Too fat to ride?

Mongoose11 said:
Yet again no mention of the others who have also deviated from the 'way of the topic'.
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But the personal attack on me was started by you, and I was at work at the time so not even commenting.

It is true others also commented and joined in, but you did start it. I apologise for suggesting you may be riding your horse when you consider you are too heavy, I should not have insinuated this, but to be frank I have had enough of you.

I do think what you did is the actions of a bully
 
Bede said:
Apologies if the link doesn't work.

www.beva.org.uk/news-and-events/news/view/427

It refers to a study done in Japan in 2013, which concluded that ponies can carry roughly 30% of their body weight
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Well the Japanese are not best known for their compassion towards animals. However, having said that, I would absolutely expect ponies to be able to carry proportionately more weight for their size than horses. An ant can carry 20 times its own weight. The smaller the animal, the more weight it can carry in proportion to its size. However, with ponies, we have the previously referenced problem of saddle size.
 
ycbm said:
Still slightly bum high, or at any rate not yet able to carry him/herself off the forehand? I wouldn't put a longer saddle on him/her myself. With the shape of the back, you world also risk bridging unless you could find a perfectly matching banana tree.
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Bum high, despite definitely being full grown. He's actually very light on the forehand.

OldNag said:
To deviate slightly from the original question... just to say really like this horse CT. Very handsome!
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Thank you, he's a little pocket rocket of a horse. :)

Fun Times said:
Lovely pic CT, he is a very nice boy indeed.
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Thanks, he really is, an absolute diamond :)
 
But the study says they set a maximum of 100 k for the horses in the study, which is the weight the animals showed "significant asymmetry" (in a straight line, even surface.)

I hope we'd all stop loading our horses before they reached that point. Surely staggering about isn't conducive to welfare?
 
Wagtail said:
Well the Japanese are not best known for their compassion towards animals. However, having said that, I would absolutely expect ponies to be able to carry proportionately more weight for their size than horses. An ant can carry 20 times its own weight. The smaller the animal, the more weight it can carry in proportion to its size. However, with ponies, we have the previously referenced problem of saddle size.
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Well if we are up for sweeping generalisations (and I am), its not often you see a lardy assed Japanese person though...except for sumo wrestlers. I suspect they would require at least two highland ponies for each thight. Now I think about it, a pair of sumo pants may be just the thing to wrap my foof in for my bareback riding extravaganza.
 
Smurf's Gran said:
But the personal attack on me was started by you, and I was at work at the time so not even commenting.

It is true others also commented and joined in, but you did start it. I apologise for suggesting you may be riding your horse when you consider you are too heavy, I should not have insinuated this, but to be frank I have had enough of you.

I do think what you did is the actions of a bully
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Fair enough. It's all getting a little bit dramatic though isn't it? I didn't get all emotional on you when you suggested me a liar and insinuated, therefore, that I treated my beloved horse unfairly.

I'm embarrassed I've continued posting tbh. I left the forum for some time because people can't handle a bit of challenge when it doesn't go their way, I think I'll just bog off again.

Best wishes. (Genuine)
 
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Fun Times said:
Well if we are up for sweeping generalisations (and I am), its not often you see a lardy assed Japanese person though...except for sumo wrestlers. I suspect they would require at least two highland ponies for each thight. Now I think about it, a pair of sumo pants may be just the thing to wrap my foof in for my bareback riding extravaganza.
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:D You'd have to fight them for them first...
 
I have a 15hh section D ;) He looks similar to your boy but with forwards cut non close contact 17.5 he wees before rides, 17.5 close contact straight or 17 forwards= no issue! I wouldn't put longer on yours :) Our 'proper' pony cob I linked to earlier is compact as you can see yet takes 6'3 rugs and 17.5 saddles easily. You'd never guess he was so small, a true HW (we have one on loan heavier!) is a massive animal and they often get the height estimated and on passports wrong, our loan one by a hand and the owner hadn't realised!
 
ycbm said:
Hmmmm, study is for 'maximum permissive weight weight load' for horses used by RDA, who usually plod at walk.
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And are to be expected to have unbalanced riders. I wonder, therefore, is it permissible to ride only in walk if you are very over the horse's 20% or whatever percentage you choose to use?
 
