Larger rider on on lightweight horse. Picture inc

MaisieMcPherson92 said:
Owwwwh, Diet2Ride (your first video link) follows me on Twitter - I've occasionally checked back in with her over the years, she is a lovely girl and openly admits her weight is an issue.

Her last update was 25 stone her BMI is 60+ (as seen on her blog/twitter page)

These videos do make me wince slightly :(
Click to expand...

I'm sure she's a lovely girl but there is no way she should be riding a horse at that weight. Totally totally unfair in my opinion.
 
WelshD said:
There is a growing culture of 'i want' these days

I want a dog despite being out of the house for 17 hours a day
I want a fast car despite not being able to afford one etc etc

So 'i want a horse and want to ride despite being vastly overweight, he can carry me without keeling over so all must be well'

People worrying so much about their wants that they dont stop to ask if its right.

Sooooo many seriously obese riders around who selfishly press ahead with their 'hobby' regardless. (im not talking about the mildly overweight here before anyone complains)
Aside from the weight carrying side of things things could go seriously wrong for horse and/or rider if they fall off.

There are ways of getting a horsey fix without riding. There is no reason for people to be put off the horse world altogether but as long as they are seen to be 'untouchable' the problem gets swept under the carpet, if the rider owns the horse its made all the harder. Local shows see a lot of these riders and it should be able to be seen as a welfare issue and tackled but imagine the uproar!

Once again before people come down on me like a ton of bricks ;) when i say seriously obese thats exactly what i mean.
Click to expand...

Totally agree WelshD
 
I always struggle with these threads a) being overweight b) being an ex-physio and knowing the difference balance and core make to the carrying of weight c) i find they go round in circles.

I weight 17st at 5ft7 and my 17hh chunky Wb (pictured in signature) carries me weel, he has regular check ups with physio and saddle fitter. WE jump, dressage, long hacks etc.

At 16 st I have a 14'3 Welshie who carried me equally fine (with equal checks and no problems at the point he was 16yrs with me)

There are horses that I wont get on as I take a wide (pun not intended) view of the horses age, my view of its' saddle fit relative to me, the 'weight' of the horse etc. I am athletic (ex North of England rugby player) so fall into the 'men' category people often mention, I carry some extra padding but also a huge amount of muscle. I will not let someone tell me I am a well fare issue for my horse as I know it not to me true for me and my horse. I would however not lie to a riding school to pretend to be under their limit (as I do look a lot lighter than I am) or ride someone elses horse that they deemed too small for me.
 
I have enormous respect for my saddler who refused to fit a saddle for a woman who was too heavy for her pony. The newly backed pony already had back problems but the vet and physio didn't have the guts to tell her, instead they treated the animal and sent in their bills.

There are many ways to be involved with horses without riding, but if someone wants to ride, they need to have the same degree of responsibility they expect from the horse. It should be a pleasure for both partners, not an endurance test.
 
Why do you feel the need to post pictures of you and your horse to justify you riding them?

Only you know really what your horse can carry and if you ARE too heavy for them but doing something about it, good on you. As for those who will carry on in ignorance, well...not much we can do about that.

We know we have a nation with a problem of obesity, but we shouldn't have to walk on egg shells in fear of upsetting people because of weight. I liked a horse once and my instructor told me in no uncertain terms I was too heavy. Fair enough....bit of a diet and got something with a little more bone because I know my weight fluctuates.

Don't need to post pics here for other people to 'give their stamp of approval' to ride!

Trust in yourselves and love yourselves.

:)
 
DragonSlayer said:
Why do you feel the need to post pictures of you and your horse to justify you riding them?

Only you know really what your horse can carry and if you ARE too heavy for them but doing something about it, good on you. As for those who will carry on in ignorance, well...not much we can do about that.

We know we have a nation with a problem of obesity, but we shouldn't have to walk on egg shells in fear of upsetting people because of weight. I liked a horse once and my instructor told me in no uncertain terms I was too heavy. Fair enough....bit of a diet and got something with a little more bone because I know my weight fluctuates.

Don't need to post pics here for other people to 'give their stamp of approval' to ride!

Trust in yourselves and love yourselves.

:)
Click to expand...

The problem is though is that there are clearly many, many riders out there who do not think they are too heavy for their horse, when clearly they are.
 
I think it's fairly clear there are lots of people out there who don't know what's appropriate.
But finding out what's appropriate is not clear cut either is it 10 % or 15 % or higher where does optimal become ok but not ideal , where ok but not ideal become potentially harmful ,where does potentially harmful become harmful and so on .
Are the percentages backed up with any research are or they a scientific best guess .
Like I said earlier I find this a very difficult thing to discuss but at least we can discuss this here I would find it impossible face to face .
 
