Do you think fat people should be allowed to ride?

It depends on how fat and how fit you are. On the horse you describe, OP, I would probably say no more then 12 stone for proper riding (schooling, jumping, long hacks) and 14 stone for a 30 minute walk down the road. However, I have known a skinny 8 stone rider who is so stiff that she blocks all forward movement and horses find it almost impossible to maintain momentum with her. Now she is only 8 stone so not much damage is being done, but imagine if she was say 12 stone or more. So it also depends on the type of rider you are and how well balanced etc.
 
Hi op i am a heavier rider at just under 14 stone yet i find the opposite, when i look at pics, videos etc i expect to look huge but actually i dont look big at all and my friends all think i am daft! Even with a bulky body protector on i look okay!

I think its how you percieve yourself, if your horse is happy and you are happy then dont worry.

As wagtail says it also depends on the type of rider you are, balance etc.

I ride a 16hh clyde x irish cob and he carries me no prob!

I would add pics but dont know how plus i am at work lol :)
 
My friend who I ride with sometimes rides her 16.2 tb who Is a chunk! I was shocked when she said she weighed 16 stone! She looks about 10 stone on him!
 
I'm not going to get into the 'how fat is too fat' argument. But I find the wording of the question interesting - when you say 'allowed', who will be the fat police, and how will they stop fat people riding? I'm thinking lassos.
 
OP. I know just how you feel. I look at photos of me riding and cringe. I'm 5ft 6in and was nearly 12st. I've been in a cast for 6 wks and out 1/2 st on :(:(.

I will lose that again but I've not been lighter than 11.5st in 30 yrs. so can't see that changing as much as I would like it too
 
Wagtail said:
It depends on how fat and how fit you are. On the horse you describe, OP, I would probably say no more then 12 stone for proper riding (schooling, jumping, long hacks) and 14 stone for a 30 minute walk down the road. However, I have known a skinny 8 stone rider who is so stiff that she blocks all forward movement and horses find it almost impossible to maintain momentum with her. Now she is only 8 stone so not much damage is being done, but imagine if she was say 12 stone or more. So it also depends on the type of rider you are and how well balanced etc.
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I think 12stone is abit light, what about tall men that do 'proper riding' I'd imagine alot of them weigh more than 12stone? You see some big men jumping around on TB's! I normally sit at about 11stone, most people dont believe me when i say that, as i look slim. But I'm tall and have an athletic build.

Like others have said, it depends on what your horse is happy with, im sure the horse will give you some signs if your too heavy, just look out for them.
 
Pigeon said:
The troll thing - I'm not going to attack people I don't know over the internet in case they MIGHT be a troll. Innocent until proven guilty, and all that. And as for questions being asked repeatedly, it's a horse forum, it's going to be formulaic. If someone asks something you've already answered a million times, ignore it! We're not here to decide what people are and aren't allowed to post.
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I've never been on a forum where people have been so quick to shout "troll" before and I am not impressed by it. I like to give people benefit of the doubt, even if this means people think I am gullible. I'm not- I just don't want to accuse them of lying until I've gathered some more evidence to prove that point.
 
Billy the kid said:
I think 12stone is abit light, what about tall men that do 'proper riding' I'd imagine alot of them weigh more than 12stone? You see some big men jumping around on TB's! I normally sit at about 11stone, most people dont believe me when i say that, as i look slim. But I'm tall and have an athletic build.

Like others have said, it depends on what your horse is happy with, im sure the horse will give you some signs if your too heavy, just look out for them.
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^^^like^^

totally agree, i know two men who both ride, showjump to a high level an also both hunt, infact one is a huntmaster, both ride id, tbs and typical hunter types 16.2 plus and i know for a fact they both weigh around 15-16 stone yet they look a lot less. They are both tall, very muscular, fit and athletic and thier horses have no problem carrying them round a hunt field or a showjumping course! :)

They look much lighter than they actually are :)
 
My boyfriend is 14 stone and 6'4, he's chunky but not overweight, I wouldn't let him ride anything smaller than 16.2hh, and even then, it would have to be a sturdier sort! I'm not sure the majority of horses will give signs that a rider is too heavy, they're such tolerant beasties. Perhaps mild things like falling out in circles or unwillingness to bend..

