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Plus sized? anyone brave enough to post a photo??

382K views 2K replies 314 participants last post by  SadiePearl 
#1 ·
hey i was wondering who would be brave enough to post a pic of them riding :-p when im on my own comp i will post one :D
emma
 
#1,501 ·
My 6ft4 brother on my 17hh Clydesdale. He has ridden my 15.3hh mare and looks daft on her. He is only learning though :)

Also have one of me cantering for the first time since my injury in July
 

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#1,503 ·
Well I have admired everyone's pictures for a long time so I guess I will add some of me and my boy Simba. He is a 18hh Belgian x TB and works perfectly with my not so small 6ft2 stature :)
 

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#1,513 ·
This is me and my mare, Dazzle. We were on a camping/riding adventure. She's a fairly big boned mare, and handles my fat butt easily. She's forward, but not unmanageable. She's much happier in a hackamore than a regular bitted bridle, so that's what I use on her. Love this girl. :love:
 

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#1,519 ·
Glad I found this thread!

Me and Nope, last spring. This is the first time, outside of two random tourist trail rides I'd done since I was 14. I am now 44:



(yes, in retrospect, that breast collar was hanging low, but she was oddly built and I was a noob and never questioned where it fell... and my daughter had done the saddling that day)



This is me and Sarge, my newest horse. He's so big he makes me look smaller. LOL But seriously, I've lost about 15-20 pounds (for certain) in the past year that I've started riding, and that's with slacking off during the winter when it was bitterly cold.

I was at 225, wearing a size 18 (needed a 20) in jeans, and XXL shirts last spring. I'm wearing a 14/34, an XL shirt, and according to the bathroom scales, weigh 205 on a bad day, 200 on a good day. The addition of riding is the only thing I've changed over the last several years, but I've always done a lot of heavy yard work in all but the coldest months, so I'm going with the horses being the cause.
 
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#1,521 ·
Hi everyone! I'm new to the site and I was wondering if there were any discussions for larger riders; I'm so glad I found this thread! Here I am on lesson horse Watley a couple months back.

Please ignore my hands and position in general, this was not long after I started lessons, and the only reason I have this picture is because my trainer wanted to show me my leg position lol. I often feel out of place in the barn due to my size, so its nice to see so many riders like me that are confident and skilled in their disciplines. I know that being more fit will help me be a better rider, but it's hard to remember sometimes that I still have a right to ride no matter my fitness level.
 
#1,522 ·
I too, am a larger rider. I have been fat all my life, but that never stopped me from loving to ride. I have never had a riding lesson and sure wish I had. Maybe someday. The one thing though that has been on my mind increasingly more as I ride more, is the fact I know I am not a good enough rider to compete at any level and that bothers me. Even if I rode perfectly beautifully, my size would stop anyone from seeing me as anything but a heavy rider. I try to console myself with the knowledge that i enjoy it so I continue, but sometimes I look at things like my husbands trophies, buckles and other awards and I can't help but feel like I got stiffed by not getting to have lessons to become a better rider and by the fact I have been heavy all my life. I know there are people who will say "Just loose the weight and get off the pity party," I say it too, but it isn't that easy. I thought I might post a couple of pictures of me and my boy but must be doing something wrong. How do I post a picture?
 
#1,524 ·
Hi Shiloh,

I know what you mean about not feeling that judges would judge you by your skill, when they only see can ones fat . I feel this way, too.

as to posting pictures . . . I post from pictures that are stored on my computer. that , I find, is the eassiet way. when you reply to a post, you can either hit the 'quick reply' which is under the very post you want to reply to . . or . at the end of the whole thread, there is a seperate button which says "quick reply'.

use the seperate one.
it opens a box with a bunch of icons at the top. one of them , just to the right of the smiley face, is the image manager tool. click on it, and then it will allow you upload photos from your computer. play around with it and you'll get it right. use the 'preview post' funcion when you are done to check to see it look like you want, before actually posting.
 
#1,523 ·
Here is me and my new boy. Hopefully the image link works!


I was a skinny little thing in high school and then put on several pounds through college and when I had my first child. I lost 47 lbs and earned my WW lifetime membership. 6 weeks later, I got pregnant a second time, gained it all back, and have been struggling to lose it every since. That child is 11 years old now. I feel strong and relatively healthy, but I know my position would be better and my joints would hurt less if I had less padding to fight with!

Don't let size keep you from taking lessons if you want to learn to improve your riding though. There are many instructors out there who will teach even if your goal is not to show. If your goal IS to show someday, perhaps the lessons will give you the confidence you need to enter one.

I know how you feel though. I rode for a local family farm in high school (hunt seat equitation on flat and over fences) and rode on my college's equestrian team (flat only, no jumping). Then I gave up riding for almost 15 years when I got married and had my 2 children. I was a completely different body type when I got back into it in my 30s compared to riding in my teens and early 20s! I still have not ridden in a show since getting back to riding 3 years ago. The place I rode for the first 2 years didn't participate in shows at all. Where I am now does, but I work every Saturday and most shows around here are on Saturdays. I'd have to take off work in order to show. I also am nervous, just like you, about not placing as well simply because of my size. Then I started to ask myself, do I want to show to win a beauty contest, or show to have fun and feel like I accomplished something? So, I'm working toward a goal of participating in my barns July and August schooling shows. Part of it is also budget. I have 2 daughters who also ride and for all 3 of us to show it is EXPENSIVE!

You aren't alone in your concerns about lessons and showing!
 
#1,530 ·
I got on my 15.1hh 4 year old today. She has had a year off. Have to say I was dubious about it given my weight issues however she is stocky wee thing - 1/4 Clydesdale, 1/4 TB, 1/4 WB, 1/4 station bred - and we just toddled around the paddock because I forgot to bring her bridle >_< I'll load photos when I get home but I have to say I don't think I look too bad on her. I thought she'd feel tiny after riding Martha for so long but because Pan is so wide and solid I didn't actually feel too big.

Still think I'm too big for any serious riding but I'm very proud of my little pony :)
 
#1,531 ·
I`m so thankful that I found this thread.
As a kid I always loved horses, but my mother had (well, she still has of course) servere allergies, so I never rode.
When I was grown up, life had gotten in the way, and I had "forgotten" (read: repressed) my dream of horses.
Until my daughter (she was 7 then) came home from a stable where a friends mother has a beautiful horse and declared that " Now I AM gonna start riding, stop stalling.." (She had talked a bit about it earlier, but I must admit I stalled, both because of my ME and because she never had been around a horse before, so I didn't take it seriously.)
Well, we found a 3 star riding school, and started with drop-in lessons at first. She loved it! So she started real lessons, and still went for the drop-in lessons as well..
Those days were the highlights of my week. I totally fell in love with the pony she rode. (He really are amazing. so gentle with her)
After a while I really really wanted to ride too, but because of my ME I have gained a lot of weight, and even worse, do not have a lot of muscles or a good balanse.
I was absolutely sure I would severely hurt a horse if I sat on it. So I started searching for plus sized riders, and found you.
I have been reading a lot here, building up my hope, and promised myself that if I lost a little weight, I would try to ride.
Now I have been on 4 drop-in lessons (with the kids, yeah I feel a bit stupid, but it`s my only option) and I absolutely love it!
And the fjord I`ve been riding is an absolute angel. (well, an really opinionated one for sure, but still really nice , and with a heart of gold)
Now I am hoping they will start beginner course for grown-ups at the riding school in August, if they do, I`m in!

(sorry about my less than stellar English, English is not my language)
 
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