Done to death I know but rider weight?

stormox said:
I honestly think 14stone- and I am assuming you dont mean 14stone rider + tack - is too heavy for ANY lightweight 15hh horse, cob or not.
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It may not be your intention, but the inclusion of "15hh" in your description of the inappropriate mount could be taken to imply that a larger horse may be more suitable. I would suggest that a LW cob-build 17hh horse may well be less suited to carrying 14st than its 15hh counterpart. I think the issues with % style "rules" is that it feed a general misconception that bigger is better, or that a heavy draught build horse may be an appropriate weight carrier (many really, really aren't).

Fwiw, I've had 14odd stone on both my highlands - very different riders, different circumstances, but I deemed both to be acceptable for them at the time.
 
I usually kill a conversation dead if someone asks to ride mine.

Yes, I'm happy for others to ride, but if I have an inkling that I feel they may be too heavy, then my response is:
"Well, you wont mind getting on the yard scales with the tack etc before we go any further, do you?"
I've had 2 quick exits on that one....................
 
I would say 12-13 stone max for a 15hh light cob.

It's a funny thing, weight. I am a deceivingly heavy person. I am 5ft 4, look fairly slender, not skinny, but athletic build I suppose. I weigh in at 10 stone. I don't have much fat on me in reality, although I'm constantly on a failed quest to lose weight as I feel I should be about 9.5 stone. I ride a 14hh chunky cob and I feel that I am (with tack- synthetic saddle etc) the heaviest who should ride her. Yet I don't look particularly large, I am horribly aware of how heavy I am in reality. It's my legs I think, they are just absolutely solid from thigh to knee.
I have friends the same weight as me who look much larger, but equally, a really skinny friend who weighs the same. Bizarre.
This was me and her on Saturday-
IMG_4593ffe9a.jpg
 
Downton Dame said:
And I don't want to hear any rubbish about the horse carrying a heavy person who can ride well they are still too heavy no matter how good a rider they are.
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This bugs me for 2 reasons, people get it backwards, then it gets thrown back at them backwards!

Of course you cant "ride light" but you can ride heavy! 12 stone is 12 stone, but that is not to say that a lighter rider would have more of a detrimental impact than a heavier, softer, balanced one. Riders should chose a suitable mount, which is also taking into consideration their own fitness, skill and flexibility. It is not that the limit is increased by your ability, but lowered by your lack of.

Flops off high horse and waddles back to soap box.... :D
 
Love this old chestnut.
At 5 foot 6 and 16 stone I am 10 kgs under what my horse should carry with tack included.
I am however and athlete and very well balanced.
I would not let someone who is 16 stone and obese and unbalanced on my horse.

I agree with the poster who says riding light is not about being able to ride less than their weight but that someone can ride heavier!

The weight rule is daft for a number of reasons:
1) If my horse is obese apparently he can carry more rider weight
2) If my horse is a tb or a heavyweight cob that weigh the same the same rider weight applies
3) If my horse is young or old it makes no difference
4) If my horse is happy or unhappy it makes no difference
5) There is no robust science behind it
 
Batgirl said:
Love this old chestnut.
At 5 foot 6 and 16 stone I am 10 kgs under what my horse should carry with tack included.
I am however and athlete and very well balanced.
I would not let someone who is 16 stone and obese and unbalanced on my horse.

I agree with the poster who says riding light is not about being able to ride less than their weight but that someone can ride heavier!

The weight rule is daft for a number of reasons:
1) If my horse is obese apparently he can carry more rider weight
2) If my horse is a tb or a heavyweight cob that weigh the same the same rider weight applies
3) If my horse is young or old it makes no difference
4) If my horse is happy or unhappy it makes no difference
5) There is no robust science behind it
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Its not daft if it gives people a general rule of thumb to work with, there has to be a happy medium met as where you would think common sense should prevail with regard to people keeping their weight down to ride there often isn't!

There will always be a million other factors to consider and this is why there is no ruling from a lot of the affiliated bodies because how do you create a rule and police it?

I think it has to be agreed that something needs to be done and rather than arguing against an idea if there were more suggestion to what would be a good idea to help there be more understanding and for it to become a less emotive subject and a more practical subject that does need guidelines unfortunately due to the increasing size of riders.
 
