Bone Measurement

Gentle_Warrior

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Yesterday I measured H's bone, and I was a little suprised by it to say the least!!!

How do you calculate or find out how much weight he can carry from the measurement of the bone ??

Obviously it will only be a rough idea, considering his age now etc

x
 

Gucci_b

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The crucial formula is that the rider and tack should'nt exceed 20 pre cent of the horse's weight. A horse age less than 5 should never carry a heavy weight, an ex brood mare can't carry much weight as her ligaments are lengthened by pregnancy-the more foals she's had the less strong her back will be. Bone's measured below the knee with a tape messure-a pony might have eight inches, a TB eight or nine and a cob nine, 10 or even more. Bone densitity's also important; Arabs have denser bones than other breeds and can carry proportionally more. Conformation, particularly the back, a horse with a dipped or very long back will be weaker than he seems. A short back and strong hindquarters make weight easier to carry.
 

Fantasy_World

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I measured both my lads a few months ago Dougal the 16.3h clydesdale cross was 11 inches on the fore and 12 inches on the hind. Mcfly the 14.3h cob is 10 1/2 inches on the fore and 11 inches on the hind.
I did manage to find some information on the internet a while back about weight carrying ability of horses as I was researching horses carrying heavier riders ( which I am) and discovered this table

"Measurement Test
1. Add up the total weight of the horse, rider and tack. (See TGH Summer 1998, page 37.)
Our example: Damascus, Lady + tack = 1188 pounds.
2. Measure the circumference of the cannon bone midway between the knee and fetlock.
Our example: Damascus, 7.5 inches.
3. Divide this total weight by the circumference.
Our example: 1188 ÷ 7.5 = 158.4
3. Divide the result by two.
Our example: 158.4 ÷ 2 = 79.2
Values near 75 are great, below 75, even better. Values from 75/80 are acceptable. Values over 80 indicate weaker legs and a need to train carefully, especially downhill. Values over 85 suggest you need a horse with more substance.
Damascus rates near the end of the acceptable range, but should still be able to carry Lady in style, comfortably."

source:

The Heavier Riders’ Guide to Comfort and Safety with Gaited Horses By Beverly Whittington and Rhonda Hart-Poe

Also from the same source I found this information as well:

"Be Sure Your Horse Measures Up

The U.S. Calvary published “The Cavalry Manual of Horse Management”, by Frederick L. Devereux, Jr., in 1941. He recommended that the collective weight of rider and gear not exceed 20% of the total weight of the horse. These were horses in top condition whose riders’ very lives depended on the horse's ability to carry them long miles, often at speed. It stands to reason that if they were to incorporate a margin of error, it would be on the side of the horse being overly capable of carrying its rider, rather than less so.
Comparably, a study of 374 competitive trail riding horses compared horse/rider weight relationships. They concluded that these horses can easily carry over 30% of their body weight for 100 miles and not only compete, but compete well. As would be expected, good body condition and bone structure were found to be paramount. Bone structure was evaluated using the front leg cannon bones as representative of general structure. "

Caroline
 

Fantasy_World

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Lol I was shocked too when I did mine to find that the cob was nearly as big in bone as a horse which towers above him in more ways than one. At least I know Mcfly will be a proper adult ride for the future too which was what we wanted as I didn't want anything too light boned when we went to the sales to get him.
 

Gentle_Warrior

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I did not do the rear I must admit, he is 15.3hh, now I understand why people say he is Huge and confuses him with a shire, bit weird though considering his colour and hieght !!!
 

Fantasy_World

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Lol aw he is a lovely looking lad though and to be honest give me a horse with good solid bone anyday than some flimsy thin legged horse
smile.gif
 

Fantasy_World

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Aw thanks we all love Mcfly too he is such a sweetie I just wish I could try and school him more as he is green little baby really. Have just packed my job in to look for something better with more money. Then I can afford to learn to drive and get back into journalism again as I miss it
frown.gif
While I am looking I plan to spend a few weeks ( month even) with the horses as I have hardly spent any time with them at all over summer which was our first together
frown.gif

I am sad to hear about his leg problems and I hope they don't cause him too much trouble x
 

puddicat

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Quote: "How do you calculate or find out how much weight he can carry from the measurement of the bone ??"

This is a really interesting question and the answer has to be "you can't reliably". The only sense in which a leg circumference measurement will indicate weight carrying capacity is that it is related to the size of the horse and a bigger horse will carry more weight! Briefly the reason why I think 'bone' doesn't tell you anything else about weight carrying capacity is that it the weakest points in the musculoskeletal system are elsewhere and their strentgh will not be correlated (related) significantly to the circumference of the cannon bone.

Cazee34's info is fascinating, I've found various figures for weight carrying capacity but not the one from the US Cavalry Manual. None of these values has any basis other than to observe when horses apprently keel over due to overload. Providing an objective basis for weight carrying capacity would be extremely difficult but also extremely useful form a welfare perspective.

I think the best way to know whether an animal is being overloaded is to look at how the animal performs. Although it is entirely subjective, an experienced observer would notice a change in an animals behaviour if it was having difficulty in carrying a rider. I guess the rule of thumb would be that if you can see the effect, the horse is overloaded.
 

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This is interesting for me. I'm intending to take over the riding of our little mare and I'm told that she'll carry no more than 10 stone preferably 9. She's a 15hh PBA (nearly AA). The thing is that my daughter has been riding her and she is nearly 11 stone. If you'd seen that little mare galloping along the beach you'd not have said her performance was suffering or she was over loaded.

The issue for me is that I need to lose three stone to get to 11 stone. But at my age losing three stone is easier than losing 5 stone. Off to measure her bone tomorrow and do some calculations I think!
 

puddicat

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Thank you. I'm curious about the statement "Bone structure was evaluated using the front leg cannon bones as representative of general structure". I wish they'd been more specific, in some respects it isn't true and in others it obviously is. It would be a nice project for an equine science student to investigate.
 

puddicat

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Well, the average body weight of 15hh horses is about 500 kg (range 416 - 581). 20% of that would be 100 kg and 11 stone is 70 kg so going by the information floating around this thread you should be OK. Even if we assumed it the animal was lightweight for its size at about 400 kg, 20% of that is 80 kg, still more than 11 stone.
 
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