# Am I too big?



## AimeeGegg (30 June 2016)

I am a 16 yr old girl and my mother has found me a 13h British Riding Pony as my first pony, he is lovely but as I am 168 cm tall I am worried I may be too big for him, saying that though I only weigh 5 stone. I would only be riding him for two more years before I go to uni and my much smaller siblings 'take the reins'. Do you think my size will matter?


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## 9tails (30 June 2016)

So you're around 5ft 7.  If the pony takes up your leg well, you will be fine.  Plenty of people ride ponies. Obviously you aren't too heavy.


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## applecart14 (30 June 2016)

I read an article in one of my old horse magazines last night.  You divide the weight of you against your horse in KG and then work out the percentage, over 10% is a risk factor for strains and sprains, 15% I believe (from memory) is a definite contribution towards serious problems, but I don't remember the whole article.  I came well below the 10% thank goodness!


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## pixie (30 June 2016)

you should be fine on the pony.
You should, however, change your username as you can quickly be found on facebook, twitter, instagram etc.


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## epeters91 (30 June 2016)

I am 5ft8 about around 11 stone... is 5 stone a typing error? That seems very light!! 

If you are 5 stone the pony will carry you fine but I think there may be an error 
(Sorry if this comment causes any offence)


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## 9tails (30 June 2016)

She's 16, epeters.  They're mostly really slim.


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## sarcasm_queen (30 June 2016)

9tails said:



			She's 16, epeters.  They're mostly really slim.
		
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what a ridiculous comment. 

If you are 5 stone, then you'll be absolutely fine on a pony that size. A bit tall, but as long as you feel comfortable then there's no reason why you shouldn't be just fine.


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## Crugeran Celt (30 June 2016)

If OP is 5ft 7in and only 5st I would be concerned  about her weight,  that is very light even for a slim 16 year old.


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## Abi90 (30 June 2016)

Crugeran Celt said:



			If OP is 5ft 7in and only 5st I would be concerned  about her weight,  that is very light even for a slim 16 year old.
		
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I agree, I was 5 ft 6  and 7 stone as a 16 year old and looked emaciated!


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## Damnation (1 July 2016)

applecart14 said:



			I read an article in one of my old horse magazines last night.  You divide the weight of you against your horse in KG and then work out the percentage, over 10% is a risk factor for strains and sprains, 15% I believe (from memory) is a definite contribution towards serious problems, but I don't remember the whole article.  I came well below the 10% thank goodness!
		
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			2008. Powell, D, Bennett-Wimbush, K, Peeples, A and Duthie, M. Evaluation of Indicators of Weight-Carrying Ability of Light Riding Horses. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science. 28(1), pp.28-33
To answer the question of whether horse height, cannon bone circumference, and loin width can be used as indicators of weight-carrying ability in light horses,eight mature horses underwent a submaximal mounted standard exercise test under four conditions: carrying 15, 20, 25, or 30% of their body weight. Heart rate was monitored, plasma lactate concentration was determined in jugular blood samples pre-exercise, immediately post-exercise, and 10 minutes post-exercise, with serum creatine kinase activity determined at the same times as plasma lactate concentrations, with additional samples collected at 24 hours and 48 hours post-exercise. Muscle soreness and muscle tightness scores were determined using a subjective scoring system 24 hours before and 24 hours after exercise. Heart rates remained significantly higher when the horses carried 25 and 30% of their body weight. Plasma lactate concentrations immediately and 10 minutes after exercise differed when horses carried 30% of their body weight compared with 15, 20, and 25% weight carriage. Horses tended to have a greater change in muscle soreness and muscle tightness when carrying 25% of their body weight, and a significant change in soreness and tightness scores was found in horses carrying30% of their body weight. Loin width and cannon bone circumference were found to be negatively correlated to the changes in muscle soreness and tightness scores. In conclusion, the data suggest that horses with wider loin and thicker cannon bone circumference became less sore when carrying heavier weight loads.

The optimum weight a horse can safely carry depends on a variety of physical traits. These may include the horse's size, conformation, body condition, age, duration of the work to be done, as well as speed at which the work is being performed. A few methods are used to help estimate how much weight a horse can safely carry; however, little research can be found to justify these methods.
Historically, the most common recommendation states that the total weight a horse can carry should not exceed 20% of the horse's body weight. This policy may have been based on the 1920 U.S. Calvary Manuals of Horse Management, where the recommended collective weight of rider and gear was not to exceed 20% of the total weight of the horses. Comparably, a more recent study of 360 endurance race horses, primarily of Arabian breeding, evaluated horse and rider weight relationships. They analyzed weight loads as horse body weight independent of rider weight, rider weight independent of weight of the horse, and a rider weight ratio calculated as rider weight divided by the weight of the horse. They concluded that conditioned horses were able to carry 20 to 30% of their body weight for 100 miles.1 In a follow-up study conducted by the same group of researchers, 193 endurance race horses were evaluated for weight loads as described in the previous study. They found that horses with increased body weight without a proportional increase in cannon bone circumference had increased incidence of biomechanical failure, for which the horse did not successfully complete the race.2
The amount of bone that a horse possesses also has been used as a method to help determine the amount of weight a horse can carry. There are a multitude of studies using the equine third metacarpal bone to evaluate skeletal biomechanics relationships, which include bone strength in relation to bone fracture, tension, stress, and elasticity.[3], [4] and [5] Ultrasound also is used as a tool for assessment of bone quality in horses6 and humans.7 Based on a study conducted by Bynum et al,8 a simple noninvasive method for evaluating the amount of bone is by measuring the circumference of the third metacarpal bone midway between the carpal&#8722;metacarpal joints, where the recommended circumference is estimated to be 20 cm per 454.5 kg horse body weight. Although this method does not evaluate the actual mineral content of the bone, which is the primary determinant of skeletal bone strength, it can be used as a quantitative measure of the amount of bone.
When evaluating weight-carrying ability of the riding horse, it is important to take into consideration the conformation of the horse. It was determined by a German scientist in 1941 that the horse carries approximately 60% of its body weight on its front legs and 40% on the hind legs; therefore, the center of gravity of a riderless horse would be located at a point just behind the withers near the heart girth.9 There are certain conformational qualities that make it easier for the horse to carry weight on its back. It is a widely held belief among top endurance competitors that loin width is a highly desirable quality in endurance prospects (personal correspondence). The loin of the horse is defined as the pivot point of the horse's back and is the area between the last rib and the croup (crest of the ilium). The width of the loin ends where the ribs start to curve downward. No studies have evaluated loin width as a possible indicator of weight-carrying capacity in the horse.
Plasma lactate concentrations and heart rate are reliable variables used to evaluate the workload of a horse.10 The activity of serum creatine kinase (CK) has been used as an indicator of muscle damage and the association of postexercise muscle soreness in humans.11 The objective of this study was to determine whether cannon bone circumference, loin width, and horse height could be used as indicators of the weight-carrying ability of the light riding horse.

