Overweight horseback riders group?

kodijhill

long time rider here my favorite is my 13 y/o appaloosa mare who is 3 months prego. however she is going through some health issues that vets cant figure out so its kinda sad moment in our lives. hoping she recovers we have been through a lot. I was riding her everyday but I gained a lot of weight and I just didn't feel comfortable doing it anymore. plus we have gone to rodeos and people are really judgmental at those types of things so I didn't go back maybe someday when im thin. But I ride everything trail/ barrels poles pleasure. add me im good support and could use good support. I have 3 horses all together and 2 on the way. Im a picky rider really because if I feel any distress in the horse I get off so hopefully one day my weight wont be an issue to horses

hoyalawya2003

Please add me! I grew up riding/showing TWHs. (Your horse is beautiful btw, OP (if that is him in your profile pic!) I showed western for our college team. I also showed a spotted saddle horse for a while, but then we bought a house, had kids, and I gained weight (not necessarily in that order). I just treated myself to riding lessons after getting back to onederland, and I am currently learning to jump! I can't afford to buy one now, but plan to continue lessons until I can (probably 1 1/2 to 2 years from now). It is helping me stay focused on getting fit because that first lesson--after a 7 year break from any riding--was brutal!!!

crash_aly

I have been around horses my entire life. I have been barrel racing since I was 8 years old and at 25 am still an active barrel racer.
I own a 3 year old Paint gelding named Crash. He was born on my grandma's hobby farm (she owns both the dam and sire) and I instantly fell in love with him! He was a late foal so he went through his first 30 days of training this summer and I will be sending him back for another 30 days next year! I usually do my own training but due to moving into the city for work and being an hour away from him, I do not have the time.

I also ride a 16 year old quarter horse mare named Lacey that is owned by family. She is my current barrel horse and has a bit of an attitude. She prefers reining patterns over barrel racing so next summer I am hoping to take some reining lessons and go to a novice show or two!

I have worked for a couple of Arabian stables and my high school barrel horse was an anglo-arabian (arab and thoroughbred cross for anyone that isn't familiar). When I bought him he was trained in reining, up to 4th level dressage, and jumping. I learned a LOT from that old boy! I still take dressage lessons on occasion and ride english from time to time. I have trained for other people as well as given riding lessons at local stables and privately.

My weight has always yo-yoed. I was pretty athletic in high school but even with playing soccer and riding, at my smallest I was a size 8, am 5'6" and guessing I weighed around 140-150 (I don't ever remember weighing myself in my entire high school career!). I ended up gaining a lot of weight the first couple of years of college and got up to 220. I was still barrel racing through all of this but I was uncomfortable in my saddle, hated when I saw pictures of my runs. A huge wake up for me was coming in second and third and a family member saying "You know you would probably win more consistently if you lost a little weight so Cody (my anglo-arab) could run faster.

Now I weigh 159 and am riding comfortably in a 15" western saddle! I still have a little ways to go in my weight loss but I notice a huge difference in my riding the healthier and more fit I become. I think weight lifting has been a huge factor in bettering my riding. It has helped strengthen the muscles I use for riding and the ones that I don't realize I need to use more. My balance has increased greatly from weight lifting as well! I highly suggest it for anyone with balance issues. I do a lot with the Bosu ball for balance as well.
I am also learning how important good nutrition is for long days at horse shows or on the trails. Heck, even just getting through cleaning the barn and having the energy to ride afterwards!

stealthq

My recommendation for riding exercises is to ride. Often, and bareback or without stirrups as much as possible. Even better if you can get someone to put you on a lunge line, or on a horse in long lines so you don't have reins to hold on to. Then your balance will really be tested. Other than than, work on posture. Yoga, pilates, barre, something like that should do wonders.

My poison is the American Saddlebred, though I've ridden Arabians, Morgans, and Quarter Horses, too. Mostly I ride English saddle seat, I've done a little western (on a former world champion cutting horse, which was interesting to say the least), and I rode dressage once. Loved the dressage. I was given a lesson by friends, and they kindly said I had a knack for it ( liars :P ).

I used to show all the time - three-gaited, five-gaited, pleasure, my horse, someone else's horse, some random lesson horse that needed show experience, didn't matter. I loved to ride. Hated the politics that went with the show ring, but the riding was great.

My favorite of all time was a 4 yr old three-gaited mare. She had a ton of get-up-and-go and was SUPER touchy, but responded well with a very quiet and patient rider. She was the type that just fed off her rider - if you were anxious, she'd be so jumpy and scattered you'd be lucky to get her to move in anything other than a sideways leap, and forget getting her to stand so you could get on OR off! But, if you were confident, she'd settle right down and march forward like she owned the place. Suddenly those spooky shadows and puffs of baby powder meant nothing. She was awesome. Made you feel amazing when everything came together, especially since she obviously felt so much happier. Didn't hurt that she worked 10x better for me than for the stable's trainer (who was a total *kitten*).

I love riding, but have had to give it up for now. It's too expensive unless I do all of the stable work myself - and I live downtown, about an hour from the nearest stable doing my kind of equestrian work. I could go back to taking lessons, but then I just miss the 'real' stuff more. And I've never been a fan of riding the lesson horses, since most of them at my old barn are suited for little kids. I like a challenge.

