Opinion on wheels sizes...

[Sandee]

Not wanting to hijack the other thread about changing wheels. I'd like to know opinions on what size of wheel works best or looks best with the different sizes of horses. For instance I have a 20" wheel show cart and it looks great with my under 32" stallion. I have a road cart with 26" wheels that my chubby, 34+" gelding fits better between the shafts. He looks good in it but my more slender 34" filly looks lost in it.

What do you think is the better match 20" wheels with all minis or would 24" wheels be a better fit for the 34" and up minis? Also what size wheels work best on a roadster cart?

 

[RhineStone]

With respect to the obvious too big or too small, it's not looks that need to be the big concern, but the ease of pulling. For example, if you have a 6" rock that is in the way of your wheelbarrow, a small wheel is going to have a harder time getting over that rock than a larger one. That was actually the reasoning behind those big wheel bicycles from the Victorian era. They were easier to get over bumps in the road. (Now obviously they weren't that great for balance and not falling over sideways, but I digress.)

Smaller mini wheels tend to have less weight. So if the pulling weight is an issue for the horse, the builder will use a smaller wheel. If maneuvering is an issue, they will use a larger wheel. This is also why on lots of marathon vehicles, the larger wheel is in the front, so that it can get over bumps better.

Now that being said, I like a wheel that is roughly 3/4 the size of the horse on a traditional two-wheeled cart (vs. a four-wheeler, which is a whole other discussion.) IMO, too small is worse than too big, except for the "ugly", out-of-scale factor.

Myrna