Riding a sec a at 12 stone ?

greenberry said:
This must be a joke.....I know what 12 stone looks like and it's not small, or slender no matter what height..
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At 6ft 1 it looks pretty slender actually. I've hopped on a 13.2hh sec b before as he was tanking and he's not built like a sec a, much finer and he managed to leg it just fine for the 15 mins I schooled him for, then behaved for 5 mins before the kid got back on. People underestimate ponies. Im not saying stick someone that size on for 3 hours a day, but 15 mins is not gonna hurt.
 
Daisydo said:
I dont want tO as I know I am far too heavy...

However everyone that sees new pony says that i should get on him and give him a good run!!!!!

He is not very fine and infact has good bone, an I being too wishy washy with him and just get in for 5 mins?

My gut instinct says no . But would it hurt him?
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You are quite right. 12 stone is way too heavy for a section A. I would put no more than 8 stone on one. Also, you have the weight of tack to consider, and the condition of the pony. Is he/she already fat (as many are at this time of year) and so carrying extra weight already?
 
No it is not a joke.

Just a question as soo many people have been saying I should for a few minutes.

I am not suggesting that I thought it was ok, but judging from some replies the people advising me also did not think it was too much to ask to pop on for 5 mins.

Maybe I will just go on the diet that I have been promising to do :)
 
I'm 10st and did get on my daughters old 11.2hh pony once in a while when he was being a sod but i wouldn't do it just for fun or to 'give him a blast' because it would be too much for him. to remind him of some manners i didn't have a problem with, except my bum really is too big for a cub saddle:eek::o
I'll be getting on our sec B in a week or so, he's been backed but not been off lead rein and as he is a bit flightly i don't want my 4st daughter to be the test pilot so i'll be getting on him:o again it will be walking and maybe a little trot but i'll still feel mean, just don't know anyone lighter than me that i trust on him:rolleyes:
 
You are too heavy for serious work but a short jaunt wont hurt him. You will know if pony not happy as soon as you get on.
However everyone says its cruel only children should ride ponies etc but who do you think breaks them in?? Adults
 
PonyIAmNotFood said:
At 6ft 1 it looks pretty slender actually. I've hopped on a 13.2hh sec b before as he was tanking and he's not built like a sec a, much finer and he managed to leg it just fine for the 15 mins I schooled him for, then behaved for 5 mins before the kid got back on. People underestimate ponies. Im not saying stick someone that size on for 3 hours a day, but 15 mins is not gonna hurt.
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I know it is a 6ft 1 but then you'd need roller skates :eek::D:p
 
Have been reading this thread with great interest as have a similar issue.

I have a 12.2 Dartmoor which can be a bit much for my novice son when schooling. She is fine out hacking but is a bit 'on her toes' a lot of the time and runs off nervous energy! (she wasn't like this for the 4 weeks we had her on loan at the previous owners yard :confused:).

My son has lost loads of confidence so I now ride her instead. My weight fluxuates between 9.5 and 10 stone. However, she doesn't bat an eye when i am on her and we went out recently for a 2 hour hack with my friends and their horses and she was fine. I did get off for periods and walked her to give her a break but she keeps up with the big horses (16hh +) fine.

I do look too big for her (I am 5ft 8) and do get strange looks and sniggers but as long as I know in my gut that she isn't struggling then I will go with that.

I have spent ages researching the weight Vs height issue on the internet but didn't find anything conclusive and everyone seems to have their own opinions and they seem to vary greatly!

Do agree that 12 stone does seem too heavy. I have a cut off point in that if I go over 10 stone then I will not ride her. I am trying to get back down to 9 - 9.5 max.
 
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I ride my son's 12hh section B periodically. I'm 5'8 and just under 10-stone. She carries me no probs ( a little powerhouse really), but I'm only on for about 15mins maximum
 
a woman at my old yard at least 5ft 6 and weighing a solid 13 stone hacked out a chunky, well built sec A. he must have been 12 hands..and still p*ssed off across the field with her!
 
greenberry said:
This must be a joke.....I know what 12 stone looks like and it's not small, or slender no matter what height.

.
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Are you being serious? :rolleyes:
My OH is 12 and a half stone he has a 30 inch waist and looks smaller than me even though I weigh less than him!

My friend is 13 stone and is a size 10!

