Even at my heaviest I've never had anyone tell me no. Of course, I'd never show up to ride a pony or anything inappropriate. As long as you're reasonably athletic and know how to ride, weight usually isn't an issue.

 

I always make sure that they know I am big, I am honest about my weight, even sent a pic once, just to be sure that there are no misunderstandings. I know how you feel

 

I had someone larger try out my boy.

My trainer said she'd turn her away.

I refused.
The horse was well muscled enough.

The only time I have EVER told anyone to be careful was on my old mare. The male rider had super long legs, and she was tickly. She behaved, mind you.

It depends on the horse, and rider. If the horse is a super sensitive soul, or is prone to back problems, I'd advertise, as many do, that he is not a weight carrier. If the rider is experienced, and can carry his or her own weight, I have no issue. A larger rider who can ride does less damage than someone of a normal weight bouncing around up their, IMO.

Just be upfront and honest when you ask about the horses, ask if they are weight carriers and explain your riding abilities. It'll save any awkward situations.

 

I have a fear of it but no one has ever said 'aw heck no'. But I always make sure the horse is a solid lil thing and advise that I am bigger etc.
Good luck!

 

The one I went to try is a big 17.2hh - and tbh if I'd been told his back wasn't up to it then I wouldn't have been interested anyway.

But... I live in the UK and as has been mentioned on these boards before - a lot of people think 140 is a max!
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The one I went to try is a big 17.2hh - and tbh if I'd been told his back wasn't up to it then I wouldn't have been interested anyway.

But... I live in the UK and as has been mentioned on these boards before - a lot of people think 140 is a max!
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I don't think a lot of people think 10 stone is the max over here:?, I would guess 10 stone would be an average weight not a maximum viewed, certainly on all the local threads I've read it is nearer the 14 stone that people start to question appropriate weight for horses and getting the correct sort of horse with plenty of bone, which is why I imagine a lot of riding schools here have that size as a maximum. Most men out hunting will be well in excess of 140lbs (10 stone).

 

I just let my riding speak for itself! :wink:
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Ahh yes. Kiwis are pretty easy going. We Brits no so much haha.
How did the ride go though? Did you like him?

 

140 pounds the max? That excludes about 70 % of the adult population . Why would people think a horse cannot carry more than 140 lbs.?
Most men weigh well over that.

 

EquineBovine - yes, I do like him very much. Just having the vet check out a question I have about him, but fingers crossed he'll be mine!

Clava - we must move in very different circles. There's a "riding school" which specialises in Clydesdales with a max weight of 12 stone (178lbs)! Friends of mine run a centre where they think a 9 (126 lbs) stone woman is on the chunky side !

 

My local School asks people to be weighed at about 13 stone but not turned away. Your friend's centre would get very few riders at 9 stone, unless they only have ponies for children.

That aside, the view in the Uk is certainly not that 10 stone is heavy, I enjoy reading lots of forums and this often comes up as a topic and many riders are well over 10 stone (I myself am) and I should think all hunting photos across the country will show big men hunting all day. Horses simply need to be appropriate for their riders, with enough bone and substance, in the Uk we are blessed with some very good weight carrying natives such as Highlands, Welsh cobs, even Shires.

 

The heavier rider should use a high quality saddle. This makes all the difference in the world to the horse. It's not just about being heavier. The obese rider has a different weight distribution than a heavy, well muscled rider. The stomach should not protrude over the front of the pommel, not the bum behind the cantle. This places the riders weight beyond the load bearing area on the horse.

 

i read something the other day that the ideal weight a horse should carry is 10% or less of the horses body weight. I dont think it would effect the horse that much because think about it. Most horses are well muscled. 10% of a 1500Lb horse would be 150lbs. Well say someone weighs 150lbs and "can only carry 10% of their body weight" that would be 15lbs......... i am 130lbs and Very well muscled, .7% of me is body fat. 50lbs to me feels like a fly. i can carry 75-85lbs by myself no biggie... and thats Aprox. 60% of my body weight. So if a horse is 1200lbs and lets say 45% (less than half) of their body weight they can carry because we dont want them going lame or having back problems or hurting them they would be able to carry around 400lbs. Now i wouldnt put that much on a horse but i have seen horses carry 200lb+ riders and not go lame or have any problems. Then i could hop on them and they would do every thing at the same speed/ pace. I have seen some really good "heavy" riders. I dont think weight should be an issue.

 

You cannot make a comparison between what a human can carry, and what a horse can carry , as a percentage of their respective body weights. humans stand vertically. we are designed to carry weight well. horses are not designed to carry weight on their back. the spine is not positioned to bear as much weight, proportionately, as a vertical spine.

however, horses CAN outpull us, porportionately to their/our body weight, by FAR.

and, you have only .7 % body fat? that's like starvation level.

 

I'm chubby and I have this fear all the time. Luckily it's never happened to me, even this fine boned Arab mare I tried out, the owner said we looked well matched. I was so shocked. (Unfortunately she didn't pass her vet check.)

Usually I tend to look for bigger, stockier horses. I was the most comfortable on my big boned 16.3hh OTTB because I knew there was no way I would look too big on her!

 

*Double post sorry!*

 

this horse is just 15 hh, about 1000 lbs, tops. the rider is 200 lbs. does that look out really out of porportion?

