I
Of course you are totally correct. But you might want to read this posting and be aware that there are many that will disagree:
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I agree - it is a non-condition. My horse has (congenital lordosis and it has not affected him at all, and he does not suffer from any back pain/problems. People immediately assume his back is weak though, which is logical I guess if you donât know the structural details in play. I know it looks funny to them, so I just try to educate them. I view it is a conformation flaw, and I favor this kind of flaw over another that would affect the horseâs way of going or long term fitness (e.g., toeing out, straight hocks, etc.) Finding a saddle that fits well is a challenge, but you can find something off the rack with a little patience.
I have not thought about how a heavy rider would affect him as I am very light so the question has not come up. I think I would be concerned about pressure on the withers mostly, especially if the saddle does not fit properly. I would think the pressure points created by the saddle bridging would be really painful, and more so with more weight.
[QUOTE=Cubs;2451614]
The sway or lordosis in the spine can get worse if the rider is too heavy. And that is THE problemâobese people who think itâs OK to ride a moderately sized horse. From a structural standpoint it is NOT OK. The horse canât take it and they will become lameâeverywhereâfeet, legs, back, everywhere. I have no trouble speaking very frankly to these horse owners. And that too is the problemâsome therapists, in an attempt to spare their clientsâ feelings, will say that extra weight the owner is carrying will not affect their horseâs back. But everyone quietly knows it does. So some of these therapists still treat the horse for back spasms knowing darn well theyâre fighting a losing battle. Everyone gets cheated here.
Dr. Daniel Kamen, D.C.[/QUOTE]
Ok can you tell me where you were going with this? In your zest to make a point about fat people riding you have thrown me off a little. A swayback is a ânon issueâ EXCEPT that structurally it is weaker and therefore not capable of handling large loads. OK got it-- but I do believe it was brought up in the other thread that choosing an appropriate mount to handle your weight was important. In fact it has been mentioned several times conformation is most important in determining how much weight a horse can handle-- not so much size.
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I disagree with the âbigger rider bigger horseâ idea. It really all depends on the horse strength, fitness, and conformation. I am a larger rider (balanced and soft hands) and extremely concious of how my weight affects a horse. My guy is 15 hand exactly and carries me VERY well. He also has very good bone, muscling, and a shorter back. He has never exhibited any back or loin pain (and I check before and after I ride every time). I have also been on much larger horses that did NOT handle me well (and I got off as soon as it was apparent).
I have to disagree. Even after the spine has fused itâs still weaker and I honestly have never met a horse (or person for that matter) with lordosis that didnât have an occasional âbad backâ day or decreased athletic performance. Swaybacked horses can live productive lives but I think it IS an issue that needs to be taken into consideration when choosing a suitable mount for your intended purpose.
It is the same advice I gave to human patients who were obeseâwhich isâtheir back problems will never resolve because of their weight. And I didnât feel justified treating them. But no one wants to hear the painful truth. Therapists/doctors who just donât come out and say it, are doing a disservice to their patients.
I donât know any doctor that wouldnât be truthful about weight. As a healthcare provider itâs their job to tell them what is causing their back problems and to recommend weight loss. Fat people know they are fat, they arenât going to be hurt by you stating the obvious.
Can I just ask, what is the point of this thread?
If itâs a PSA, you might have wanted to define your purpose more clearly.
If you just want to stir the pot, well, knock yourself out. Oh, and have fun being thin! It must be great!
Obese people should not ride horses! It is cruel, regardless of the size of the horse.
If you want to ride, lose weight. Stop making excuses and just do it.
Wow. Here we goâŠ:winkgrin:
Wow, a whole lotta love going on here.
Next shall we forbid people with low SAT scores or crooked noses from having children?
What a totally depressing series of sentiments being expressed here, on all levels. :no:
[QUOTE=deltawave;2454752]
Wow, a whole lotta love going on here.
Next shall we forbid people with low SAT scores or crooked noses from having children?
What a totally depressing series of sentiments being expressed here, on all levels. :no:[/QUOTE]
:yes: SeriouslyâŠThis is pathetic. I love it when âskinnyâ people act like they have no flaws at all.
I could bet that some of us âheavyâ, âoverweightâ riders can ride a heck of a lot better then some of you âskinniesâ. If it shall come down to that.
I am NOT obese by any meansâjust overweight, but i am still sick of reading some of these things that ppl say. It is pretty sad what the world has come to. No one has respect for others anymore.
Everyones soo perfect.
This is good information, thanks for writing.
My experience with the issue: I was boarding at a stable where a woman was simply way too big for her little horse. She kept trying all these different things to make the horse go in a frame and âlift her back,â even so far as to put some weird extended shoes on her back feet to âallow her to carry her weight better.â Poor horse. It was sort of obvious to everyone that the problem was the rider being too big for the horse, but who wants to hurt her feelings by pointing out the obvious?
And its not about bashing people that are overweight, because I know that is a difficult struggle for many people. This is about the horse having PAIN because of too much weight.
my point exactly.
As for dumb people being allowed to have children⊠They shouldnât be allowed to.
I am a person who constantly has to watch my weight, and even then, I am by no means slender. I have struggled with weight since I was in college. I am on medication which is known to lead to weight gain. I therefore have to limit the amount of carbohydrates that I ingest (bread, cake, etc.) â which is difficult, because the same medication increases those cravings!! Thus I hope I do not get flamed here.
However, I think there is a big difference between an âoverweightâ rider and an âobeseâ rider. I believe the OP is referring to âobeseâ riders and simply states that such folks should ride appropriately-sized horses. Similarly, a 6â0 tall rider would not fit well on a 12.2 hand pony. I think saying that âobese people should not rideâ is cruel. Folks of various sizes (tall, heavy, etc.) should simply ride horses that are suitable to their sizes.
