170 Pounds Maximum for Horse Riding?

[DesertBerean]

Was reading about horse back riding ... thinking about doing this on my next vacation...been YEARS since the last time.

Anyway, one of the reviews for this nice looking place claims the maximum weight allowed for riders was 170 pounds, which I have to admit seemed a tad low. May be more to the story...he also claimed only one of the party of 5 qualified. Not sure it was a family...if it was I gotta wonder about the kids. UPDATE: yep, it was a family.

But...what say ye? Is this a good weight limit or not?

[Cerebrum123]

Your title says minimum. You might want to ask someone to fix that.

[DesertBerean]

Bhwhahaha. ...yeah. Thanks.

[Sparko]

The weight seems low. Especially for men who are generally over 170lbs unless they are skinny.

I went horseback riding back when I weighed 230 and the horse didn't have a problem with my weight at all. It was a big horse though. It was nearly as tall as me at the shoulders. Maybe this place has small wimpy horses.

[Littlejoe]

Sound pretty low to me. I mean, Dan Blocker on Bonanza was 6'3"~6'4" and weighed about 275 according to his bio...

It may depend on the breed of horses being used though. If they are ponies instead of horses. My dad used to work for my granddad cutting cattle, (so he was riding a cutting horse) he's always been around 190-205.

[DesertBerean]

Hmm....

[Carrikature]

Sound pretty low to me. I mean, Dan Blocker on Bonanza was 6'3"~6'4" and weighed about 275 according to his bio...

It may depend on the breed of horses being used though. If they are ponies instead of horses. My dad used to work for my granddad cutting cattle, (so he was riding a cutting horse) he's always been around 190-205.

This is pretty much what I was going to say. 170lbs is basically going to mean women and children only. They're probably either ponies or old horses.

[One Bad Pig]

When they were filming The Princess Bride, they wanted to include a scene with Andre the Giant (who weighed 540 lbs) sitting on a horse. They got the biggest draft horse they could find, but the horse took one look at him and wanted no part of that.

[DesertBerean]

These were Yelp reviews FWIW. The reviews are positive overall. Someone posted a lot of pics with horses. Judging from the size of men on their mounts, they were at or over the 170 lbs. The horses appear in good health and not really old from what I can tell. . Almost all the reviews agree the horses are well kept and well treated. There was possibly one good sized pony, but it could have been a raw boned horse. It had no reference point I could use to judge its size.

I think there's more to the story here.

[Cow Poke]

This is pretty much what I was going to say. 170lbs is basically going to mean women and children only. They're probably either ponies or old horses.

Yeah, plus they probably work the horses way more hours per day than most people would ride their own horses.

Another thing is probably liability - a larger person is more likely to be injured from a fall from a horse than a smaller lighter person.

[Sparko]

Yeah, plus they probably work the horses way more hours per day than most people would ride their own horses.

Another thing is probably liability - a larger person is more likely to be injured from a fall from a horse than a smaller lighter person.

But smaller people are more likely to be eaten by a grue.

[DesertBerean]

Yeah, plus they probably work the horses way more hours per day than most people would ride their own horses.

Hadn't thought of that. They are actually working horses, so their endurance need to be considered.

Still... I bet there's more to the story. I hope so...as it is, I disqualify too ...but not to worry. I've lost 6 pounds so far.

[Cow Poke]

Hadn't thought of that. They are actually working horses, so their endurance need to be considered.

Still... I bet there's more to the story. I hope so...as it is, I disqualify too ...but not to worry. I've lost 6 pounds so far.

Well, another thing -- like when I'm working fences, I'll ride the horse to where I'm going to be working, then I'll be off the horse for a number of hours, then ride to another spot, etc....

Horses used for "horseback riding" are generally ridden continually, not a lot of mount and dismount.

[Cow Poke]

A number of professional horse associations put the limit at 20% of the horse's own weight.

A 1,000 pound horse, then, would be able to accommodate a 200 pound rider, etc. The average adult horse would weigh between 900 and 1200 pounds, I think.

Another factor, however, is terrain.... this is considering open and fairly level ground. If you're doing up into the hills, and uneven terrain, there are other factors.

[DesertBerean]

I remember way back when I was in a horse ride at a ranch, the guy in front of me had combat boots, fatigue pants, and some kind of tee shirt, (I'm a military brat...this was the worst (not Charlie, I forget anymore)...I've ever seen). He had the worst seat I've ever seen too...legs straight out to the sides, toes and heels out, slouching. He was hefty...probably close to 200 pounds. Aaand when he decided to get off for some reason, he didn't pull his mount up...just flung his legs off, boots hanging up on the stirrups, and jumped off to the ground. His horse did very kindly stop. I gave the guy's back a dirty look...and I wouldn't be surprised if the horse did too. Then he up and plopped himself back on, and I think eventually he dropped back or something.