Being asked to get on the scales..would you be offended??

charlie76

charlie76

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Would you be offended if you were asked to get on the scales before riding ( at an equestrian centre)??
We have a number of clients ( and staff) who I think are not quite telling the truth about their weight and I am trying to find ways to prevent horses being ridden by people that are too heavy?
 
There is a riding school near us (BHS approved) that has a prominant notice in the office regarding their 12stone limit, with a pair of scales underneath. They are not afraid to use them!
 
hmmm.... tricky one. I think you will offend people. :(

Could you not use our own "judgement" on these people and put them on a more weight bearing horse? Or are they so far on the top end that you worry about them riding any of your horses?
 
Well yes I would be offended but I also appreciate that few people are honest about their weight and for the good of the school horses I think a check does need to kept on people's weight. I'm not being sizist, I'm a fatty:D I'm also well aware that where my horses are at the moment I would be considered too heavy to ride the school horses. However, I've made very certain that my own horses are up to my weight and of course they aren't expected to either do the hours that the school horses do or to carry beginners who can be very unbalanced.

So my offendedness would be offset by my understanding that it is a necessary evil.
 
No I wouldn't be offended - it is just one of those things and ensures the horses are kept in good health! I volunteer at an RDA centre - everyone gets weighed at the start of each term. It is the same for absolutly everyone so there is no need for people to get offended. It helps the ponies work load to be judged - eg they won't have a rider near their max weight for two lessons in a morning.
 
Ummmmmmm I wouldn't be offended but I would be very embarrassed and would probably refuse to do it. I've always had a thing about my weight and hate people knowing what I weigh. Much happier telling people what size I am though - maybe you could ask height and dress size and use that to make a judgment on what horses they ride?
 
I dont think i would be offended, but you also need to bear in mind how someone rides ie a new rider isnt going to carry there weight as well and is going to be like a sack of potatoes where as a more experianced rider can carry themselves more
 
I had this problem where I used to work. I did sometimes feel uncomfortable asking people how much they weighed if they looked too heavy to me but after a while I got used to it. The horses welfare is the most important thing really, I would have scales there and ask people to step on them if I thought they were lying and too heavy for my horses.
 
So, seems quite common practice in many riding schools then? You can't always judge the weight by what some one looks like TBH.
 
galaxy23 said:
hmmm.... tricky one. I think you will offend people. :(

Could you not use our own "judgement" on these people and put them on a more weight bearing horse? Or are they so far on the top end that you worry about them riding any of your horses?
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Agree with above, you see some people would be, some wouldn't so you need do something that will ensure you are doing right by the horses and right by your clients, if in doubt, bob them on something you feel is more suited to them, if there are good riders, the chances are a heavier person will cause less problems or be less tiring to a horse than another heavier person who is just learning the ropes.
 
I had to do this once when i worked a treking centre. The Yard manager didnt feel comfortable asking the girl and was kind enough to give me the job. Unfortunately going on height and clothes size would not work. This particular girl only looked about a large 16, and claimed to be 14st the (upper weight limit of the yard) When aske to get on the scales she was very tearful and refused to begin with, until it was clearly explained that it wasnt to judge her it was for the horses welfare. When she did get on she was 18st! so we couldnt allow her to ride. Her size was very decieving and if we had gone on her height and size a poor horse would have been made to carry a rider well above the weight limit.
 
I wouldnt be offended. They do this regularly at the riding school where i livery and its amazing how many people lie about how much they weigh and not just by a small amount. Dont worry about offending people as the majority wont mind especially if you have a notice clearly stating why you need to do it. Perhaps if there is someone you specifically want to weigh make sure you weight everyone else who is riding at the same time so they are not singled out and speak to them privately if there is a problem. You can be discreet to limit the impact. Its a necessary part of a riding school to know your customers weight and to abide by weight limits to do the best for the horses and ponies who work very hard.
 
No but I would be embarassed.

The size someone is can also affect the way they ride. I know I am not as forgiving physically as I should be since gaining the pounds! I quite like being bigger but I also want to be able to move and absorb more so I guess I want to loose a bit just so I can ride better.

No point in beating about the bush when its the horses welfare at stake. Perhaps do it quietly though so people know that their weight isn't going to be bandied around the yard!
 
You cant judge how heavy someone is just by looking at them. And people lie.

I had a guy who came back for a second lesson, when he came for his first it was my day off. I immediately looked at him and thought he was too heavy. It turned out he was over 4st over our weight limit.
The girl who had taken him for his first lesson thought he looked fine. I felt bad telling him he was too big and apologised for the fact that it hadn't been picked up sooner but I would have felt much worse for the horse struggling to carry his weight.
 
I wouldn't be at all offended, in fact I'd be very pleased that the riding school had such concern for the welfare of their horses. I'm about 5 stone overweight but I don't look as heavy as I actually am, so there have been times in the past where people have offered me a horse to ride and I've had to tell them I'm too big for it - generally the response is "don't be silly, get on" and then I tell them how much they weigh and they agree that the horse couldn't carry me after all! So if I was the kind of person to lie about my weight, it could be bad news for riding school horses if people just went by what I look like.
 
There is a big sign at the riding school i ride at although ive thankfully never been asked.

I would perhaps ask EVERYONE to be weighed every term (or 3 month or whatever). Then you can state that its to more accurately work out what a horse is actually doing... without explicitly saying, man alive you're a chunky, on the scales fatso! xx
 
Part of my job involves health clinics.

