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What is it like in your boots?-experiences as a plus size rider

24K views 118 replies 53 participants last post by  Hailey1203 
#1 ·
Hello all!!

I am a plus size woman and I am SO EXCITED to see a forum deditacted strictly to us "fluffy" riders! As a plus size rider I find that the equestrian world can be less than supportive of us at time, and resources are few and far in between. It's time we all ban together to form a "Big Girl Cowgirl Club" and let the world know that we are here, and that we aren't going anywhere!

My question for all of you is:

Are you embraced by your fellow riders, or do you feel judged by your size? Do you have a particularly good or bad experience as a plus sized rider? What is it like to be in your boots?

I'll go first...

I'm 5'10 and I weight 260 pounds. I'm very lucky because I have a strong and supportive Cowgirl Club behind me every step of the way. I do find being a bigger girl and a rider difficult because it's hard to find things that come in my size, especially english apparel and saddles. It took me 16 MONTHS to find my 19" saddle, how RIDICULOUS!? And one time, while talking about trail riding with my arab a woman said to me "YOU ride an ARAB?!?!?!" in a SHOCKED and disgusted tone. It was embarassing, but believe me when I tell you I put her right back in her place (In the nicest way possible, of course). Now I may never jump 6" fences or ride the Kentucky Derby, but I have a good seat and I am responsible, educated, and aware of my horses health. I deserve to me up in that saddle as much as all those skinny chicks out there!

xoxo

~Lizzy
 
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#2 ·
I am 5' 4 and 200lbs. I have never once felt discriiminated against. I carry my weight pretty darn well and don't feel that the 16 hh Appy I ride has any problem carrying me.
My friends always tell me I am not fat, but I tell them , yes, I am. That's just a fact. It's not self pity or denegration. Just a fact. And I have to explain to them that it does affect me sometimes, in what fits me and such. I jokingly call my giant "muffin top", that has it's own posting rythm, my "evil twin"! It has a life of its' own. I don't draw too much attention to my size and my friends care not one whit if I am large or small. Aren't they the best?

But, there is NO denying that being overweight, especiallly with belly fat, makes it harder to have good balance . It's just physics. it makes my center of gravity higher and less stable. I try to counter that by really keeping my core muscles engaged and sitting up straight, but I also know that I would be a better rider if I were 50 lbs lighter. Them's the facts, ma'am.

However, I think this is a neat idea for a great forum and I am glad to be able to share here.
 
#3 ·
Yeah, A place for me.

I'm Golden and I am a plus size rider, on a roller coaster, 3 years ago was 5'9" and at 316 pounds a horse watcher rather than a rider.

Last year still the same height and 170 pounds, whoopee, normal (ish)

This year still the same height and currently 260 pounds, and trying to lose all over again.

What's it like, damn frustrating, and if you're me damn stupid, I felt better and rode better when I was lighter, and I'm sure that G Man preferred me lighter.

BUT

I'm actually a little proud of myself I'm out there competing still, I was so going to go and hide in the closet when the show clothes I so proudly bought last year wouldn't fit this year, but I sucked it up, and in, bought second hand big girls show clothes and carried on.

It's late and I'm tired, but I'll be back here for sure to share and hear everyone's stories
 
#4 ·
Personally, I am not a plus size rider I would be considered a Bantamweight more then anything. My boyfriend on the other hand would be a heavyweight being 210ish. So he's a bigger guy. I've gotten him on my Mayder a couple of times, and I keep trying to get him to ride more because its something him and I would be able to do together, as well as a good represent about bigger guys riding in our area rather then the skinny rednecks guys. Sad thing is...I think that boy has SO much potential for riding but him being allergic to hay and refuses to take any allergy stuff so he wont go out there he doesn't ride, enough to get to be really great. He had mayder trotting around extremely well for his first or second time riding andfirst time trotting.

