Why are horse jockeys so small?

Question

does not seem healthy:(

Answer 1

so the horses dont have as much wieght to run with

Answer 2

They are so small because they stunt their growth when they diet! Most jockeys weigh 115 pounds at the max and are about 5'3!!!

Answer 3

The previous answer is true. However in races such as the preakness all horses are given the equal amount of weight. Its not unhealthy though instead of gaining weight, they gain muscle mass and they eat right.So they are actually pretty healthy but they do have to watch their weight. There are races where horses aren't given a certain amount of weight and horses run better when they dont have something large on their backs because believe it or not horses listen more to the seat and legs more than they do the reins.

Answer 4

And there has been complaints by the jocks over the years on this issue. It is based on the weight standards as determined by The Jockey Club, which dictate that these men and women meet standards that were basically set so many years ago when health & nutrition were not as advanced as it is now.

Though there has been a focus on this issue by the industry, go to any track when the gates open and you may see jocks on the track jogging in sweat suits or - you won't see this - using a sweat-box sauna in the jock's room to cut weight for the day's racing.

Answer 5

Because if you were to put Rosie O'Donnel on a race horse that would be cruel.

Answer 6

Alot of the jockeys are from another country where the general poulation is samll compared to us. they are not unhealthy they are very short people and usually not fat at all just small. Not everyone in the world is as big as some people here.

Answer 7

Cute aren't they - you could fit them in your pocket.  We call them "sawn off cowboys". You want to spend some time in Ireland - they're everywhere