Farma said:
Its not daft if it gives people a general rule of thumb to work with, there has to be a happy medium met as where you would think common sense should prevail with regard to people keeping their weight down to ride there often isn't!

There will always be a million other factors to consider and this is why there is no ruling from a lot of the affiliated bodies because how do you create a rule and police it?

I think it has to be agreed that something needs to be done and rather than arguing against an idea if there were more suggestion to what would be a good idea to help there be more understanding and for it to become a less emotive subject and a more practical subject that does need guidelines unfortunately due to the increasing size of riders.
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I am arguing against the idea being put forward as black and white as some people do, IMO if this were to be enforced blanket and black and white it would encourage overweight riders to make their horses overweight to compensate at competitions (though how you would weigh the horse separately to the rider...).

I think there should be a guideline rather than a rule and common sense applied however this would take some bravery on the part of the people enforcing it and would inevitably end up in some inconsistencies in application which I would consider to be better than what we have.
 
I was discussing with a friend the other day how your perception changes when you aren't the skinny mini you were at 20. I suspect I am heavier than I look and that means I do tell people what I weigh before riding their horses and ponies these days but no one has yet been bothered. My own limits for others on frank have certainly changed with the knowledge of how he has been and given that I have that and several years of evidence I'm not quite sure how someone would convince me he shouldn't carry what he does. I see a few riders I don't think should be riding or on their current mounts but they are few and far between so I'm wondering if it is a phenomenon worse in certain areas?


Interestingly keeping a pony on diy and trying to fit in riding daily has definitely helped my weight situation!
 
It's a rubbish rule but it's all we've got. To be honest I am always surprised that some people do not even consider that they may be too heavy for their horses. The majority of threads on here from people worrying about it are from people who are nowhere near too heavy.
 
I'm a guy, I'm 5'7 and weigh nearly 13 stone. I could be fitter but I'm fit enough to run most days, do weights etc. I have a 16.2 ex hunt horse ISH and a 16.1 ISH x Traditional cob. Both are solid leg in each corner types and both more than capable of carrying me fully tacked up. I would not get on my horses if I weighed 16 stone!

Now me and weight is a sore subject and I'm probably body dysmorphic to a certain extent (with myself only). I suffered from bulimia as a teenager and into my early twenties so my brain doesnt compute weight very well, be that healthy or bad but in my head I would not let anyone as heavy as 16 stone ride my horses and people can sing until the cows come home about how healthy they are but I cannot see how being 5'6 and 16 stone is healthy or 'athletic' I just cannot see that, sorry.
 
Antw23uk said:
I'm a guy, I'm 5'7 and weigh nearly 13 stone. I could be fitter but I'm fit enough to run most days, do weights etc. I have a 16.2 ex hunt horse ISH and a 16.1 ISH x Traditional cob. Both are solid leg in each corner types and both more than capable of carrying me fully tacked up. I would not get on my horses if I weighed 16 stone!

Now me and weight is a sore subject and I'm probably body dysmorphic to a certain extent (with myself only). I suffered from bulimia as a teenager and into my early twenties so my brain doesnt compute weight very well, be that healthy or bad but in my head I would not let anyone as heavy as 16 stone ride my horses and people can sing until the cows come home about how healthy they are but I cannot see how being 5'6 and 16 stone is healthy or 'athletic' I just cannot see that, sorry.
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I am an ex north of england rugby player, I run 10ks, swim open water long distance and do triathlons, cycle 40miles easily and more. I can deadlift over 100kgs, push 160kgs on a prowler. I promise you I am an athlete, a very muscley and heavy athlete. Whether you see it or not doesn't make it any less true (if it gets the point across my personal trainer thought his scales were broken when he weighed me until he saw my strenght)

I am honest about my weight, I bought a horse to carry my weight (who at a fit lean weight I come in well under the 15% 'rule' and do not ride other peoples horses. My horses back and saddle are checked 6 monthly (and are fine) and he takes me on miles of hacking, galloping on beaches and we are working towards medium dressage.
 
Frumpoon said:
Muscle weighs more than fat so perhaps weight alone is not the right metric
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Is that not irrelevant really though.
A rider weighing 15 stone say weighs 15 stone weather it's a very fit muscley rider or a unfit rider who's just fat (nb I'm not saying 15 stone is fat simply that 15 stone of fat is the same as 15 stone of muscle!)
 
