What Do YOU Think Is Too Big?

My TB in my sig below is 16h and a tiny bit - the pic was taken a year ago now, and he looks much better now and has filled out on his topline and put on more muscle and condition - everyone comments on how much better he looks, so I should do a new sig really, anyway..... I am 5ft 8 and weight 9 st 4 lbs. I have long legs. My OH half also rides him, and is slim too, but muscley and weighs around 12 st 10 lbs, however, he looks far more proportioned on him, as I am all legs and rather gangly. Also, OH has ridden since he was a boy and is far better balanced than I. Our boy has never shown any signs of his weight being an issue. We have not done loads on him, as he was off with a field injury, but we do mostly hacking, some schooling and will introduce jumping again in a few months. I think a lot of it does depend on the rider as others have said about balance. I am far more unbalanced than OH, having not been riding as long, so feel I could do more damage landing on his back in an ungainly manner that the OH's weight may do. I think TB's are stronger than people make out too, however, I don't like to see clearly obese people sitting on very fine TB's, I whince when I see it.
 
Aces - you cow! :P wish i could eat like that! I currently spend far to much time logging food and exercise on my fitness pal (fab site for anyone who finds logging food helps them :))

I have a pic of me about 2 yrs ago on our friends TB (He is no more :() and I look HUGE IMHO, I'm 5'9 and there I'd be around 14st, poss a bit higher. Bazil was 16.2hh.

I don't have a recent one of me riding, although I'm now 12.13st (great excitment when it got below 13st!) and am currently riding a hunter type TB 15.2hh and a 16.2hh TB who is quite fresh off the track. I think when he is up to weight and has a top line he'll prob touch 17hh. I'm probably a little too heavy for the bigger TB atm as he is a little on the thin side, although fit, I am aiming to get back to 10.5st so I'm an easy weight for both of them.

Me on Bazil at around 14st
mebasil.jpg
 
Last edited:
What I wouldn't give to weigh 9 stone :rolleyes:
I've never been skinny (usually between 11-12st) but over the last 5 years I've put on 1.5 stone thanks to uni and giving up riding (and generally being a slob :( ).
My boy's not as young as he used to be so its back to the gym for me to make his life a bit easier.
I do worry about him coping with carrying me so the least I can do is make a bit of an effort (dreading the gym tomorrow).
I'm never going to weight under 10 stone because of the way I'm built (short and stocky with tree trunk thighs :rolleyes:) so I have to be realistic when it comes to what type of horse I have and what I want to do.

I got the kick up the butt I needed after seeing a picture of me and Jerry jumping and being shocked about the size of my behind :eek:
 
picture.php


Pic of me on my boy.

I am 10 stone, always been 9 - 9st 4lb ish. I have given up smoking, got a bad hip and getting old so not as active. My boy is 20 years old and I just hack these days. Sometimes I worry I am too heavy for him, not that he ever shows any sign of struggling with my weight. He is Highland x TB, 14.2hh. I have got his weight down since the pic was taken and he was doing his favourite bit evasion when pic taken.

I think you look fine on your two.

Jane
 
Where is this other thread everyone is talking about? If it has been pulled does anyone have links to the video's/pics?

Thanks
 
Sally-FF said:
Where is this other thread everyone is talking about? If it has been pulled does anyone have links to the video's/pics?

Thanks
Click to expand...

I think it has, I was looking for it earlier.

In short, as I don't want to start it again, a larger lady (i'm a fatty, i can say it!:p) had asked did we think she was too big to ride her 31yr old horse, the general theme was yes and that the old boy was being asked to do too much work and looked lame from the videos. Didn't go down well and started to get a bit animated last I saw it.
 