(Omitted Method & results)

To our knowledge this is the first study of this type. In this study, a subjective scoring system of assessment of muscle soreness and tightness was employed as a guide in the assessment of chosen variables of body weight, horse height, cannon bone circumference, and loin width on their usefulness as indicators of weight-carrying ability in light riding horses. The submaximal mounted standard exercise test of the current study was designed to simulate a 45-minute working session of an intermediate riding lesson horse. All horses successfully completed all exercise periods, with the exception of one horse that had to be removed after exhibiting mild lameness at the end of the trotting session of its last exercise testing period.
When a horse is ridden, it has to endure the static weight of the rider as well as the dynamic load when moving.15 In the current study, a weight load of 25 and 30% of the horse's body weight was found to influence work rate, heart rate, and lactate concentrations above weight loads of 15 and 20%. Data from the studies of Garlinghouse and colleagues[1] and [2] showed that horses carried an average of 20% of their body weight during endurance rides; other studies have evaluated the effect of a standard weight loading during treadmill exercise on workload.[10], [16] and [17] A load of at least 10% of the horse's body weight was found to influence heart rate and blood lactate concentrations compared with the horse working unloaded.[10] and [16] No difference was found between mounted and lead-loaded horses in a study by Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan et al.10 However, in that study the horses were only asked to carry between 12.6 and 16.3% of their body weight. The results of their study would then be in accord with the results of the current study, in which no differences in heart rate or plasma lactate concentrations were found when horses worked carrying 15 and 20% of their body weight. This lack of difference was also reflected in respiration rate, rectal temperature, and work rates being similar when horses carried 15 and 20% of their body weight. The percentage of muscle soreness and muscle tightness change, which was the subjective measure used to evaluate weight carrying ability, was similar at approximately 29 with the 15 and 20% body weight carriage; thus indicating agreement with the workload variables of heart rate and plasma lactate. In addition, the horses demonstrated no change in serum creatine kinase activity when exercised carrying 15 and 20% of their body weight. Increase in the activity of serum creatine kinase is commonly used as an indicator of skeletal muscle damage in horses.18 Although the exercise test employed during this study was not designed to produce muscle damage, immediate as well as sustained elevations of serum creatine kinase activities were used as indicators of damaged skeletal muscle with employed treatment weight loads. Even though Volfinger et al19 indicated that a plasma creatine kinase activity of twofold above resting (400 &#956;/l) corresponded with a negligible amount of skeletal muscle damage, adding other factors such as muscle soreness and tightness may be important in determination of weight-carrying ability.
		
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Its 20% they can carry, 25% is when their vitals changed heavily, I've put a up the study, makes for an interesting read for anyone of the scientific mind  At 5 stone OP you are well within that.

They can carry up to 20%, bearing in mind this includes tack and the bodyweight should be the horses "ideal" bodyweight, not just because its fat it means it can carry more, it doesn't work like that  Taking into account any conformational issues, fitness and age of course


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## applecart14 (1 July 2016)

http://www.yourhorse.co.uk/Your-Hor...der-weight-and-horse-performance-and-welfare/

found it - it was Your Horse magazine!


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## Roanioponio (7 July 2016)

My new forest pony is around the 13hh mark and I'm 5'6 and a bit less than double your weight!  (9.5 with tack!) you'll be fine, I like being closer to the ground, feels strange getting off my 15.3 and then onto my pony, though!


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## Billyboo (13 July 2016)

If you really are 5 stone, theres no question that the pony could carry you, many 8-10 year olds are that weight. If you were 8-9 stone, I would think a pony of that size could carry you too. I hope for your healths sake you are not 5 stone. When I was 15 and  was 5 foot 7 and 7 stone, people would frequently ask me if I was anorexic!! Im now 7 1/2 stones and ride a 13.3 riding pony and I don't think I look that odd (all though he is one big barrel!). Its really depends on the pony's build, the stockier they are, the better they take up your leg. I wish you the best of luck with your future horse, horse shopping is always fun!


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