17 Stone beginner rider

Gingerwitch

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This is what your friend needs GW ...... Breton mule :D (sadly not mine), due to hybrid vigour they can carry a greater % of their body weight than horses or donkeys (seen figures quoted 20-30%, 30 seems an awful lot though).

Sorry, I AM being a bit silly - but just wondering if you had found anywhere yet or come to a solution? I hope your friend can learn to ride.

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I love that mule?he has gone on a diet and is checking in once a week. He is aiming for September. So it sounds feasible. If I find somewhere I will book him in earlier but have asked him to weigh himself in light clothing and boots just so he is not getting his hopes up and gets embarrassed. He is also considering a carriage drive which may be a good fit. So on the search for a trial lesson for that now but will start a new post. X
 

ycbm

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When I had a NF pony 30 odd years ago, I bought as many editions of the breed society book that came my way. I had some pretty old ones and I noticed that they would have the results of the New Years Day Point to Point from the previous year in them. When I read about 13 st men (or more) riding 12.2 - 14.hh ponies I was a bit horrified. My farrier at the time was a real old time Forester/owner/breeder and had a wealth of information so I would always quizz him. He said the reason these ponies could gallop the approximately 3 mile race accross the forest with these weights was because in those days they were so fit, most of them spending their days between the shafts or some other activity. This race was a day off for them! He pointed out that for the average leisure pony to be ridden 5 days a week for an hour or so was just no comparison. My vet made similar mention of this when my mare was suffering from a bit of congestion.

I do think we just don't realise these days how much work a horse, and especially a pony, can do.

But I also remember that when I bought my first horse over forty years ago, any horse over the age of eight was described as 'aged', horses generally reached their maximum value by ten and then were worth less as they got older, and a horse in ridden work at 25 was a real rarity.

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Pearlsasinger

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I do think we just don't realise these days how much work a horse, and especially a pony, can do.

But I also remember that when I bought my first horse over forty years ago, any horse over the age of eight was described as 'aged', horses generally reached their maximum value by ten and then were worth less as they got older, and a horse in ridden work at 25 was a real rarity.

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Well yes but in the early 70s I knew a RS with 4 ponies in their 30s/40s before they were pts. Admittedly they were retired and kept on for sentimental reasons by that age, except for the odd very gentle hack but they had been working in the RS when I first knew them in 1968 (?).
 

ycbm

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Ponies are different, they've always, in general, lived and worked longer than horses. They also have faster skin healing when injured, but that's a by the by.

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Nari

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I do feel many people take the % of bodyweight figure too seriously and fail to factor in other considerations such as conformation, health issues, age, fitness to name but a few. Whatever happened to common sense?
 

palo1

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To me riding light and riding heavy is like carrying live weight to dead weight. A live weight will help hold themselves up, a dead weight just flops and seems much heavier to carry even though both would weigh the same on a scale.

Yes! Anyone who has carried a toddler will understand too: if you wear one of those child carrying backpacks (as I have done in the past!) and you have a child sitting up, interested and able to use some of their own muscle to sit up it is vastly different to a toddler who is lurching around or not able to carry themselves much. Truly it makes you think about what horse have to put up with!!
 
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