Are these riders too big?? *Pics*

Cliqmo

Cliqmo

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With all the underlying disagreements on HHO about what constitutes a rider being "too big" for the horse, I have found some pictures online (thank you google :p ) and would like people's opinions on whether the riders of these horses are too big or not...

Also, where you do think a rider is "too big" do you think it means they shouldn't be riding the horse?

Lighthearted debate only please guys- please don't let's have a brawl over it :D

* * please note I do not have anyone's permission to use these photos so apologies in advance if any of them happen to be any of you * * :D

Picture 1.
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Picture 2.
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Picture 3.
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Picture 4.
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Picture 5.
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Picture 6.
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Picture 7.
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Picture 8.
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Picture 9.
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Picture 10.
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Picture 11.
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Picture 12.
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I'm rubbish at stuff like this, but if i had to say any it would be 11 and 12 the last two, but still wouldn't be certain. :D
 
Although several of the riders are look a bit out of proportion I would have only thought riders number 4 and 12 are too heavy for the type of horse they are riding.
 
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I think what people seem to forget is there is a huge difference between too big and too heavy, I am slightly too big for Larry but it doesn't stop me riding him as I am not too heavy (yet!).

IMO it doesn't matter if the riders feet nearly touch the floor as long as the rider is balanced and doesn't weigh any more then the horse/pony is capable of carrying.
 
Well, it depends a lot on what they are intending to do with the horse. A 10 minute walk is very different to competing the horse/pony.

IMO- (when I say maybe, i mean that if the pony was mine, wouldn't want the rider to do much more than the odd bit on it)
1-No- but doesn't look very balanced. So a **** unbalanced rider is a lot harder for the horse than a balanced one.
2-No
3- Maybe
4- Yes
5- tall but not heavy
6-tall but not heavy
7- tall but not heavy
8- tall but not heavy
9- no
10- as a polo player, expect the rider is very good and balanced, so no. And they are tall not heavy.
11- yes
12-yes
 
tbh most of them look ok to me,alot are on native type ponies/quarter horses that are up to weight,but then the others may be tall but they are lean,so be fine!If i had to comment then i would say 4 and 12 tbh,but the horses are not buckled at the knees,lol :)
 
Only 4 is an issue for me to be honest. 10 the horse looks like it could do with more muscle, but maybe it's a bad angle. 12 looks a bit too big for the horse but not as bad as 4.
 
Most of them photos are not bad at all.

Bigger riders are more then often better for the horse then a complete skinny novice who bounces every were, as long as your a good rider, well balanced and has a saddle that fits you and the horse then I don't see a problem.

As for long legs, now that not really a problem either, so your a little leggy but you can ride well.
 
I would say 4 without a doubt, especially since they are sat like a sack of spuds. Maybe it's a very puffy coat/ lots of layers, but the horse doesn't look happy anyway. Number 11 but the horse is quite chunky. Problem here is the horse looks a bit overweight too. Number 12 maybe... although it looks like it may be a QH and they are quite strong i think.

A lot of them are tall for their horses, but i have no issues at all with this. Some people think it looks untidy or whatever so they should get something bigger, but i think if horse and human are happy then good on them :)
 
4 looks a bit iffy to me and maybe 12, although its hard to tell from the angle the photo was taken.
However, looks can be deceptive as the way someone rides makes a big difference. I had a friend who was 8 stone soaking wet, yet my old horse used to struggle with her as she didn't have natural balance. I have friends who are 3 stone heavier but ride lighter as they are better balanced.

I agree there is a difference between too tall and too heavy - tall is fine as long as you have balance.
 
Gosh, looking at them I would say none of them, the guy in four, yes may be a big guy but hey how short, so probably weighs as much as 6'1" event rider on little 16hh thoroughbreds.

I think a skinny tall rider is as bad as a short fat rider, both cause a horse discomfort, lets take Geoff Billington as an example, not the normal skinny minny shape, but boy can he ride, yet I bet if someone put a photo up of him hacking out in normal clothes, head blurred out, everyone would come up with too heavy.

To be honest, I believe any horse will object to too much weight and certainly their performance at the very least would be decreased, we forget in this day and age, how hard, long hours and weights horses used to carry and pull these days, even a lot of top horses dont dont work as hard as they could do, and with modern technology and nutrition most are in better health to do the work.