Oh - and for the person riding in a 15" western saddle. I don't know how you do it. I must have a long thigh - I ended up riding in a 21" saddle seat, and I was really thin at the time. But, in a shorter saddle my butt was partially on the cantle (ouch), even with my stirrups dropped so low I could barely touch them.

crash_aly

My recommendation for riding exercises is to ride. Often, and bareback or without stirrups as much as possible. Even better if you can get someone to put you on a lunge line, or on a horse in long lines so you don't have reins to hold on to. Then your balance will really be tested. Other than than, work on posture. Yoga, pilates, barre, something like that should do wonders.


Oh - and for the person riding in a 15" western saddle. I don't know how you do it. I must have a long thigh - I ended up riding in a 21" saddle seat, and I was really thin at the time. But, in a shorter saddle my butt was partially on the cantle (ouch), even with my stirrups dropped so low I could barely touch them.

I agree with your exercises! The best shape of my life was when I rode every day, especially bareback (granted I ride bareback as much as I can now too! My friends think I am crazy when I take off at a gallop!) Growing up and being an adult sucks!

I think the sizing in western and english saddles must be really different because I am very bottom heavy! I do have an english saddle (that I generally use for training and haven't been in for years!) but I have no idea what size it is, I lent it out to a friend and haven't seen it in a year or more . I hate when saddles are too small, riding on the cantle is so painful, especially when it generally means I am riding someone else's horse that I don't know that well!

lisaonline

I love to ride! Hoping to meet others that love horses and need to loose weight too!

jugar

Oh it is so lovely to hear all your stories!

I have ridden off and on all my life (I'm about to turn 60) and share a gorgeous 5 year-old appaloosa gelding with my daughter (who is 21). I lost a good bit of weight over the past couple of years, and feel much better riding now -- although I have to say one of the most amazing riders I know is very heavy, and just does not let it stop her. Of course it feels better when your legs have more length and less bulk, but we are amazingly adaptable, as are our horses.

Our Appy is a complete doll, and I have ridden exclusively bareback for the past year and a half due to a nasty knee injury that keeps me from putting weight into a stirrup. This has been a revelation! I can do anything bareback now (even survived a panicked take off when the manure spreaders on tractors went rattling by). Now we have the slow down due to cold and snow, but hope to keep riding for many, many more years.

The only way to lose is to eat less and move more. It is hard. It is totally worth it. Never give up, and choose every day to do what we need to do -- happy new year!

elenathegreat

I've really enjoyed reading everyone's horse stories. I actually don't remember learning how to ride a horse anymore that any of you would remember learning how to walk...I have always ridden. I am blessed with beautiful horses and plenty of horseback work on our ranch, and I can tell you that losing weight has just made everything associated with work and competition so much BETTER! I can mount and dismount with much more ease, and my balance during roping and cutting has improved--I'm sure my horse appreciates having less of me to work under!
If that isn't great incentive to lose weight and keep it off, I don't know what is!:bigsmile: :bigsmile:

Katla49

Giving myself bursitis in my knee while riding gave me the motivation to lose weight. I'm at my goal, finally, and hope to ride again starting this spring. I thank Irish, a 20 year old thoroughbred, for inspiring me to regain my health. I'll be looking for a local stable this spring and have some good recommendations, but the weather is still too cold for me.

TripZeros

I was an obese rider... I'm now 5 lbs away from the "healthy" weight range! I had become obese after my pregnancy and stopped riding due to my mare being light-boned and me being too heavy for her. Now that I am of riding weight, she has had an ongoing lameness issue that may be neurological and force an early retirement for her. I haven't been able to ride her, even after losing all this weight to do so! Sometimes things don't go as planned... but I have one gorgeous pasture pet and walking companion. I've had her since she was a weanling (she's now 12) , so I'm happy as long as she's happy.

My motivation was 1.) riding my mare again (oops!) and 2.) I wanted to get back into dressage and jumping.

My parents owned a horse ranch. I fell in love with my first horse when I was 2 years old. I had always kept myself in shape to ride, show and train... However, I let myself go after an emotionally difficult pregnancy and was in denial about how much I weighed. Thinking "I just need to lose 20 lbs." The truth hurt... but eventually I made my way here and decided to get serious about my health and my weight.

I've been here since July 2013, have lost 55 lbs and have 15 more to go before hitting my overall goals! Since my mare is now retired, I am hoping to add a new 4-legged friend in 2015 to pick back up with jumping and dressage. This is the longest I have ever gone without riding in my entire life. It is miserable...

auntyfred

My motivation for losing weight is my lovely Dales mare. I was approaching the weight limit for getting on her.

SmujnZ

Hi everyone! So exciting to see fellow horse addicts here on MFP!

I breed Arabian Riding Ponies and run a foundation programme from home for weanlings and yearlings (so people drop off their "ferals" and pick up lovely little contributing members of equine society a few weeks later lol).

Gotta get the post pregnancy weight gain back down so I can get to enjoy some of my ponies as they reach an age where they are ready to start under saddle!

withabandon

Just thought I'd poke my head in and say hello.

I have been writing a blog for plus sized horseback riders for the last four years. Always been a big girl. Current mount is a draft cross mare (actually a more rugged horse than I rode before at a heavier weight, even - purely accidental). Growing up, my parents stood a stallion, trained and showed, so I grew up in the western pleasure show ring. Now I play at dressage but mostly hack... though I haven't ridden since October - my mare and I have both gained a little weight and I moved her 45 minutes from my apartment to save on board so we could buy a house where she can come live with us.