# How much can a welch c carry?



## nijinsky (18 December 2007)

Anybody have any ideas how much rider weight a 13.2 Welsh C pony can comfortably carry?

I read somewhere that you divide the pony's weight by 5 and that's what she can carry in rider weight - anyone heard of this?

Another question then - how much weight should a 13.2 welsh ideally be?  The pony in question is the pony in my siggy.


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## amandathepanda (18 December 2007)

My up to height section C that i have sold on now was happy carrying my friend who is 11 stone.  I think it very much depends on the individual pony, but remember C's were used by welsh famers to carry them up &amp; down the mountains...


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## kerilli (18 December 2007)

hi nijinsky!  i'd say a rider who weighs no more than 7 1/2 stone maximum tbh, if it's for cantering and jumping. for just slow hacking, a bit more. it can be done on bone too (this is the most reliable way, there's been lots of posts in the past about this) but iirc she's quite a quality pony, not really stocky. if you allow in half a stone for riding wear, and a stone for the saddle, more or less, that's 9 stone, which is plenty for a 13.2, i think.
hope your girls are being good!


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## nijinsky (18 December 2007)

Thanks for that.


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## celia (18 December 2007)

My sister weighs around 8 stone and her 13hh sec C carries her easily. I'm just over nine stone and ride her occasionally and although I feel a little tall on her she has no problems with my weight. I think she's a little stockier than yours though - she's the black mare in my sig.


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## teapot (18 December 2007)

My share pony was a 13.2 welsh c and he had no problems carrying me and I was about 9 and a half stone at the time.

It's not about weight 100% of the time as a heavier rider will carry themselves a lot lighter than a beginner who's like a sack of potatoes


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## kerilli (18 December 2007)

umm, when you say "he had no problems carrying me", of course he didn't appear to... he probably wouldn't have staggered around unless you put 25 stone on him! not really trying to have a go or be horrible, honestly, but a 9 1/2 stone rider + riding kit + tack = a total load of about 11 stone, which i think is a lot for a 13.2 pony, unless it is built like a brick privy, which this one isn't! yes, of course an experienced rider will ride lighter than a beginner who is like a sack of spuds, but that wasn't the question nijinsky asked.


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## noggin667 (18 December 2007)

Kerrilli, I know it wasn't the question nijinsky asked, but it is something that can affect it. The point teapot was trying to convey was an answer to nijinsky's first question "Anybody have any ideas how much rider weight a 13.2 Welsh C pony can comfortably carry?" She was merely attempting to answer that one (that the way it reads). So as an answer to the question, you could indirectly link that an experienced rider will ride lighter than a beginner who is a sack of spuds, therefore becoming apart of a suitable answer to that question.

Nijinsky lovely ponies btw and i think that all the answers given, give the weight range that we would put on our 13.3hh welsh C too

(I work with welshes, but wanted to reply on this post as i thought teapot had a good point, normally I just lurk lol)


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## kerilli (18 December 2007)

fair enough, but weight is weight, irrespective of the talent of the rider. for e.g. WFP would ride lighter than a 10 stone beginner, but i still wouldn't put either of them on a 13.2 pony unless it was built like a brick privy!


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## Honeypots (18 December 2007)

Well my 11 yr old daughter weighs 8 and a half stone and rides her friends Sec C easily.  As always it depends as much on the ability of the rider as anything...


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## teapot (18 December 2007)

I rode him under the guidance of my two instructors who said that I would be fine on anything from 13hh upwards, especially a native breed.

They don't get the credit they deserve as being weight carriers IMHO


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## Christmas_Kate (18 December 2007)

Most of these natives don't get cerdit for what they can carry. These animals carried heavy weights across the mountains, not light riders with light saddles... the carried dead animals, heavy farmers....


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## kerilli (18 December 2007)

yes, Kate, they carried heavy weights, at walk, for long periods. very big difference, imho, to carrying weight at higher speeds and over jumps, which is what most horses and ponies do now.


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## parsley (18 December 2007)

The section C I owned weighed 400kg summer and winter, although he was a bit stalliony and well muscled.  TBH I used to get on him when he was being too much of a handful for my child and I am quite weighty, although I didn't sit down properly in the saddle.  I don't know how accurate the following is (and I am sure someone will say if they disagree with it)...

"Measurement Test
1.  Add up the total weight of the horse, rider and tack. (

2.  Measure the circumference of the cannon bone midway between the knee and fetlock.

3.  Divide this total weight by the circumference.

3.  Divide the result by two. 

Values near 75 are great, below 75, even better. Values from 75/80 are acceptable. Values over 80 indicate weaker legs and a need to train carefully, especially downhill. Values over 85 suggest you need a horse with more substance."


OR  ....."Most commercial stables base their rider weight restrictions on the idea that an average horse can safely carry up to 20% of its own weight" (which would tie in with your divide by 5 rule)



AND......"there are several things to consider in this context. First of all, the old masters considered the rider's body weight to be the most powerful aid. If the weight is used and distributed well, the rider can help the horse tremendously and make himself feel lighter than he really is by supporting his own weight and moving in perfect harmony with the horse's back - which actually requires quite a bit of core muscle strength and can quickly become a somewhat aerobic activity. If the rider uses his weight poorly, he can interfere with the horse's motion so much that he actually destroys the gait and damages the back, and he feels heavier to the horse than he really is. Obviously, the heavier the rider and the smaller the horse, the more profound the effect of even the smallest weights shift in the saddle will be. Conversely, the smaller and lighter the rider and the larger the horse, the less the rider's movements will influence the horse. The same thing applies to tall riders on short or narrow horses. The leverage that a tall torso entails can be a tremendous asset or it can have tremendously destructive force, if it isn't wielded skillfully". _Measurement Test_


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## nijinsky (18 December 2007)

Thanks for all your comments &amp; I will take everything on board.  According to the divide by 5 way, if she weighs 380kg and you divide that by 5 = 76kg which is about 12 stone (I think).


