Too much weight vs. riding level?

Question

so i know the 20% rule when it comes to how much weight a horse can carry, and that generally QH's and arabians cobs (and the like..) are better at handleing weight, and that the confimation, height, bone size etc. are all factors.. but shouldn't riding level also factor in?

ie: a 200 pound person (not including tack) who didn't know what they were doing would be hard on a 1000 lbs. horse, but if said 200 pound person was a talented rider who knew what they were doing and had good balance wouldn't be as hard.. right?

or does everything i just said not make sense? haha

thanks!

Answer 1

There is such thing as dead weight and live weight. It is harder to lift dead weight verses live weight. It would be harder on a horse, if the rider did not know what they are doing and were able to carry themselves. If you put an overweight beginner on a horse the horse is going to feel it because the person does not know how to carry and balance themselves to complement the horses. Beginners tend to bounce and flop all over the place. Where as lets say you put an overweight experienced rider or professional on the horse, the horse will barely feel it because the person can support themselves and the horse wont have to do it for them.

I've seen skinny skinny girls, sore up their horses back because they didn't know how to carry their own weight and the horse had to do it for them. Anything flopping up and don on a horses back is going to cause them pain no matter the weight.

Answer 2

I think I know what you are getting at.

Yes, an idiot who bounces around and slams a horses back WILL cause quite a bit of damage.

But as for the other way around, 200 pounds is 200 pounds. Moving your weight correctly will not lessen the strain on the horse.

Answer 3

I can answer the muscle weight vs. plain fat difference. Muscle is much more denser that fat, thus it has more mass and it weighs more. An orange sized piece of fat is lighter than an orange sized piece of muscle.

But yes, if a 200 lb person who was talented at riding and knew what they were doing, and had a low fat body content, usually most women will not weigh 200 lb if they are musclular unless they are a bodybuilder, so we'll assume that this a man, would not be as hard on the horse as lets say a 200 lb person who had more fat than muscle and did not know what they were doing.

Answer 4

i dont know that there would be much of a difference.  if the beginner rider didnt work the horse terribly hard it would be fine.  qh's and cobs etc.. are sturdy horses and can handle the weight.  same for the experienced rider.  yeah them being more balanced may make for a more comfortable ride but weight is weight.  most horses can handle it as long as you dont work your horse to death.  make for short tougher lessons or easy longer lessons.  Balance it out.

Answer 5

Put it this way - have you ever picked up and carried your friend ? Have you ever tried that when she's drunk ?

There's a big difference between weight and dead weight.

Someone who can ride can balance themselves and, in doing so also assist the horse in balancing himself.

Someone who cannot balance themselves if going to put extra strain on the horse as he tries to compensate for the rider ( and they do - even if it's just a matter of tensing muscles and, in time that's going to hurt)

As for the difference in muscle mass and fat - I'd hazard a guess that the difference there is the same - the muscle will be controlled weight, the fat won't be.

Answer 6

It makes perfect sense. A bigger person who has balance and is able to help the horse and make it carry itself is far easier than an inexperienced person who bounces like a sack of potatoes.

I was told this by an instructor some years ago - I don't think there is an actual calculation that takes experience into consideration - if there was it would probably be ridiculously complicated. As far as I know it is simply an understanding amongst instructors.

Answer 7

It depends on lots of things. If a rider is light in the saddle, and can carry themselves well (I don't mean how experienced they are, just how they sit), and that rider weighs more than 20% of a horse, then they'd probably be fine. But then if you got a rider who sat heavily, leaned on the horse, and wasn't smooth in movement then they would have to be 20% or not ride.

Riding level does factor in, but so does just how they sit. I'm not trying to show off or anything, but I haven't ever taken lessons, and get the occasional ride/lesson where I work, and I naturally have a good riding position, so I can ride the smaller horses that I weigh more than 20% of. I'm not hugely experienced (I can ride though), but I just have a good position, and carry myself well.

Your example does make sense! The second person would be much easier for the horse to carry and work with, as opposed to the first person who would make it difficult for the horse to work, not just because of no experience, but because they were heavier AND had no experience, so would just be a big weight not guiding the horse at all.

Also, I volunteer at an RDA (riding for the disabled). There, we have t make a lot of judgment calls regarding weight of riders. For example, a potential rider who is in a wheelchair would be less able to carry themselves on the horse so would need a much stronger, bigger horse to carry the "dead" weight, as in, the weight that cannot control itself, or much of itself. You get that? Sorry, it doesn't make a lot of sense, but it does to me.

So yes, riding level and position does definitely factor into it, definitely!

