overweight riders, I take it all back

Storminateacup said:
why do so many people who ar FAT describe themselves as BIG ? Its a form of DENIAL.
I am FAT I am 11stone- and 5 ft 8 inches with a BMI of about 26 !!
If I can grab lumps of fat on my body as I can, then that is what it is, for goodness sake, its FAT.
Until you face up to the fact that you are carrying excess fat you will always have some sneaky justification for it!
You are not BIG you are FAT - deal with It!
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I agree with what people are saying about overweight riders but I'd just like to say that I'm 5'8" and 11 stone and I wouldn't class myself as fat, nor would anyone in the medical profession I think. My BMI, according to the calculations for it I can find, is somewhere around 23.4 which is perfectly healthy (I'm a size 10, sometimes a 12 for trousers).

Having said that, I am still trying to lose weight as a woman is never happy!

Edit: I did just see that you believe you're bird boned so maybe I'm just not! Anyway, I wouldn't say you are fat. :p
 
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Hemirjtm said:
I have to say most of you would class me as obese, and tell me I shouldn't me riding my lightweight 15.3hh arab x trotter....hmmm!!

I'm 5'4, and weigh 11st12. I ride very lightly, and my horse definatly doesn't struggle with me! I definatly don't look like I weigh this much. I'm a very fit person; cycle upto 100km a week, ride 2/3 horses a day and swim for about an hour a day. I wear a size 10/12 on top! So personally I don't think I'm fat, but I bet alot of people would tell me I'm too 'fat' to ride my boy!!

So basically what I wanted to say is that you don't neccessarily have to be very slim to ride, yes some horses can carry more weight than others, but imho to a certain extent balance is more important than how little the person weighs!
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You say you are very fit,which means your BMI reading will be useless,to be polite about it.
A fit,well muscled xx amount is always going to be easier then xx stone of fat peron.
Yes,I know the weight is the same but a fit person who can carry themself( or ride light :p ) is much easier for a horse to carry then a fat person of the same weight-fat is dead weight.
To illustrate the point,my son is 3.5 stone and I find him very easy to carry awake-up and down hills,jogging whatever its fine.
The same child asleep(so dead weight) might as well weigh a tonn and a half!

Those of us who are fat owe it to the horses to drop the excess and stay at a healthy weight for our height and build.
Of course being a little over does not mean you cant ride full stop(although that is my choice) but there comes a point when it is obvious the horse wont cope and you should not be getting on.
 
I think regarding "carrying yourself" being what counts.

Try standing on the scales and "holding yourself" in different ways, i.e. in riding position, tummy clenched, etc etc. The figure on the scales still stays the same!

So it doesnt help if you "hold yourself" well - obviously if you're bouncing etc then its worse, but you're asking the horse at the very least to carry your basic weight, if not any more forced by bouncing etc.

Well done to everyone being concerned for the horses welfare and being honest =] xxx
 
I am 'fat' i weigh around 14-15stone but am tall too so I dont look fat! if that makes sense. my horse is a big boned 16.3hh warmblood, I dont think i am too heavy for him, Im sure he would let me know if I was!!
 
My BMI is 26, I'm 11st and 5'6. But I wear size 12, so although have a bit of wobble ;) am mainly just strong I think, and have bricks in my legs :p I am forever being asked if I am a weight lifter or a swimmer, most annoying and not flattering!

My horse? A MW luso X TB (who is currently carrying a few more pounds than necessary too!) who has no probs with me. But I also ride occasionally a 14.2 24yo welsh x tb - who also has no problem with me. In fact, given his behaviour, needs a good squashing :D :D

I would like to be 10st (and ideally a little less) but with lots of eating out with work its very hard. Still have wedding to get skinny for now, so must make more effort! Especially if the ned is to carry me and the humungous meringue I'll be wearing ;) :D
 
flamehead said:
I think regarding "carrying yourself" being what counts.