Being a guy of horse he learned posting trot real quick :D And he's more triangle built where he has more muscle and bulk up top thenhe does in his legs so his hands were a tad heavy but he is a new rider so i'm hoping to get him out there more to improve his riding.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Hi everyone,

I am a plus sized rider here in the UK. I am currently on a weight management programme to help me lose it. I am 5 ft 7 and 250lbs. I ride in a 17 1/2 inch english saddle.

I am returning to riding after a break off many years. I currently plod around but as I lose my weight I want to long distance ride throughout the UK.

In the UK if you weigh over 10 stone you shouldn't be ridng. I am always point out that many male riders ie show jumpers and hunt master weigh considerably more than that and ride :)

I really struggled getting boots but since fuller filles I now have a lovely pair of long riding boots that fit like a glove.

Nice to meet you all :0)
 
#6 ·
In the UK if you weigh over 10 stone you shouldn't be ridng.
Does that apply to the male riders. I am 5-11 and 96 kg about 220 pounds Does that make me a little on the large size for the horse. Or is that a female thing having a shot at each other. Not nice.
 
#7 ·
Go into any tack shop and look at horses for loan, most say rider under 10 stone so much so that in the end I decided to buy my own.
I was hoping to loan initially for awhile.

I now own 6 of my own and the physical work involved to look after them all with my OH is shifting the weight :)
 
#8 ·
I think this section is a great addition to the forum! While I'm not plus sized now technically I have been there. I've never been the skinny girl, I just don't have the body type to be. It's always been frustrating because I take after my dad's side & my sister my mom's, she is 5'2" and after 2 children and doing absolutely NOTHING she still weighs 105 dripping wet. I am 5'6" and about 160 now thanks to a ton of hard work- at my heaviest 5 years ago I was around 215. The goal is to lose 25 more lbs and get back into single digit pants.

My struggle is finding pants that fit right. I carry my weight in my hips, rear & thighs but am smaller in the waist than the size my badonk dictates. I have a ton of belts because to get pants to fit my butt they are always too big in the waist. I did get some new breeches to school in and was so happy with the fit! I ordered a pair by tuffrider that was created with more hip room, I ordered slightly larger than my waist and they were a bit loose all over. Haven't decided if I want to send them back or keep them & enjoy them being too big :)
 
#9 ·
Hello, I'm Bonnie and I'm a foodaholic.

I'm 5'7" and 230 on a good day.

It really sucks because I feel like all my friends laugh at me behind my back. :( I'm 18 years old and been single for all of it. All my friends are guys, I've noticed they all like the pritty skinny girls. The girls they like arn't even very nice, there evil in some ways to be honest. :/ If beeing single means that I'm happy, fun, and fluffy then so be it!

But yeah tack is hard to find, and when you do find it, it's exspensive. Cloths...forget it.
 
#10 ·
Hey to the OP, its not just girls that ride,,,,,
But for some reason I cant understand why everyone cringes when I ask for size 40 green riding tights,
I always start singing the, Men in tights song,:

We're men, we're men in tights. We roam around the forest looking for fights. We're men, we're men in tights. We rob from the rich and give to the poor, that's right! We may look like sissies, but watch what you say or else we'll put out your lights! We're men, we're men in tights, Always on guard defending the people's rights.
 
#14 ·
180 pounds is hardly cause for concern unless of course there are soundess issues with the horse (arthritis, back problems, etc...). It's frustrating that there is such a stigma around being a heavier rider and horseback riding. WAYYY back when I weighted 180 pounds, I was a size 12 and I looked great. 180 is hardly "fat" yet people are still hestiant about letting you ride their horses? Sure it's their horse and their descision, but it doesn't mean it's the right descision.

I think people who are prejudice against a heavier rider should educate themselves on horses and weight bearing capacity before they pass judgement.

xoxo

~Lizzy
 
#12 ·
Howdy girls, and guys. I'm a foodaholic also! I'm 5'9", 260, (I can't believe I said that to people I don't know!) Love to eat, love to cook! I've been sans horse for about 15 yrs, just riding occassionally when someone has an extra horse to ride. For some reason I married a guy who hates horses, so I sold mine.... It's been 30 yrs, still have the same guy, but I now have another horse! So I'm up off my **** doing stuff, so she's benifitting me greatly! I just bought a saddle, used, 15" seat, I sat on some 16's and 17's, I really couldn't tell that much difference, but it was just sitting on them at the tack shop.
My horse is about 15hh, I've not officially measured her, but intend to, 4 yr old. Have had her 2 months, she needs A LOT of TLC, she's been abused, but we're doing well, just a few minor problems.

