# Horse size vs. rider size



## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

you want to put your 250 lb dad on a 14.1 hand Morgan? did I misunderstnad? that seems a bit much to load that horse with.


----------



## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

You might find this old thread helpful:

http://www.horseforum.com/horse-health/articles-riders-weight-effecting-horses-soundness-96747/

If you try your Dad on the horse, a western saddle should distribute the weight over a greater area, which might help your horse.


----------



## JumperEmoKid (Feb 11, 2013)

tinyliny said:


> you want to put your 250 lb dad on a 14.1 hand Morgan? did I misunderstand? that seems a bit much to load that horse with.


Goodness no, that was a horse I rode when I started riding. And, like I said, I was told I had good enough balance that my weight wouldn't be thrown all over the place and be difficult for the Morgan mare to carry. I used that to explain balance etc. As said in the second or third sentence "I have a 16 hand OTTB gelding". We think he weighs about 1,200lbs ish but as mentioned, he isn't well muscled yet.


----------



## JumperEmoKid (Feb 11, 2013)

bsms said:


> You might find this old thread helpful:
> 
> http://www.horseforum.com/horse-health/articles-riders-weight-effecting-horses-soundness-96747/
> 
> If you try your Dad on the horse, a western saddle should distribute the weight over a greater area, which might help your horse.


Okay, thank you. Unfortunately I don't ride western anymore after an accident and only have English saddles, which allow me to bail faster, feel and judge the horse, etc. There is a girl i know who has a Western saddle but its technically her parents and its a 1000$ synthetic (story below about why i cant use it, haha). Also, my horse has never had a western saddle on him, so i'm not sure how he'd react with too many new elements.


Soo, the fancy saddle: The girl who rides in it said on my first day there that if it if there was a hurricane, or fire, or flood and it was getting dragged away, or burned or whatever, that nobody was allowed to touch her saddle. I honesly remarked that I wasn't aware she had a saddle, just the one her parents bought and let her use. Was her's hidden away in a temp. controlled tack locker or something? Well, I guess she was still in a bad mood from when i "stole" a spot in her group lesson earlier cause she's been rude to me ever since. lol Some people just take an innocent question and a rude remark i guess.


----------



## callidorre (Dec 7, 2011)

It really depends on your horse's build. A 16 hand horse can come in many dfferent shapes. Generally thoroughbreds are less likely to be good weight carriers, but there are some that are perfectly fine. And then your father and how carries his weight comes into hand too. There are people who are well balanced and exercise frequently at 250 lbs, and others who are not fit at all. I would definitely wait for your horse to build some better muscle before trying anything. And you could post a few pictures of him to show how he is built, and we could make a guess as to whether or not your horse is suited to you father's weight. But, it really just depends on the horse and rider, no clear cut yes or no answer.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

A test was done with computers of a rider riding bareback at the walk and the researchers were astounded as to how many of the rider's muscles were exercised. Horse and rider must be relaxed and the rider has to learn to flow with the movement.


----------



## ThatClassyEventer (Jun 3, 2014)

Its sounding like a no for my dad. He has been planning on loosing weight, and once I can drive this spring i'll be doing our grocery shopping by moms orders. How do I politely deny one of the people who bought the horse for me their riding it? I'm thinking explain balance, fitness, and the horses tolerance for those certain things. And say maybe next summer I'll have time to teach him? Then the horse will be more muscled, have experience teaching people, and my dad may have lost some weight.


----------



## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Depending on your horse's build, it might not be a problem. Short backs make better weight carriers, short pasterns, big barrels, wide chests, big bones and feet, etc. Unfortunately, that is almost the polar opposite of most TBs I've seen.

That said, at 16hh and approx 1200 pounds, I would give it a shot and just watch closely for signs of discomfort on your horse's part. Of course, I'm sure you'll be taking it slow and keeping them in a walk for a while to build up your dad's balance and make sure he's got good quiet hands and work on his seat/legs.


----------



## RegularJoe (Aug 26, 2014)

This kind of discussion pops up here from time to time, and each time I think of Dan Blocker, a.k.a. Hoss Cartwright from Bonanza. Blocker was 6'4" and weighed in at over 300 lbs. His horse, Chub, was a thoroughbred quarter horse cross, stood 15.3, and weighed about 1,250 lbs.


----------



## ThatClassyEventer (Jun 3, 2014)

I know he's not square or anything >_< Sorry. but just to give an idea of proportions...


----------

