how much weight can a 14.2 welsh d carry ?

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dem94

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i know this subject can be touchy for some and its not intended to cause any arguments so please be nice!

im 5ft9 and currently weigh 18 stone (was 19). I have lost some weight upto now and have joined slimming world to help me along. I have a 14.2 welsh d mare who i wish to ride myself at some point.

i know im far too heavy as of yet but was wondering what would people suggest being a acceptable weight to ride her at?

thank you in advance.
 
What is the age, type, confo and fitness of the mare?

I have a very square old fashioned welsh cob with good confo (other than the typically for the breed slight straightness behind) who is 14.2. When fit he never sniffed at around the 13.5 stone mark including hunting etc and always had a fab physio report etc. He hunted his 23 year then semi retired to hacking at 24. I bought him when I was 11 stone in my early twenties and if I replace him it will be with something a bit bigger.
 
Very much depends on her build and fitness and on the rider balance.. and what they will be doing?
I'd be happy putting 15 stone on my highland for a short hack but not for going a hunt!

Maybe give us about more info OP?
A picture perhaps and the horses weight?
 
A stone is a fantastic achievement so far, well done!

The Welsh D I used to ride carried a 12st rider with ease, he was super fit though; I'm not sure I would exceed 13/14st on an equally fit horse.

Good luck with the rest of your weight loss journey :)
 
Firstly, well done for losing the weight, I don't mean that to be patronising but I am currently 8lbs down at WW and too many more to think about so know how much of a struggle it is.

I know the 20% rule is floated around a bit but that has too many variations to be accurate. If your horse weighs roughly around 500kg and you were to apply it then potentially around 15 1/2 stone (that amount has to include tack so maybe more like 15 stone) but it depends on how fit your horse is and how well balanced you are plus tack fit etc. My horse can apparently take 16 stone if you apply the 20% rule but even at 2 stone less than that I feel too big for him which is why I am not riding at the moment.

I'm not sure of your situation and whether your mare is in work or not but if not, you could use the time until you feel more comfortable riding to do some long reining and other in hand work to help fitten her up if she is just in the field so that she is nice and fit for when you do want to start riding. Plus helps to keep you fit, I am currently long reining 20 mins a day as part of my horse's rehab programme and feel better for it.

I'm sure there will be others along with more accurate advice but that's just what I have read in the past.
 
As an estimate, on the assumption horse is fit and well with a correctly fitted saddle, I’d say 14 stone for gentle hacking and 13 stone for more workload on a regular basis.
As an ad hoc/infrequent sit on kind of scenario then up to an additional stone.
 
sorry should of included it all really.

shes a very fit and active mare.
shes turning 8 this time around and has been taking to riding quiet well. shes also starting to fill out a lot more recently.
i bought her as a two year old who was completely unhandled so shes came a long way and has taken her time maturing education wise as well as growth as she was lacking in all kinds.

but slowly wins the race, which is where im hoping my weight will go haha x
 
It is worth checking because if she isn't doing anything because you can't ride her it lowers what would be suggested. If she has good muscle tone and has been taught how to work correctly through her back it makes a big difference :). and ditto what IHW said about saddle fit, for both of you as it needs to put you in a good position too.
 
Well done on losing the weight and good luck for the rest.

I am interested in this as being pregnant and the only way to subside the sickness is too eat and not healthy stuff - I am wondering what I will be like at the other end. My horse was weighed on the topspec weigh bridge and she weighed in at 645 and she is only 15hh, she will be extremely fit by the time I am back in the saddle so hoping to get back to it quite quickly but if not, I will long rein and still get the person that is riding her to keep doing. I love long reining though.

Again, good luck :D
 
Well done on your weight loss! I'm on the same journey myself, having recently lost 3 stones with 1.5 stones to go on the Blood Sugar Diet. Getting riding fit agan is a huge incentive, isn't it :).

I think that the weights quoted by others include clothing and tack, and as a heads up my 18" Ideal event saddle complete with stirrups, girth numnah etc weighs 1.5 stone :eek3:. I'm already down to just within the 15% limit inc my tack and kit etc on my chunky 650kg 16.1hh ID/cob mare, but it was very sobering to work out just how much I needed to lose to get there. My mare's been off work, so as Ester says it is particularly important not to be too heavy on soft unfit muscles.
 
thats amazing , well done, yeah the tack is a big issue, her saddle has been fitted but obviously not for me so i will get that looked into when it comes to getting on x
 
I was only talking about this yesterday with my instructor and YM (and RDA instructor). Apparently you need to allow 1 1/2 stone for winter riding gear and tack. They also both felt that for anything other than an experienced rider on a healthy, solidly built and not young/old horse the ratio was more like 15%.
 
I just remembered you're supposed to allow 3 stone if you're riding side saddle as they're so heavy. I'm 8 stone on a lighter style 15.2 welshie and that still gets me to 14% when sideways. He's got joint issues so it's a good job we don't ride that way full time.
 
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yeah my values were excluding tack, you can add an ideal VSD to that, and sprengers which are heavy.

