Only if proper care is taken that it actually fits! As a larger rider I am so glad that the newest trainer at the barn is a Western Saddle fitter, and also makes saddles. She regularly checks fit, as my horse changes shape, it’s reassuring.
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yes, of course. too wide a saddle seems the most common offense… i’ve seen a LOT of gray-haired withers in my time. At least western folks seem to all try to really pad-up though. I don’t like riding that high above a horse myself, but i see double pads pretty often. Talking those 3/4 felted guys!
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This! I have a slightly long torso at 5’9 and I dwarf even 16.1h normal barreled horses. The best size for me is probably a large barreled 16.3 with a big crest-y neck to balance my upper body. Although I don’t love super big horses (didn’t enjoy riding an 18.1h mid level eventer), I looked most picturesque on a 17.1h former 1.30m show jumper WB built like a defensive back who literally walked down the lines and tidily hopped fences at what felt like a relaxed, economical canter with some serious hind end power.
My next partner needs a solid body and a neck on them because of my own conformation.
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The discussion is depressingly typical, though, of contemporary American thinking: If you want something to be true then it must be true - otherwise reality itself is “shaming” you.
I agree that tangents about diet culture and fat phobia have exactly nothing to do with the fact that, in the three-dimensional world where gravity rather than politics reigns, three hundred pounds is still three hundred pounds.
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This is off topic, but I want to put it out there that I tore my ACL in my late teens and then again in my early 20s. When I re-tore it, I opted purely for PT without reconstruction surgery. I did more research the second time, being an adult at the time, and was surprised by the results of studies showing similar outcomes for both approaches. I was under a lot of pressure to get surgery but really didn’t want to go through it again. I felt like I got much more out of the PT than when I was doing it while recovering from surgery, learned a lot more about how the muscles support the joint, and when to be conscious of fatigue affecting the joint stability. Ten years later, I really haven’t had trouble with it. So for anyone contemplating the surgery, I would just say, whether or not you do it, the PT is really the more important part. I felt like my surgery made me prone to re-tear it and I just took it for granted that I’d be “fixed” when I should have put more emphasis on PT
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I used to be very concerned about horse height/ barrel vrs rider height until I started in endurance. Watching a tiny arab and a 6’ guy eat mountain trails for breakfast kinda gets that out of your head lol
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I had done some research about ACL tears. There seem to be 2 types of people. Those that are ACL dependent and those that are not. There is a famous NFL QB, John Elway, who played his entire college and professional career and never had his torn ACL repaired.
However a friend of mine is a professional horse trainer. She tore her ACL a 2nd time. Had lots of PT but the knee was too unstable without a brace and she had to have it repaired again.
From what I read many years ago some people need the ACL for that stability and some don’t.
For my original injury I needed surgery anyway. The ACL torn and was in a place that kept me from having full range of motion. There basically it was like having a leadline in the crack of a doorway. The rope prevents the door from closing all the way. Basically my ACL was hanging and was acting like that rope.
Yes, that’s what my first ACL tear was like. I was only 12 at the time! I couldn’t fully extend my leg and limped for months until I got surgery. Then I tore my other ACL years later, repaired it, re-tore it a couple years after that, and that’s when I did the research that converted me to a PT/strength training approach instead. But it wouldn’t have worked for my first knee injury, which was more complex and earned me a very unwelcome reputation as a “cripple” in middle school.
If a horse or pony requires extensive PT type treatments, particularly on their backs, following most rides by a bigger rider; does that suggest the rider might be too heavy for that horse or pony?
Potentially, yes. Are you speaking of a specific case?
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Yes. A specific scenario but not necessarily FEI. Shared on social media. So, just observation on my part.
Got it. Yes, that could be a problem for a horse with a back issue in the first place. There are many horses not suited for adult riders of any size because of former injuries or congenital disorders.
At the same time, just because someone goes to the nth degree to make sure their horse is comfortable and does pay special attention to their chiro etc doesn’t mean they are too heavy. It’s…a your mileage may vary sort of thing.
It might. Although it also might indicate poor saddle fit, an injury, an issue like kissing spine, or any number other things not related to the rider’s weight.
Is the horse in question of appropriate size / conformation / fitness for the rider in question? Does the horse require treatment after being ridden by someone else?
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Yes The saddle appears too small for the rider. The rider covers the area from over in front of the pommel, to the back upper edge of the saddle. So perhaps, that effects the horse?
I don’t know the health history of the horse.
Nor do I know the details of the exact height/weight combo. Could be 25% rider to horse? Just a guess. Do not know if the horse gets special treatments; if other riders ride.
I just noticed frequent post ride ‘therapy type treatments’ being done. Obviously, the owner rider cares about the well being of their horse.
Even if it fits the horse, a saddle that doesn’t fit the rider can definitely cause pressure points and change how the saddle fits the horse when being ridden. That will happen even if the rider isn’t too heavy for the horse - the weight isn’t distributed properly in a too-small saddle.
So again, hard to say whether rider size / weight is the primary issue in this specific case but as an overweight rider myself, it’s the first thing I would suspect if my horse was having back pain or unexplained soundness issues. But I also wouldn’t want to assume it was just down to my weight alone, and not do due diligence by having both the saddle fitter and the vet out for a thorough assessment.
And I definitely wouldn’t assume it was rider weight in someone else’s situation, particularly if I didn’t know the horse’s health history.
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In front of the pommel to over the cantle…how small is the dang saddle? That will make any horse uncomfortable. That doesn’t sound like a weight problem, that sounds like a fit problem.
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