Gosh seems like I've missed a lot having spent the evening riding on my 17" saddle on my 14.2 at 13 stone :p.

Arguably I might be better with a 17.5 :p though I have quite a bit of boob weight so I don't think you can say at X weight you will need X length saddle- it depends where you carry it! and if I was buying now I'd get a bigger version of him but at 22 and having had him for 10 years he isn't going anywhere! :p

Sadly I was also doing some Maths while hacking along and though that if AdorableAlice's Martha is 15.2 and 730 kg if you took 1/15 off that it would make her 14.2 and approx 680 kg, 15% of which is about 100 kg/15.5 stone. Is it really so beyond the realms of possibility that a pony like that would exist? -
 
Bede said:
Apologies if the link doesn't work.

www.beva.org.uk/news-and-events/news/view/427

It refers to a study done in Japan in 2013, which concluded that ponies can carry roughly 30% of their body weight
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The study suggested that the native Japanese breed of pony used in the study can carry 30% of its bodyweight but, as the author pointed out, this is likely to vary by breed.
 
Fun Times said:
Now I think about it, a pair of sumo pants may be just the thing to wrap my foof in for my bareback riding extravaganza.
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I fear those ginormous nappy things probably weigh loads, not to mention when they're soaked in sweat!

rara007 said:
I have a 15hh section D ;) He looks similar to your boy but with forwards cut non close contact 17.5 he wees before rides, 17.5 close contact straight or 17 forwards= no issue! I wouldn't put longer on yours :) Our 'proper' pony cob I linked to earlier is compact as you can see yet takes 6'3 rugs and 17.5 saddles easily. You'd never guess he was so small, a true HW (we have one on loan heavier!) is a massive animal and they often get the height estimated and on passports wrong, our loan one by a hand and the owner hadn't realised!
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Mine quickly went from 5'6 in rugs to 6'3, probably more because of widthways expansion than anything. Everyone is always amazed at how small he is height wise. He certainly rides a whole lot bigger.
 
Mongoose11 said:
Heathen.
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Well he was 14.2 when he started out :eek3:

He did however see the physio for his 6ish monthly check last week who thinks he is fine and dandy, as does the vet :eek3:.

I'm sure ages ago we did mention common sense and looking at the pony in front of you.
 
ester said:
Gosh seems like I've missed a lot having spent the evening riding on my 17" saddle on my 14.2 at 13 stone :p.

Arguably I might be better with a 17.5 :p though I have quite a bit of boob weight so I don't think you can say at X weight you will need X length saddle- it depends where you carry it! and if I was buying now I'd get a bigger version of him but at 22 and having had him for 10 years he isn't going anywhere! :p

Sadly I was also doing some Maths while hacking along and though that if AdorableAlice's Martha is 15.2 and 730 kg if you took 1/15 off that it would make her 14.2 and approx 680 kg, 15% of which is about 100 kg/15.5 stone. Is it really so beyond the realms of possibility that a pony like that would exist? -
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A stone of my weight is frontage. Doesn't matter how thin I am the blooming things remain. I don't think my ass is that large, I need a 17.5" saddle to accommodate my stupidly long thighs.
 
How can this study benefit people who want to ride sound horses if the cut off point is the point they are "significantly asymmetric" ??
Indefensible, I think. And what about the cumulative effects of working under a load that causes asymmetry?

Nope.
 
Bede said:
Apologies if the link doesn't work.

www.beva.org.uk/news-and-events/news/view/427

It refers to a study done in Japan in 2013, which concluded that ponies can carry roughly 30% of their body weight
Click to expand...


Scarily it's a study that suggests the pony can carry up to 30% of it's weight before it starts to stagger (or 'show gait abnormality' if you want the polite term) then goes on to suggest that 30% therefore may be a suitable limit.

If anyone in their right minds thinks that it's fair to load a horse up to the point it staggers, they need shot before they get within 20ft of an animal!!!!
 
I hate to bring this up again, but how come the many qualified professionals who have seen me and my horse think hes ok to carry weight, I think up to at least 25% of his bodyweight, maybe more I just haven't done the maths, yet the overwhelming consensus on here is that its not acceptable? And no, they arent flattering me, please see my earlier posts :)

Dont get me wrong, I wouldnt let 25% + on him and I do very little with him and am also not riding at the minute as hes put on weight with the spring grass. Something I will be addressing shortly, but as hes overweight at the min I'm not riding him. But all those qualified professionals from different fields say its ok, are they wrong?

