Do you believe heavier people shouldn't ride horses?

13

Replies

  • skylark94
    skylark94 Posts: 2,036 Member
    I loved being flamed and told my posts are stupid because of how I feel about it. :laugh:

    I have ridden horses, and I am only 6 pounds "over weight" and I still feel bad about riding on them. I'd much rather see them in their own groups and doing whatever the hell it is that they want to do.

    But hey, for thinking outside the box you're bound to be bashed and flamed. I'm very opinionated so I should have expected to get flamed for thinking against the norm.

    What exactly do you think would happen to all of those horses if people decided to stop riding them? Do you really think they would be allowed to frolic in a pasture for the rest of their days? No. Most cows you see "doing whatever the hell it is that they wanted to do" end up on a dinner plate. Horses would meet the same fate.
  • RikanSoulja
    RikanSoulja Posts: 463 Member
    I don't believe ANYONE should ride horses. Horses are so intelligent. Would you ride a dog?

    If there was a dog big enough to support my weight then yes, yes I would
  • TommiEgan
    TommiEgan Posts: 256 Member
    After working in the horse industry, I strongly think people that are even overweight should not even dream of getting on a Horse. Running show jumping and seeing a grossly overweight woman riding and jumping a Comp horse is not a nice thing to see. I believe it is borderline animal cruelty.

    Flame me if you want, but it is wrong. Your weight is centered on the horses back, imagine being on all fours and having an immense weight on your spine....
  • jr1985
    jr1985 Posts: 1,033 Member
    I can't imagine a 300lb person WANTING to get up on the saddle and ride a horse
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
    I have friends (men) who are 200 - 300 lb of muscle

    pics or it didn't happen
  • Dub_D
    Dub_D Posts: 1,760 Member
    I feel like this is a question we should be asking the horses.
  • CrisN99
    CrisN99 Posts: 159 Member
    Haven't you heard of Hofgrir Horse-Crusher? Got drunk and cracked a colt's back in two. He hasn't ridden since.

    A+ for Skyrim reference!

    The best horses for overweight people are not generally drafts (who were bred to pull- not ride). Arabians have amazing bone density and QH/Paints are also very hardy. As always it depends on the fitness of the horse. A larger man (thats a balanced rider) could easily ride a quarter horse without worrying about the overall health of the horse.
  • jr1985
    jr1985 Posts: 1,033 Member
    I don't believe ANYONE should ride horses. Horses are so intelligent. Would you ride a dog?

    We DID try to ride the golden retriever when we were little... Horses freaked me out (and still do) but my big Sam Dog... He would have been just perfect! Too bad he was lazy and would just lay down on us... fun times though!
  • _the_feniks_
    _the_feniks_ Posts: 3,412 Member
    nm
  • megalin9
    megalin9 Posts: 771 Member
    Usually, if a person's huge they should consider stallions, but with stallions comes a whole load of considerations.
    Not sure what a stallion (male horse that has not been castrated) has to do with the ability to carry a heavier person and what the load of considerations might be.
  • RobynC79
    RobynC79 Posts: 331 Member
    I imagine a coldblood breed would handle a decent 300lb rider just fine. A 300lb novice with a terrible seat, maybe not so much. Some of those breeds were developed as war horses for armoured knights, which would have been no lightweights.

    On a fine- or medium-boned horse I think 300lbs is too much, partcularly if the horse is not fit. I see some very overweight people riding quarter horses at speed for roping and barrels, and it looks miserable for the horse.
  • summertime_girl
    summertime_girl Posts: 3,945 Member
    Usually, if a person's huge they should consider stallions, but with stallions comes a whole load of considerations.
    Not sure what a stallion (male horse that has not been castrated) has to do with the ability to carry a heavier person and what the load of considerations might be.

    Stallions are much harder to handle. Many barns won't even allow them to be boarded. It takes a skilled rider to handle a stallion. A heavier rider doesn't need a stallion, they need a sturdier horse, or if they are too heavy, not to ride at all.
  • Erienneb
    Erienneb Posts: 592 Member
    I used to ride horses a lot when I was younger, but got too tall then busy, now heavy. I'm 270lbs right now and will not ride because I can't ride the kind of horse I want to until I weigh less. I'm not subjecting the poor things to my body weight haha.
  • megalin9
    megalin9 Posts: 771 Member
    Usually, if a person's huge they should consider stallions, but with stallions comes a whole load of considerations.
    Not sure what a stallion (male horse that has not been castrated) has to do with the ability to carry a heavier person and what the load of considerations might be.

    Stallions are much harder to handle. Many barns won't even allow them to be boarded. It takes a skilled rider to handle a stallion. A heavier rider doesn't need a stallion, they need a sturdier horse, or if they are too heavy, not to ride at all.

    Correct. But the statement was, "If a person's huge, they should consider stallions." Maybe she meant, they should NOT consider stallions??? Otherwise, I agree with your statement.
  • snowysfarra
    snowysfarra Posts: 4
    I have horses. I quit riding when i got to my heaviest. There is a limit to everything. But hey i am good now. I have dropped 89 pounds over the past few years so i am good to go, back to riding and loving it. A heavy balanced rider who is somewhat fit is better than an unbalance lighter rider. Unbalanced means, not being able to hold the core up, slouching, digging in seat bones and butt slapping the saddle, thus tranferring that to the horses back. Leaning and tilting from side to side as the horse moves. Think of carrying a moving child piggy back while you are trying to walk or jog and how much force that puts on your back when the kid leans or moves around. The horse experiences somthing similar.

