Before I go further can I put on record that yes, I’m reasonably slim, that yes, I have been overweight and yes, it’s really hard trying to shift the weight. I am not without sympathy or understanding for those with these problems.
So, in this post I speak of riders with horses that are too small or light boned for them. All too often we are asked to fit a thoroughbred, or similar type of sport horse with a saddle to “go eventing/ show jumping/showing (hunter type classes, for my American friends)”. The rider may or not admit to their correct weight, and yes, I am aware that there are many factors that can cause problems, but often it is in excess of 110kg – 242lbs. The horse, at 500kg and using the 20% scale can carry, say 100kg –INCLUDING saddle, bridle, stirrups, girth, saddle cloth, your boots, hat and clothing. I suggest that everyone spends a bit of time to weigh this lot – it will be far more than you expect. Add to this that the 20% guidance is for the horse at its optimal weight, and so, with an overweight horse many kilos will be deducted.
Have we have got to a stage, bearing in mind the social licence and welfare considerations, where saddles should not be fitted to these horses as this will facilitate the rider being able to work them? I have walked away from a decent saddle sale because the rider was, in my opinion some 35kg too heavy for the horse . That’s 5 ½ stone or 77lbs! Believe me, that was a difficult thing to do. I would have liked to make a nice sale and see the horse in a well-fitting saddle. I also have no doubt at all that the client was upset and hurt. How on earth can you say this without upsetting them? In this case it was the right thing to do, and it really is what all equestrian professionals should be doing. However, it is still ‘the elephant in the room’, meaning that we all know that it’s there, and a problem, but no one is prepared to address it.
Unfortunately, many who do try to compete when too heavy for their horse might be in for a shock this year. Certainly, in the UK and if not in place yet, soon to follow in other equestrian nations where this is a problem, people are being turned away from the competition. Many show classes have scales at the gate and have a maximum weight for each class. If you exceed it, you will be asked to leave. In dressage and, I believe eventingc the judges have a right to eliminate a rider if they consider their weight excessive for that horse. Surely other disciplines are the same or will follow. Endurance? Showjumping?
Whilst honestly full of sympathy for those who struggle with their weight, we just can’t allow this abuse of our animals to continue.
Let me leave you with this thought...
If you walked into a barn and saw someone beating a horse and, as you got level with them the whip broke, then the person asked you to give them another nearby whip so that they could continue as ‘he needs this to keep him in line’, would you give them the second whip? I suspect not. However, by ignoring or ‘not seeing’ the under horsed rider and walking on by, how much pain and injury will that horse suffer? Sadly, a great deal. It could well be broken beyond fixing. Why is this thought by some to be acceptable?
I’ll re-publish my original blog post about overweight riders when I have finished some planned edits to it and include a reminder of the formula I first shared in 2022 that can reliably help work out how much weight a horse can safely carry. In the interests of horse welfare and the growing awareness of the importance of our social licence, this is a subject for which all of us need to take responsibility.
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