What about the many horses in the US who are started at 2yr old with at least 15% of their bodyweight and then worked quite hard with at least that weight for their working life, then retiring sound and happy?

I dunno, I only want the best for my boy and I'm only riding him as the best for him wasn't the LW riders riding him, it was me riding him. I wouldnt have done it without several professionals telling me it was ok, as well as my experience of riding him.

How sure are people that the 10/15/20% quota is ok? There is no decent research so its mainly anecdotal, which is dodgy ground! I know lots of people who are my % who are or have ridden their horses and they are fine. And they are not the little compact weight carriers that mine are! They arent all fat people riding little horses either. the majority are riding bigger, leggier horses with not great conformation who just happen to be tall or more solid than the norm
 
Take a 600kg horse with a big amount of bone. 20% is nearly 19 stone: would you really put that much on the horse? My warmblood was 650kg, would I have put 20 stones on him, his feet were the same size as my h/w cob's. I think anything over about 14st and he would have collapsed! As people keep saying, look at the horse in front of you and use your brain to decide. We've all seen the very obese people riding quarterhorses, I'm sure we've all gasped and said its not right.

Use your common sense, a horse not complaining means nothing, some are very stoic. If you're unsure, don't do it, simple.
 
Hi OP, just another thing to consider - you may find that some of the broader 'weight carriers' are too broad for your hips/pelvis. Might not be a problem for you, but I've found that some heavier builds are too broad for my own build. I'm 5'4" and well proportioned.
Good luck on your change to a healthy lifestyle - the end result is worth the challenges.
 
Wagtail said:
You should be able to fit a hands breadth between the back of your bottom and the cantle. Saddle looks too small, though not as bad as you often see and in the picture earlier in the thread.
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Are you meaning straight up or on its side here??Nobody would fit a saddle unless you have a small flat butt in that case wagtail. I've had my saddles fitted to me and my horses and I've always had a 17.5 or a 17. I used to be able to squeeze my butt into a 16.5 or less wen I was about 6 stone and a teenager!!!

Honestly some people need to get real.

I have an hourglass figure and a fair amount of junk in my trunk and there is no way in even an 18inch saddle I could get my hands breadth between me and the cantle!!!
 
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Black Beastie said:
Honestly some people need to get real.

I have an hourglass figure and a fair amount of junk in my trunk and there is no way in even an 18inch saddle I could get my hands breadth between me and the cantle!!!
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A hands breadth in front and behind certainly used to be the standard years ago. It was what was taught. Is it not anymore?
 
Blurr said:
A hands breadth in front and behind certainly used to be the standard years ago. It was what was taught. Is it not anymore?
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Not what the saddler said when I queried it. And the saddle (same style to what I was sat on) was being made to measure so could have been altered if necessary. That was one from AH saddles, the folk who specialise in fitting saddles to natives and cobs and fitting tall riders on those saddles.
 
I think the hand thing is old fashioned non of my made to measure saddles are that big in the seat .
It's beyond vital that the panels of saddles are suitable for your height if you are too tall for the panel you will have no choice ,no matter what size your bum , you will have to sit on the back of the seat then no matter how well the saddle fits the horse with out you on it it will cause problems when you ride .
If a saddle is too big you get lost on it not perhaps as bad for the horse but you lack security .
This happens to me when I ride MrGS's horses who have 18 inch saddles I solve it to up to a point with a heather Moffat seat saver .
Let's be honest and blunt people know when they are on the heavy side and therefore it should be easy to decide that a small panelled close contact saddle might not be a bright idea and a saddle more like the ones used for endurance would a better choice.
I was struck while on a ranch in America how small the horses were for the people they carried and how fit they where for their ages ( some where quite old ) and what long hours they worked .
But the cow person ( a girl ) who was in charge of them was very skilled at fitting the saddle clothes they use under the saddles for each horse .
There's so much more to this whole issue than the wieght of the horse , but that's not a reason to ignore the fact your to heavy .
 
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