Mr Z Hanoverian Horse in Hand

it is a very beautiful horse, no doubt about that.
I was rather sad that I had just not been pleased with the size.

Illusion -- nothing wrong with have personal preference. For what it's worth, I do agree that this horse is overly short for most people's purposes, and I really wish the Ili horse was still available for this reason. I adore all horses, from massive draft horses to small ponies, but as someone who has ridden both smaller and larger horses in my life, I admit I have a bit of a soft spot for the former. One of the best rides I've ever had was on a half-Arabian/half-Welsh pony who was only 14 hands -- he had smoothest canter I've ever experienced to this day. Not to mention a shorter mount means you don't have as far to fall... lol.

GF -- I'm sure it would work just fine for that purpose!

Illusion wrote:it is a very beautiful horse, no doubt about that.
I was rather sad that I had just not been pleased with the size.

Thanks. I know exactly how annoying it can be when something is close to perfection but not quite. Whatever the minor flaw, it just gnaws at you every time you see it...

skywalkersaga wrote:One of the best rides I've ever had was on a half-Arabian/half-Welsh pony who was only 14 hands -- he had smoothest canter I've ever experienced to this day. Not to mention a shorter mount means you don't have as far to fall... lol.

GF -- I'm sure it would work just fine for that purpose!

That was funny. And thanks for confirming.

skywalkersaga wrote:Thanks for sharing the pic.... it makes it clear that it's pretty short next to a 1/6 male figure. Though I feel the horse is absolutely fine for, say, a medieval lady's mount. Horses prior to the early modern period were generally a lot shorter than they are now. From what I understand, the majority of ridden horses in the medieval period would have only been somewhere in the range of 14-15.2 hands. That's why I feel these 'Hanoverians', while misnamed and too short from our modern perspective, may still have some use for certain historical time periods, at least.

If I remember correctly, Henry VIII actually banned the breeding of horses shorter than 15hh in an attempt to increase the size of the average horse so it’s all his fault! XD

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breed_of_Horses_Act_1535_%26_Horses_Act_1540

But yeah, it’s one of my pet hates to see historical movies and games set pre-Tudor times and everyone’s galloping about on Friesians or Shires.

Lynkhart wrote:

skywalkersaga wrote:Thanks for sharing the pic.... it makes it clear that it's pretty short next to a 1/6 male figure. Though I feel the horse is absolutely fine for, say, a medieval lady's mount. Horses prior to the early modern period were generally a lot shorter than they are now. From what I understand, the majority of ridden horses in the medieval period would have only been somewhere in the range of 14-15.2 hands. That's why I feel these 'Hanoverians', while misnamed and too short from our modern perspective, may still have some use for certain historical time periods, at least.

If I remember correctly, Henry VIII actually banned the breeding of horses shorter than 15hh in an attempt to increase the size of the average horse so it’s all his fault! XD

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breed_of_Horses_Act_1535_%26_Horses_Act_1540

But yeah, it’s one of my pet hates to see historical movies and games set pre-Tudor times and everyone’s galloping about on Friesians or Shires.

Yes, definitely -- blame him!

And ahh, I feel you -- as much as I ADORE Friesians and Shires, the horses of that era simply would not have been as hugely tall as they are today. Shires, for one, didn't even exist as a breed yet at that point (though their predecessor, the Old English Black, or some similar variation, may have), and while there have been Friesian horses around since late Roman times at least, the Friesians of the medieval period would have probably only been about 15 hands or so and a lot more 'cob-like' in stature -- definitely not be the extremely tall, long-legged sporthorse variation seen today.

That said, I don't mind them at all being used for fantasy purposes. :')

In Henry VIII's defense, he probably couldn't have been carried by a smaller animal. So he was just... looking out for the horses... Cool fact, thanks Christine.

True! Although, technically smaller horses and ponies are very good weight carriers - a lot of people see massive Draught breeds like Clydesdales and Shires and assume that they’d be ideal for larger riders but as they were bred to pull, not carry, they’re actually fairly limited in what weight they can happily cope with. A short, stout 13hh cob type will do much better with a heavier rider than a hulking 18 hander!

That said, I still want to ride a Clydesdale one day - every time I see the ridden classes at the RHS it makes me so jealous!

Ridden Clydesdales by Christine Sutcliffe, on Flickr

But yeah, for fantasy purposes anything goes really. XD

Here’s a blast from the past to prove the point - teenage me on a lovely wee Highland called Jazz who was probably about 13.2/14hh - she happily carried me all day on the beach, breaking into canter as and when she felt like it and at one point actually managed to take her bridle off while I was still on board, which was...interesting.

Me & Debs on the beach by Christine Sutcliffe, on Flickr

That's one adorable and cheeky looking Highland pony, and teenage you looks like you're having a blast! :'D

And I'm with you, riding a Clydesdale would be amazing. I've ridden a Friesian and several large-ish cobs, but not had the Clydesdale experience yet.

Who knew one would learn so much about horses on an action figure forum? Thanks Christina and Sky!