But I do get that look up and down and the comment "You ride?" with that skeptical look from people. Yeah, I'm fat, but I ride, and I can do anything I want... can't run a marathon, can't be the first one up that hill, but by God, I'll get up that hill in due time!

Thanks for the new "comfy" person forum!
 
#13 ·
Ahh this is wonderful! I'm very tiny myself, but my boyfriend is a larger man and has expressed interest in riding with me, along with concerns about his weight. He had become very fond of a large draft at my old barn so that might be the route we take (if we ever can afford a horse of our own) since all it would be used for is light riding and some trails for him. It's awesome to see there's a community out there for this, it would help my bf so much to know that it's possible and he shouldn't worry. I'm looking foreword to reading more!
 
#15 ·
I love it! Myself I am 5'11 (on good days I am 6') and am 255 lbs (was 285 last month but started the hCG diet through my doctor...30 lbs down :) ) I have gained a lot of weight since my really bad riding accident where I broke my L1 vertabrate. ( I was 155 at the time, jumping accident) and even when I was 155 I was still concidered at my barn as "the fat girl who has no business jumping" and even my instructor said some things about me being hefty. Well after my accident my horse that I trained to be a jumper got really sick and we had to sell him because it was veryyyyy expencive to rehabilitate him (he was my life) so ever since then I haven't been on a horse more than 4 times a month but teach local riding lessons. Well ... I have finally bought "my horse" everyone else in my family has their own and just ...took me a while longer to find the one ....he is 15.2 hh and a qh tenn walker cross. (Check out his pics :) ) anyways....a lot of people have told me that he isn't built for me and I will end up hurting him...wtf. well I have sucsessfully rode him in two small circles (as he is not trained) and even with his old injury from barbed wire he has not offered to throw lame :) now I have to go out and buy new riding clothes etc cause I'm finally back in it 150% like before my accident :) and start my hcg diet up again Monday ....my goal is to get down to 165 but I will be more than happy being 180 :) and if it wasn't for my back pain...I wouldn't be on such a drastic diet.... sorry for the novel everyone.... I tent to waunder off sometimes :) its so nice to see other people in the same situation as myself ! Once again...I love it!
 
#16 ·
I'm 6'0, and weighed 135 in high school and was pretty UNDERweight, and currently weigh nearly twice that, at 260.

For the past year and a half or so, I've belonged to a program called Equishare at a local ranch. Riders pay by the month, different tiered rates for different numbers of riding hours a month, and can ride any of the horses that suit their ability levels (riders are scored on a scale of 1-5 for ability, horses are scored on the level of riders they can handle either in the arena or on trail rides).

I had a blast last summer, rode a variety of horses from quarter horses to Tennesse walkers, even a National Show Horse that was supposedly worth $10k at one time. They got a percheron in the fall, and it was AWESOME to feel proportional (both leg length and weight wise) on a horse. Most of the summer, I rode a taller QH, and would go on 3-hour rides consisting of a lot of trotting and some long canter stretches, and unless it was super hot out, he didn't even break a sweat.

The owners of the ranch didn't seem to have a problem with my weight, and even suggested horses for me that were smaller than I was comfortable with (and one sway-backed horse). However, by spring, one of the staff must have decided they should implement rider weight limits. I completely agree with the philosophy--you shouldn't be putting a 300 pound newbie on a petite horse. But their weight limits seemed stricter than they needed to be, and ruled out all the horses except drafts for me. (Even the QH I rode all the prior summer.)