The good thing is â and believe me, I know how tough it is to lose weight â that being heavy is something that one CAN change â if they choose to do so. In fact, I personally know a woman who lost 100 pounds last year. It was very difficult, but she did it - and feels great!
Maybe this varies with only certian breeds or only horses in certain areas??? I donât feel many 18+ yr olds have swaybacks. They may have less muscling along the topline, but that isnât the same as swayback.
If you read my response I made a point of saying âmoderately sized horses.â This means that a very overweight person should find the right size horse for themâbigger, and one without back problems.
Bigger is NOT better. You can put a heavier rider on a really long-backed draft cross. He may weigh a lot and be tall at the withers, but he canât handle the weight. If youâre worried about other issues in your horses, look at his overall conformation. Does he have really upright pasterns? Teeny-tiny ankles under that big body?
You forget part of the equation: HOW the person is riding. A lump-o-potatoes rider with a poor fitting saddle is far worse for the horse than a fit rider with good posture who weighs 20 or 30 lbs more. Iâve also seen some really hard (hard on the horse) riding by riders who are not overweight.
I worked at a therpeutic riding stable where some of the riders had little control over their core muscles (i.e. having zero balance). An average sized adult like that is doing to feel like dead weight, compared to a full figured woman who is riding with the movement. Perhaps we should keep those people off horses as well?
You also have the fitness level of the horse. Take a horse who was standing out in a pasture for a year, throw a rider on him, and try to do an all-day trail ride⊠vs slowly taking a horse day by day to slightly more work. A fit horse can carry more weight, but you donât mention this.
It is the same advice I gave to human patients who were obeseâwhich isâtheir back problems will never resolve because of their weight. And I didnât feel justified treating them. But no one wants to hear the painful truth. Therapists/doctors who just donât come out and say it, are doing a disservice to their patients.
Youâre one of those doctors who tells people struggling with obesity to âjust eat lessâ, right? 
Gosh, doc, I never thought of that!
And they should not dare to show up at the gym either, because who wants to look at fat people! Gym equipment isnât meant for the weight of fat people anyway. And they should be banned from the beach or the bicycle store. Nothing worse than seeing an active fat person. Fat people should stay at home with curtains closed so we canât see them⊠laying on the couch in front of the TV, until they stop being fat. Bad fat person⊠stop being fat! bad bad bad!
First swayback is a non-condition. Then itâs a conformation issue but only cosmetic. Then itâs not structurally sound. Which is it?
Bad fat person⊠stop being fat! bad bad bad!
rofl⊠I wonder if some of these people realize that is EXACTLY how they sound!
[QUOTE=Nski32;2455539]
:yes: SeriouslyâŠThis is pathetic. I love it when âskinnyâ people act like they have no flaws at all.[/QUOTE]
Oh come on, letâs at least be fair here and not commit the same fallacy that the OP is. There are PLENTY of threads here on COTH about the dangers of being a skinny rider. There was one just the other month on the Eventing board about skinny riders who lack sufficient endurance. There was another one on the Hunter forum about a student so thin and frail that she didnât have the reflex abilities to react with her horse and rode like she was moving in slow-mo. And if I have to read one more thread about skinny chicks with bad kneesâŠwell, you get the point.
This is not a fat v. skinny issue. If it was, Iâd have a hell of a problem weighing in (har har) since Iâm a size 12 and 165 lbs. at 5â5, and therefore am neither fat nor skinny.
Back to our regularly scheduled programming. ::Pops in another mouthful of popcorn::
I have had horses my whole lifeâŠI have ranged from 150 (for most of my life wearing a size 8-10)-250lbs in weight Wearing a size 16-18âŠIâm 5â11". Large boned. Four years ago, I was 165 in January and then by March weighed 210!!! Same year!!! Never changed my diet===since have gained way more. I have been to tons of doctors from the kinds that have put me on diet drugs, told me not to eat, work out-- to a 600 calorie a day diet for 5 monthsâ I lost 12 lbs!!! I have 7 horses and do all the work myself, lunging, cleaning, feeding and Iâm active walking for at least 4 hours a day. I have just seen a DO doctor and have found a bacteria in my stomache and it will take about 6 months to fix, but, this bacteria has inabled my body to absorb nutrientsâtherefore storing EVERYTHING I had eaten to survive. I have felt HORRIBLE for years and the last 6 weeks have been feeling much better, but have only lost a few pounds. I have a ton more energy, my skin is looking ânormalâ again, instead of pale, yellowish, spotty and âthickâ. I must add that with this meds I have to have NO sugar, whey, flour, melons, chicken, eggs, wheat, peanuts, margerine, cheese---- I did that for 2 monthsâŠonly lost 5 lbs, but I think I am smaller in inches. But, what has been the most noticable is the way I feel. I feel younger and the energy level is huge.
SO, believe me------it is not all about not eating. I am VERY self concious about my weight and hardly ride my horses anymore because of it. My doctor (who is an equestrian) told me to ride, my horses range from 16.2 hands to 17.1 all short backed, big jointed horses, but I still feel bad and these kinds of threads make it worse.
I have resorted to riding western on trail rides with one of those great pads that really support the back (gel/impact pads) adds more weight, but I think the support and short rides with an accomplished rider help things out. My horses donât show any horrible signs of the wieght, except my smaller horse up hills sometimes looks more tired than the rest of the group. But, I spend over $30,000 a year on my horses, they are my life, my happiness and for four years I have not been able to accomplish my dreams. Iâm not giving up.
AnywayâŠIâm working on it as I know many heavly people are. This world has enough people who look down on others-----we are all equal. You canât judge others till you have walked in their shoes. Your thin and healthyâenjoy it and donât take it for granted.