    Horses will often keep going when they are in pain, so one must be very realistic when riding. If your stomach is draping over the front of the saddle, you can't mount from a mounting block USING the stirrup because you will pull the saddle sideways your too big to ride.
  • BogQueen1
    BogQueen1 Posts: 320 Member
    No. It's why I don't ride right now. I think it would be unfair to the horse. 100 pounds from now? Yes I'll ride. But not now, and not for a while.
  • Kathy_TheVampireSlayer
    Kathy_TheVampireSlayer Posts: 189 Member
    extremely heavy people should not ride horses.
  • 777Gemma888
    777Gemma888 Posts: 9,578 Member
    I have friends (men) who are 200 - 300 lb of muscle

    pics or it didn't happen

    ROFL ... Naturally you'd love to see them. Too funny!
  • SoViLicious
    SoViLicious Posts: 2,633 Member
    If you cant ride a bike, you should not ride a horse.
  • LondonEliza
    LondonEliza Posts: 456 Member
    I don't believe ANYONE should ride horses. Horses are so intelligent. Would you ride a dog?

    Sorry?

    worlds_biggest_dog.jpg
  • lesnwhisper
    lesnwhisper Posts: 20
    I don't believe ANYONE should ride horses. Horses are so intelligent. Would you ride a dog?

    Sorry?

    worlds_biggest_dog.jpg
    win!
  • nefbaker
    nefbaker Posts: 79
    I ride Percherons, and I have a bumper sticker "Ride a Draft...it makes your butt look smaller." I weigh around 190, but have been riding since I was at 240 or so. Marisol is 17 hands and weighs over a ton. My other riding horse is a Saddlebred/Perch cross that loves going for rides...when I take the halter out to get Mari, he'll follow me and try to stick his head in the halter so he can come instead.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    I don't believe ANYONE should ride horses. Horses are so intelligent. Would you ride a dog?

    If it could carry me. :laugh:
  • summertime_girl
    summertime_girl Posts: 3,945 Member
    If you cant ride a bike, you should not ride a horse.

    That makes me laugh. My seven year old will W/T/C on my 16 hand horse, no problem. Put her on a 20" bike with training wheels, and she's TERRIFIED.
  • 777Gemma888
    777Gemma888 Posts: 9,578 Member
    Would you ride a dog?

    Poodles were used as a sled team sometime back at the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. And using a sled does qualify as a form of riding. Would I? A resounding yes, most especially if I was stuck in the Alaskan Wilderness and my only avenue to get out was a pack of Poodles .Hitch them babies up!
  • 777Gemma888
    777Gemma888 Posts: 9,578 Member
    I don't believe ANYONE should ride horses. Horses are so intelligent. Would you ride a dog?

    Sorry?

    worlds_biggest_dog.jpg
    win!

    OMG! What breed?
  • meredifish
    meredifish Posts: 9
    There's many factors besides weight of the rider or the size of the horse, like terrain/duration of your ride, and your equipment. A saddle isn't just to cushion the rider's butt, it helps evenly distribute the "load" evenly.

    That being said, I don't think someone over 300 pounds has any business riding a horse! It's bad for their back, and, in all practicality, the rider needs a walk a whole lot more than the horse!

    Consequentially, I can't wait to get on my gelding after my weightloss... it may not be a difference of 100 pounds but "posting" (standing up and sitting down in the saddle in tandem with a trotting/running horse) is a lot of ab and glute work. Once my muscles are stronger, I wonder how fast and far we'll be able to go when I can keep up with him!
  • sizzle92
    sizzle92 Posts: 1,015 Member
    I loved being flamed and told my posts are stupid because of how I feel about it. :laugh:

    I have ridden horses, and I am only 6 pounds "over weight" and I still feel bad about riding on them. I'd much rather see them in their own groups and doing whatever the hell it is that they want to do.

    But hey, for thinking outside the box you're bound to be bashed and flamed. I'm very opinionated so I should have expected to get flamed for thinking against the norm.

    Do you want to knit some hats for them and start a club?


    Sure I'd love to, if I knew how to knit they'd all have sweaters for the winter. Why don't you pull up a chair and help? Let's see, knitting for an animal that large would take hours, so I'd imagine the calorie burn on that would be great.

    I always love to see people refer to calorie burning by doing things like breathing. :tongue:

    I swam with a horse once. True story.
  • horseperation
    horseperation Posts: 1 Member
    Just because it's been done doesn't mean we should keep doing it. I ride. I love my horses. I ride a horse strong enough to bear my weight, but I don't ride more than a couple hours, usually much less.

    I'm looking at 300lbs with tack, I have a serious saddle.

    What worries me at least as much as asking a horse to carry too much is the deep dip you can see in every horse with some hours under the saddle just behind the shoulder. Look at horses that have never been ridden, and no matter the age, that dip is not there. look at horse that are ridden, even occasionally over its lifetime, that depression is there. This means that the saddle is grinding into the horses back and blocking shoulder movement. The rider's weight is irrelevant to this issue. The hors's back is breaking down from the saddle.

    I just think we have a lot to rethink when is comes those magnificent creatures some of us love to partner with.
  • salembambi
    salembambi Posts: 5,585 Member
    I believe all people should not ride horses

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