It's my personal opinion that it shouldn't just be a straight weight limit, but that it depends on the rider and the activity. A 250-lb newbie going on a trot ride that will be flopping all over the horse's back would be way worse than me (I'm no expert, but don't tend to flop or bang on the horse's back) going on a walk-only ride because my son was coming along. It should also depend on the horse--two horses of the exact same size may have different carrying abilities depending on their age and history, but they didn't seem to take that into consideration, either.

So I was limited to the two percherons, and they sometimes switched them around between the three different ranches they operate out of, and the time I wanted to take my sister (about my size) riding, the two drafts were at separate locations so we couldn't ride together. Then the owner of the percheron mare took her back (a lot of the Equishare horses were either boarders who received discounted board for allowing their horses in the program, or leased for a certain period of time, often for the summer). So I was limited to just the one draft, and he was a sweet as could be, but was older and a total lug. Just plodded along the trail, absolutely no effort necessary to ride him. He was great for beginners, but boring for me, and he wasn't capable of sustaining a trot or canter for long. Then he started losing weight. Turns out he has bad teeth, but since he's a free lease, the program doesn't want to pay for the anesthesia it will apparently take to work on him, and his owner doesn't want to pay because they're not the ones using him, so it's a stand-off, and the horse loses. Not only do I not want to ride him and contribute to the weight loss, I pretty much don't want to support the program, either. So I haven't been in a few months, and am working on buying a horse myself.

The first couple of horses I looked at, I expressed interest, but the owners decided not to sell to me (well, one just didn't get back to me). Not sure if it has anything to do with my weight or not, but I can't help but think it might.

But I tried a nice stocky QH the other day, and am allowed to come ride him as much as I want until I make a decision, and they don't seem to mind my weight (and neither does he), so I think I'm making progress toward ownership. Woo!
 
#17 ·
problem with to big

Stella my avatar is 16 hands and has clydsdale in her breading plus anything else you can think of in NZ. Good confirmation but heavy leg bones.
I use a tucker endurance saddle with westen skirt etc. Now I have finished my show off ill get to the point. It looks good westernised.:lol:

We have a friend with a special needs daughter. This young lady is in excess of 6' 4" and on the north side of 120kg however she is on a diet.

I came home from work to find my wife (god bless her) had this young lady on Stella being lead round the paddock. :shock:

Parents all jumping for joy their daughter was on a horse, my horse, why could she have not used Kate.(my wifes horse as it was her idea). Now I have dropped her in it I feel better and will continue. I was the perfect host and said nothing but my heart was in my mouth and all of the problems that could go wrong were running around in my head.

The ride finished and this young lady was helped off and my wife (bless her again) arranged for the next ride. (On Stella).

So a friedship was begun, I now had the problem of telling them I felt there daughter was to heavy for the horse and if she hurt the horses back Stella would become unridable. I was thinking of my mistakes with Savannah and being bucked off.

I tentitivly brought the subject up by pointing out her lack of corodination and ballance, and said I will place an old stock saddle on the fence and she could get practice mounting and dismounting.

Cutting this short. My worries. Weight, lack of skill and the time she spent standing on one stirup before sitting in the saddle and the reverse when dismounting.
I was lucky on one count while she was mounting Stella she sat down heavy making Stella react to the sudden weight. This was noticed by her father which gave me the opening to point out my concern for the health of the horse with such a weight.

Stella spooked that day while this young ladies mother was leading her. Result, Daughter on the ground very upset but not hurt. Mother with bad rope burns on her hands trying to hold Stella. And Stella wondering what all the fuss was about, as she had only done what horses do. I got her back on the horse straight away. (softy)

So you now think all are to big, but NO.
My problem is the way you settle into the saddle and the lack of bounce while in the saddle. I believe the dammage to the horse is done bouncing around and not so much with the weight. Provided the horse has the build, strength and fittness to carry the weight.

Big is not bad, how you dump yourslf into the saddle is.

