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Weight disorder and Riding?

3K views 31 replies 23 participants last post by  Ibriding 
#1 ·
I have been riding since i was 7 and my first coach ever nagged me about my weight constantly even to the point my mom took me to the dr to see if i really was overweight i was not it gave me issues for many years so that when i really did start gaining weight i immediatly stopped riding due to being afraid to hurt the horse. When i was 15 i was actually diagnosed with a hormone disorder and my dr told me it would be a severe struggle for me to loose weight and to consider bariatric surgery in the future.Of course i was crushed but now recently after close to 3 years i have been diagnosed with a different disorder that i will have to have surgery for but is curable and i will lose weight after the surgery and an amount of recovery time. Is it cruel of me to get a horse before i lose the weight?
 
#2 ·
I have been riding since I was 7 and my first coach ever nagged me about my weight constantly even to the point my mom took me to the dr to see if I really was overweight I was not it gave me issues for many years so that when I really did start gaining weight I immediatly stopped riding due to being afraid to hurt the horse. When I was 15 I was actually diagnosed with a hormone disorder and my dr told me it would be a severe struggle for me to loose weight and to consider bariatric surgery in the future.Of course I was crushed but now recently after close to 3 years I have been diagnosed with a different disorder that I will have to have surgery for but is curable and I will lose weight after the surgery and an amount of recovery time. Is it cruel of me to get a horse before I lose the weight?
 
#3 ·
I suppose it depends on how much you weigh, and how good your seat is.

You can enjoy horses in other ways that do not involve riding. Grooming, taking them out for a walk, hand grazing, participating in agility courses where you are on the ground and the horse completes obstacles.

If you feel your to heavy to ride, perhaps you can find a rescue, or barn that will let you interact with the horses, that does not involve riding. Just being with them can be mood lifting, and help get you more fit.

Good luck with your surgery.
 
#7 ·
It depends on your weight, and your horses ability!

I'm very over weight, I've always struggled with weight. My horse is a 15.1 hand paint who carries me through thick and thin! I take extra precautions, like making sure my saddle is a good fit and using a special saddle pad. I'm a pretty good rider, so I'm not slamming down on her back (thanks dressage lessons!!!). Her back is never sore, she keeps up with the other horses on trail (in facts she is alway up front), and she is well balanced.

The best thing about having her is I am MUCH more active! Going down to the barn is no longer optional. I'm cleaning her stall every day, I hand walk her a lot, of course I ride, and I'm constently moving stuff (hay/feed/shavings). Even just sweeping!
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#8 ·
I agree there is really no way to tell.

If you are purchasing a horse it should be for your average weight. If you are planning on consistenly weighing one thing then go with that.

Unless there's a huge fluctuation or an "abnormal" weight then it doesn't really matter.

It sounds like a lot of your weight issues may be in your head due to the taunting early on?

What do you weigh and what size horse are you looking at? That's what it comes down to.
 
#10 ·
I think you're a bit off on those numbers. I had a solid somewhat muscley and well weighted Thoroughbred, 16.1hh, and he weighed in at 530kg (approx 1100lb). The weights you're talking about would be a horse much larger than a Thoroughbred.

To the OP, its going to come down to your actual weight and the size and build of your horse.

I'm a bit too heavy for my horse, probably somewhere around 20%ish (I don't know how much he weighs). I have a very light saddle, and I don't ride for extended periods of time. I chose him because he is a solid build with strong legs and back. Your choice of horse can make a big difference.
 
#12 ·
No, I don't think it will be cruel. However, considering that you're going to have surgery and then some recovery time, I think it's better to wait until you are healed and can be active. No point in getting a horse and paying for it's upkeep when you're going to have a period shortly after where you won't be able to enjoy it or care for it.

Get the horse as a treat for yourself after you're healed up and can work with it consistently.
 
#28 ·
My 6'1" boyfriend is about 205-210lbs and rides a stocky QH as his go-to mount. This horse had absolutely no problems carrying him and tack and saddlebags for 6 hour rides in the mountains. He rode this horse sometimes twice a day for 4 days.