If a TB can carry 12 stone around 4 miles flat out, iover 4ft plus jumps it can certainly carry 15 stone for an hours gentle hack. As for natives, they were bred to carry extreme weights, what about eventers a few years ago they had to carry a minimum weight of 11 stone something, goodness forbid today that someone over 11 stone even think of sitting on a horse let alone let it break into trot.
 
just because you weigh more doesnt mean you have the heaviest seat, im a larger rider yet everyone say how light I am in the saddle and dont bounce on my horses back and hes never had a back problem
 
bliss87 said:
just because you weigh more doesnt mean you have the heaviest seat, im a larger rider yet everyone say how light I am in the saddle and dont bounce on my horses back and hes never had a back problem
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Agree with that completely!

I have seen very light riders who ride heavier than bigger riders.

I am probably a bit too heavy for my pony, he is a connemara so he is a good weight carrier anyway and he is a chunky boy, but i no longer compete him as i feel I am too heavy to jump on him (apart from maybe the local SJ or hunter trial once or twice a year), but i continue to hack him regularly. He has no trouble whatsoever carrying me and can easily jump with me on him but im sure by some people's standards I would get slated for riding him as he is a pony and not a cob.
 
Coffee_Bean said:
Well, it depends a lot on what they are intending to do with the horse. A 10 minute walk is very different to competing the horse/pony.

IMO- (when I say maybe, i mean that if the pony was mine, wouldn't want the rider to do much more than the odd bit on it)
1-No- but doesn't look very balanced. So a **** unbalanced rider is a lot harder for the horse than a balanced one.
2-No
3- Maybe
4- Yes
5- tall but not heavy
6-tall but not heavy
7- tall but not heavy
8- tall but not heavy
9- no
10- as a polo player, expect the rider is very good and balanced, so no. And they are tall not heavy.
11- yes
12-yes
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As I've proved I'm not very good at riders and heights, but this was mainly what I thought, except I think 4 is a maybe. xx
 
ok so how would you feel if a six foot lady model was to ride a horse - TB type? yes they look skinny but could be at least 15 stone but thin - compare that to a 5ft5 person of same weight and you would say they were too fat.

All horses look fine, shetlands were designed for carrying a farmer plus say a dead dear all the way up and down hills. Not everyone is skinny but some of us can ride so it's not a problem. These posts are ridiculous and continue to be posted. you're horse or instructor will tell you if your too heavy and if you are a capable horse person you will know without these posts!
 
bliss87 said:
just because you weigh more doesnt mean you have the heaviest seat, im a larger rider yet everyone say how light I am in the saddle and dont bounce on my horses back and hes never had a back problem
Click to expand...

I have never really understood this. Surely 15 stone is 15 stone (not meaning that you are of course) I get that someone can be balanced and a good rider and more comfortable for a horse than someone who can't ride and bouncing about. But surely you weigh what you weigh.

anyway, i think 1,2,3,4,5,6,11,12 all look too tall, but i only think that 4,11 and 12 are too heavy.
 
bliss87 said:
just because you weigh more doesnt mean you have the heaviest seat, im a larger rider yet everyone say how light I am in the saddle and dont bounce on my horses back and hes never had a back problem
Click to expand...

Ditto this. I'm not the lightest of people but I regularly ride my boy out on 3 hour hacks (including lots of cantering and galloping), have done a little endurance and X country. I've owned him for over five years and he's never suffered with back problems and only been lame twice. Once with a foot abcsess and the other time was with a laminitic attack which was toxin related. He's a 15'2 Standardbred so not what you would class a weight bearing horse, although they are renowned for having strong legs.

Every horse and rider is different. I believe if you are too heavy for your horse, he will tell you. :)
 
chestnuttymare said:
I have never really understood this. Surely 15 stone is 15 stone (not meaning that you are of course) I get that someone can be balanced and a good rider and more comfortable for a horse than someone who can't ride and bouncing about. But surely you weigh what you weigh.

anyway, i think 1,2,3,4,5,6,11,12 all look too tall, but i only think that 4,11 and 12 are too heavy.
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15 stone is 15 stone of course, but there is a huge difference between a 15 stone rider who has a good, stable seat and is balanced and sympathetic whilst riding and a 15 stone rider who is unbalanced and bouncing all over the place. That makes that 15 stone a whole lot more difficult (heavier if you like) for the horse to carry.
 