At the end of each ride with this young lady I say sorry to Stella and thank her. :oops:
 
#20 · (Edited)
Hello, I'm Mariah. I'm also a big girl at 5'7 and 260#'s. I havent had anyone say or insinuate that I am too big to ride. Though I do notice that I get matched with the bigger boned horses in my lessons. No problem, I like 'em big :)

I think the biggest prejudice in riding comes from myself. I'm not allways able to hold my 2point as long as others and I get winded easier, I worry if people think I'm weak because of it. I am however, very good at sinking my weight into my heels, I have a lot of weight to sink :D

I am constantly thinking of how I look while riding. I wer shirts a bit bigger than I have to to hide the jiggle, I'm terrified of buying my first pair of breeches. Lol.

Clothing is allways an issue. I dread clothes shopping. I buy most of my clothes at one store because they cater to us bigger ladies and are VERY fashionable, albeit expensive. I love that I am able to find cute comfortable clothes and jeans though.

I am currently working on losing weight. I just started this week actually, and so far I've been doing good. Avoiding the scale ATM, but I'll get over it. Just dont want to get disapointed. I think I carry my weight well and don't look like a weight as much as I do. Honestly though, I'm comfortable with myself, but I know I could be a LOT more comfortable (both physicaly and emotionally) if I dropped some weight.

I'm glad there was a thread started for us "fuller fillies" :D
 
#21 ·
Hi...my name is Amber, I'm a foody and a rider. It works. I'm 5'3, and 290#. At my heaviest I was 375, and was riding a large QH and running barrels. Smart? Probably not. Did my horse suffer? Theres no way. She was easy 1400lbs. I am now down to 290, and I carry my weight very evenly. I've never had any one say 'You're to big to ride', unless it was a place that rents horses for an hour on the beach kind of deal.

At this current time, I'm loosing a steady 3lbs a month, and am doing fabulous at it :D Now, I no longer do speed events, and mostly just trail ride, or work cows. (I'm out of the need for speed age, lol.) The lease horse I ride is 15hh, and an easy 1200lbs. He has a long back, so I use alot of caution not to plop down on his back when mounting, and I don't sit his trot. (Posting in a western saddle looks funny, I know.)

The newest horse I just got in 16hh, and at this time about 900lbs. He is very thin, and needs 200-300lbs to make up. But even now, I would be ok with riding him (but I'm not.)

My riding partner has never said anything about my size, nor my husband (5'10, 240lbs.) The previous barn I was at, while the riders where not 'over weight' they were not skinny by any means. It was not like when I was can chasing, where if you were over a size 2, 'you just couldn't do it'. Even though I still ran 2D-3D on a bad day, times :)

I do not think people who are 'bigger' should not be allowed not to ride! Bigger isn't better, but the sure the hell aint that big of a deal, either! I'd be glad to lead up a big cowgirls club! So long as everyone wore their big cowgirl panties, too!
 
#22 ·
I'm a big girl too, and I find that being a plus size rider around where I live is hard. So much, that it put me off riding out. People can be really cruel, and it upset me.

I just happily ride past, down the canal, and every now and then, you come to a bridge or a Lock, and sometimes there are groups of kids sat there. You don't even look at them, or say anything, and they automatically start calling you a "Fat B***h" or say stuff like "That poor horse! You're crushing it!". I'm not even that big!

Anyway, the last time I hacked out alone, I was attacked by 5 or 6 teenagers who were bunking off school, and were sat on the bridge up by where I keep my other horses. And they started shouting abuse at me, and then started chucking bricks at me and Luca. I galloped home, and got my brother and he went and sorted them out, they denied it all, but he knew it was true because they were pretty much backing away and eventually ran. (My brother is into body building, so he's muscley and quite scary, haha)

I would have charged at them, but they were on a bridge, so no chance of that.

But I find it horrible, which is why I'm on a Ketosis diet to get some of the weight off. I want to go out riding without people calling me names or putting me and my horses in danger.

And haha Joe4d, Robin Hood - Men In Tights XD Awesome film.



Anyway, I've found this year, that I've seen more and more plus sized riders, and it just goes to show there are alot of us.
 
#117 ·
I'm a big girl too, and I find that being a plus size rider around where I live is hard. So much, that it put me off riding out. People can be really cruel, and it upset me.