Answer 8

I own arab horses and wouldn't put a person that is overweight on my horses.  They are not built to carry heavy loads, not sure where you got your info about arabs.  It doesn't matter how good you ride.  They have one less vertebrae so you have back issues to be concerned about and they have more difficulty distributing the weight on their backs.   I would rather have someone who is 200 lbs of muscle than 200 lbs of fat on my horse.  Even if you have a good seat and are an excellent rider, fat moves doesn't stay put like muscle.  This will throw your horse off balance no matter how good you ride.  I worked at stable where they rented out horses when I was younger and we always evaluated the weight of the rider to the horse/breed we put them on, didn't matter if they knew how to ride.  They had a weight limit of 300 lbs for overweight riders.  You never mentioned the height?  That comes into play also, if somebody that weighs 200 lbs and is tall, is way different than somebody that is short and 200 lbs.  The person that is tall the weight is distributed and not considered overweight, but the smaller person is the opposite.

Answer 9

I agree. I am well over 200 lbs, in-fact I am 235lbs(and in good shape, round HA). I consider myself an advanced rider, being that do make a living training horses. I may have been on one or two. If you sit on a horse like a old sack of potatoes, yes it will be harder on the horse. At the same time someone who knows how to ride well will shift and lean with the horse to ease the animal as it moves.

A prime example is when we go on week long camping trips(meaning on horse back for a week in the back country) with pack horses. We will only pack about 150lbs on the horse because it is a dead weight and can not shift as we ride.

So yes riding level will make difference.

Answer 10

Hilda Gurney, who is an Olympian and the GODDESS of extended trot, weights a solid 200lbs. Weight can actually have benefits...if you can manipulate your body you can get some amazing movements that are amplify out of your horse then that of a smaller/lighter person ever could. You just have to know the buttons.

Answer 11

I work at a barn that provides hippotherapy for disabled people (therapy on a horse), and we come across that quandary very often. We assess a rider's ability to balance as well as their weight to determine what horse they are paired with. If a 100-pound kid can't sit centered in a therapeutic saddle (kind of like a bareback pad), we're not going to stick them on our smaller ponies. If they are able to sit straight and can control more of their body movements and functions, we can put them on a smaller pony. Also, we're not going to stick people on our Clydesdale who need to be held up, since the sidewalkers wouldn't be able to hold them up since he's so tall.

So, to get straight to the point, a person who has good balance makes the job easier for the horse, and can spend more energy towards other things while riding, such as getting the horse to bend and engage its hindquarters, etc.

Answer 12

well 200 pouns is 200 pounds but if you have someone bouncing on a horse and someone posting posting is going to fell a lot more free and comfortable. like if your giving someone a piggyback its hard to hold them up if there all over the place because you have to shift your own weight to feel comfortable

Answer 13

The weight the horse is able to bear depends mostly on its condition and conformation, and also the type of work you are asking the horse to do.

If the horse is uninjured in the back, legs, and joints, is healthy, in good condition, and has a short back, it should be able to carry a 200 lb. person without problems if normal recreational work is what is being asked of it.

Having said that, a 1,000 lb. horse is still rather too small for someone of that weight.  I would not use a small horse like this with a rider of that weight for jumping or other hard work, for example.  I think that's pushing it, because this type of activity is not only hard on the horse's back, it is also hard on the horse's legs and ankle joints.  Excessive weight only makes this wear more pronounced.

Answer 14

Yes riding level factors in as well as how long the ride and what type of riding.  The 20% rule was made for competition level and all day riding since those are the horses that see the vet more often.  

Better riders balance better and that is less tiring for the horse.  So you are correct, expecially on long rides.

People get upset with me when I try to explain that 30% of the horses weight for a short fifteen minute to half hour walk around the yard is fine provided the horse doesn't have any problems.  That 15 minute to half hour walk with the heavier weight is much easier on a horse's back than a lighter 20% that is carried for 6 or 8 hours, or is jumped with.  Consider the average 175 pound man can put an amazing 1000 plus pounds of pressure on his ankles during a jog when the foot hits the ground (more during landings of jumps).  What do you think that 20% adds on a jump?  Much easier for a horse to carry more weight for a few minutes at a walk.

BTW  The fewer vertebrae in the back the more a horse can carry because a shorter back can carry heavier loads.  Also many breeds have fewer vertebrae than average but there is a range in virtually every breed including arabs.

Answer 15

You make perfect sense. I train with a lady that's about 200lbs and she rides a TB just fine. Of course, she is experienced and is a good rider. I noticed she uses a wither relief pad though. Someone who is heavy and bounces around in the saddle like they have no sense will tick a horse off.