Am I too heavy for my horse?

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lucyhross

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Ive been looking at a 12yr old, 15.1hh, welsh x tb mare. I'm not sure of her precise weight but she has good conformation and in very good condition. I am planning to more of less ride everyday, mainly schooling/jumping, hack for 1-2hr once a week, unaffiliated competing and possibly a hunt meet or two. I am very athletically built (as well as riding, I road cycle 50+ miles a week, play hockey and training for a marathon) I'm currently hovering around 12 1/2 stone but I am still loosing weight- would this be too much for her? The pictures are when I tried her out on a 1.5 hour hack, mainly road work, walking and trotting, two small canters, she enjoyed hers self and seemed fine, but we did take it slow and was very relaxed.

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Depends on bone.
You're not heavy, muscle weighs more than fat and you sound mich fitter than a lot of riders :p

I think part of the problem with the picture is that there she doesn't have a big shoulder neck so there isn't a lot in front of you. Personally i hate that so tend to choose a horse with good shoulder/neck in front.
The saddle seems very far forward though, which also makes her look small.

How tall are you?
 
Mongoose11 said:
It's got nothing to do with 'looking big'. Do you mean you suspect she is too heavy for her? Because she certainly isn't 'too big for her'.

Op what is her weight and bone?
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I would say she is around 450kg but would need this checked, I can measure her bone tonight. If I am too heavy, what is the right way to calculate her maximum weight limit?
 
only_me said:
Depends on bone.
You're not heavy, muscle weighs more than fat and you sound mich fitter than a lot of riders :p

I think part of the problem with the picture is that there she doesn't have a big shoulder neck so there isn't a lot in front of you. Personally i hate that so tend to choose a horse with good shoulder/neck in front.
The saddle seems very far forward though, which also makes her look small.

How tall are you?
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She definitely has a tb neck! I would agree, she is getting a saddle fitted in the next week too.
 
I agree you look a little big for her for jumping/
Fast paced work. Although not easy to tell from the photos. You also look quite tall on her, I don't know how old you are( apologies but you look very youthful :) ) but you may want to consider if you will outgrow her aswell?
 
I reckon if you have to ask, then she is not right.

You obviously have doubts, and whatever HHO people say, you will always be worried, especially when someone says something in real life.

Some people are too big and don't know so ride in ignorance, but if you suspect, then IMO yes, there is probably a problem.
 
You obviously have a doubt in your own mind or you would not have asked this on a public forum. Remember the old saying 'if in doubt do without'.
 
moodymare_1993 said:
I agree you look a little big for her for jumping/
Fast paced work. Although not easy to tell from the photos. You also look quite tall on her, I don't know how old you are( apologies but you look very youthful :) ) but you may want to consider if you will outgrow her aswell?
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She has to over 18 so that's not an issue but if you want to as much riding as the initial post implied then you need a bigger horse.
 
only_me said:
Depends on bone.
You're not heavy, muscle weighs more than fat and you sound mich fitter than a lot of riders :p

I think part of the problem with the picture is that there she doesn't have a big shoulder neck so there isn't a lot in front of you. Personally i hate that so tend to choose a horse with good shoulder/neck in front.
The saddle seems very far forward though, which also makes her look small.

How tall are you?
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Muscle does NOT weigh more than fat. A bit of muscle that weighs 5lbs and a bit of fat that weight 5lbs both weigh the same.

Muscle is DENSER than fat.

OP - at my fittest i weigh around 12 stone - built similar to you - and I wouldn't have bought anything below 16hh, and if it was a TB type I'd have made sure it was on the bigger boned size.
 
SpringArising said:
That's not true at all - it's just a really common misconception. A pound of fat weighs exactly the same as a pound of fat - obviously. Muscle is just much more dense.
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I think what she/he means is that a square inch of muscle weighs more than a square inch of fat. Thus, when looking at a photo and thinking of the square inch size of a rider only-me was taking this into consideration, I believe.

IME it is more important how the rider is balanced, as a balanced rider is much easier to carry, and does not use the saddle as a lever to out excess pressure on the back. Of course, however balanced a rider, if they are simply too heavy, then they are too heavy, but it is a factor for those on the cusp.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I would worry about her health and wouldn't want to put that risk! My sister is able to ride her whilst I'm still losing the weight (was 10 1/2 stone before ED) Could anyone have a guess what her max weight should be?
 
I don't think the photos give a clear picture of how you look or whether she is big enough for you, they are all at odd angles and make her look more like a pony that a horse, if I had to guess at her height from these photos I would say no more than 14-1-2 and suspect that is what she really is although without knowing how tall you are it is just an educated guess.
She looks tiny compared to the chunky 14.2 I have in at the moment that carries 5ft 8in riders easily taking up all of their leg and has loads in front of them to give a feeling of riding a horse not a pony.