Both these people are all muscle and are small and slender! Both are under 5'8 too.
 
happyhacking:) said:
sec as were originally bread to pull coal out of the mines so (most) are sturdy little so and sos.
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Those who were bred to pull coal out of the mines will be very different conformation to most of today's Section As. :) I would imagine pulling coal on railway tracks is a bit different from being ridden.

I think the OP is right :)
 
babymare said:
mmmm so baggy tease me with your 14.2 you sold as i have become a pony person rather than my normal TB type mmmm tease me and tell lol xx
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This is me at 9st9lbs on said 14.2hh, and the reason she is brushing through the fence (not because of my weight!) it is on the way out of water and she would only walk through water (it was her first BE PN). An amazing pony that I would have loved to have kept but as it was went to a cracking home anyways. She was like a mini TB anyway.
 
I wouldn't, not at 12 stone (don't take that the wrong way :)) but there's a difference between one small adult at 8.5 stone for example and another adult at 12 stone, by no means is the pony going to crumble and it's legs bow but I think personally it's a few stones too many, even if it is for a five minute mess around and a chuckle between friends.
 
I wouldn't agree with it personally. It's just too heavy.

I know a girl who weighs 12 stone and rides a 12.2hh pony. She takes him out for 2 hour hacks, canters and jumps him. It makes me wince when I see her on him. I don't agree with it at all....and he doesn't seem happy in my opinion.
I've been told he is totally fine with it though, and they know this because when he plays up an 18 stone woman gets on him....and he can even carry her :(
 
Can you post up a pic of the section A? if hes stocky and sturdy he will be fine. If hes a slender, dainty section a then you will be alright for a short walk and trot.

Everyone underesitmates ponies extremely. I have been as heavy as 13 stone and i am 5'1.

I have a 12.2hh pony which i ride, jump and do crosscountry with. i am now 10st of hard muscle and she will carry me and saddle bags no problem (weve travelled upto 15 miles like this) and still manages to hop around like a luney and jump jumps.

i also have a dainty welsh pony which can handle me leaning over her and she can still launch into orbit no problem, this includes the weight of a saddle.

so you should be fine, so long as its not too much too soon for too long. you can tell if your too heavy simply by leaning over him.​
 
I'm 5'9 and just under 13st, and I wont ride my friends 15.2hh TB because I KNOW I'm too heavy for him! The 2 times that I have got on him, he point blankly refuses to move and I can't blame him, and I'm promptly back off in under 2 minutes.
 
Just because the pony doesn't collapse doesn't mean you aren't too heavy.

Just because the pony misbehaviours it doesn't mean you aren't causing it pain.


I know a tiny Welsh A who was at a dealers yard where large fully grown men rode him because he bucked everybody else off. As it turned out he bucked those grown men off too. Do you think that because he was able to pull off such an athletic movement with a fully grown man in the saddle it makes it ok to have put them on him?


A Welsh A can carry an adult, but only if the adult is tiny. I weigh slightly over 8 stone with all my tack and I would only feel comfortable riding an upto height/weight A and only then once I'd slowly accustomed it to the extra weight over a period of time.

Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
 
well im about 11.7 stone and been watching my weight as i dont want my horse carrying excess weight! shes a 16.2 wb! think ill have that cake after all!
 
I wouldn't have put anything over 10 stone on my old Section A and he was quite a stocky build.

As soon as you start accounting for tack, clothing etc then the total weight starts creeping up and you're looking at around 13 stone.
Add in the factors of horse and rider's abilities (e.g is the pony balanced in all paces? Does the rider ride like a sack of spuds?) and it's a game I'd be wary to play.
 
otter2 said:
maybe the pony bolted to try and get her off! just a thought ;)
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nah he's just a little git off the lead rein! the woman who rode him is actually more like 5ft 10 and IMO shouldn't have got on him in the first place.
We have a sec A ,nicknamed sick note, much finer than the one above and the mum of the kids who ride him jumped on and walked up to the field. he carried her but he did struggle. he is a funny little bugger though.one day my friend came up with her 4 kids plus his two regular riders were on the yard.They got him in and he took one look at all the kids and stood on the yard with one foot in the air. My friends kids don't even ride! Other times when the first rider has been on him and given him a half decent workout the five year old gets on and half way round the first lap he 'develops' a cough..
 
I had a sec a when my kids were young i would never have put 12 stone on him! About 8 stone tops. I used to have great fun on my native who was only 13.2 and i jumped her even at 12 stone but she was built like a barn. Just because apony CAN carry weight doesnt mean you should take advantage. Ponys put up with alot without complaining but that doesnt make it right.
 
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