I just happily ride past, down the canal, and every now and then, you come to a bridge or a Lock, and sometimes there are groups of kids sat there. You don't even look at them, or say anything, and they automatically start calling you a "Fat B***h" or say stuff like "That poor horse! You're crushing it!". I'm not even that big!

Anyway, the last time I hacked out alone, I was attacked by 5 or 6 teenagers who were bunking off school, and were sat on the bridge up by where I keep my other horses. And they started shouting abuse at me, and then started chucking bricks at me and Luca. I galloped home, and got my brother and he went and sorted them out, they denied it all, but he knew it was true because they were pretty much backing away and eventually ran. (My brother is into body building, so he's muscley and quite scary, haha)

I would have charged at them, but they were on a bridge, so no chance of that.

But I find it horrible, which is why I'm on a Ketosis diet to get some of the weight off. I want to go out riding without people calling me names or putting me and my horses in danger.

And haha Joe4d, Robin Hood - Men In Tights XD Awesome film.

Men in Tights Song - YouTube

Anyway, I've found this year, that I've seen more and more plus sized riders, and it just goes to show there are alot of us.
oh my god. They threw BRICKS at you? Are you kidding me? That's disgusting. What if they hit you? Your horse? Calling misdemeaning names is bad enough, but this is seriously horrific that this happened...
 
#26 ·
OK, lecture time.................

DO NOT LET OTHER PEOPLE MAKE FUN OF YOUR WEIGHT.

I know you can't actually stop them, but you don't have to let it hurt especially when there is nothing wrong with you.

I've just had a quick check around the BMI calculators and this is what I find
If you go by BMI, a 5'5 woman can weigh anywhere between 112 to 149 pounds
So it looks like you are right in the middle of a good weight for your height, but your friend is to skinny, and yes there is such a thing as being unhealthily skinny.

I come back, as I always do to horses, here is Max, bless him a Fjord QH cross, who would of weighed in around 1200 pounds here, and wasn't actually fat here



compared to Ace, who is the same height, but in this pic weighed under 1000 pounds



Thing is, that Ace at 1200 pounds would look overweight, and Max at under a 1000 would look skinny, because their builds are different, we accept that horses have different frames, and therefore will weigh differently, but we don't give people the same leeway.

Every person needs to have a certain % of fat to be healthy, and you shouldn't push to be below what is healthy for you. Fitness has a lot to do with it as well, muscle is dense so if you are more muscular you will weigh more.

Honestly the best thing we could all do is throw away our scales, that number is meaningless, you should just look at your body, and listen to it as you go about your day, if you look good, and you can do all the things you want to do then you are probably OK.

I am passionate about this for a reason, this is me last year, having lost a LOT of weight



you know what, I looked great, I felt great, but according to my BMI I was still FAT, so I tried to lose some more and it all went pear shaped, well I went pear shaped, and over the year I have regained nearly 100 pounds of what I lost, mainly because I was being unrealistic, and then punished myself for still being fat.

Now I AM fat again, strike that I'm OBESE again, and I need to get back to being fat, and I need to be comfortable with who I am, and the weight I should be, for me to say "Yup, this is good"

I say again, do not let others make you feel bad, they are not your friends, they are probably jealous, you may actually have curves and they would love to be curvey:wink:
 
#28 ·
Golden..... you are sooooo right. I loved the lesson incorporated with ponies! If only they taught. High school that way when I was in school....I woulda paid more attention lol
See when I was in high school I was very muscular (could carry two 60# bails of hay in each hand and throw them up to the top of the stack of hay we were working on. And I weighed 150. And a size 13. And I was still called fat. I just don't get why people have to be so mean about weight. God made us all different for a reason. I just started up my hcg diet so hopefully I will be back to what I want to be (its realistic and I'm not toooooo far away from it) but I have come to terms that I will never weigh 150 again. I would probably look anorexic. And I'm fine with that! At the end of the day when all is said and done....your only critic is yourself and as long as you are happy....nothing else should matter. And ps....no one has the right to make you feel inferior without your concent! *hugs everyone* love this thread
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