What signs would a pony show if carrying too much weight

[Welshie Squisher]

Hi all,

What signs would a pony show if it was finding the weight it was carrying to be too much?

I know all about the ideal 20% rule - that's not what I am asking. This is tricky if horse and rider weight is unknown.

Would you for example expect a horse to sweat? If horse did not sweat at all could you really argue it was struggling?

What about movement?

Or anything really?

Thank in advance

 

[Pigeon]

I think they are tolerant animals - they put up with a lot, so signs would probably be very minimal, and really we have to make the call.

Could be things like reluctance to lift through the back, falling out on circles, there are so many general and often conflicting signs of finding something physically difficult (head shaking, crookedness, resistance to go forward or rushing) that it'd be hard to pin down! I know when I tried my horse in a saddle that turned out not to fit, he suddenly became very spooky. If I hadn't ridden him for weeks in a different saddle before, I'd just have assumed that was his nature! Also it's not just about if the horse finds the rider too physically heavy to carry for a period of time, which sweating would indicate, it's if there will be any lasting damage simply from pressure on muscles and joints, which could happen even if pony doesn't exert itself, and doesn't sweat. (you could still strain a muscle picking up that heavy backpack, even if you don't carry it for any length of time)

To be honest, I would say if in doubt, ride something bigger