I do hate the percentages though, they are so badly researched that I feel they don't really bring anything helpful to the table.
 
Think about Hunter and Cob Showing riding weights. What is a lightweight cob supposed to be able to carry for a full day's hunting? A TB racehorse carries over 12 stone for racing and jumping. 15 hh Quarter horses carry full grown 6' man and the heavy saddles and work for hours at a time, not galloping and jumping admittedly. Ponies are better "engineered" than horses as well.

I would think 14-15 stone easily. Welsh cobs were bred to be the workhorse around the farm, pulling heavy carts and as a riding horse too.
 
http://www.j-evs.com/article/S0737-0806(07)00413-3/abstract

The above may be useful although bear in mind they were QH in the study.

I go by the 15% rule for my own weight and gives me room for tack weight... that leaves me some wiggle-room on a fit and lean horse. (My horse 500kg x 0.15 = 75kg for me, 500kg x 0.05 = 25kg for tack and you'd be surprised how much tack weighs!!!)

If the horse wasn't fit and was carrying a proportion of fat itself, that would give me less room to play with so something has to give - either I lose weight or the pony goes to WW and pony-gym aswell :D
 
Two of my cobs carry me easily one is 13.3 and the other is 14.2. However my other d mare has never tolerated much weight on her back and was therefore broken to drive. They are all individual and no formula takes that into account!
 
tallyho! said:
http://www.j-evs.com/article/S0737-0806(07)00413-3/abstract

The above may be useful although bear in mind they were QH in the study.

I go by the 15% rule for my own weight and gives me room for tack weight... that leaves me some wiggle-room on a fit and lean horse. (My horse 500kg x 0.15 = 75kg for me, 500kg x 0.05 = 25kg for tack and you'd be surprised how much tack weighs!!!)

If the horse wasn't fit and was carrying a proportion of fat itself, that would give me less room to play with so something has to give - either I lose weight or the pony goes to WW and pony-gym aswell :D
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whilst it is suprising how heavy tack is, if you are using a normal astride saddle it will never be anywhere near 25kg! try 10kg absolute maximum for tack! (sidesaddles will be more)
 
Sorry, OP, your thread has been slightly derailed by discussion of tack and kit weights. IMHO it's an interesting diversion, though.

My 18" saddle (complete) plus snaffle bridle (also complete) together weigh 1 stone 10lb/10.9kg. Additionally, my riding kit of crash hat, 1/2 chaps, jodh boots and air jacket weigh 7lb/3.2kg.

This brings my tack + kit weight to 2 stone 3lb/ 14.1kg, not including rider clothing.
 
thanks for everyone's replies so far, i think i will weigh my tack too and see where that takes me too. seems most people are around the 12st mark xx
 
conniegirl said:
whilst it is suprising how heavy tack is, if you are using a normal astride saddle it will never be anywhere near 25kg! try 10kg absolute maximum for tack! (sidesaddles will be more)
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Like I said... you'd be surprised... :)
 
I'll risk the potential abuse(!), but my 15hh welsh cob is happy to carry me at 15.5st (I'm 5'8") - he'll go for a hack uphill and down dale, with canters/gallops and still sashays into the yard as if he's just been for a light prance... We've also done some jumping and x country schooling and he barely notices. His previous rider (a lean and fit bloke) was also around that mark.

It probably doesn't make any difference apart from the saddle perspective, but I don't carry much weight on my bottom half - it all seems to go into boobage and middle, so I have no issues with fitting into my saddle properly at the above weight... If it all went on my hips and thighs, I think it would be more of an issue to find a saddle that would fit both of us, and that I could remain balanced in.

Ironically, I'm not riding at the moment as I am now too heavy thanks to some prescription meds, so also attempting to diet... :/
 
On the basis that I can carry it for some distance my tack definitely doesn't weigh 25kg! and my saddle is relatively heavy compared to many.

spottymare, I'm boobage and belly these days, my legs are just muscley so my 17" saddle is fine. I do look a bit odd in my gym kit. I hear you on the prescription meds thing too.
 
It is pretty individual. Some of the horses you think are going to be the best weight carriers are actually comparatively weak.

I've backed lots of different types with some noticeably wobbly under weight for the first couple of months despite not having much of a load as a percentage of their weight, and visually being of good build. I have never been so terrified of getting on a horse for the first time as my current youngster. She is 15.1hh and is the twiggy of the horse world, and I was genuinely convinced that she would just collapse underneath me. And yet she was one of the most solid feeling youngsters I've ever sat on. She just waltzed off in walk first time of asking, without so much as a wobble, as if my 65kg plus tack was nothing.
 
We never seem to mention the type of horse or pony. Our dales ponies, with the amount of bone they have, are more that capable of carrying more weight than some larger breeds, same goes for a lot of native breeds.
 
tda said:
We never seem to mention the type of horse or pony. Our dales ponies, with the amount of bone they have, are more that capable of carrying more weight than some larger breeds, same goes for a lot of native breeds.
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My 14hh mare is a cob, not the chunkiest ever, but no lightweight either
 
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