# Do We Fit Together?



## mertastic (Aug 13, 2016)

Edit: apparently it's 15-20%. Here's some more info to consider - http://www.horsesciencenews.com/horseback-riding/how-much-weight-can-a-horse-carry.php

Yikes.. Idk why it deleted my previous post. First time posting on mobile. Anyways in my first post I said you guys look great. I would continue to ride him if you love him! Looks like you guys are having fun.


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## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

You guys look great together, this one is reiner bred yes? those guys are tough, if everything is good, no need to worry about your weight at all


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

if the saddle fits well, and you can carry your weight well (not bumping hard on his back) then you will be perfectly fine on that horse. in fact, had you not said anything, I would never have had a single thought about your size at all.


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

I think you guys look perfect. Honestly, you look great girl! He's so cute!


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

mertastic said:


> Edit: apparently it's 15-20%. Here's some more info to consider - How Much Weight Can a Horse Carry? - Horse Science News


There are some serious problems with that study. They used horses that had not been ridden at all for 4 months, and then were ridden every two weeks for the test. They also found no blood work indicating stress until the 30% mark. People massaging the horses detected signs of stress at 25%, which is subjective. And they then took that to say there should be a limit of 20%, which isn't justified by their actual results.

From that link:

"Interestingly, this research from the Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute has concluded with the same weight guideline as the US Calvary Manuals of Horse Management published in 1920."

In reality, the US Cavalry bought horses weighing 900-1100 lbs, and anticipated a load of 250 lbs (150 for the rider, the rest in tack and military gear). So they expected their horses to carry 25%. A guy who researched that claim (the US Cavalry used 20%) could find nothing in their manuals. I spent some time searching myself, and never found anything like that in any Army publication. If anyone has documentation from original sources, I'd love to see it.

_Disclaimer, since it might indicate bias: I'm around 200 lbs including saddle and tack, and my horse weighs 800 lbs. Most of the horses I've ridden have been at 25% of their weight, and I haven't detected any difficulty for the horse - and Mia was a VERY articulate horse!_

There is a good discussion of weight carrying and the various factors that go in to it on this member's journal thread:

http://www.horseforum.com/member-journals/why-i-gotta-trot-645777/page20/#post9346898

The discussion continues through post 394.

A thread with a heated debate giving multiple sides is here:

http://www.horseforum.com/horse-riding/am-i-too-big-his-horse-605666/#post7779882

It is a subject that deserves serious thought.


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## jgnmoose (May 27, 2015)

First of all, I agree with the others you look fine together. Good match.

Some Quarter Horses can pack a 220lb man on their back with 40lb ranch saddle and rope a bull.

Strictly personal opinion, but I think balance and having your weight in the right place is more important. 

Nice looking horse!


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

You look perfect on that horse! Proportions look great to me!


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## jgnmoose (May 27, 2015)

WhimsicalMe said:


> This bay gelding is roughly 15.1 hands according to the trainer. While I think 15 hands is a good size (I wouldn't want anything smaller!) he is on the lower side of my height preference (or so it felt like today) but I really enjoyed riding this guy.


I'm "spamming" your thread 

This just stuck with me so I'll comment on it. 

It is true that height in horses adds weight, just like it does in all animals. I guess if the criteria is they need to be XhXX tall to be approximately XXXXlbs which is > 20% of my weight with tack it is one way to look at it. 

Very athletic horses tend to be 15h and under. By very athletic I mean Reined Cow Horse, Cutters, and horses that need to do sharp turns and very short bursts of speed. Purely anecdotal, but if you look at Running Backs in American Football, they are virtually all under 5'11". The best ones take multiple men to take down. 

I guess the point is that there is more to it. Rider fitness, especially balance and flexibility is certainly something we should all be after. Horses tell us what they need, if this horse has a lot of gas left in the tank after you ride, it is probably absolutely fine.


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## WhimsicalMe (Aug 21, 2016)

@Golden Horse Yes this is the reining bred horse I referred to.
@bsms I agree it's a very touchy subject with little evidence, I greatly appreciate the links I'm going to browse them now.
@jgnmoose Great analogy it's very true! Size is only one proportion and while I believe whole heartedly he did not show any signs of fatigue or strain I'm more concerned with visual appearance than actual numbers. 

Thanks to everyone for the input and compliments! I'm a bareback rider most of the time (it's just my preference) and I hate lugging around huge western saddles so more bareback the better! I'd like to think I had great balance 10 years ago prior to my riding hiatus. While riding him and trotting around and trying out his buttons I was caught a bit off guard here and there but I did exceptionally well at correcting myself and didn't even feel off balanced by the end of our ride.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

WhimsicalMe said:


> @Golden Horse Yes this is the reining bred horse I referred to.
> 
> @bsms I agree it's a very touchy subject with little evidence, I greatly appreciate the links I'm going to browse them now.
> 
> ...


So do I understand correctly that you're thinking of buying this horse for yourself so your daughter can ride your other horse? You two will have so much fun! 

I just wanted to add that I also rode bareback a lot when I was young because I hated lugging around a big saddle. English saddles pretty much turned me completely around on that. I know you're also looking at various kinds of saddles, but really, if you find a good, lightweight saddle, it won't be a chore to lug it around at all.


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