New Forest Ponies - Rider Weight?

[M.A.W.]

Hello

I’ve been trying to do a bit of my own research and there’s lots of conflicting information so I’m confused

Are New Forest ponies weight carriers? For a 14hh NF pony what would the weight cap be?

On the subject generally as I’m looking to buy my own horse or pony next year is the general rule of thumb 15-20% of horses body weight applicable across the board for all breeds closer to that pony/horse height 14.2-15hh.
I’m barely 5’3” and on a weight loss journey but because of muscle mass I’ll never be much below 9 1/2 - 10 stone and healthy (and not miserable through constant hunger )

 

[tda]

I personally feel a NF or other native of that size can carry more than a tb type of that size but I'd say up to 10 1/2 stone you should be ok

 

[webble]

I personally feel a NF or other native of that size can carry more than a tb type of that size but I'd say up to 10 1/2 stone you should be ok

Agreed but OP dont forget that figure needs to include tack, hat boots body protector etc

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

When I was regularly helping a friend out with hers in 2018 through about 5 months, I was riding the 14 to 14.2's and weighed in, complete in gear, with tack, at 11 stone for the 1st couple of weeks or more. We were riding at least 2 each out for around an hour+.
Friend has bred them for years, I was concerned I'd be a tad heavy, she said nope, all ok, hers were proper solid forest bred types.

 

[Time for Tea]

I don’t think there is an answer that fits all ponies, it’s dependent on various things. NF ponies vary in their build. We have one very finely built one who weighs about 390 kg. So 15% of that is approx 58 kg. Which is about what my daughter weighs with tack and clothes, so that’s fine and he is obviously happy. I don’t get on him! He is 14.1 hh. If you asked him to carry 20% it would be 78 kg. I’m probably 85 kg with tack and clothes so that is too much. My own pony is 15hh and weighs 450kg. So he can carry 68kg at 15% or 90kg at 20%.
In fact he seems to manage 85kg without noticing I am there certainly some of the time! His back is loose and comfortable and he moves well. He has much more bone and is short backed, a strong build. We had one we sold, he weighed about 410 kg and a quite big person came to try him for her daughter, she wasn’t going to ride him normally so I did take her for a hack to try him. He seemed fine but I got our physio person out afterwards to check him, as I was worried. I am a worrier. Apparently he was absolutely fine, no tense spots at all.

I think a 14 hh or larger well built pony should carry you no problem at all.

 

[sbloom]

You should be fine, but in that we also need to think about the ability of the horse to be ridden and the ability of the rider to ride, without compromise. If you're really tall you have more leverage over the horse's barrel so need to work on straightness and balance, de-rotating that ribcage...you need to think about a saddle that will allow you to sit in the right place and have room for your legs without being pushed backwards, and all this harder if you have narrow hips. And it DOES make a difference if you're unbalanced too, and/or need a bigger seat size for a bigger hip measurement - though actually fitting for rider stability is the ultimate, and sometimes a larger seat is counterproductive.

Then we need to look at the horse, not only how well it's body is conformed to be ridden but also how well prepared it is. Posture and correct musculature are just as important as bone and back length, and we don't often build horses up correctly.

Pay attention to all of this, and 20% with tack is perfectly possible, depending on the exact workload.