Find a horse for a 18stone + rider

[EchoInterrupted]

A bit tangential, but since we're on the topic - appropriate minimum size loan horse for a rider a bit under 11 stone and a bit over 5'10" (me dropping anything below 10stone wouldn't be healthy for me)? I always give the potential loan's owner my weight anyways, but I know a lot of people don't actually have an accurate weight on their horse, so an approximate height to be shooting for would be helpful. I was thinking something like 15.1hh+? I know it's not a failsafe given the effects of horse's condition, conformation, general build, etc but a rough guideline would be helpful.

 

[HollyWoozle]

I don't know if it's any help but I am 5'8" and currently weigh about 11st 4lbs. If I was to buy another horse then I would ideally look for something of a sort of medium chunkiness around the 15.1/15.2 size I think, accounting for the fact that my weight fluctuates a bit. My retired horse is 16.2hh but I have ridden something like 130 horses on trips, the vast majority of whom were smaller than her, and I no longer see the need or desire for another big horse and feel that a suitable smaller mount could carry me fine.

You are a few inches taller than me so I think it would depend on how you felt on the horse and how they took up your leg but in my opinion you're along the right lines as a lower limit, depending on all those factors you already have in mind.

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

I think judging by weight is perfectly fair. I have seen amusement rides judged purely by weight and overweight people not allowed. Why should riding schools be any different?

I think you need to read and quote the rest of my post. That part wasn’t about riding schools

 

[Lipglosspukka]

A bit tangential, but since we're on the topic - appropriate minimum size loan horse for a rider a bit under 11 stone and a bit over 5'10" (me dropping anything below 10stone wouldn't be healthy for me)? I always give the potential loan's owner my weight anyways, but I know a lot of people don't actually have an accurate weight on their horse, so an approximate height to be shooting for would be helpful. I was thinking something like 15.1hh+? I know it's not a failsafe given the effects of horse's condition, conformation, general build, etc but a rough guideline would be helpful.

At 5ft7 I am happy on anything 13.2 upwards.

I'm sure you be fine on a stocky 14.2 that takes up your leg, or 15hh upwards for something finer.

 

[Wishfilly]

A bit tangential, but since we're on the topic - appropriate minimum size loan horse for a rider a bit under 11 stone and a bit over 5'10" (me dropping anything below 10stone wouldn't be healthy for me)? I always give the potential loan's owner my weight anyways, but I know a lot of people don't actually have an accurate weight on their horse, so an approximate height to be shooting for would be helpful. I was thinking something like 15.1hh+? I know it's not a failsafe given the effects of horse's condition, conformation, general build, etc but a rough guideline would be helpful.

I think it's not necessarily so much about height, although on most 15hh+ horses you would be fine, but equally you'd be fine on a chunky 14.2 and might be less comfortable on a really fine 15hh horse. At 11 stone there are a lot of options, but at 5'10'' you will probably want something able to take up your leg a bit!