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Re: [RC] Abusing Horse - rides2farBut, anyway, when I arrived back home my husband accused be of abusing my horse by riding such rides. I have an arabian mare she is a little over 14 hands but she is pretty stocky. I am a heavyweight rider and my husband feels that it is abuse to ride her even 25 miles. There's no way I can comment on *you* since I've never seen you ride, or your horse, etc. However, I can sure say weight is *not* everything! This weekend I saw a horse carrying a good little rider, around 75 lbs (including tack) and that horse got a sore back, apparently because they'd clipped his back and it caused it to sore him. Meanwhile, we *barely* passed a 14.2 Arab who was ahead of us all day, carrying OVER 300 LBS!. The man riding him is not fat, he's just a giant. My guess is 6'7" and strong built. I did see him off and leading it up the huge hill, but in general, they just cruised along. (this is in the 50!) I will pull photographs of the 2 riders off the video we took and send them to you to show your husband. :-) Granted, you can overload a horse, but saddle fit, equitation, and so many other things matter just as much. If you've got 200 lbs spread out over 50 square inches, or 125 pressing down on 10 square inches of an illfitting saddle, which is worse? What if the 200 pounder is riding very fluidly, rising and falling gently and the 125 pounder is smacking the seat each time they come down? What if an 85 pounder has a saddle that sits on 2 spots the size of quarters in front and they 2 point the whole way? If you're truly concerned, ask some friends. Simply say, "Do you think I'm too much for my horse to carry, should I hunt a different horse?" and see their response. Ask an *experienced* endurance vet...not just some guy who's guessing. If I knew someone that I *really* did think was too big for their horse, I would have a hard time going up and telling them, but if they asked, it would be easy to encourage them to get a different one. If you're a good rider, chances are that your horse was more comfortable than many a horse carrying a lighter rider. Angie =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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