When we weigh people we substract 2kg for the weight of their clothes.

I would be curious to know the weight of the riding clobber ie hat, heavy boots, extra layers, heavy coat and maybe a body protector too.

Don't forget to make sure they're fully dressed - it might be a way to sweeten the result - by blaming it on the boots.
 
I wouldn't be offended but it all depends on how they ride. I'm just over 14st and comfortable in a size 16 dress. But i ride all mine without any trouble (pic below is on a 16.2hh) so would be offended by a 12st rule. All 3 of mine compete and cope with my weight, never have sore backs and manage to event with my big lump on their backs! So i think it's at the discreation of the person in charge. I think there is alot off difference between a 12st 'heavy' rider and a 14st 'balanced' rider :)
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The problem is that people lie, they phone and book a lesson and say they are a weight and when they arrive they are at least 2 if not 3 stone heavier( even to heavy to ride our biggest horse) so then what do you do, comprise the horses welfare or stop them riding which is also going to pee them off??
 
charlie76 said:
The problem is that people lie, they phone and book a lesson and say they are a weight and when they arrive they are at least 2 if not 3 stone heavier( even to heavy to ride our biggest horse) so then what do you do, comprise the horses welfare or stop them riding which is also going to pee them off??
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You add in to your booking a lesson spiel, after asking their weight, "That's lovely, we ask all our new customers to have a quick skills, weight and fitness check so that we can make sure that the lesson and horse will best suit the rider's ability and fitness level. If you pop into the office about 10 minutes before your lesson is due to start we can get it over with then."
 
Maybe you'll have to put something into your phone conversation when they book the lesson. If you are already asking when they call up then state something along the lines of 'please be aware that everyone gets weighed at their first lesson'.

Personally to avoid embarrassment I would employ an 'everyone is weighed' rule. That way you arent being seen to be discriminating you are doing it for the welfare of the horses and to ensure that a teeny 6st rider isnt put on a huge cob etc etc. Plus if everyone has to do it rather than the 'larger' one in the group then it should ease that embarrassment.
 
jemima_too said:
You add in to your booking a lesson spiel, after asking their weight, "That's lovely, we ask all our new customers to have a quick skills, weight and fitness check so that we can make sure that the lesson and horse will best suit the rider's ability and fitness level. If you pop into the office about 10 minutes before your lesson is due to start we can get it over with then."
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This, and, like Flamehead said, weigh everyone so it doesn't look like you're picking on people. I think people will be both embarassed and offended but if the riding school has determined that that's the maximum your horses can take, then that's that.
 
Lisamd said:
I wouldn't be offended but it all depends on how they ride. I'm just over 14st and comfortable in a size 16 dress. But i ride all mine without any trouble (pic below is on a 16.2hh) so would be offended by a 12st rule. All 3 of mine compete and cope with my weight, never have sore backs and manage to event with my big lump on their backs! So i think it's at the discreation of the person in charge. I think there is alot off difference between a 12st 'heavy' rider and a 14st 'balanced' rider :)
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But I doubt your horses are ridden for the length of time each day that a riding school horse would take. Also if you event yours then I imagine they are worked to enable them to carry their back correctly and in such a way as to carry their rider. It is a different decision I think to a riding school horse. I'm sure your horse can easily carry you, but if a horse was asked to carry (eg) 12st for several lessons each day, 6 days a week then it would undoubtably affect them more. I agree that some can ride 'heavier', but the mass is the same on the horses back regardless, some people just have more finess and elegance in carrying their weight than others!

Either way, it is the discression of the riding school - they own the horses and I would hope they have their welface in mind. If someone doesn't like the weight rules of a particular school then they can always vote with their feet - the riding school with the lower limit may just not have a horse available at the appropriate level for the rider that can carry the weight concerned.
 
jemima_too said:
Well yes I would be offended but I also appreciate that few people are honest about their weight and for the good of the school horses I think a check does need to kept on people's weight. I'm not being sizist, I'm a fatty:D I'm also well aware that where my horses are at the moment I would be considered too heavy to ride the school horses. However, I've made very certain that my own horses are up to my weight and of course they aren't expected to either do the hours that the school horses do or to carry beginners who can be very unbalanced.

So my offendedness would be offset by my understanding that it is a necessary evil.
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Ditto this and I'm a fatty too :D
 
Its in the interests of the horses, so I don't see a problem. I think everyone should be weighed so they can be matched to the correct horse. Also, agree with warning people before they turn up and not to have the scales in the middle of the reception area. My OH thinks I weigh much less than I do, but then again, he thinks my cup size is 2 sizes larger. Bless him.
 
*Most* people who ride at a riding school to start with aren't well balanced and don't carry themselves particularly well. That is hard work on a school horse. It's all very well to say "oh well I'm 14 st and my horses carry me fine."
Yes, I'm sure they are perfectly happy. But you are balanced and probably fairly educated as a rider.
School horses don't have the luxury of doing 45 mins of schooling a day. Some schools work them for more than 3/4 hours a day at the weekends and for the weightcarriers that can be bloody hard work.

Most weight limits are 14-15 stone. If you weigh more or near to that then I think you should be prepared to be weighed. It is for the welfare of the horses, not set to humiliate people.
 
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