Try standing on the scales and "holding yourself" in different ways, i.e. in riding position, tummy clenched, etc etc. The figure on the scales still stays the same!

So it doesnt help if you "hold yourself" well - obviously if you're bouncing etc then its worse, but you're asking the horse at the very least to carry your basic weight, if not any more forced by bouncing etc.

Well done to everyone being concerned for the horses welfare and being honest =] xxx
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Forgive me,I had assumed that the fact horses have a max they can carry without long or short term damage was taken as read ;)

Over weight for the horse is different to overweight for the person.
If the horse is able to carry 15 stone max it will find 14stone of fit,muscled rider much easier to carry then 14 stone of fat person.
Now,one person could look very fit at 14 stone,while another will look about ready to join the que for gastric bypass surgery-providing the horse is not being asked to struggle on with too much full stop,I would always prefere th heavier fit person to a lighter fat person.
 
Whoever it was that said they were 5'8", 11 stone and had a BMI of 26, i think that is wrong. I am 5'6" and was 11 stone and creep up there occasionally again and it doesn't put my BMI up that high. I am however another one trying to lose it. I want to get to 10 stone (9.7 if at all possible!) and have managed to drop 2 lbs this week so am going in the right direction!

I got to 10.7 a couple of years back and i have to say I felt soo much better - i didn't get so knackered after xc and my horse seemed to have a lot more oopmh about him too so I want to get back there.

Ooh, maybe we should start an H&H slimming club!!!! :-)
 
arabs and natives have better, denser bone than drafts and their derivatives. I'd sooner see a larger person on a crabbet/polish arab than some of the rather dodgy looking cobs who were bred for pulling, not riding.
I'm an adult and I ride an exmoor,so shoot me.
 
I personally have no problem with larger people riding, if the horse is suited (whatever the breed) and isn't struggling.

Edited as I was just having a rant about my weight, that nobody else needs/wants to read :p


HHO fit club is in the soapbox and can be useful ;)
 
And let's not forget it isn't just being overweight but also about the weight suitability of the rider to his horse - you can be 8 stone but still too heavy / big for the little struggling pony underneath you. I get just as wound up as the OP when I see 'small' adults on small kids ponies thinking they can be carried comfortably and they are only on for a short time etc etc, bloomin get off the poor thing and get on something your own size. Rant over.
 
Storminateacup said:
So are you saying that fine TB and Arabs should be subjected to carry fat lumps around?
Very funny - NOT.
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She never mentioned fine TBs and Arabs. It's not just cobs and natives who are good weight-carriers. Many strains of the Arab breed are much bulkier and are well-suited to be weight-carriers. Another good example is the Hanoverian breed who are frankly enormous!! Much bigger than my 16hh cob! I tried one out that could have easily carried 17stone but was only 16.1hh. It really does depend from horse to horse as well. My TB is much bulkier than usual TBs and although I wouldn't put more than 11stone on him now (he is 21), he could carry more than most TBs.

I completely agree that overweight people need to seriously consider the type of horse that they ride but it is important to remember that there are so many breeds that are good weight carriers, many of them high-performance Warmbloods, and that there are more breeds than TBs, Arabs, Cobs and Natives!!
 
Storminateacup said:
why do so many people who ar FAT describe themselves as BIG ? Its a form of DENIAL.
I am FAT I am 11stone- and 5 ft 8 inches with a BMI of about 26 !!
If I can grab lumps of fat on my body as I can, then that is what it is, for goodness sake, its FAT.
Until you face up to the fact that you are carrying excess fat you will always have some sneaky justification for it!
You are not BIG you are FAT - deal with It!
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Woah, I've never said I'm not fat. I am the first to say I'm fat but big isn't denial of that, it's just another way of saying it. No need to be so rude, a lot of us don't have delusions and people may say you do for saying you're fat too. It's everyone's personal opinions of themselves.

