Weight limits

[Hamlet]

I manage a riding school and the amount of people I get having an absolute tantrum when I tell them our weight limit is 14.5st and we can’t accommodate them if they’re over that is shocking. I know that’s not the biggest weight limit going, but we do cater more for teenagers and kids rather than adults.

Snarky comments range from “so you’re telling me I’m fat?”, “so you have to be stick thin to ride a horse?” Or the best one “You’re the third riding school to turn me away, I’m only 120kg!”

And this is after I’ve explained that we don’t have that many big horses and we’ve got to be careful as the bigger horses tend to then do more work and carry more weight as their weight limits are higher and yes, they could technically carry more in a one to one home but they work hard and deserve to not be at their max all the time.

I do sympathise with larger people who want to start riding, but people don’t understand the economic cost of having lots of bigger horses not including the difficulty of keeping a larger horse sound and going in a riding school environment. And no I’m not calling you fat…but you are to heavy to ride our horses and you can’t guilt me into jeopardising their welfare so you can have a go.

And the amount of children 14 and under who can either only ride our 3 biggest (chunkiest) horses (between 14.2-15.2) or who I’ve had to tell we can no longer accommodate them is mind boggling.

Just feel like I went to print a big sign up and stick it on the door saying “Horse riding is a privilege not a right!”

Rant over!

 

[IrishMilo]

Totally agree, seeing obese people on horses makes me really cross. It's completely selfish and shows zero regard for the horse.

 

[Zoeypxo]

14.5st is very reasonable, i know of many who can only accommodate up to 12st

 

[SaddlePsych'D]

I fairly often see FB group posts asking for riding school recommendations with higher weight limits. I don't envy that role but your horses surely will be grateful that their workload is thought about with their welfare in mind.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I think 14.5 stone is more than enough.

 

[Tarragon]

Weight restrictions apply to other sports too. My husband was give a hang glider experience as a present, but couldn't take it up as he exceeded their upper weight limit.

 

[Jambarissa]

I've just tried and failed to find useful stats.

To me 14.5 stone doesn't sound very overweight , my husband is a slim dad-bod type and is nearly 12 stone. So I guess it's just that people who don't consider themselves overweight are shocked at being told they're too heavy to do something.

But it's not like complaining youre pretty average and they should have equipment to accommodate you, this is a living animal we can't just add braces to their legs and put a rod in their back to up their limit!

 

[ester]

firstly def a very reasonable limit compared to others.

It’s not very overweight (now/talking blokes) so yes I can see that especially if coming from outside horses people might be surprised and not considered it much whereas those of us already riding are likely super aware of it.

You need the horses to stay fit and well.

 

[pistolpete]

It’s a real problem for riding schools and riding holiday owners. I feel for you. Your horses work hard enough as it is. Especially horses that take beginners or unbalanced riders. Poor things. I think 14.5 is as much as any horse should carry if it’s daily.

 

[EventingMum]

Until I closed my RS last year I had the same thing and our limit was less than yours except for one horse who was only suitable for more experienced riders. I just said sorry, it's a welfare issue if we allow heavier riders too ride. The younger riders were particularly worrying, parents got very offended if we said their child was too heavy to ride their favourite pony any longer. In the past this often occurred when a child grew too tall but in recent years it more often seems to be their weight. Also the number that clearly lied about their weight was a constant battle.

 

[P.forpony]

I've been in your position and it's horrid.
No matter how delicate or polite you are there will always be those who take offence rather than realising its about the horses, not about them.
Or get genuinely upset and then you feel guilty!

It's also not really about being overweight. If I were 14.5st at my height I'd be grossly obese, but there are plenty of tall muscular chaps that are well over that weight and fit and healthy. Too heavy is too heavy no matter what it's made of.

Thankfully I'm not doing that any longer but the amount of people who ask if their children can ride my mini shetland is mind boggling... he's rising 2 and just scraping 7hh!

Well done for sticking to your limits and looking after your animals!

 

[Peglo]

Totally agree, seeing obese people on horses makes me really cross. It's completely selfish and shows zero regard for the horse.

I so agree. They don’t want to go to the discomfort of losing weight but quite happy to cause discomfort to another living being by riding when so heavy. One heavy and unbalanced rider keeps coming up on reels on my FB and it’s such an uncomfortable watch and makes me quite angry.