He also rides my 900lb part Arab mare and she has no problem loping around the arena with him.

I think a paint horse would be a nice choice for you. They tend to be on the taller side when it comes to stock horses, plus they are heavily boned. I also think that it's very important that you have a good, solid seat. If you are an unbalanced rider by any means you are going to make it much harder on your horse.

I always compare it to wearing a hiking backpack - one that doesn't fit or is swaying all over the place is only going to slow you down due to it pulling on your shoulders and spine.
 
#16 ·
How tall are you, if you don't mind my asking?

I'm 5'7" and was 260-265 at my heaviest. I'm now down to 225 and still losing. I have a 17hh 1600lbs draft cross who I don't feel at all bad about riding. A few months ago I rode my best friend's 14.3hh tank of a QH mare and actually didn't feel like I was too much for her at all.

Find the right build of horse (stocky with good bone) and you'll be fine.
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#19 ·
Thanks everyone for the replies i'm definitly waiting until after surgery to get a horse because i know i am going to feel worse before i feel better. Just being around horses makes me feel better though. so i just couldn't imagine not riding again ever.I just for almost 5 years of my riding experience my coach use to say people over 150 should never ride a horse because it was cruel but recently it came out that she is being sued by some mothers who say she bullied their daughters into anorexia so it made me start rethinking like how much a person can really weigh before they need to stop riding.
 
#21 ·
I'm not much lighter at the same weight. I ride several that are between 15 and 15.2 hands. Mature not young stock and conditioned. I also occasionally ride two smaller fairly stocky to stocky QH ponies. If you have a good seat and the horses are conditioned then it may not be an issue. The other horse I ride is my 18 H, 2000lb draft mare. My brother outweighs me by a good 6inches and 125lb. He does well on the draft and a couple of draft crosses. What I have found though that works best is having horses that drive as well as ride. Then there is really no question on weight and I can share my horses with out having to worry about weight of the rider or how well they ride.
 
#23 ·
One of the best parts about horses is there is definitely a horse out there to suit you, and there are many people who are much taller and heavier than you riding daily and their horses are doing just fine. At 240 lbs, I was riding a 15.2, average-built QH gelding and a 14.2 QH/STB mare nearly daily with no ill effects to either.

Honestly, I wish the weight-carrying percentage “rule” would go the way of the dinosaurs because it breeds SO much misinformation, fear, and frankly makes people worry more than they should. Weight-carrying ability is not able to be reduced to a simple weight percentage in every situation- that’s patently crazy. That’s like saying a 600 lb man can carry 120 lbs all day because he weighs 600 lbs. In reality, that 600 lb man is morbidly obese and fighting his own body just to carry it around, and he’d be lucky if he could carry 5% more weight due to all the stress and strain on his muscles, joints, and organs. In the same way, a fit horse and an unfit, fat horse are going to carry weight very differently. You could feed a 1400 lb horse to 1600 lbs, but that just means he weighs 200 lbs more, not that he can carry that much more weight proportionally.

Also, height has very little to do with weight carrying. In fact, a tall horse with fine bone is going to have a harder time carrying a heavy rider than a short horse with thick bone, a short back, and a wide chest/barrel.

Take for example many of the “pony”-sized horses out there that carry full-size and yes, plus-size riders. Fell ponies, Haflingers, draft ponies, Gypsy Vanners, Icelandic horses, etc. All of these tend to be short with THICK bone- most rarely over 14 hands, but they are built for weight carrying because of their conformation because they are short, wide, and thickly built.

As for your trainer, I am willing to bet she is probably a very tiny person. I have found personally that very small people who do not weigh much have some truly wild ideas about what weight looks and feels like. To someone who weighs 100 lbs soaking wet, 200 lbs seems like an insane amount of weight.

You should strive for fitness with both yourself and your horse, but don’t stop riding simply because someone who didn’t have all the info told you that you couldn’t. One person is not the Gatekeeper of Horsedom, and thank God for that.
 
