23% weight

20% is too much.
Watched a 500kg, fit, young horse with a decent amount of bone carry a rider weighing 15 stone in walk and trot.
The horse was used to hard work with an 11 stone rider. With the heavier rider, the horse couldn't track up properly. The difference was startling even though the horse willing did everything asked of it, it struggled.
 
Trouble is, I think many people are totally oblivious to how bad their horses are feeling. Especially if they have nothing to compare it to and they know nothing else.
 
Wagtail - if that is the case I would think about wether they should be riding at all then! All riders should be able to tell if their horse is comfortable or not, tense or relaxed, sick or healthy. That is surely a basic horsemanship skill regardless of if weight is involved in the equation of not.
 
Orls said:
People are so obsessed with this at the moment! If your horse constantly requires the chiropractor or vet, is lame, dropping weight, can't move forward freely, resents mounting etc then possibly your weight is an issue. If your horse is working well, is relaxed, healthy and confident to carry you then that should be indication enough that there is not a problem. People seem to be getting far too carried away with numbers. I'm no good at math anyway, my horses will tell me if im too heavy and I need to drop a few pounds!

Don't forget what horses have had to cope with throughout history - pulling farm machinery, carrying soldiers to war and moving artillery, acting as taxis, carrying deer home from a hunt .... As long as you have chosen a horse which is suitable for the purpose you had in mind and he is bright and willing stop worrying and get on and ride! Besides, the more you ride, the fitter you'll both get!

I know I'll probably get ripped to shreds for this opinion but I honestly don't have enough hours in my day to be worrying about a non-existent problem!
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skint1 said:
I allowed 2 stone for tack and stuff, plus my weight, I came in just over 15%.
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I agree but if i did have to think about it i would be going with the 15% rather than the 10% :D
 
Orls said:
People are so obsessed with this at the moment! If your horse constantly requires the chiropractor or vet, is lame, dropping weight, can't move forward freely, resents mounting etc then possibly your weight is an issue. If your horse is working well, is relaxed, healthy and confident to carry you then that should be indication enough that there is not a problem. People seem to be getting far too carried away with numbers. I'm no good at math anyway, my horses will tell me if im too heavy and I need to drop a few pounds!

Don't forget what horses have had to cope with throughout history - pulling farm machinery, carrying soldiers to war and moving artillery, acting as taxis, carrying deer home from a hunt .... As long as you have chosen a horse which is suitable for the purpose you had in mind and he is bright and willing stop worrying and get on and ride! Besides, the more you ride, the fitter you'll both get!

I know I'll probably get ripped to shreds for this opinion but I honestly don't have enough hours in my day to be worrying about a non-existent problem!
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Thank goodness.Common sense.
 
You aren't actually over 20% though joyous. Even at your heaviest & pony at lightest you are 20%.
Tbh I don't get the need for people to question how much their horse can physically endure. Seen as we aren't in a third world country & animals have no voice, I don't understand why anyone needs to push the boundaries of what a horse can physically put up with, in weight carrying or anything else. It's pretty simple, either lose weight, find a bigger horse or both.
Given her build, my daughters legs will be actually on the floor long before she is anywhere near too heavy for her pony. However, if she was a different build it would happen the other way round, & regardless of how much she loves her pony, I'd still have to tell her she was too big, & I would do. So I'm not going to voice a different opinion where other people are concerned on the off chance I offend someone.
 
Joyous70 said:
Do you think he looks old and worn out? hes the cremello in the forefront
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Which begs the question, why is he retired then? I have a 36 year old (10 years older than yours) still going strong under saddle. No mine doesn't have the workload he had as a younger horse but he is still ridden regularly.

I stand by my 12 - 15% is more than enough for a horse to be carrying.
 
Orls said:
Wagtail - if that is the case I would think about wether they should be riding at all then! All riders should be able to tell if their horse is comfortable or not, tense or relaxed, sick or healthy. That is surely a basic horsemanship skill regardless of if weight is involved in the equation of not.
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I think the majority of novices would not know TBH. It takes years of experience to pick up on subtle performance issues. Obviously, even novices would realise if their horse is lame, but many would not realise that they may be 'gobby' because they are uncomfortable or in pain, or not tracking up because their back hurt, or they are carrying too much weight. I speak from experience here as have seen it many times over in my professional life with horses.
 
