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?
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.
If it's just 1 or 2 jumps here and there then it's fine. As long as you're not jumping to much. It also depends if your horse is strong enough. If he's skinny then it might not be the best idea.
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.
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.
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.
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.
My best bet would be to post an add on craigslist requesting transportation, i have found too transporters this way who just happened to be heading the way that i needed.
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.
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.
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