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## kerilli (18 December 2007)

well, me + kit + saddle = 12 stone... do you reckon you'd be happy for me to ride her? because seriously, that's how much i weigh, and i reckon i'd be waay too bog and heavy for her!
i've ridden such a small pony for 10 mins to sort it out cos it was being evil to my friend's children, but no way would i be happy riding one for longer... but maybe that's just me!


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## nijinsky (18 December 2007)

Hello you.

Does sound a lot 12 stone doesn't it.  I can't ride her and I'm only 8 stone but it's more because I feel too long/tall, plus I'm used to abby being 16.3 - a huge difference.  A friend and I have just been trying to work out what sort of weight she would be able to carry &amp; how do you know (apart from common sense) if you are too heavy?   I just remember reading an article in one of the mags about dividing the pony's weight by 5 to get the rider weight.  

Anyway, friend and I had no clue so thought I'd post on here as someone would def know.

Have you warmed up yet?


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## lilym (18 December 2007)

[ QUOTE ]
hi nijinsky!  i'd say a rider who weighs no more than 7 1/2 stone maximum tbh, if it's for cantering and jumping. for just slow hacking, a bit more. it can be done on bone too (this is the most reliable way, there's been lots of posts in the past about this) but iirc she's quite a quality pony, not really stocky. if you allow in half a stone for riding wear, and a stone for the saddle, more or less, that's 9 stone, which is plenty for a 13.2, i think.
hope your girls are being good! 

[/ QUOTE ]

sorry but what a load of old bull!! i know many sec c's and an upto height proper welsh c with decent bone can carry 12 stone easily... - have you ever seeen a proper c????? they are not dainty show ponies you know, a freind has a 13.2 c stally and to put 7 and a half stone on him would be asking for trouble - he'd soon be in charge, and not in a nasty way, he is just cheeky,


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## lilym (18 December 2007)

[ QUOTE ]
fair enough, but weight is weight, irrespective of the talent of the rider. for e.g. WFP would ride lighter than a 10 stone beginner, but i still wouldn't put either of them on a 13.2 pony unless it was built like a brick privy! 

[/ QUOTE ]

which a proper sec c is!!


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## kerilli (19 December 2007)

okay, chilliem, but i have actually seen this pony in the flesh, my riding weight with tack is 12 stone-ish, and no way would i ride it for more than 10 mins (and then only to sort it out if absolutely necessary). perhaps it isn't a "proper section c", then... it certainly isn't built like a brick privy.


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## lilym (19 December 2007)

obviously not.


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## tabithakat64 (19 December 2007)

Kerilli, I'd have no problem with you hacking, schooling or jumping a small course on my 13.2hh if she were fit but if you wanted to hunt her I'd probably say you were too heavy.  I think a well built, fit and healthy Welsh C would be able to carry you for more than ten minutes.


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## rooooosie (19 December 2007)

id say around 8 stone

i ride a 13.2hh welsh c and im around 8 stone and he carries me EASILY, he could carry so much more and has carried heavyer riders as thoguh they are nothing

and hes not even a chunky sec c!


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## jnet (19 December 2007)

My 13.2hh SecC easy carries me, in all situations and I weigh 12 stone, she is a proper stocky C, you'll know if you're too much for her.


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## ILoveRoxy (19 December 2007)

We've got a 13.2hh New Forest pony for sale. A girl came to look at her today that weighed 12 stone and wanted her for mounted games. If she had said she wanted her for light hacking we would have let her have the pony. Mounted games involves so much leaping on and off and tight turns that the pony wouldn't have coped.

I think it all depends on what you want to do.


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## Vicki1986 (21 December 2007)

my pony isnt strictly a sec C, she is a heinz 57 but of similar build, 13.1 and weighs 360kgs all year round. she can carry max 10stone for a few one off rides.
i weigh 8stone12 - 9 stone, am 5ft2 and she can carry me very well (well manages to tank off with me and jumps well so i presume she is ok!!) this is us to give you an idea &gt; http://s35.photobucket.com/albums/d173/v...linicoct071.jpg

i used to weigh 9.7-10stone and i really did feel too heavy for her, but your sec c looks a bit more chunky so would prob be fine with up to 10 stone i would say, not that im an expert!


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## angiebaby (21 December 2007)

These type of topics have been coming up a lot recently; a big pain up the backside to me. I'm 45 years old, 5ft3 I weight 9 and a half stone. I ride a 12.3h Nf who is 15 and around 350 kilos I have had him over 6 years. Jump him, take him around 8 mile UK chasers couse, hack him for anything from 1 to 2 hours 3/4 times a week. He's never been lame, had back problems, feet, teeth etc etc, nothing in all the time we've had him. Stop worrying and enjoy riding Rant over !


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## Vicki1986 (22 December 2007)

saddle can play a big part too, if you are near the top end of your ponys weight carrying capacity a light saddle will help out, synethetic or part. most all leather saddles are heavy.


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