 

this horse is just 15 hh, about 1000 lbs, tops. the rider is 200 lbs. does that look out really out of porportion?

View attachment 443234

no, that looks like a good match actually! ^

 

googled 'typical body fat" got this chart:

 

ok. Well im not at starvation leval and it might of been 7% but im pretty sure it was .7%. I have alot of meat on my bones and am very healthy. No Back on topic, The typical body weight a horse would/should have to hold is 10% of its own body weight.

 

Sorry but that is bull poop, both statements .7% fat sounds way to little and very unhealthy, 7% is way low as well! each individual varies! but the body needs a little fat around.

I' reading your second statement as a horse should only carry 10% as a load! and that is crazy, if that were the case we best shoot a whole bunch of horses and make a whole bunch of people quit riding.

Trouble with that % calculation is that it takes no account of the physical weight carrying ability of the individual horse. If you look at my guy, wide, big feet, short back, strong bone, he can carry 30% long and slow all day. He is currently at a great weight, but soft condition, as he muscles up and gets fitter, he could carry that 30 % doing anything.

Now take a delicate boned horse, fine build, poor feet long back, and currently FAT as in obese, it could be that an extra 5% would be too much for his already overburdened frame.

People don't like to hear it, but riding ability, level of fitness, sort of riding you are doing, all play a part, so we can neither condemn or condone a horse and rider partnership purely on weight and %.

 

I would definitely turn someone down- both my horses have lameness issues and can only hold someone who is lighter.

My friend raised and bred a 17 hand warmblood who I used to ride. He was only 4 yrs old. He was so beautiful. He looked like one of those black horses from the lord of the rings.

A very large lady came to try him out. She kicked him forward, lost her balance and pulled on his mouth so hard that he fell backward and broke his hock. :-(

I loved that horse so much. He was truly a gentle giant. Super intelligent too. I was teaching him simple changes, and after 2 tries we were doing flying changes. It was like a light bulb went off- you could just feel him go "oh that's what you wanted!"

That was over 10 years ago and I still miss him.

After that incident, I would definitely be cautious about having a larger rider on my horse! I know it was an accident, but still. Especially when they are a stranger, and you don't know their riding ability.

How many times do people say they know how to ride when they don't?

I would also turn down someone if I didn't think they were suited to the horse. I think sellers have a right to decide who they want to sell too.

 

But what that the fault of the size or the experience? A average sized people could have done the same thing.
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0.7% body fat is not sustainable with life, even 7% is extremely low for a woman and your reproductive organs may be suffering.

Anyway, boring science aside (my husband is a pro body-builder, you should see what they do to strip fat!)...

I BOUGHT the horse - having seen a picture of me on him, I resemble a small rotund peanut on him.

 

It was a team of vets during WW1 who decided the % values. Soldiers would be riding all day and the horses had to carry not only the soldiers and their saddle but another 30 to 50 lbs of gear. That is why a soldier was weighed before being assigned a horse. If I recall correctly it was 20%.

 

100 years ago, men were smaller. About 5'4" or so and 130lbs on average. A large part of that was diet and manual labour. A far cry from our processed foods and sedentary life styles today.

 

Reading this made me think, that maybe I should be counted in plus sized too then? Even though everyone tells me there is barely any weight I could lose. I am 175 cm and 75 kg at the moment, not perfect fitness level, but I get my daily horse/dog/house care done without any difficulty.
That is 5'7" and 165 lbs. I could maybe lose another 20 lbs but I would probably become quite bony as I have heavy bones and a lot of muscle mass.
My horse is about 16.3 hands and I would guess around 1300 lbs. He is big and strong and I have no worries that he can carry most people when properly trained and gets his balance under a rider too.

I am contemplating getting another horse which is about 14.3 hands and a heavier Arab cross, but even that I should be able to ride, as I have ridden big ponies without much problems :P

Some people are just crazy. Though my friend told me once that she had taken her overweight friend to go work with one mare, the owner had told, that the friend is not allowed to ride that mare AT all, because she is fat. The owner just said that.. I was like, ye, sure, that girl probably weighed the same as me when I was a bit fat a year ago 196 lbs or so, I could feel the extra weight and so on, but my trainer let me ride her horses even then, and no problems! Most horses here are over 16 hands and plenty of bone and muscle, so weight rarely is an issue. Of course you cannot jump 3-4 ft jumping course if you are close to 200 lbs and the horse you ride is under 15 h. It just doesn't work out well.

 

Oh, yea. When I was looking, I was terrified. I even skipped viewing a couple of horses because I saw their owners were tiny and I didn't want to be judged. But no one I did see made me feel uncomfortable about my size. And I'm glad I didn't worry too much about it, because I ended up with my perfect boy

 

Thought I'd show you a quick pic from the day I tried him - please excuse the seriously overcast skies and uneven stirrups. Hopefully you'll agree I'm not too big on him at all!

 

I just read this, and I hope that the 9 stone centre is for racehorses… I understand that jockeys need to be light.

I have the mixed luck of being very short, so even when I'm pretty overweight I'm under 12 stones, but that is the average weight for a fit, adult, tallish person. A tall person that is even a bit out of shape weights easily more.

 

I can't see the picture as I'm in work.. but will check it out later.. congrats on your new horse OP!

 

You look great on him