I know what you mean though, men usually weigh more than women and still ride competitively.
 
Pigeon said:
See, I'm too short for time/lazy to look through people's posting history before replying to a thread :p

The troll thing does grate though. I've seen so many new posters get upset/stop posting because people arbitrarily decide that they are a troll and jump on their threads. They're probably just someone young or inexperienced, and even if they're not, what's the harm in trying to answer their question? This board is meant to be for helping people... (or have I painted an idyllic view in my head?)
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Agreed but think the problem here was that the OP made some racist/classist comments about Irish people and travellers in another thread, and of course being young/inexperienced is no excuse for that kind of bile.
 
Pigeon said:
My boyfriend is 14 stone and 6'4, he's chunky but not overweight, I wouldn't let him ride anything smaller than 16.2hh, and even then, it would have to be a sturdier sort! I'm not sure the majority of horses will give signs that a rider is too heavy, they're such tolerant beasties. Perhaps mild things like falling out in circles or unwillingness to bend..

I know what you mean though, men usually weigh more than women and still ride competitively.
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I can't understand how you can relate the height of a horse to a rider's weight limit - my 15.2 is capable of carrying more weight than the 16.2 tb, it isn't a case of relating hands of horse to stones of rider.
 
Shysmum said:
Hmmm, perhaps we should colour code our horses to our hair colour ?
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Ooh yes - true matchy matchy :D . How about when we change our hair colour - can I get my horses done too :D :D

Eta- I could not distinguish between a 10 stone person who is flabby and one who is very muscular I have been both. I can only ever make uneducated guesses on peoples weight so tend to restrict people who ride my horses to balanced and sympathetic riders and who don't swap them.

How does everyone manage to judge others weight to a specific stone??
 
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I genuinely think the absolute maximum weight for any horse to carry is a 16 stone balanced rider. And it's need to be big, compact horse built for weight carrying.
My YO is a very large lady and rides a chunky 15.1 welsh cob. Not daily but sometimes they go off hacking and canter alot. He doesn't show any distress but he breathes heavily for ages after being back in his box. He's ridden during the week by a teenage girl who weighs next to nothing!

At the end of the day obese people are going to ride and they don't care about what anyone else thinks let alone their horse welfare.. I applaud the people who DO lose weight for their horses. I have done it recently myself but I went from 12 stone to 10 1/2 so wasn't massive in the first place.
 
I don't get the height to weight thing. One of mine is 16.3 and if anyone over 13 stone gets on him, he's not happy and gets them off pretty quick.

Whereas my friends 15.2 cob is quite happy with her OH on and he weighs almost 14 stone.
 
I think the height/lanky thing is deceiving though and can't be taken literally. Take William Fox Pitt. He's 6ft 6 but only 11st 14 (according to BBC stats).

I'm 5ft 10 and under 9 stone... but wouldn't ride anything under 13.2 (and even then 13.2-14hh would have to be a native type).
 
splashnutti1 said:
^^^like^^

totally agree, i know two men who both ride, showjump to a high level an also both hunt, infact one is a huntmaster, both ride id, tbs and typical hunter types 16.2 plus and i know for a fact they both weigh around 15-16 stone yet they look a lot less. They are both tall, very muscular, fit and athletic and thier horses have no problem carrying them round a hunt field or a showjumping course! :)

They look much lighter than they actually are :)
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The horse in question is a 15.2 tb x connie, which is exactly what my boy is, and no way would I allow 15-16 stone on him!!
 
Do you think fat people should be allowed to ride?
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Surely its common knowledge that they can ride, as long as the horse is in a onsie and the rider has spurs ;)

Nugget La Poneh said:
I have a 2 photos of me riding and one I look positively normal, the other taken with me at same weight shows me pretty darn big.
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This, don't fret op, some photos are dire and can make you look larger, and some are more flattering. I like the ones of me rising, as I am stretched out a bit :p As long as you are not too heavy for your horse, and fit enough to ride effectively, then I wouldn't worry about it.
 
But it's not as simple as how much someone weighs is it? Place a pound of sugar on the scales it weighs a pound, drop it on and watch how far the needle jumps! I'd rather a 11 stone rider who can sit "in" the saddle than a stiff 9 stoner bouncing about.
 
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