 

[pistolpete]

I was weighed a couple of years ago at a trekking centre and then allocated a different horse. Would far rather that than be on something that struggled. Maybe we should get the scales out more often!

 

[Rumtytum]

First off Hamlet, as a RS client I would like to thank you for managing what is becoming an increasingly endangered species!
My RS has a pair of weighing scales very much in view to in the reception/office. I have no idea if there are any ‘discussions’ about rider weight, but can imagine there have been.
The priority must always be the pony/horse’s welfare and if people can’t understand and accept it they have no place being near an equine.

 

[ester]

I so agree. They don’t want to go to the discomfort of losing weight but quite happy to cause discomfort to another living being by riding when so heavy. One heavy and unbalanced rider keeps coming up on reels on my FB and it’s such an uncomfortable watch and makes me quite angry.

I was wondering whether some of what is up online skews people’s expectations too

 

[The Xmas Furry]

Hamlet, our most decent local RS has a 12 stone limit for beginners and 14 for experienced riders, all dressed to ride.
Prospective clients are warned that on arrival for 1st lesson, they will be required to be weighed and this will be repeated every 6 months or so, this is for equine welfare.
They do make it very clear indeed, a friend who coaches there has said she is very glad not to be in the office as there are tantrums..... the RS currently has a closed wait list.

 

[scats]

There’s a shocking couple of obese ‘influencers’ out there and companies actually sponsor them. Says it all about equine welfare really, doesn’t it?

Hats off to you for standing your ground for your horses.

 

[Melody Grey]

It’s a minefield. When I used to work in a riding school as a student, they had race weight-room style scales that everybody went on, regardless, from tiny tots to adults, accompanied by some old fashioned weights you could put on there to test the calibration….cleared up a lot of ‘discussions’!

That was 20 yrs ago and even then, was alarming how many kids weighed more than me.

 

[throwaway2022]

One of our local riding schools has a limit of 11 stone and they’re never short on clients! It’s a privilege to ride, not a right. I’m currently 9.6 and desperately dieting to lose enough to get on our new Sec B. Sold up last year but can’t stay away, maybe I should have bought another cob so I didn’t have to calorie count anymore

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

It is shocking, and I am equally galled by some of the 'influencers' I see riding horses online, or the videos that pop up where people are desperate to point out that it's okay, mostly to make themselves feel justified to ride at that weight too I think. Well done to you OP, it's a difficult thing to do but such an important thing, especially as it will ensure that they know that they need to be conscious of it when they go on to ride their own.

I am not a lightweight rider, yet, but I am under 15% of his bodyweight and I have lost a touch under 4.5st before I would entertain the idea of riding Dex, and even now I make the point of saying to my bodyworker and/or saddler, please tell me if I am too heavy for him right now or if it's having a detrimental affect in any way, I am not precious about it and I am aware he's young so I'd rather just know so I can give it more time.

 

[KatieDM]

This post I saw on Instagram today from ‘Activate Your Seat’ (horse & human physio & rider/owner) is relevant to this thread. Lots of comments and discussion in the comments and very informative I thought. Definitely an emotive topic!

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

 

[teapot]

Super reasonable limit I feel! People really don't understand what weight can or not look like either which doens't help matters.

Certainly in my days of being an office manager, the threat of weighing people was always there as people used to lie so much.

 

[Hamlet]

Thank you all, I’ve gotten home and calmed down a bit but being accused of being discriminatory is really galling, despite being as polite as possible and trying to get across it’s for the horses welfare. I even offer for them to come and do a ground work session instead, so they can still learn and work with the horses but nobody has taken me up on that offer yet.

It is really difficult running a riding school at the moment and myself and the owner monthly talk about just quitting and not because we don’t love it…it’s because people are so demanding and not at all in it for the horses. And I can imagine that we are not the only ones. We’ve put on a behind the scenes day on for Easter and our whole team, vet, physio, farrier, saddle fitter plus a local show jumper are all coming to put on some great talks and interactive demos. We can barely drum up the interest but we feel it’s so important that people see what it actually takes to keep a horse going, let alone a yard full.

It just seems like unless riding is involved nobody seems to care or want to know and that’s really getting me down I think. When I was a kid, I would have done anything to be within sniffing distance of a horse let alone get to learn all the important bits and have fun doing it!

