What is the best performance horse for a heavily built man... 240lb and darn tall?

Question

I am a past weight lifter and I am built heavily and while I am looking at Belgiums and others, I would like to have a more versatile, performance horse... Any ideas?

Answer 1

Get a quarter horse or even a fox trotter if you like gaited horses (I would not have anything else, but then I ride 300 to 500 miles of trail a year).

Here are the recommendations.  For competitions 20% of the horse's body weight is what it can carry safely (keep in mind that includes saddle and tack).  However most people stop there and do not realize that those recommendations were given by vets for competition horses.  Here are the rest of the figures...25% for everyday riding and trails if you are not working the horse hard.  In other words 1 or 2 hour rides, once or twice a week.  30% for puttering around the yard on half hour rides at a walk.  Keep in mind that this is for the slimmer leaner body type.  Stockier horses can carry a little more.  A horse in good shape can also carry more than a horse that is not in good shape.

I know several people in our riding group that are in your size range and do quite well on their fox trotters.  In fact we have not had one yet that has developed any type of back problems.

By performance I am talking about western riding however if you are into English riding your choices will be different.

You can know buy western saddles weighing as little as 12  3/4 lbs in a 15 inch seat.  You will probably need a little bigger one.  

Oh and for the people thumbs downing my answer if you don't know the actual recommendations keep quiet.  If you do then you know that this is what they are (give or take a few minor variations depending on who is making the recs.).  Oh and figure an average horse at around 1000 lbs.  Only the really stocky ones and the really big ones are in the 1200 lb range.

And yes some of the quarters are too short but some are in the 16 hh range which will be tall enough for you.  My fox trotter stud is 16 hh at three and will get taller but he is pretty tall for a fox trotter.  However the tall ones can be found.

Answer 2

What type of riding do you plan on doing? Trail riding, barrel racing, huntseat, eventing, dressage, etc.? You will need a big horse simply because of your weight, regardless of fitness level. I would also look for a horse that has been ridden by larger men.

Answer 3

i'd just go for a big draft cross. QHs can carry a hefty rider, but you're also tall, so it could look a little awkward as a lot of them are on the shorter side.

more important than breed though, is build. just go out and look at some big horses, try them out, and see what feels right.

Answer 4

maybe a thoroughbred X draft.

Answer 5

Clydesdales, Friesians, mayb an Andalusian. Belguins are good.

Answer 6

i would say thoroughbred x quarter horse

TB beacause of the height and energy

QH because they are sturdy and can balence themselves well under weight. also allrounders and are suitable for any disipline.

Answer 7

A cross with a draft

Answer 8

I wouldnt judge by breed I would go by look. You are going to want a stocky built horse. For example I could say standardbred cause there are some built like DWB but also some built more like arabs.

Pending on your price range I would go find a riding stable or horse savvy friends. Withthe riding stable ask an instructor the same question and ask if they can point you in the right direction. Bring your horse savvy friend along for a second opinion [if I didnt bring somone along with me to sales i would buy everything haha]

Good Luck!

Answer 9

I'd have to say an Irish Sports horse, although Belgians are good weight carriers they are still a draft horse and its conformation is all wrong for eventing, such as show jumping as it is a heavy stocky build, better built for driving.

An Irish sports horse is a breed originating from breeding a thoroughbred and an Irish draft together, so therefore you'll get the best of both worlds. athleticism, speed, and endurance of the Thoroughbred. It has an excellent temperament, being calm, yet lively when needed, and is very tough, Perfect for weight carrying. It is a superb eventing horse and is versitile to all disaplines from show jumping to driving etc. Usually the breed comes in three classes: lightweight, middle-weight and heavy weight. You should look for a horse between the middle and heavy weight regions, as the middle-weight can carry upto 89kg and the heavy-weight anything exceeding 89kg. The breed is betwwen 15 to17hh, i would advise anything over 16hh. good luck!

Answer 10

anything about 16.2hh and over. You could have like a heavy built irish sports horse as they tend to be quite cobby. You could also have like a 3/4 shire 1/4 TB etc. Go for horses with the least TB in them as if you have like the old draught horses they are strong. Even a pure bred Irish Draught (i have one even though im 5ft4 nd slim built!). They are lovely horses and rather strong, but agile enough for jumping. Good luck

Answer 11

A 15.3 or better quarter horse would be fine....and far easier to keep than a draft breed.  If you are that darn tall, go with the 16 hh or better still stocky and well conformed horse...quarter horse...I think.

Answer 12

My husband is 6'2", although only about 200 pounds.  He looks funny on anything under about 16 hands because his legs hang down so far.  The best horses for him seem to be draft crosses, because he looks proportional on them and yet they can move and are more comfy to ride than pure drafts.  So that would be my recommendation: a draft cross.

P.S.  Belgians are one of the better drafts for riding (drafts aren't generally meant for riding, they are meant for pulling), so if you are going to stick with a pure draft I suggest them, although a Belgian crossed with a lighter horse would be great too.

Answer 13

For a versatile performance hose, I suggest you look at some of the warmblood breeds - Dutch, Belgian, Swedish, Danish or other. The warmbloods got their start as crosses between thoroughbreds and draft horses, so they are usually more stout, substantial, and taller than a thoroughbred, but more athletic than a draft. They have been bred for generations for sport.

Other folks have already suggested a draft/thoroughbred cross, and I think that's a good idea too. That type of breeding is basically how warmbloods began. I think you do have to be more careful looking at these because sometimes you get a good cross and sometimes you get a bad cross. Often, these horses are a nice blend of draft and thoroughbred characteristics, but sometimes they get say, a TB head on a draft body and just look like mis-matched parts. I'd suggest looking at Clydesdale, Percheron, and Belgian crosses.

Another idea would be to look at English thoroughbreds which are supposedly much more stout that their American counterparts.

Also, you could look at appendix quarter horses for the same reasons as a draft cross. They would have quarter horse strength and stoutness with a TB's larger build.

Good luck.