If you feel she is not big enough for you to be comfortable then she will not be bigger after you buy her.
 
lucyhross said:
Thanks for all the replies. I would worry about her health and wouldn't want to put that risk! My sister is able to ride her whilst I'm still losing the weight (was 10 1/2 stone before ED) Could anyone have a guess what her max weight should be?
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It's not just her max weight that's an issue, for me it's the amount of work you would want her to do. Even if you lost weight I think you would need a bigger horse.
 
lucyhross said:
Thanks for all the replies. I would worry about her health and wouldn't want to put that risk! My sister is able to ride her whilst I'm still losing the weight (was 10 1/2 stone before ED) Could anyone have a guess what her max weight should be?
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I love that you are thinking about the horse, but I have a slight concern.... I know i the past I have bought a dress or pair of trousers, 'knowing' that I am losing weight and will shrink into it..... but, experience has told me that it is inadvisable to buy for a desired weight loss, even if it is just trousers. I certainly would not buy a horse that I needed to diet for.

I do not doubt your strength of will and determination, but, for example, I was always of a slight build until I hurt my back, and put 4 stone on over 3 years. Just as I was getting back into running etc, and I lost 1 stone, then I had a concussion (playing rugby!!!) and had a headache for ages, and put some weight back on.

For such a big purchase I would only buy one big enough for me now.
 
Red-1 said:
I think what she/he means is that a square inch of muscle weighs more than a square inch of fat. Thus, when looking at a photo and thinking of the square inch size of a rider only-me was taking this into consideration, I believe.

IME it is more important how the rider is balanced, as a balanced rider is much easier to carry, and does not use the saddle as a lever to out excess pressure on the back. Of course, however balanced a rider, if they are simply too heavy, then they are too heavy, but it is a factor for those on the cusp.
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Thank you for explaining it better :)
SP a pound will always be a pound, but a fit rider is more likely to be balanced than an unfit rider. It may be the same weight, but equal spread of pressure is less to carry than all the weight on one side!
 
be positive said:
I don't think the photos give a clear picture of how you look or whether she is big enough for you, they are all at odd angles and make her look more like a pony that a horse, if I had to guess at her height from these photos I would say no more than 14-1-2 and suspect that is what she really is although without knowing how tall you are it is just an educated guess.
She looks tiny compared to the chunky 14.2 I have in at the moment that carries 5ft 8in riders easily taking up all of their leg and has loads in front of them to give a feeling of riding a horse not a pony.

If you feel she is not big enough for you to be comfortable then she will not be bigger after you buy her.
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100% agree with this.
 
In one photo, the mare is bringing in her forefoot to the centre line of her body as it hits the floor. If she does this all the time, and if she does it less or not at all when no-one is riding her, then yes I think that she is not up to your weight.

She looks very light to me, and quite small. I'd be surprised of she weighs as much as you think she does, but photos can be deceptive.

Also, that saddle looks too small for you and I am not sure that her back is long enough to take a saddle which will fit you, especially not if you intend to jump and hunt as you do.
 
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Also found some videos if this gives a better view point

[video=youtube_share;3YUOIiJsAQU]https://youtu.be/3YUOIiJsAQU[/video]

[video=youtube_share;84OQY4gs20Y]https://youtu.be/84OQY4gs20Y[/video]
 
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You're the same weight as me, OP, and I'm currently looking for a horse. I wouldn't want to ride one the size of your mare for anything other than light occasional hacking.
It is to a certain extent a matter of personal preference; it has to be what you are comfortable with.
 
Freeze frame it just in front of jump number two and look at how sunk her fetlock is before she jumps. Imagine that pressure increased by landing on the foot after a jump. She really isn't getting up off the floor with you over the jump, and I think if you want to hunt and jump you need a stronger, bigger horse or you will be asking for injuries. Nice little mare, just find one a hand bigger or a hand broader :)
 
ycbm said:
Freeze frame it just in front of jump number two and look at how sunk her fetlock is before she jumps. Imagine that pressure increased by landing on the foot after a jump. She really isn't getting up off the floor with you over the jump, and I think if you want to hunt and jump you need a stronger, bigger horse or you will be asking for injuries. Nice little mare, just find one a hand bigger or a hand broader :)
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Thank you for this- will be on the horse hunt again!
 
I think you are too big for the mare don't forget you have to add clothing & tack to your actual weight to get a true riding weight apologies if the 12.5 stone included that
 
I don't think you could have got more unflattering photos if you had tried. They all appear to be taken looking down and at angles which don't really give a clear picture either way.

How tall are you OP? How old is the horse?
 
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