Ok fair dos

However one thing - went to an unaffiliated jumping about a month ago and there were a high number of riders who were not I suppose too heavy for their horses but were very very unfit, flopping around, out of breath half way round the course, giving no clear aids, jabbing horses mouths etc etc
 
Ok fair dos

However one thing - went to an unaffiliated jumping about a month ago and there were a high number of riders who were not I suppose too heavy for their horses but were very very unfit, flopping around, out of breath half way round the course, giving no clear aids, jabbing horses mouths etc etc
 
Downton Dame said:
the RIDER , dressed to ride ( wearing at boots etc not naked on the scales at home!)to be no more than 15% of the horses weight assuming the horse is at condition score 3 ie not too fat or too thin. less if horse is overweight or undeveloped eg a youngster. And I don't want to hear any rubbish about the horse carrying a heavy person who can ride well they are still too heavy no matter how good a rider they are.
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I don't trust this calculation as 15% of my cob's weight would work out several stone more than I'm prepared to put on him! He has just a smidgeon over 10" of bone, so he's not a lightweight by any means. Would be interested in what would be considered an acceptable rider weight for him tbh.
 
Batgirl said:
Love this old chestnut.
At 5 foot 6 and 16 stone I am 10 kgs under what my horse should carry with tack included.
I am however and athlete and very well balanced.
I would not let someone who is 16 stone and obese and unbalanced on my horse.

I agree with the poster who says riding light is not about being able to ride less than their weight but that someone can ride heavier!

The weight rule is daft for a number of reasons:
1) If my horse is obese apparently he can carry more rider weight
2) If my horse is a tb or a heavyweight cob that weigh the same the same rider weight applies
3) If my horse is young or old it makes no difference
4) If my horse is happy or unhappy it makes no difference
5) There is no robust science behind it
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This exactly! The weight rule is completely daft!

For example, I cycle 15 miles to/from work, walk a couple of miles and ride for 2 hrs a day and therefore i would call myself reasonably fit and have reasonable muscle weight. I weigh in between 60-62kg, would you therefore equate me to an unfit, overweight, unbalanced rider of the same weight, i doubt it.

Both horses easily carry me, one at 13.2 and the other 17.2/3 4yr old - in fact i would say i am almost too light for the 17.2/3 as she can very easily chuck my weight out of the saddle by just being a little too powerful trot. This said because of her age i would not allow someone who is 17stone which is 15% of her weight to get on her.

The 13.2 goes out and wins everytime out round 90/95cm and is ridden largely schooling or fitness work 5 or 6 days a week, she still manages to haul me round miles of canter tracks and would be the first to say no!

It is entirely based on the build, age and back length of the horse and the larger the horse the less the horse is able to carry per kilo.
 
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I used to do some vetted endurance rides and I think that taking the heart/respiration rate of the horse/pony before and after work as they do there gives a good idea of how well he is coping with what he is being asked to do rather than any fixed figures.
 
poiuytrewq said:
Is that not irrelevant really though.
A rider weighing 15 stone say weighs 15 stone weather it's a very fit muscley rider or a unfit rider who's just fat (nb I'm not saying 15 stone is fat simply that 15 stone of fat is the same as 15 stone of muscle!)
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Agree it is irrelevant in rider weight, I am 16 stone, the fact that it is all muscle does not make me lighter. It does make me fitter, more balanced etc so I ride 'lighter' than someone 16 stone and unfit. But 16 stone is 16 stone!
 
This is a touchy subject, and having a history of eating disorders I perhaps have a skewed idea of weight but I personally don't think anyone above 17 stone should ride anything. Just my opinion. Regardless of how much bone the horse has, it is still a lot of weight concentrated into an area on their back the size of the saddle.

I am currently 12.5 stone and wouldn't ride a TB of any sort, I would feel uncomfortable on a ISH type under 16.2hh and the same again on a H/W cob type under 15.2hh.. but that's probably purely down to my skewed idea of how big I am. I used to question often if I was too heavy for my short backed 18hh-er at 12stone. However I would much rather people are cautious, just because they can carry, doesn't mean they should. Especially a 13hh Section C with a 12 stone rider; there's one round here that makes me despair!
 