If I was deluded, I wouldn't be trying to lose weight or being so conscious of the fact that I have a heavy weight cob but I'm still too heavy for him and will not inflict myself upon him whilst he's still growing at my current weight.
 
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Agree with the OP.

Im a larger rider (not as large as the one mentioned, but on the heavier side!!) and I intentionally bought a horse who would be capable of carrying my weight - a friesian! I wouldnt dream of getting on a spindly arab or something as it would not be comfortable carrying me. I have a very chunky little connie who has no trouble whatsoever carrying me and will happily drag me around a SJ course, but I havent jumped him for a while as i feel im too heavy for him and dont ride him anymore now he has a sharer!

P.S. I think the offensive comments are entirely uncalled for. If you cant put a comment across in a polite manner then you are not capable of having an adult discussion, clearly.
 
I am 5' 8" and probably coming up 11stone and yes there may be a bit of excess at the top of the jods but I dont consider myself fat. I have been schooling a naughty 13.2hh welch sec C and she certainly has no trouble carrying my weight it doesnt stop her bucking !!
 
irishdraft said:
I am 5' 8" and probably coming up 11stone and yes there may be a bit of excess at the top of the jods but I dont consider myself fat. I have been schooling a naughty 13.2hh welch sec C and she certainly has no trouble carrying my weight it doesnt stop her bucking !!
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Im sorry, but bucking does not mean that a horse is finding it easy to carry somebody.
 
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Well.....I'm a bit of a skinny ( soz peeps) but I have to say....I have seen large/fat women ride beautifully and skinny women appallingly....I knew a woman who damaged her horses back..... she was large, but not the largest I have ever seen.....but unbalanced and a **** rider....poor horse couldn't stand properly when she was simply sitting on him, never mind moving/jumping. Its all about being suitable for your horse, whatever your size.
 
I think its all a matter of degree. I am no lightweight, 5 foot 5 and just a tad under 12 stone, having slimmed down from 13 7 lbs. OK I ride a mw 14.3 hh cob, with 9.5 inches of bone who can carry up to 18 stones with ease, and he carried me out hunting at my heavier weight. However, he is now 17 and I want to be able to ride him right into his mid twenties, providing he stays sound and well. Hence one of the reasons for the weight loss (not the only one, I am vain cow and the thought of some designer suits that hubby has promised me is keeping me going). However, my daughters 15.1 hh wb/tb eventer, who though elegant is by no means fine will carry me just as well. I just choose not to ride her as she is a bit too much to handle sometimes.

I think its up to you, but if you are larger than average, and to be honest most of us who have responded are pretty 'normal', then just ride a horse which will carry you, and looks right carrying you.

By the way, I would cringe if I took size 26 jods. I sometimes feel lardy wearing my size 30/32s, depending on the make, god knows that what woman must feel and god knows how she manages to haul herself onto that poor horse.
 
Storminateacup said:
No its over 23 , and anyway I am bird boned so I am fat in fact. You can see it hanging over the top of my breeches( lol) Bone size is significant when assessing build - I know I am a forensic osteologist!!!
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So as you are an expert perhaps you'd like to decide whether I'm big! At 5'6 and 9.5 stone my ribcage, measured under my bust, was 46 inches, my wrists 7 inches, my feet only size 5.5 but GG width fitting. At that point you could see every rib and every bump on my spine, there was little fat visible anywhere. So go on - when I weigh 11 stone and you can't see my spine any longer but my rib cage is still 46 inches and I am muscled enough to carry a 12 stone man for half a mile or pick up 250lbs of motorcycle, am I fat - or big?
 
