#horses - #Weight rules?

Weight rules?

So, I am sorry if this is long or weird. I just want some clarification from educated horse people.

Story time: When I was younger, about 10-11 or so, I had a friend that was really into horses. One day she took me with her to her riding lesson. The owner of the stables/horses looked SHOCKED to see me, (a little fat girl) there & asked "she's not riding, right?" then proceeded to tell me I couldn't ride because I was fat. She told me I could not ride horses because only thin people can ride horses. (I didn't even go to ride, just to watch & help my friend brush & wash her horse.) I've been told this is untrue & feel a bit like a victim.

I understand that smaller horses shouldn't carry heavy people though, it's kind of common sense that you wouldn't want to hurt it with too much weight. A bit like asking a 6 year old to carry a 60 lb backpack, very wrong & can lead to permanent damage. So I have been told that you should ride a horse that is roughly 5x your weight or more. My weight fluctuates a lot & I am very short/stout (muscular, like a little meatball) so if I rode horses I'd want to get one at the heaviest I've been, so I'd go for 250. (My "normal" weight is around 225-230 but my weight is always changing & stays between 200-250.) So I'd need a horse roughly 1500 pounds of muscle, right? I think I heard the rule was to ride a horse that your weight is 20% of its weight or under.

I don't much like the thin horses anyways, so it's not a big deal, no hate intended at all but imo they look a bit frail & delicate like swans, & I tend to like animals like me, thick but muscular & look like they could take a beating lol. I am in love with Gypsy Cobs, & I like Percherons, Clydes, etc. I think those bigger breeds can handle a heavier rider, yes? Or am I mistaken?

Please educate me lol I don't know anything about horses but I really want to, I just don't wanna be told I'm too "fat" again & feel as helpless as I did when I was a kid I want to learn to take care of horses & ride but not at the expense of a poor horse's back or knees, I really want a gypsy cob eventually even if I can't ride it but it would be immensely cool if I could Thank you guys xx

Submitted February 26, 2017 at 02:54AM by throwaway101993047
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