4 and 12 do look bad but 4 does appear to be wearing a very puffy coat which probably adds quite a few pounds. Also, like another poster said before, 12 appears to be a quarter horse and as far as I'm aware, they are pretty strong.
 
that's exactly what i said UnaB, of course it makes the beginner rider more difficult and uncomfortable to carry but the experienced rider still weighs 15 stone. I don't see how it makes them lighter.
If you stand on the scales and try to press down, it doesn't make you heavier. jump up and down and it does by perhaps a couple of pounds. but try standing tall and spreading your weight and trying to make yourself lighter and it doesn't change your weight at all.
 
chestnuttymare said:
that's exactly what i said UnaB, of course it makes the beginner rider more difficult and uncomfortable to carry but the experienced rider still weighs 15 stone. I don't see how it makes them lighter.
If you stand on the scales and try to press down, it doesn't make you heavier. jump up and down and it does by perhaps a couple of pounds. but try standing tall and spreading your weight and trying to make yourself lighter and it doesn't change your weight at all.
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No one has said that you can change your weight, that would be silly. The point being made was that a rider (not necessarily a beginner either) can make themselves feel heavier for the horse to carry (as i explained in the previous post) and therefore it is not necessarily the weight of the rider that is an issue, but the way they ride. Two people of the same weight may not necessarily be able to ride the same horse as one might cause it problems just by how they ride and by unbalancing the horse.
 
1 - looks photo shopped somehow, hard to say
2 - hard to say from that picture, maybe
3 - yes
4 - yes
5 - yes
6 - yes
7 - not sure, pony looks a slightly odd short-legged build but imagine it taller and would probs look fine body-size wise
8 - depends how close fitting the jacket is
9 - no, rider looks v slim
10 - possibly, he looks slim but def don't like the way pony carries him
11 - yes
12 - yes

Should say though that a few of the pictures do look like outgrown ponies which I can understand would be hard to adjust to and stop riding.

TBH I'm slightly shocked at the number of people on here who think so many of them are OK. Compared to nearly all snaps I'd certainly not feel happy getting on anything that small in relation to me.
 
In relation to the 15 stone model (unlikely!) vs 15stone shorty: The 15 stone model will have evenly distributed weight, so much of it will be in the long legs, which if a good enough rider wrap around the horse and add stability. A shorter person is top heavy and i think would be more likely to be unbalanced. I am a shorty, so no offence to those who are short.

Also i very much doubt that any of you (minus distorted self image which is common- meaning people think they are bigger than they actually are) would weigh as much as the heaviest of the people on those pictures. To be honest i am more worried about how they got up there. Imagine that much weight on one stirrup every time they go to mount? Unless they have some sort of crane system which prevents this? Even with a mounting block it would not be good. I doubt anyone could give them a leg up too. I would certainly like to see an eventer/ sj-er who was as large as the last 2. I think those analogies are pretty far off to be honest, these people are a whole other level of heavy to Geoff Billington!!

I also think some people are taking this too personally. It was about how people perceive rider build in relation to horses build (as is often argued on here people think that horses cannot carry as much as they actually can!) and not about 'if you're fat you are hurting your horse' or whatever.
 
somethingorother said:
In relation to the 15 stone model (unlikely!) vs 15stone shorty: The 15 stone model will have evenly distributed weight, so much of it will be in the long legs, which if a good enough rider wrap around the horse and add stability. A shorter person is top heavy and i think would be more likely to be unbalanced. I am a shorty, so no offence to those who are short.

Also i very much doubt that any of you (minus distorted self image which is common- meaning people think they are bigger than they actually are) would weigh as much as the heaviest of the people on those pictures. To be honest i am more worried about how they got up there. Imagine that much weight on one stirrup every time they go to mount? Unless they have some sort of crane system which prevents this? Even with a mounting block it would not be good. I doubt anyone could give them a leg up too. I would certainly like to see an eventer/ sj-er who was as large as the last 2. I think those analogies are pretty far off to be honest, these people are a whole other level of heavy to Geoff Billington!!

I also think some people are taking this too personally. It was about how people perceive rider build in relation to horses build (as is often argued on here people think that horses cannot carry as much as they actually can!) and not about 'if you're fat you are hurting your horse' or whatever.
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That would be because for some of us it is an issue we deal with personally and by some of the judgements made by people on here we would be deemed too big for our horses despite them carrying us easily, which goes to show that such things cannot be judged by one photo.
 
I think that a good comparison about balance is to try to carry a badly packed backpack. If the weight is not distributed evenly, the backpack will really hurt your back and you will have to stop walking a lot sooner. Now imagine the backpack's is unevenly ditributed but it also moves around and the weight distribution changes, so as you brace yourself to take most of the weight balanced one way, it shifts the opposite way and gops you in the mouth as it does it.
 
I carry my baby a lot in a carrier that goes on my front. When he falls asleep and is slumped in the carrier he feels at least twice as heavy, the difference is huge! So yes, so I think how you ride has a huge impact on how heavy you feel to a horse.
 
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