When I read these threads I get very worried that I'm too heavy for mine. She's a 14hh Welsh D, 21 years old and has spavins in her hocks which have been treated. Recently she has had laminitis which we are not sure how she got, possibly concussion as she hasn't been near any rich food so I am completely paranoid about her legs and feet!
It's the different 'rules' that are used to work out how heavy is too heavy that get me worried. If it's one stone per hand then at 9 stone I am fine. 20% rule seems ok - she is usually about 390 kg so I can weigh up to 78 kg - I'm 58 kg so that leaves 20 kg for winter clothes and hat, boots, tack etc - should be ok?
But someone also mentioned a one sixth rule and I am worried about that as my mare is getting on and obviously she has soundness issues. When she is at her lightest (my vet diets for laminitis, even if they are light to begin with), she can get down to 365 kg. So the one sixth rule might only give me 61kg which is barely enough for me, jeans and trainers never mind a saddle as well. Am I being fair or am I risking her long term soundness?
I have lost weight for her over one of these threads - just lost 1 1/2 stone, and having just done this maths, I'm really glad I did!
picture.php
 
GlamourPuss86 said:
I think it has, I was looking for it earlier.

In short, as I don't want to start it again, a larger lady (i'm a fatty, i can say it!:p) had asked did we think she was too big to ride her 31yr old horse, the general theme was yes and that the old boy was being asked to do too much work and looked lame from the videos. Didn't go down well and started to get a bit animated last I saw it.
Click to expand...

It was there about pg 5 or 6 when I looked back a few hours ago. Entitled something like "Am I really to fat for my horse"

Janah, your Highland x TB is lovely.
 
JFTD, thank you for your comment, I love him to bits. He takes up a lot of leg and really rides bigger than he looks, has nice paces.

Jane
 
Last edited:
the vids of the kid chasing him with the whip and him falling over after the jump have been removed from you tube now.

I think it's safe to say that everyone on this thread has used their common sense with their horses :) they know what they can and can't carry comfortably, and are aware of the health of their horses and themselves :)
 
Fistly Unab you look fab on both yours, no probs at all!:) Secondly, what about me and my boy? He's only 13hh and im 5ft2" and 10.5 stone:o How do we look.....

SAM_0195.jpg
 
Janah said:
JFTD, thank you for your comment, I love him to bits. He takes up a lot of leg and really rides bigger than he looks, has nice paces.

Jane
Click to expand...

I'll bet he does! My highland (sans TB ;) ) rides bigger than my cob, even though he's a few inches shorter! He feels more like a horse. Sadly I look ridiculous on him, but it does feel good :o

Your boy looks like a big, sportily built highland to me - which is my idea of perfection! Watch out for him going missing mysteriously followed by a coincidental posting about my new horse ;)
 
JFTD, over my dead body! Where do you live? I could do you the same favor!!! Post a pic of your Highland.

Jane
 
Janah said:
JFTD, over my dead body! Where do you live? I could do you the same favor!!! Post a pic of your Highland.

Jane
Click to expand...

Hmm, have I mentioned I'm a fully paid up member of the assassin's guild? :p

I'm in Essex, for my sins... I'd better not elaborate, I'd like mine to remain in their field ;)

There's a couple of photos of him on pg 6 of this thread...
 
Looked at all piccies, you all look fine now please stop worrying and enjoy your gorgeous horses. no-one is perfect but i think this thread reveals that a lot of people worry for no real reason. Let's start getting more confident in our ability to ride our horses and quit worrying what others think about 'size'.
 
Well, imo none of you look to be for your horses....But how about those of us that ride horse who are too big for us.

Do you think my just over 17hhs horse is too big for me at 4ft11" and under 8stone?

162.jpg
[/IMG]
 
I want to post a pic of me riding my ex cob. I may well be a 16/18 but the coblet was way chunkier than me, lol. But I have the pics on FB and cant work out how to post anything other than links!
 
Dexter said:
I want to post a pic of me riding my ex cob. I may well be a 16/18 but the coblet was way chunkier than me, lol. But I have the pics on FB and cant work out how to post anything other than links!
Click to expand...