#27 ·
As I think we've discussed in previous weight-related threads the 20% rule applies to a horse's ideal weight. NOT whatever weight the horse happens to be, regardless of fitness. That is a very key component to the equation. Common sense will tell you that a 600 pound person won't be able to carry very much due to their lack of fitness while a fit 200 pound person can likely carry a lot more. An overweight hose will be able to comfortably carry less weight than he would be able to were he fit. Similarly, simply putting a smaller rider on a significantly underweight horse won't do it any favors.

For the 20% "rule" to apply the horse should be at its ideal weight. Personally, I don't think that using the 20% "rule" is a bad thing as a starting point. There are lots of other factors to consider (rider's ability, horse's fitness level, his build, overall health of the horse, length/intensity of rides, etc) but I really don't think it's a bad place to start. That's why I put "rule" in quotes. It really isn't a hard and fast rule. However, I do think that most horses of ideal weight, reasonable fitness level, and good health will be comfortable carrying a rider that is 20% of their weight. You can certainly push those limits if it's a stockier horse, you're a well balanced rider, etc. It certainly can't hurt to search for a larger horse that's more suited to carrying a heavier load and, DippyDooDa, at your weight it is FAR from impossible to find a horse that can carry you. I DO agree that it's more important to focus on weight carrying ability rather than height, but since you are fairly tall as well you may still want a slightly taller horse.

To sum up, it is NOT cruel to get a horse before you lose the weight! Even if you don't think you're ready to ride there's still a lot you can do with the horse on the ground. We all know that simply being around horses, grooming them, etc is therapeutic. You can also do ground work, lunging, obstacle courses, trick training, all sorts of things without sitting on the horse's back. I don't think it's unreasonable for you to buy a horse with the intentions of riding it right now simply because of your weight. There are plenty of horses out there capable of carrying you. Still, as others have mentioned I'd personally wait until after your surgery to buy a horse. You'll have to take some time off for that, and if you do think you'll be able to maintain long-term weight loss you may have more options for potential horses. I am very sorry to hear that you had an unpleasant experience with people commenting on your weight early on! Far too many smaller people do seem to think that riders must be small. That is simply not the case! You do need to be realistic about what certain horses can carry, but don't be discouraged.
 
#24 ·
Dippydodas, Good luck. I understand that you want to wait until after the surgery. I had a few hospital stay the past couple of years and they do take you down for awhile. You can still read, learn and dream. I am also in Alabama, there are a lot of good barns to just go and look. You and a friend could also go to some of the monthly horse auctions. I don't know that I would ever recommend buying one there, but it can be fun.
On your health, good luck. My older sister had a problem all of her life. She waited until very late in life to address it fully. It caused her major problems then. Make sure you have the best care. The most important thing is your health. It is not about weight. People don't need to be so ***. Get to the best health that you can. Do it for you. And when you do commit to a new horse, he can help you both physically and mentally. I know that I love all of mine. you will find that most people on this forum have a good heart. We will be here to help with any horse questions when you have them.
AGAIN, GOOD LUCK! our prayers will be with you.
 
#26 ·
A light rider bouncing and banging into a horse's back can be worse than a heavy rider with a relaxed, deep seat.

If you do not have a quiet seat yet, perhaps some sort of a gaited horse would be best for lessons...they tend to be smoother.
 
#30 ·
I see no indication that 20% has anything meaningful to add. As horses get bigger and heavier, their legs do not increase in cross-section proportionately. And in the vast majority of cases I've heard of, it is the LEGS that break down, not the back.

A draft horse is already carrying a lot of weight for the cross section of its legs, so it is already closer to the maximum weight its legs can carry - TOTAL weight, horse plus rider plus tack. If you want to know how much a horse can carry, look at the legs and feet, not the horse's weight. Also think about how you plan to use the horse - some horse sports put more stress on the legs than others, and someone racing will put more stress on the legs than someone strolling along at a walk.

Heavier Riders' Guide
 
#31 ·
hi everyone thanks for all your replies i recently found a place close to me that does therapeutic riding for wounded veterans and i offered to volunteer their a couple times a week so i will get to be around horses again along with she offered to let me use one of the horses for trail riding every so often so it will give me something to do with horses until i get my surgery and can make a decision about owning one.
 
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