Some weight carrying thoughts, or questions

Real life examples.

Big Ben, he weighs in a 1386 pounds, stands 16.2 hh and change, on 9" of bone, and is in hard condition.

Using the % method I'm at 23% which I think is fine for the small amount I ask him to do.

Using the calculation I am at a horrific 94. Time to find a new horse, but certainly makes you think about his ability.

Willow there, 28% by weight and scoring 96 on the scale, so a couple of points to the worse as expected.

Emmy though, 30% by weight, but 88.8% by calculation.

That makes sense to me, Emmy is more compact and on a better density and weight of bone. She is also overweight, lets say 100 pounds......

If Emmy lost her 100 pounds, she would then weigh 996, if we look at % weight carrying, then the new % would be 32% moving to the worse..

But by the calculation we would come out at 82.25, reflecting that by her losing weight she would overall be supporting less weight.

So If Emmy loses 100 and I lose 50 we will be able to ROCK IT!

This is exactly what I found. My Arab in the avatar...14.2, currently overweight(he's in menopause, packs the pounds on midline only), very short and strong back and 8" cannonbone. Technically, according to the example, he'd come out to not even 73 with me and tack......now im debating who should diet first

Keep each other company, that's what Emmy and I are doing

I was so hoping you would suggest starting with him

Personally it really depends on the breed and conformation, if the horse is comfortable carrying you, ride it. That grey clearly was not comfortable. You gotta be honest with yourself when you get on, do you or the horse feel uncomfortable?

I just had a question, you mention your horse has 9" of bone, how do you measure that and what does it measure? I've never heard that measurement before :)

You measure the circumference of the canon bone halfway between knee and fetlock. It is a very traditional measure in the UK especially when talking about hunters THE SHOW RING - The Show Hunter

I am one of the 'invading' english. Over the pond, riding schools will not accept riders who weigh over 13 stone (I think its about 150lbs) riding a horse or pony who is not capable of carrying the weight safely. The conformation and size of the horse is taken into consideration as is the size and weight of the rider. For those ladies and gentlemen who are a little heavier, we simply give them bigger, heavier horses such as heavy cobs or genuine 'Heavies' such as Clydedales, Shires, SUffolk Punch etc. However, for people who are morbidly obese, I am afraid they are not allowed to ride because of safety issues - the horse and theirs. The picture of the overweight guy sitting on that poor gray horse who genuinely could not take the guy's weight looked absolutely horrific to me and would be classed an animal cruelty in the UK. Before anyone gets on their high horse with me, I am a 'heavier lady' and I ride a Clydesdale. I keep trying to lose weight so I will look better on him but I still have this image of me as a hippopotamus riding my beautiful horse. One day, I will be svelte and beautiful again and then I'll wake up! LOL

You measure around their front leg just above the joint. A guide in the UK is 1 inch = 1 stone (in carry weight) Don't worry, we don't think it works out either and every horse in england would only carry people who weigh no more than 55kg/8stone! It won't happen LOL

I'm still thinking about this, while dieting to be able to ride my girls, some more things to think about....

I have seen quoted often the following...

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Comparably, a study of 374 competitive trail riding horses compared horse/rider weight relationships. They concluded that these horses can easily carry over 30% of their body weight for 100 miles and not only compete, but compete well. As would be expected, good body condition and bone structure were found to be paramount. Bone structure was evaluated using the front leg cannon bones as representative of general structure.

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But I can't find the original study, or any citation of it, your thoughts? Does anyone know where this came from?


Then I find 'people', not experts, saying that Arabs can carry 25% to 30% of their weight thoughts? It is always said that Arabs can carry a heavier load than other horses, because of their short backs, what are you thoughts on this one?

Well, Arabs do have one less vertebrae and denser bone. That together makes for a healthier structure. They are smaller, also. So center of gravity plays a role. Just like the shorter weight lifter can handle more in comparison to his height than the tall one. I think