Spring Feather said:
Which begs the question, why is he retired then? I have a 36 year old (10 years older than yours) still going strong under saddle. No mine doesn't have the workload he had as a younger horse but he is still ridden regularly.

I stand by my 12 - 15% is more than enough for a horse to be carrying.
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he is retired now because i am in my opinion too heavy to ride him these days
 
Orls said:
People are so obsessed with this at the moment! If your horse constantly requires the chiropractor or vet, is lame, dropping weight, can't move forward freely, resents mounting etc then possibly your weight is an issue. If your horse is working well, is relaxed, healthy and confident to carry you then that should be indication enough that there is not a problem. People seem to be getting far too carried away with numbers. I'm no good at math anyway, my horses will tell me if im too heavy and I need to drop a few pounds!

Don't forget what horses have had to cope with throughout history - pulling farm machinery, carrying soldiers to war and moving artillery, acting as taxis, carrying deer home from a hunt .... As long as you have chosen a horse which is suitable for the purpose you had in mind and he is bright and willing stop worrying and get on and ride! Besides, the more you ride, the fitter you'll both get!

I know I'll probably get ripped to shreds for this opinion but I honestly don't have enough hours in my day to be worrying about a non-existent problem!
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Throughout history the English women used to paint their faces with lead based make up, hang, draw and quarter people and crap in the streets, it doesn't mean society would advocate that now.

We have knowledge and understanding on a horse's weight carrying abilities that we didn't have years ago, and people are still making ridiculous excuses so they can exercise their free will to sit on a horse they are far too heavy for.
 
Orls said:
People are so obsessed with this at the moment! If your horse constantly requires the chiropractor or vet, is lame, dropping weight, can't move forward freely, resents mounting etc then possibly your weight is an issue. If your horse is working well, is relaxed, healthy and confident to carry you then that should be indication enough that there is not a problem. People seem to be getting far too carried away with numbers. I'm no good at math anyway, my horses will tell me if im too heavy and I need to drop a few pounds!

Don't forget what horses have had to cope with throughout history - pulling farm machinery, carrying soldiers to war and moving artillery, acting as taxis, carrying deer home from a hunt .... As long as you have chosen a horse which is suitable for the purpose you had in mind and he is bright and willing stop worrying and get on and ride! Besides, the more you ride, the fitter you'll both get!

I know I'll probably get ripped to shreds for this opinion but I honestly don't have enough hours in my day to be worrying about a non-existent problem!
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Another here that agrees with you,
 
tango'smum said:
how do you work out this weight thing? my boy is 12.3hh chunky not fat 312kg. welsh cross... i am just under 7 stone.. and 5.3ft
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Working on you weighing 7 stone in jodders etc but without boots, hat and thick jacket.

7 stone = 44.452 kg - 44.5kg
3 kg for boots hat jacket - 47.5kg
11kg for tack (assuming average weight dual flap saddle) - 58.5kg

58.5kg / 312kg (pony's weight) = 0.1875 x 100 = 18.75%

Least thats how I worked mine out! :D
 
becca1305 said:
Working on you weighing 7 stone in jodders etc but without boots, hat and thick jacket.

7 stone = 44.452 kg - 44.5kg
3 kg for boots hat jacket - 47.5kg
11kg for tack (assuming average weight dual flap saddle) - 58.5kg

58.5kg / 312kg (pony's weight) = 0.1875 x 100 = 18.75%

Least thats how I worked mine out! :D
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thankyou, you could take of 9 kg for the saddle its a thorogood, 15.5 inch... :D
so that makes me to heavy for him? hes 20+ yrs old...
 
tango's mum, I took tack weight from an article, broken down - saddle 7.5kg - I assumed for a standard dual flap with stirrups on, bridle and breastgirth - 1.5kg, numnah 1kg, four leather boots - 1kg (so probably half that for synthetic?), no mention of girth perhaps they inc in saddle weight (but getting pedantic would also depend if synthetic or leather, straight or stud etc!). So I rounded up roughly :). Obviously adjust accordingly to what you put on your horse (and by the sounds of things you could knock a bit off for the saddle!) :).