 

[Bellalily]

UK obesity rate has doubled in the last 30 years. We are now one of the fattest nations, especially in the 45+ age groups, yet we also have 18% of children suffering from malnutrition. Off topic I know, sorry, but it’s pretty disgusting.

 

[Trouper]

Overweight is overweight and I get tired of people trying to tippy-toe round the subject - and that includes doctors - for fear of giving offence. The information does not have to be conveyed in an offensive way but it does have to be firmly said. I am not a fan of the BMI Index as I think it is too blunt an instrument for human measurement but I think the 15/20% rule for horses is as fair an assessment as we can get.

Many of us have problems with weight. I had hoped still to be able to climb aboard for the occasional ride when I hit 80 but - 3 years off from that - arthritic knees are severely limiting the amount of exerccise I can take and frustrated boredom is not helping the diet. However, I know that the diet aspect of this is mine to control and mine only and I am not looking for sympathy (though I would not turn my nose up at a couple of new knees!!).

I don't think avoiding the issue with people is helping them at all - or their long-term health.

 

[vickyb]

Weight restrictions apply to other sports too. My husband was give a hang glider experience as a present, but couldn't take it up as he exceeded their upper weight limit.

Being too heavy for a hang glider could have pretty terminal results pretty quickly!

 

[Bellalily]

Overweight is overweight and I get tired of people trying to tippy-toe round the subject - and that includes doctors - for fear of giving offence. The information does not have to be conveyed in an offensive way but it does have to be firmly said. I am not a fan of the BMI Index as I think it is too blunt an instrument for human measurement but I think the 15/20% rule for horses is as fair an assessment as we can get.

Many of us have problems with weight. I had hoped still to be able to climb aboard for the occasional ride when I hit 80 but - 3 years off from that - arthritic knees are severely limiting the amount of exerccise I can take and frustrated boredom is not helping the diet. However, I know that the diet aspect of this is mine to control and mine only and I am not looking for sympathy (though I would not turn my nose up at a couple of new knees!!).

I don't think avoiding the issue with people is helping them at all - or their long-term health.

Totally agree with the tip toeing around it, yet the number of people who were very blunt about the long term health effects of my smoking was huge! I’ve given up now, almost a year, but heaven help anyone who mentions someone else’s weight! I’ve put on 9lbs since giving up and worry about riding my 16.2hh ID because I’m now 10st 5lbs.

 

[Skib]

You can put a positive slant on this. RS limits meant I have had to limit my weight. For years (till Covid) I managed to keep my weight under 10 stone as that was the limit for both the horses that I then rode. You get this daft and circular situation. I need to watch my weight constantly in order to ride, but riding is what keeps my weight steady.

worry about riding my 16.2hh ID because I’m now 10st 5lbs.

1 cant answer for your horse but I was told that 10 stone (but not above) plus clothes and tack was OK for my old share, an elderly Irish S who was 15 h 2. So not as big as your horse.

What I have learned is that half a stone difference in rider weight makes a difference to the feel and lightness of the horse I am riding. My lovely RS Connie went better if my weight was under 9 stone 7. I would be too heavy to ride her these days.

It always puzzled me when people said that a balanced rider could weigh more. I was a novice and not balanced. When I queried my weight (whether I was too heavy for her) the owner and my RI said that the mare had carried me happilly when I was 9 stone 13 and was unlikely to suffer from one additional pound.

I have been trying to lose weight since Christmas and have not succeeded

 

[Glitter's fun]

I shouldn't read these kinds of threads, they make me feel cross and cynical .
You can be fairly sure that bungee jumping, hang gliding etc companies don't have regular arguments with people whose weight means their own life or health would be at risk if the rules were bent. I'm guessing that mostly they're disappointed but take it on the chin & believe that they shouldn't do it.

So why the difference? Do potential riders really think it's ok to injure an animal while they have their fun, or do they think the horse owner is lying because there are many examples of overloaded horses that they're used to seeing?
Maybe the answer is to keep whittling away at this until it becomes more normal? Well done to @Hamlet and anyone else at the sharp end of it.

 

[JGC]

Conversely, the number of people at my yard who think I'm being dramatic about not riding the coblet (in my avatar) until I lose a lot of weight astonishes me. With tack I would be 4 kg over the 20 per cent, she's recovering from a suspensory injury there is no way I would get on unless I lose a significant amount of weight (well over 2 stone) and get her up to fitness in hand!!!