The Horse Forum banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

Weight limit for Jumping?

11K views 20 replies 8 participants last post by  Dustbunny 
#1 ·
Even though I ride western I am posting this here, the question I have is I am 6'1" and about 260 lbs. If I am on a trail ride I can see having 50-60 lbs of saddle, another 30-40 lbs of bed roll and saddle bags, my canteen, My rifle and pistol are a few more lbs. so we are looking at possibly 360+ lbs on my horses back.

I was thinking if I had to get over a downed tree or something it would be handy to be able to jump it, but I am concerned that this is too much weight to have on a horses back when jumping.

I have seen a lot of horses in such getup's jumped in movies, but my much smaller riders than myself.

Thus my question is, is this too much weight to jump a horse with, or how would I go about telling if it is?
 
#2 ·
Well if there's a tree in your way and you need to jump it, you don't really have a choice other than to dismount. I would say, if you're only talking about the odd downed tree here and there, I don't see excess weight being a big issue as long as you stay off his back over the jump.
 
#4 ·
I think the real question is how big is your horse haha, a heavier horse will have no problem. Idealy they should carry 20% their weight but a conditioned/or fit horse which i would assume he is since you hunt/trail can carry more with ease and therefore carrying the weight over a jump occasionally would be no problem.
 
#6 ·
No one ever gets ideal haha, a strong horse would do just fine. If youve ever felt the weight of some of the roping saddles that the cowboys use, with the riders that are generally the same weight as you it would probably come out to roughly the same weight as all your gear. They commonly ride smaller horses who never have a problem with the weight. Those horses never have a problem and they are very active.
 
#7 ·
There is a Mustang that BLM has out in Oregon that I am absolutely in love with. She is 15.2 hands, no idea weight wise, she sure is a pretty horse though.



I am just concerned id weight too much for her.
 
#8 ·
She has nice strong legs, along with mustangs being very good with endurance she would be a better candidate at carrying more wight for long period of times. Some people may disagree but ive had alot of experience with team penning quarter horses who have never exceeded 15h and carry heavy riders through intricate turns and exercises. Their build is very similar to the mustang mare you posted. Although she is bigger and just may have thicker legs.
 
#15 ·
Yeah I am still recovering from breaking my back in a car accident 2 years ago. that kind of slows things down, for the most part I have healed up, but have been out of work since then.

Luckily I have my VA retirement to fall back on.
 
#21 · (Edited)
^^^^ Yes! 10,000 agreements with Golden Horse.

Start with an experienced and mature trail horse. Pleeeeeze!

Oh...and welcome. Read all you can here and ask questions. Lots of experienced and helpful folks here who want others to enjoy their horse experience and stay safe.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top