Rider "obesity" makes it on the Beeb

1. small number of riders/horses studied - only 152, so very limited info
2. only adults studied - how much of the riding population is made up be children?
3. only cornwall and devon - how about yorkshire? scotland...? even more limited info?
4. who are these experts? welfare 'experts' linked with the college? or INDEPENDENT! sources?
5. all the other 'bits' e.g. saddle, bridle, gadgets, boots, rider clothing......fat person who rides in light saddle and bridle is most likly lighter then the person who is 'normal weight' and wearing ever piece of equiptment going

this seems a very biased report - which although theoretically and factually true - doesnt take into account all the other elements that make up the weight that a horse should carry....
 
If you don't have the right saddle, even 10 % can cause problems.

Our 15hh cob came with a MTM saddle. Our saddler didn't think it was perfect but shouldn't cause problems as my daughters were 7 and 8 stone respectively. It did and he was a lot better with a new saddle.

Mind you saddle fitting seems to be another in exact science.......
 
jemima*askin said:
The gist of it being that riders (without saddles) should apparently be no more than 15% of the weight of their horse. No mention of conformation other than as a closing statement "larger riders need to ride bigger horses".

*head desk*
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Sheesh, I'm 5'3 riding and weigh 8.5kg, riding a 14hh, 400kg cob with plenty of bone and even I'm only just okay by that calculation.
 
I must have used that calculation wrong, there is noway I am too obese... surely?!
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metalmare said:
Sheesh, I'm 5'3 riding and weigh 8.5kg, riding a 14hh, 400kg cob with plenty of bone and even I'm only just okay by that calculation.
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At only 8.5kg you weigh only slightly more than my cat ;-)

Horse* - that horse could clearly carry someone much bigger, the study sucks, down with ill-founded science!
 
I like how they have not reported it properly only a very small part of the report. I was talking the person named in the report today.
 
Sorry stupid phone. She claimed that they have not included any the detail in the report (parts about the type of horse and workload) etc. al
 
Yup, there is no detail given, just some very fuzzy writing, I don't think one could dignify it by calling it "reporting":D
 
I think it's great that the issue is highlighted, but I'm concerned that 10% or less is being quoted as "optimum". That would mean that all of mine can only be ridden by small children. Try telling them that as they power along with me on their backs...?
 
But surely some application of the not-very-common common sense coupled with experience would come in handy, (rather than lots of adding up and trying to guess weights).
 
We can apply common sense and horse sense Cortez. What concerns me is the way this is being put over to the non-horse owning public. We get reported for "naked" horses, "starved" horses (starvation paddocks), and now we'll be getting reported for being to heavy to ride them.
:-))
 
Tinypony said:
We can apply common sense and horse sense Cortez. What concerns me is the way this is being put over to the non-horse owning public. We get reported for "naked" horses, "starved" horses (starvation paddocks), and now we'll be getting reported for being to heavy to ride them.
:-))
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Well, some people ARE too heavy to ride their little horses................
 
Yes - they are too heavy and I always want to drag them off. But being a bit over 10% of the horses weight doesn't mean they are too heavy. See what I mean?
 
Why are you all going by the 10% rule? That's optimal... For the horses sake as to be fair, if he had a choice he wouldn't want you on his back at all. Lets not be selfish.

The reality is, if we all went by that rule, and we were all riders, the country wouldn't be facing a diabetes crisis, we'd all be dropping dead from malnutrition.
 
Then what about my mare I have always been between 14 and 16% of her weight. I have however never been classed as obese and she has also never struggled even slightly despite being ridden 6 days a week and competing on a regular basis. She has 9in of bone and pretty decent conformation and no one has ever suggested I am too heavy for her in the 10 yrs I have owned her.

Do I look to heavy?
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Does she look like she is struggling?
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SmallHunter said:
Then what about my mare I have always been between 14 and 16% of her weight. I have however never been classed as obese and she has also never struggled even slightly despite being ridden 6 days a week and competing on a regular basis. She has 9in of bone and pretty decent conformation and no one has ever suggested I am too heavy for her in the 10 yrs I have owned her.

Do I look to heavy?
kane138.jpg


Does she look like she is struggling?
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No , not struggling and no you're not too heavy...but she is IMO.
 
Optimal - the most favorable point, degree, or amount of something for obtaining a given result.

Apart from the fact that the most favourable from the horse's point of view is no rider at all... saying that something is optimal indicates that it is the best. Either 10% is the best or it isn't. If the best is for the rider to be as light as possible then you might as well say 5%. I don't think that's what the study means.
 
Tinypony said:
Optimal - the most favorable point, degree, or amount of something for obtaining a given result.

Apart from the fact that the most favourable from the horse's point of view is no rider at all... saying that something is optimal indicates that it is the best. Either 10% is the best or it isn't. If the best is for the rider to be as light as possible then you might as well say 5%. I don't think that's what the study means.
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That's what I am trying to say too... People have gone to the extreme in this post and going by the 10% rule and mocking the study.

It is true though, 10% is bound to be optimal for the horse. Not optimal for our ears to here :D

15% is much more sensible and realistic for the average horse and rider in the UK.
 
Have to agree though I think in general as a nation we getting fatter and fatter and becoming more like yanks every year, but just try to make excuses to ourselfs as to why so many are so large.

I myself need to lose a stone, I know how to do it and why I need to to lose, I'm greedy at times. I'm within the 15% for my horse but only just

Enough pathetic excuses time for me to quit being greedy and shift some pounds. The thought I could actually contribute to making my poor horse lame is the kick up the rear I needed.
 
I'm just going to share an experience... I don't know if this was due to weight but from the ground it looked that way. My sister isn't huge about 12stone and 5 foot. Yesterday she wanted to ride our older horse bareback as our fields were closed. We went into the school as as she was half way on he started to walk off. She held on half on, half off he reversed and hit the wall. Her weight still pulling him, he fell over. Sort of sat down the went sideways. I was amazed that her weight had done this to a 730kg horse!
For referance, he's 16.1 Irish Dx. He's a big boy! Anyho, I was shocked to see what affect an umbalenced weight did, especially when she was partly using the reins to stay on.
Both were fine and I wouldn't say my sister is too fat but if she was lighter I doubt it would have happened in the same way. She said the same thing. Like someone else said a dead weight is a lot. I'm lucky as I event a lot a stay slim about 9stone. But then it can work both ways my 17hh 6yo tries to pull me about everywhere! As for my sisters weight, I would like to add she is very fit and rides nearly everyday, goes to the gym its just she's built that way.
I think fitness places a huge role in this too.
 
I'm afraid I agree that there are far to many overweight riders riding. I'm not a fan of the making saddles bigger to fit our ever expanding backsides or the bigger and bigger riding clothes.
It seems as a nation we will not take responsibility for our actions. We eat too much and do too little.
I work very hard to make sure I maintain a healthy body weight because I expect my horses to perform and be happy and comfortable with that. When you are over weight for the horse it is so difficult for the horse to maintain balance and to use their vulnerable backs effectively.
If you want to ride , make sure your the correct size and weight for your horse. Don't make the horse fat either to cover up your own failings! If you can't then don't ride.for me this is a welfare issue.
 
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