TBs carry 12st 7 lb for racing, but that is including the saddle, so I wouldn't be to worried about riding a TB. I noticed at the last point to point I went to that most of the horses running were carrying 12 stone.

But I agree with you about 17 stone being the maximum weight anyone should be for riding. There just comes a point where it is too much.

I had a horse for sale once, one of the reasons was that I felt under horsed and too heavy for her, and someone wanted to buy her who was much bigger than me and I wouldn't sell the horse to her. Although I didn't say it was because it was because she was too heavy, I made some other feeble excuse.
 
Personally, I won't ride at all whilst I'm over 12 stone, and as such I've been quietly losing weight since May 2016, by eating sensibly and exercising. I started this year with only six more pounds to lose, but then in March we gave in to peer pressure and got a car. Worst idea ever. My weight shot back up, my overall fitness levels dropped, and I've been battling with it ever since. Frustratingly, I've gone down two sizes in jodhpurs since May of last year but I'm actually heavier now than I was then. Yes, a lot of it is muscle but as my knees can confirm, too heavy is still too heavy. And now for the really fun part: according to MFP, I don't eat anywhere near enough for my activity levels, and this is what's slowing down my weight loss! TBH I'm flummoxed :(
 
KittenInTheTree said:
Personally, I won't ride at all whilst I'm over 12 stone, and as such I've been quietly losing weight since May 2016, by eating sensibly and exercising. I started this year with only six more pounds to lose, but then in March we gave in to peer pressure and got a car. Worst idea ever. My weight shot back up, my overall fitness levels dropped, and I've been battling with it ever since. Frustratingly, I've gone down two sizes in jodhpurs since May of last year but I'm actually heavier now than I was then. Yes, a lot of it is muscle but as my knees can confirm, too heavy is still too heavy. And now for the really fun part: according to MFP, I don't eat anywhere near enough for my activity levels, and this is what's slowing down my weight loss! TBH I'm flummoxed :(
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Have you had your thyroid checked? Are you on any medication? Both of these can alter the amount of food you need to maintain your weight.
 
The Animal Health Trust is currently recruiting horses to run a study on exactly this so we might soon have some proper science based information. They are only studying the short-term effects, but it's a start. I'm in the 15% max camp personally.
 
Blimey! It's a wonder anybody rides at all looking at some of these.
Out of interest does anyone know of any actual incidents were a horse was damaged by overweight rider? I can think of one were a big fat bloke sat on a minature donkey but that is exteme. Anyone have any actual experiences of having to get a vet out etc? not working horses like leisure people/horses.
 
I do worry that I am too heavy for my horse and may have caused his kissing spine, or at least helped it along as the vet said it was down to conformation.

I do need to lose weight although people say I dont, but I do. I'm 5'8", more muscle than fat (in my legs in particular), and weigh I think around 13st 8lbs now because I havent been riding for the past 2 months because my horse has been off with the kissing spine problem. He was weighed at the vets and he came in at 578kg, but he wasnt fully standing on the scales as he was scared of them, he had one hoof half off, but it was the best we could get. He probably does weigh closer to 600kg, which gives his 15% weight limit at 14stone, but I still feel I am too heavy really. Going to lose weight to help him out and so if I did cause this, I dont in the future.
 
huskydamage said:
Blimey! It's a wonder anybody rides at all looking at some of these.
Out of interest does anyone know of any actual incidents were a horse was damaged by overweight rider? I can think of one were a big fat bloke sat on a minature donkey but that is exteme. Anyone have any actual experiences of having to get a vet out etc? not working horses like leisure people/horses.
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well from the posts and photos on here over the years I don't think I have ever seen one horse with a physical issue being investigated that I have thought 'well that is clearly because XYZ user is overweight for that horse'. In fact those on here for whom some have expressed the views that they are too large for their mounts seem to have some of the soundest, happiest, issue free beasts :p.
 
Sometimes I see things that make me think the rider is far too large for the horse. But, dare I say it, I'm 74kg and my pony is a 13.2 NF x cob. I am a weightlifter though, so hardly obese. And am 5ft3. We hack and jump tiny courses, and judging by how she is able to bog off with me I don't think she has any issues!
 
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