Weight limits at barns

[BigMama1]

I have only ever heard of a posted weight limit at trail ride places. Our barn does not have a firm limit (thank goodness because I weigh 200lbs) but the BO has turned away prospective students simply by letting them know we don’t have a suitable school horse for them right now. That being said, I find most heavier riders are upfront about their weight when calling or emailing to ask about lessons.

In the past we have had some larger warmblood and draft cross school horses, as well as smaller but sturdy draft crosses, so have been able to accommodate most riders without any issue.

[trubandloki]

@PonyPenny

Here is a short Youtube video. The only good thing is no mule has leaped or has fallen off the rim. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_ePoDDaEYt8

I stopped watching after 10 seconds… noper. Not going to ever do that.

[Abbie.S]

Actually, barring a rock face crumbling underneath you, you’re probably about as safe as you’re going to get sitting on one of those mules (reassuring, I know :winkgrin:)

Between their surefootedness and their extremely strong self-preservation instinct - far stronger than a horse’s - I’d feel pretty OK on one of those mules. But I also don’t mind heights.

[JenEM]

I haven’t done the ride at the Grand Canyon, but we did it at Bryce. There was a weight limit there, too, and somehow I was the only one on a horse not a mule. It was really fun, and no scarier than hiking the trails ourselves. Actually, I feel like the equines were maybe safer, because they all knew the trails and were quite surefooted, whereas I’m likely to trip over nothing or twist and ankle :lol: Having hiked part of both trails the mules use at the GC, even as a person not good with heights, I didn’t find it particularly scary on either Bright Angel or South Kaibab.

[keysfins]

@PonyPenny

Here is a short Youtube video. The only good thing is no mule has leaped or has fallen off the rim. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_ePoDDaEYt8

:eek::eek::eek: :no::no::no:

Especially the part with the mule trotting down the ‘steps’!!

[Dressagelvr]

Every barn I’ve ever ridden at has had a 200lb weight limit.

[NoSuchPerson]

I did a trail ride at Lake Louise up to the Plain of Six Glaciers Tea House and back. Going up was fine, but going back down :eek: !!! When the horses make one of those switchback turns, there are moments when your view is nothing but a horse neck and head hanging out over a sheer drop in front of you. :eek:

I was riding right behind the guide and commented on the horrifying view. She said yeah, when she first started on the job and went out with an experienced guide to learn the trails, she spent half the time with her eyes closed. :lol:

The first thing I did when I got back was scratch “Grand Canyon mule ride” off my Bucket List.

In response to the OP, I’ve ridden at trail ride places with a posted weight limit, but never at a lesson barn with an official weight limit. In my experience it is something that is judged on an individual basis and dealt with as a personal matter between the stable and the person.

[Skeezix]

Did the Grand Canyon ride and that’s what it looked like from the saddle. I loved it!

[amb]

When I was looking at lesson barns in New England a few years ago there were many many places with a posted weight limit right on the web site, sometimes as low as 175. Given that the usual lesson student is a teenager, it makes some amount of sense to keep horses appropriate for that, and it mostly seemed to be the big places with very busy lesson programs that had a flat advertised limit. In any case it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see same.

It cuts both ways, though. I’ve talked about it with a barn manager who runs a busy lesson program, and she says that she has horses that can take even beginners over 300 lbs if they’ve tolerably balanced but that much lighter-but-bouncier riders have been a problem, and so having a flat limit posted would be pretty useless.

My personal experience is that if one is a serious (and hopefully somewhat competent) student it’s just about always determined on a case-by-case basis, and as a regular student on the tall-and-heavy side that it’s been a concern but not a fatal one. Of the two trainers I ride with regularly, I lease a horse from one who seems happier to have me on him than some much lighter riders, and use a lesson horse of the other but keep it to low-impact work. (Jumping BN and below, basically.)

There are a whole lot of horses in the world. I expect there’s one for almost anybody.

PS: I was also recently in Aruba, which has some spectacular trail riding, and there are at least six places that offer same and they all have weight limits posted someplace as well as some height limits. In actually contacting them by email, though, they were a lot more flexible by prearrangement. (I was expecting to end up riding one of the smaller population of quarter horses on the island, but I ended up on the biggest Paso Fino I’ve ever seen! Also, the Natural Pool ride via the peak of Mt. Arikok is of most epic awesomeness. Even in tropical heat!)

[findeight]

There is a horse for everybody but lesson barns can’t own all of them. That’s actualky more limiting then rider size, they can’t keep horses that only work occasionally. Too expensive and getting more so. Same with keeping a saddle in a size most cannot use just in case somebody might need it someday,

[WildandWickedWarmblo]

Lesson barns around here have a few big study horses at each barn for those overweight riders.

