built horse, she’d need taller than that.

Answer by Morgan
I would say 15.2-16.0 hh for her. Make sure the horse is not thin at all and make sure its chunky and has muscle. Should be from 1100-1300 lbs hope this helps.

Answer by Kelli
I am the same height as your friend, and I fit comfortably on horses 15.3h and up. Although a little shorter ( around 15.2) would be fine as well. As far as weight goes, I would recommend a fairly stocky horse. Probably upwards of 1100lbs. Finding a horse with a short back, with no sway is very important- a horse with a short back can carry more weight comfortably.

Answer by Jordan S.
a clydesdale lol. They could make a good trail horse. you never know.