how much weight should a 16.2 hh TB gelding carry?

[gracograc06]

Hi everyone, i'm thinking of buying a 16.2 TB and i ony weigh about 7st so i know id be fine BUT my mum weighs a lot more than me and she'd be riding twice a week for about an hour (?). how much would you say a 16.2 TB should be carrying? i've gotten different replies. some people saying that TBs have thinner bones and cannot carry as much weight, some saying that she'd be fine bc he's 16.2 and has a bit of muscle to him. any thoughts?

 

[Equi]

Its easier to answer if we know what the mothers weight is. If its like 10-12st..maybe a little more within reason...depending on what they do together it may be ok....if its like 18st then we need to talk...

 

[I'm Dun]

Mine is happy with 15stone for light work. Hes a well put together, sound and tough horse and the heavy rider is balanced and quiet. Hes a chunky sort as well, a fair bit of bone and wide loins, an ex flat horse but looks far more like a NH horse. A finer, less well put together TB might only be ok with 12 stone, so it really is horse dependant.

 

[teddy_]

I would speak with your vet / trainer if you're unsure, there are so many variables here.

How old is the horse? I have a 16hh Thoroughbred who has good density of bone but, he's young and unbalanced so I'd not want > 10 stone on him.

However, I know some older Thoroughbreds who can carry an average sized man out hunting, all day.

Lastly, there is an element of rider competence. A heavier, competent and balanced rider will impinge the horse far less than a heavier inexperienced rider.

 

[ihatework]

It depends on the age, conformation, medical history, musculature/fitness. Plus saddle fit and the ability of the rider.
So max somewhere between 11-15 stone depending on the extremes of the above, for hacking

 

[Winters100]

I don't know if it is right, but I was always told that 14 stone is maximum for riding. Of course it depends on many factors, as ihatework said. Personally I find my horses a really good incentive to keeping my weight down, but they are much smaller than yours. I don't think that anyone can tell you what maximum weight without knowing the horse, how your Mum rides, and what she would be doing.

 

[AdorableAlice]

When TB's were NH bred rather than flat bred, they would easily carry 14st all day out hunting. Todays modern flat bred weeds have very sadly replaced proper quality blood horses.

 

[Trouper]

With the jump season starting yesterday I was noticing that jockey weights for hurdling/chasing were sometimes up to around 11st 12lbs - but that is on a well-muscled horse in current training and some NH horses do tend to be on the sturdier side as @AdorableAlice has said. For gently hacking, you could probably go beyond that but so much depends on the build of the horse itself and how fit it is at the start.

I know when I was talking to the racehorse re-homing charities they were indicating a weight of around 12st - but they may have been erring on the side of caution and this was some time ago. If you are worried, might be worth emailing a couple of them and getting some current advice.

 

[Orangehorse]

A point to pointer can carry 12st 7lb or even 13 stone, I seem to remember. Galloping and jumping for 3 miles.That includes the saddle of course. And it does depend on the build of the horse and age and fitness.

As for being 7 stone, he will hardly know you are there!

I think a heavyweight hunter is expected to carry up to 14 stone.