My tb's must be looking for the number for international horse rescue after this post :) I am on the heavier side - working at it but tbh not getting very far very quickly - and my two horse are both tb's - flat bred so on the lighter side of tb's. They both carry me with no apparent issues - the older one is ridden 6 days a week -schooling,hacking,jumping- all me riding and the younger one does twice a week normally - happ to round over his back stretch into a contact and does start to offer a baby outline for a few strides. I think you need to take each horse as you find it . A friend of mine has a 15.2hh w/b (so basically same size a younger tb) who I wouldn't ride as he does struggle with anyone over about 10.5 stone whether thats because of his age (17) his breeding or his confo I don't know but equally I ride a 13.3 hh NF because she takes up my leg ,is as strong as a bloody ox both in terms of she is put together soooooo well and pulls like a train :) and is still going after a two hour hack. I am aware of my size so I try and have regular lunge lessons so I am kept straight and keep my position as good as poss and for my own horses have regular tack and back checks but my physio last time said 'how nice it is to see two tb's with proper muscle structure over their backs' which can only be achieved through a horse working correctly and carrying their rider .
 
When the British Army consisted of cavalry units the average horse was a middleweight type of around 15.2 max and this horse was expected to carry a man and his pack, a weight of up to 20 stones. I don't think that the attrition rate of cavalry horses was that great.
While I abhore overladen horses I think that rider ability and balance have a lot going for them.
A few years ago I attended an Ernest Dillon jumping clinic and he berated a thin girl on a large horse for balancing on her reins and 'lumping about' on the horses back. She had a go back at him and asked him why he didn't have a go at the fat girl on the 15 hand 17 year old TB mare. He said in no uncertain terms that the 'fat' girl was in perfect balance and definitely not giving the horse as hard a time as the thin girl.
 
bugbee717 said:
I am overweight and I ride. When threads have been put up I have defended overweight riders, we have a rightto ride , the balance of the rider etc etc.

Well on sunday I went showing and tbh I am still in stock at what I saw, very overweight riders on very fine horses, one girl was galloping around on her horse you could see the poor thing was struggling. The girl must have been close to 18 stone ( trust me I know what 18 stone looks like) her bum was hanging over the saddle. She was taking her very nice horse into a coloured show class, what the hell can she be thinking she looked a mess.

So I take it all back

1. if you want to ride make sure you have a horse that can carry your weight.
2. get someone to take a photo of you on the horse, so you can see what you look like.
3. just because you want to ride dont abuse these wonderful animals with your weight.
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I totally agree with you, im quite a heavy rider (only JUST light enough to ride TB's and LW hunters)and i ride a LW cob who can carry me and then some more so it doesnt worry me. But i choose not to ride the finer types of horses even though i just about can because i like my cobs best :D pluss my long legs dangle down too far on finer horses. I have seen people who are around 16 stone riding horses that cannot possibly carry that much!
I am trying to loose some weight but it doesnt seem to want to shift! I think heavy people can ride as much as they want, just on horses that are able to carry them :)
 
Storminateacup said:
So are you saying that fine TB and Arabs should be subjected to carry fat lumps around?
Very funny - NOT.
I go on horses bone size and what the maximum weights for the respective bone sizes are. True a willing TB may carry a 15 -16st st person all day out hunting but is it really kind to do this?
My new horse has 10 inches of bone at 16.2hh and really could carry my fat 16st hubby all day. (when fit and matured).
One has to define the question when asking finer horse to carry heavy weights, Is it feasable, maybe yes, but ultimately, - is it really fair?
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NOWHERE did I say fine horses should be carrying excessive weights, just that it is incredibly narrow minded to think that only the few breeds you listed are able to carry 15 stone happliy...... stonking great warmbloods, hanno's, all manner of natives, the list does go past Shire X..
 
i'd say i'm not fat but i'm on the chunky side, 5ft5 and 11 1/2 stone and i've ridden a 13.2hh fell without any problems of him cqarrying me. like many have said, it depends how you ride and the bone structure/muscle of the horse you ride! however, i think some are forgetting that muscle weighs more than fat, so body builders and atheletes' BMI's are in the morbidly obese category as their muscle makes them heavy, and i think we can all agree, they aren't fat!:D
 
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