It always used to be 20% that was bandied round on here as being the max from what I can remember. But to be honest there are so many factors, and as I posted earlier potentially is there an argument for considering the build of the horse to some degree rather than just a weight? Who knows perhaps some clever person could come up with a formula that determined the max weight a horse should carry not just using its weight but also it's structure such as amount of bone and back length etc. I'm in no way qualified to decide and just go on what I think is right for my horses :).
 
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becca1305 said:
tango's mum, I took tack weight from an article, broken down - saddle 7.5kg - I assumed for a standard dual flap with stirrups on, bridle and breastgirth - 1.5kg, numnah 1kg, four leather boots - 1kg (so probably half that for synthetic?), no mention of girth perhaps they inc in saddle weight (but getting pedantic would also depend if synthetic or leather, straight or stud etc!). So I rounded up roughly :). Obviously adjust accordingly to what you put on your horse (and by the sounds of things you could knock a bit off for the saddle!) :).

It always used to be 20% that was bandied round on here as being the max from what I can remember. But to be honest there are so many factors, and as I posted earlier potentially is there an argument for considering the build of the horse to some degree rather than just a weight? Who knows perhaps some clever person could come up with a formula that determined the max weight a horse should carry not just using its weight but its also structure such as amount of bone and back length etc. I'm in no way qualified to decide and just go on what I think is right for my horses :).
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thankyou..:)
 
As far as confo, bone etc goes that's just a reason why some horses should carry far less, not why some should carry more. Eg why 18% might be appropriate on say a standard shettie or cob in great health & fit etc, whereas 15% may be too much for a spindly sec b, badly put together fine tb, old or young. Not 20% is fine for all & if its got weight carrying qualities 23 or 25% is ok.
 
Years ago I did come across a formular for working out weight carrying ability which took into account amount of bone as well as several other measurements.

However, common sense would say that if you need to question whether you are too heavy for a horse or pony, then you probably are. There are certainly plenty that I would not inflict my ten stone plus clothes and tack on.
 
Littlelegs said:
As far as confo, bone etc goes that's just a reason why some horses should carry far less, not why some should carry more. Eg why 18% might be appropriate on say a standard shettie or cob in great health & fit etc, whereas 15% may be too much for a spindly sec b, badly put together fine tb, old or young. Not 20% is fine for all & if its got weight carrying qualities 23 or 25% is ok.
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I agree with this, sorry I didn't mean it to come across as they can all carry 20% and some should be able to carry more, just what factors other than the horse's weight we should consider when determining how much that specific horse should carry. Though I agree with Wagtail, mainly we should use common sense.
 
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Have come to this thread late as riding (at walk & trot) 4 y o NF chunky built currently 14 hh but growing in front of my eyes. I'm 5'4" so what weight in stones should he be carrying? His workload is carefully controlled & he has been slowly backed & ridden away after literally months of long reining & other ground work. He is fit, happy & has a "busy" brain that enjoys all this new stuff he is learning. Opinions please, especially from native pony experts:D
 
Littlelegs said:
As far as confo, bone etc goes that's just a reason why some horses should carry far less, not why some should carry more. Eg why 18% might be appropriate on say a standard shettie or cob in great health & fit etc, whereas 15% may be too much for a spindly sec b, badly put together fine tb, old or young. Not 20% is fine for all & if its got weight carrying qualities 23 or 25% is ok.
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Throw in a measure of how much work relative to fitness it's intended to do and you might be on to something.

I'd put 25% on mine, fully fit, to walk round the field for 5 minutes. I wouldn't let 15% take them, unfit, on an endurance ride or round an xc course ;)
 
I strongly advise anyone who would like to stick to the advised guidelines to have their horses weighed, not weigh taped. I have seen tapes be over 100kg out.

I personally work off 15% as a rule.
 
Having worked out 20% of my horses weights I wouldn't let someone of that percentage ride them. Including tack I am 11% and 13% and tbh I wouldn't mind loosing a kg or 2!
 
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