Moomin1 said:
The problem is though is that there are clearly many, many riders out there who do not think they are too heavy for their horse, when clearly they are.
Click to expand...

And there are clearly many many people out there who are made to feel like crap for carrying a little extra weight (not talking about obese people here just the slightly overweight) and those who have stupidly low expectations for what a horse can comfortably carry a 16.2 Tb in reasonable health (ie no back problems) can comfortably carry 12st.
For stocky little natives the guide was a stone per hand!
People saying 14hh connies can only carry 8st are just wrong and it gets the backs up of those who are not the perfect weight but are considerate of thier horses backs.
No I don't think 25st obese people should be riding but 12 to 15st is not unreasonable for a lot of cobs, hunter types and larger m&m's.
 
Goldenstar said:
I don't think anyone is saying it's unreasonable for people 12 to 15 stone to be riding .
Click to expand...

However it is endemic in our culture for people to judge themselves against something like this. These threads do not stop the 25stone riders, but they do put the fear of god into those who are heavier than average, but still riding a suitable mount.

On the other thread that this spawned from, the OP guessed the weight of a rider at about 3 stone more than others guessed. This will happen day in day out with riders. People are rubbish at guessing the weight of others. Potentially for a really slim person, 14 stone or say a size 16, may seem absolutely huge, and disgust them that they would even think of getting on a horse.

We each are entitled to our opinion on what we think looks best or not ( I know id look a million times better when I shift a few more stones!) the question is, when is it having an effect on the horse, and how can you tell that.

Pictures are also just a snap shot in time, I have many fat photos!

The rider, vets, saddler, judges, instructors, physios should be the ones who listen to the horse, and know what is suitable for him to carry.

The 10% 15% 20% notion, the bone equation etc, are all useful tools to provide you with a very rough idea. However, in my opinion, they have to be used in conjunction with each other, with the experts opinions, and the horses opinion.. and not exclusively.
 
Last edited:
20% seems to much to me .
Any one know where these figures come from ?
10 for athletic performance work and 15 for less hard work is what I seem to remember but I have no idea where that comes from .
There's no harm in discussing this type of issue on here it's not a taboo that should never be explored in fact it needs to be discussed .
Wherever you go you see disordered attitudes to size and disordered attitudes to eating was it always this way or is a modern issue ?
 
Goldenstar said:
20% seems to much to me .
Any one know where these figures come from ?
10 for athletic performance work and 15 for less hard work is what I seem to remember but I have no idea where that comes from .
There's no harm in discussing this type of issue on here it's not a taboo that should never be explored in fact it needs to be discussed .
Wherever you go you see disordered attitudes to size and disordered attitudes to eating was it always this way or is a modern issue ?
Click to expand...

It was the American cavalry iirc who started off the 20%. Since then there have been many studies ( I am sure others will find links faster than me!), with one just recently, claiming that 10% was optimal, 15% was ok, and 20% or above was not ok for animals in competition.
The press grabbed it as all riders over 10% as being "cruel" and there was a big hoo haa about it.

I really like the idea of there being more studies, particularly technical ones, in regard to rider shape ( as someone mentioned earlier), riders ability, saddle, and then all the nitty gritty about the shape and size of the horse. Id love to take part if anyone needs an.. um... ok fat rider ;)

I agree that 20% seems a lot, however as a rule, its a fab limiter for me. I've lost 4 stone to be able to ride my boy I am just over 15% with tack. I am aiming for under 15% ( by the years end!), and warned myself if I ever get heavier, I simply cant ride him.
 
Last edited:
Goldenstar said:
20% seems to much to me .
Any one know where these figures come from ?
10 for athletic performance work and 15 for less hard work is what I seem to remember but I have no idea where that comes from .
There's no harm in discussing this type of issue on here it's not a taboo that should never be explored in fact it needs to be discussed .
Wherever you go you see disordered attitudes to size and disordered attitudes to eating was it always this way or is a modern issue ?
Click to expand...

10% for athletic performance would mean that for a 650Kg horse you'd recommend that no-one weighing more than about 65Kg should be riding. So Mary King would squeak in there riding with no tack at all, but Will F-P, Sir Mark, Andrew Nicholson etc would all be too heavy for any athletic equine performance. Charlotte Dujardin would have to take over all Carl's rides . . . but even then she'll have to choose a very light saddle to get inside the weight.