GubernatorFan wrote:Who knew one would learn so much about horses on an action figure forum? Thanks Christina and Sky!

Indeed... so effortlessly along the lines... edutainment

but now I am afraid I will wonder about horses being appropriately sized when watching movies in the future (or whether it is ok to have a figure ride a shire rather than buying a carriage for the poor beast... )

What a fun photo, Christine. I haven’t been on a horse since I was 17, but I still remember how much fun it was. We had three when I was a kid, but sadly my parents sold them, and the farm, a couple years after they tossed my trouble-making butt out of the house (yes, I deserved it, and no I don’t hate them for it).

Heh, I think it’s inevitable once you get into a particular ‘thing’ that you’ll judge it extra harshly in media! I couldn’t tell you if a particular type of firearm or vehicle is appropriate for the country or time period but I can definitely let you know if the horse or tack is wrong! XD (there was much grumbling from a lot of my horsey friends when the new live action Mulan film came out as the horse in the poster was wearing a decidedly modern bridle that wasn’t invented until around the 19th/20th century, and certainly not ancient China! Not to mention the fact the actual breed of horse was totally wrong too but that’s another story...)

That entire riding holiday with the beach ride was a bit of a disaster tbh as the yard we stayed at had little regard for safety and put complete novices on very strong and bolshy mounts with no brakes. I’d been riding for about nine years at that point so I wasn’t inexperienced, but I felt decidedly unsafe on some of their horses. There were multiple falls by other folk; including one by my friend who we’re pretty sure now ended up with a concussion and lasting neck damage but they refused to take her to hospital to get checked out which in hindsight should have been our cue to gtfo but we were only 16 and didn’t know any better.
The one saving grace of the place was that we got to go on two beach rides at Lindesfarne and it was absolutely spectacular.

I’m quite a nervous rider and all the horses they’d put me on that week were very fresh and excitable (turned out it was primarily a hunting yard so none of the horses were what you’d normally find at a riding school!) I asked if they could give me the quietest, most unflappable horse they had...and that was Jazz. She was in her early twenties at this point and seemed really sweet and calm so I thought I’d be absolutely fine. We unloaded them on the beach and she immediately got super excited so we spent the next few hours bombing off in all directions as she just wanted to go fast and I didn’t get much say in the matter!
There were loads of us on the ride so we split into two groups and went for a gallop. I’d never had the opportunity to gallop before so I was really looking forward to it, and so was Jazz apparently as she took off before everyone else and I had the most exhilarating few seconds of just flying ahead, wind in my hair, salt on the breeze, it was magical...right up until all the bigger horses overtook us and Jazz was like ‘oh F that, I can’t be bothered now’ and dropped back to trot. The walk of shame back to the rest of the ride was so embarrassing, but at least someone managed to get a photo beforehand!

Cantering on the beach by Christine Sutcliffe, on Flickr

I would have never guessed you were at the mercy of that sweet horse, Christine, but I'm glad it all worked out for you without anything worse than "a walk of shame." That is still a lot more riding than I've ever done. On a horse. Bulls, that's another matter. Who am I kidding, I was trying to be funny. Although apparently I have ridden on the shoulders of a general when I was a kid. Long story.

DarthStryker was a trouble maker!?

Illusion, I will try to keep the historical accuracy chatter to a minimum, lest on top of ruining cinematic horses for you, we ruin "historical" dramas. The quotation marks being the operative "word."

Lynkhart -- oh goodness, yes, in the context I can see how that would be rather more scary than just a funny incident! Sorry that they were so careless with your group's health and safety, that's awful. Glad you had a few exhilarating moments, though, however brief. And that's a gorgeous photo. :')

Re: horse-related historical (in)accuracy in media -- ha, yeah, I can't help but notice it too, but at this point I just have to have try to have suspension of disbelief or I'd never be able to watch anything. Same goes for the majority of costumes in 'historical' movies and shows....when it comes to the medieval period, especially, I've rarely ever seen anything get it quite right. o.O

GubernatorFan wrote:...

Illusion, I will try to keep the historical accuracy chatter to a minimum, lest on top of ruining cinematic horses for you, we ruin "historical" dramas. The quotation marks being the operative "word."

... just chat along....

biggest drama about historical dramas is probably quite often the setting, equipment, outfits...
but as I don't know much about any of that I just merrily focus on the story

Yeah, he's a bit small, but still a very nice looking horse. Plus, works well for a cute beachy scene or with Ezio. By the way, great job with those backgrounds and love the Romans.

Illusion wrote: biggest drama about historical dramas is probably quite often the setting, equipment, outfits...
but as I don't know much about any of that I just merrily focus on the story

That is actually a healthier attitude, and much more promising when it comes to getting the enjoyment out of entertainment.

ZombieTestSubject wrote:Yeah, he's a bit small, but still a very nice looking horse. Plus, works well for a cute beachy scene or with Ezio. By the way, great job with those backgrounds and love the Romans.

Thank you kindly. I'm happy you liked them.