[NoSuchPerson]

@amb

PS: I was also recently in Aruba, which has some spectacular trail riding, and there are at least six places that offer same and they all have weight limits posted someplace as well as some height limits. In actually contacting them by email, though, they were a lot more flexible by prearrangement. (I was expecting to end up riding one of the smaller population of quarter horses on the island, but I ended up on the biggest Paso Fino I’ve ever seen! Also, the Natural Pool ride via the peak of Mt. Arikok is of most epic awesomeness. Even in tropical heat!)

I vacationed in Aruba a couple of summers ago. The friend I was with is not a rider and it was hot, so instead of riding, I let her talk me into going deep sea fishing, which I wasn’t that thrilled about to begin with, and cost me about $300, and I never caught a single fish, and the swell was huge so I didn’t even enjoy the boat ride. Blech. Never again.

I’m really sorry that I didn’t tell her to go ahead and go fishing while I went riding. I really liked Aruba, though.

[Lmabernathy]

I don’t know how anyone can look at someone and guess what they weigh. I wouldn’t cut weight at most of these limits and def wouldn’t cut it if you weighed me with a western saddle. I wear size 32 in breeches (dovers brand) or a 30/31 in jeans and I’m only 5’6 and short legged. That’s like a size 12, heck I’m a 13 in Jr. clothes. Now grant it I have huge boobs (38 G) and alway have to double up on bras when I ride. So I carry most of my weight around my face, I feel like that makes me look bigger than I actually am and I still bet no one could guess my weight by looking at me. Most women carry their weigh in their hips which I feel is much easier to hide. I don’t think I could guess within 50lbs anyone who weighs over 175. If they are short and heavy I know I have no idea what they weigh. Not to mention the more muscle you have the more you weigh. I can carry around a 50 lb bag of feed no problem (if someone helped me lift it to my shoulder I could probably carry 2 bags) and then some people can barely lift a saddle on to their horse. I feel its all about strength and balance not actual weight. Plus it depends on what your riding goal is. I just like a nice slow collected wtc and I’m happy. I’m not trying to do eventing or breeze racehorses or anything all that strenuous to the horse. I can do more than walk but heavy training/competition is not my thing. Trail class at a horse show (obstacle course) is my favorite class to compete in. It’s mentally challenging but I wouldn’t call it physically challenging at the most shows.

[KBC]

The whole thing is interesting…I am a fat rider, I have my own horse, I think it would be a challenge to find a barn with horse and tack to fit me, and that is reasonable.

There seems to be a opinion (not here necessarily) that says weighing everyone is some how discriminatory, but to me that gets over assumptions about weight, and people’s different builds. I had to laugh, in a sad kind of way, when there was some arguing that weight limits are somehow sexist, because a man would be allowed to ride at heavier weight than a woman, once again because of the weight perception.

I don’t know about you, I have a list of requirements for people i MAY let ride my horse, so far there are two on the list besides me, my coach and the trainer at the barn. I support any private individual deciding who rides their horse, so I have to give the same courtesy to a barn owner, they can set any limit they like, their prerogative.

[candyappy]

A horse can safely carry only so much weight. It only makes sense to limit what you allow them to carry. If someone exceeds that limit, it isn’t discrimination, it is putting the best interests/ health / soundness of the horse first.

As it should be.

[Snugglerug]

I rode twice in the same week at a trail ride place in Grand Teton National Park this fall. Weight limit 200 pounds (not including tack.) First day we had some people who might have been close to the limit. They weighed everybody, including 120 pound me. Three days later, same crew working but no riders who seemed close to the limit, and they didn’t weigh anybody. Nobody was offended either way.

[Magicboy]

Other than trail ride commercial operators, I’ve never seen a weight limit posted at a barn.

[Garnet_Z]

@PonyPenny

Here is a short Youtube video. The only good thing is no mule has leaped or has fallen off the rim. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_ePoDDaEYt8

Good times. I’ve done something similar in Yellowstone: rode a horse over a suspension bridge. It was this one: https://garywright.smugmug.com/keywo…;trail;bridge/

(Not my picture - I just found it on google image search).

I guess at least there were rails in place?

On topic, I’ve only ever seen weight limits at trail ride places (usually around 220 lbs). I think that makes sense, as the horses have to deal with bouncy beginners all day. I’ve had to fill in my weight on a lot of sign-up forms, but I’ve never been weighed.

[KBC]

@Garnet_Z

Good times. I’ve done something similar in Yellowstone: rode a horse over a suspension bridge. It was this one: https://garywright.smugmug.com/keywo…;trail;bridge/

That will be another no, in fact HELL NO from me