# At What Weight...



## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

Congratulations on your weight loss, keep up the great work.

The question you ask should be simple, but a quick check around will show you many threads where we all argue about weight carrying ability of horses.

20% is the most often quoted guideline, but it is just that, a guideline, your problem is going to be is that as a beginner rider you will have a harder job balancing yourself, and therefore the horse will have to work harder to carry you.

To answer your questions:

No you won't have to wait until you are 200 pounds to ride, maybe set a target of 250 pounds, but you will have to check with your local barns, see what their guideline are, it will depend on the horses they have available, but it will give you a goal to aim for.

As to excersise, really anything you do will help, start with lots of brisk walking, cycle either on a real bike, or on a stationary bike. My stamina improved no end when I took up Zumba, and it helped my riding a lot. Yoga and or Pilates can help you strengthen your core muscles, which is where you really need to have strength.

I would recommend buying a big gym ball and sitting on that rather than a chair, do a lot of balancing excersises while sat, or just use it to get used to constantly making little corrections.

Again all the best on your journey, keep up the great work


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## anndankev (Aug 9, 2010)

Great advice from Golden Horse.

And yes, congratulations, best wishes on your journey, and keep up the great work.


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## greentree (Feb 27, 2013)

Congratulations on your weight loss!!

Welcome to the Forum!!


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

Lots of local places use 250 as an upper limit. There are not many horses I think ought to carry a rider who is heavier, although some do. The guy who played "Hoss Cartwright" on TV was 300-350, and his horse never looked unhappy. Stayed sound, and lived longer than the actor. But as a rule...250 plus tack is pretty heavy.

My main riding horse is around 800 lbs, and his previous owner was probably 220 in his socks - and he raced him. But my horse also braces his back like an I-beam if you ask for a trot, and it has taken 6 months to get him to loosen up at a trot.

The British Cavalry used about 300 lbs as their "standard load" of rider and gear. Field cavalry normally carried as much weight in gear as the rider. The British cavalry looked for horses around 15-16 hands weighing around 1000-1200 lbs. The US Cavalry used a standard field load of 250, and looked for horses weighing 900-1100 lbs.

There are a lot of things a person can do around horses while getting their weight down. I find simply walking them on a lead line to be a good way of learning their personalities and how to "read" a horse. You can learn a lot about how horses think just leading them.

When it is time to buy, you don't want to look for a heavy horse to carry a heavy rider. You want a LIGHTER horse, because how much rider they can carry is based on having surplus structural strength AFTER accounting for their own weight, and a horse's weight increases faster than the cross section of his legs and joints as he gets bigger.

The horse used for "Hoss Cartwright", for example, was 16 hands and about 1200 lbs. Rather than looking for a draft, look for a medium sized horse horse with thick legs, short back, thick loins. And remember that ACTIVITY is also very important. A walking horse can carry more than a trotting horse, and a horse going in a straight line can carry more than one making sharp turns. Level ground is easier than hills.

Here is a website that I think has good advice:

Heavier Riders' Guide

Also, these threads discuss things:

http://www.taunusreiter.de/TevisStudy1998.pdf

How to Ease the Burden | The Trail Rider

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

Good luck!


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

I have a big draft cross (Percheron/paint) who is 17hh and 1600lbs. I rode him at my heaviest (275lbs) and he never batted an eyelash. I also rode my best friend's 14.3hh 1200lbs QH mare when I was about 250lbs and she was fine. She even tried to trot with me of her own accord (wouldn't expect a horse to try that if it wasn't comfortable carrying me). 

Weight is definitely a big factor, but so is the way you ride. Are you a passenger/sack of potatoes, or do you have a good, independent seat? A 150lbs rider who is flopping all over a horse's back is going to do more damage than a 200lbs rider who has a good, independent seat.


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## SlideStop (Dec 28, 2011)

That is amazing! Wonderful job, keep up the good work! 

Yes, riding is fun, but you still could get involved in horses! Is there anyone around you that has driving horses? Horses can pull A LOT more then they can carry! You could get you horse fix while remaining unmounted. Another thing you could look into is ground work training. Ground work is INVALUBALE and is frequently forgotten when it comes to working with horses. Plus, barn work is hard work! Mucking stalls, walking back and forth to paddocks, carrying saddles, grooming horses, moving hay/grain, etc is all great work!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## gingerscout (Jan 18, 2012)

you just have to find a horse suited to carry weight.. a few years ago when i first started riding I was 325 ish.. and I rode 1-2 times per week.. now I have lost a lot, but with saddle/ my steel toed boots etc I am almost 300 total for everything and I have a horse and when the weather was nicer I rode him 3-4 times a week. My horse is a 15.1 paint gelding whom had a medium build when I got him, I gave him time to muscle up and he has never shown signs of being sore/ struggling, in fact he seems to love going for rides, but 99% of the time I just ride walk/ trot in a level arena for 45 min to an hour, I don't ask him to jump/ race or do anything super strenuous. Saddle fit is key, if the saddle does not fit right your horse is going to become sorer easier. You just have to realize you might not be able to do everything you want, but it shouldn't stop you from wanting to ride at all. One problem is finding a place to let you ride though a lot of barns have a weight limit off 200 or under, Especially English barns, I had to take up riding western as much as I wanted to learn English because the attitude was night and day, and people in the Western community wanted to help me learn to ride, not tell me to take up other hobbies and such. Even though I have been riding for a few years, and have lost weight I still can't find someplace that teaches English around me to let me even try it..lol


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## karliejaye (Nov 19, 2011)

It really does depend heavily on the individual horse! My husband is 250 easy, add in the saddle and we are getting close to 290. The horse he rides on occasion is 14hh and 1000lb, but is stocky and very tough with a short, wide back. He has never looked distressed and my massage after the rides has never shown any soreness, that day or for multiple days after. That pony even carried my mom, who is around 240, on an 8 hour trail ride through mountain terrain. 
My main riding horse is a 16hh 1300lb paint and he gets sore from heavier riders, but that is due to his weak coupling in his loin. Bigger horse, but he needs a lighter, and balanced, rider to keep him sound. So it's not as simple as a percentage.

If you are really into horses and want to work with them, you still can at this weight, and as you continue to lose. Groundwork is loads of fun as is hand walking and trotting the horse. Driving is also a great option, since horses can actually pull much more efficiently than they can carry. 

Great work so far! You should be proud. But I also want to emphasize that you can still enjoy horses while you are still on your journey


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