Hi

I am not offay with FB, but I can talk you through how I do it. Go to photobucket and create a 'free account' upload your pics there and then hoover over your uploaded pic until a drop box opens...just mouse over the bottom link and right click or copy and then post here by opening a new thread and clicking the yellow envelope. Clear the box and paste in there.
Hope this helps and makes sense to you. PM if you get stuck and I will walk you through it.
 
I'm amazed that so many people here are worried about their weight on their horses. Baffled really about where this paranoia comes from. Surely you are able to judge for yourself it your horse is struggling with your weight? Well okay, I suppose the other thread answered that with - NO in the case of some. But all the same, looking at all these pics, nobody here looks close to their horse's weight limit.
 
Advice please everyone!

I am 5'0 and weigh just under 8 stones but am planning to go on a diet sharpish as my clothes are feeling a little on the snug side lately lol. Anyhow I am soon to be loaning a 12.2hh shetland x arab mare and I was wondering whether she will be ok with my weight initially before I diet?

Thanks
 
Janah said:
JFTD, I definitely think your grey should come and live with me and my boy, direction please!
Click to expand...

Since he decided to go for a trot up the road by himself this evening, I will put him on the bus to yours tomorrrow :mad:

(i love him really, he was actually very good until I got off to unlock the gate :rolleyes: )
 
Was he heading west, perchance?

I have a stable and field awaiting him. Pop him in a taxi, less fuss than a bus, door to door!

Jane
 
Janah said:
Was he heading west, perchance?

I have a stable and field awaiting him. Pop him in a taxi, less fuss than a bus, door to door!

Jane
Click to expand...


:eek::eek::eek::eek: he's a good scottish lad - fresh from Inverness - he wouldn't be wasting money on a taxi! He'd probably get a train, so he could hang out in the buffet carriage, actually...

Oddly enough, that road does head due west... He must've read the thread :D
 
Yes, i do cringe, especially when someone says "don't worry, my 12hand pony manages fine with me and i am 12 stone" etc. Long term affects should be thought of i think.
Bot "fattist", but there are horses and ponies out there to suit most every rider, so it's just a matter of not going for something too spindily if you weigh more than would be comfortable for him. I often think it's strange, the saddle covers a relitavely small area of a horse, and so it's only right we should think about his back!
Hell, if you weigh 20 stone, get into driving or something if you still want your equestrian fix!

Sometimes i feel a bit paranoid though!
Sometimes i feel too big for him!

13.1/2 hand pony, mid build
268480_228461723840583_100000302707667_768253_776840_n.jpg


IMG_4319.jpg


IMG_4317.jpg


Look soo tense in these, these are my early rides on him btw.
 
I sometimes wonder if height wise, I dwarf my 15.3hh cob... riding him bareback, the soles of my boots are slightly lower than his belly. But he doesn't seem to care about my height, and he could carry a lot more weight than my piddly little 7+1/2st (which is not a good weight for me, it should be a lot more :( )

Everyone on here looks great on their horses btw, and you all seem to consider how your weight may affect your horse which is refreshing after the other thread. People on ponies, you do not look too big at all, I actually thought that some of them were more hh's than they actually were!
 
Last edited:
I ride a 13h forest bread New Forest, am 10st and about 5'8. He can happily blast about with me and jump. I am aware that I am approaching the upper limit for him and that helps me keep an eye on my weight. My field mate is considerable taller/heavier than me and rides a TB. She was advised to buy a sturdier mount but wanted a 'showy' mount. her TB would LIE DOWN in protest! He just couldn't take it. Natives, I believe, are stronger hand for hand than TB types, by this I mean anglo arabs, warm bloods etc. I hazily remember an old wives tale about the measurement under a horses knee being an indication of the weight it could carry....2 to 1 or something (anyone remember?). All the pics I have seen here all look fine, but all the concerned riders are also thinking about the job done, the type/age/fitness of the horse.....don't worry, have fun!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top