And people wonder that there's so much confusion and disordered attitudes :D
 
I have never even considered my weight when it comes to riding! How do you work it out?

Obviously at 5ft7 and about 10st6 I would like to think my 16 hand warmblood is plenty enough horse! Saying that, I also feel that due to my position and riding experience I could probably get away with riding much smaller horses than a novice who weighed less but did not have the same amount of balance. I don't think it is just height of horse- but also build, age, condition etc which affects this too. Would also like to think I have the experience and common sense to look at a horse and know I am probably too tall/big.

Saw the videos of the extremely obese riding... that is horrendous and in my eyes becomes a welfare issue. I am not talking mildly overweight here for anyone that has not watched the videos. Shocking these people think it is ok, especially as horse is clearly struggling.
 
jemima*askin said:
10% for athletic performance would mean that for a 650Kg horse you'd recommend that no-one weighing more than about 65Kg should be riding. So Mary King would squeak in there riding with no tack at all, but Will F-P, Sir Mark, Andrew Nicholson etc would all be too heavy for any athletic equine performance. Charlotte Dujardin would have to take over all Carl's rides . . . but even then she'll have to choose a very light saddle to get inside the weight.

And people wonder that there's so much confusion and disordered attitudes :D
Click to expand...

Agree with this! 10% would mean that a 450kg TB could only take a smidge over 7 stone?

Judging by this thread, there is no hard and fast rule (which is a shame, because it would make life easier!) - every horse and rider combination is different, and their fit for one another should be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
 
I think Mary King would easily be inside that weight she built like a greyhound .
But you have a good point most men would be outside that and a 650 kilo TB / sport horse is a big one .
So how did they come to 10% was it based on research done around racing I wonder .
And what was meant by optimal ? -for performance or for long term horse health the two are not the same thing .
 
It also occurs to me that basing it on percentage of the weight of the horse is a bit nuts as it takes no account of the condition of the horse a fat horse can not carry more weight than a well muscled slim one of the same size .
That's where age conformation muscle tone and type of work comes in .
 
Goldenstar said:
I think Mary King would easily be inside that weight she built like a greyhound .
But you have a good point most men would be outside that and a 650 kilo TB / sport horse is a big one .
So how did they come to 10% was it based on research done around racing I wonder .
And what was meant by optimal ? -for performance or for long term horse health the two are not the same thing .
Click to expand...
Here is a press article about it

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ght-riders-giving-mounts-health-problems.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...ng-the-strain-of-Britains-obesity-crisis.html

What I don't like about those articles though is that they say "only 5% of riders were of the optimum weight" but not how or why they came about 10% as being the optimum weight.. confusing!
 
Goldenstar said:
I think Mary King would easily be inside that weight she built like a greyhound .
But you have a good point most men would be outside that and a 650 kilo TB / sport horse is a big one .
So how did they come to 10% was it based on research done around racing I wonder .
And what was meant by optimal ? -for performance or for long term horse health the two are not the same thing .
Click to expand...


Sad thing that I am I googled for riders' weights and the figure they give for MK is 65Kg :)

And yes, age, type, conformation, fitness of course needs to be taken into account.
 
If 10% was the rule I wouldn't be riding this one. Horse 585kg (18hh, 7/8TB), me 11 stone. 11.9%
DSC06317_zps4b66ba09.jpg


DSC06397_zps5b06a1d3.jpg
 
It is very interesting and it has got me thinking .
Of course it could be good research I really don't know and many top riders might be heavier than optimal for their horses but it does not feel right .
Who knows , I do know there's sexism often at play in attitudes to this issue with any women over nine stone being thought big but big blokes being somehow ok .
I don't know what Andrew Nicholson weighs but it make no sense to me to say that he would have the same impact on a horse as unbalanced very overweight person weighing the same .
You only have to watch his horses going to see how easy he makes it for them .
 
jemima*askin said:
Sad thing that I am I googled for riders' weights and the figure they give for MK is 65Kg :)

And yes, age, type, conformation, fitness of course needs to be taken into account.
Click to expand...

OMG you can google top riders weights , another reason to be thankful I am not that talented .
 
Last edited:
Last edited:
Goldenstar said:
I don't know what Andrew Nicholson weighs but it make no sense to me to say that he would have the same impact on a horse as unbalanced very overweight person weighing the same .
You only have to watch his horses going to see how easy he makes it for them .
Click to expand...

I volunteer to give AN a piggy back and test out this theory ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top