[RC] re: does weight really matter? - Marlene Moss
Howard,
I think the question is still up in the air though.Of course weight matters to the
horse.If my husband conditioned my
horse and I competed, I could go faster. But it doesn’t happen that
way.I condition my horse, I compete my horse, and she is used to my weight.Same with my husband
on his horse.He can’t
condition mine for me because then I’d have to condition his – and that
would be very unfair to the horse.
I just got a new horse to train and maybe sell later
on.He is barely 14H and weighs
less than 800 pounds.He’s
been underfed and not ridden in a year.I weigh 140-145 and end up around 165 at the end of a ride with all my
gear.Does he feel my weight and
does it have a real impact?Yep, cuz I’ve only ridden him 3 times.Longest ride was 6 miles in almost 2
hours and with some decent hills.I
knew he was feeling it toward the end.But by next May, he’ll be screaming along the trail same as my
14.2H arab cross.
Could he ever carry my husband – nah, his feet would
be dragging the ground!But my arab cross could certainly be conditioned to carry my
husband in the same time frame.And
at that time, I would have no advantage with my weight (in my opinion).
I think there probably is some variation depending upon the
type of ride.At the higher speeds
weight may have a bigger impact than my experience level gives me. Fastest I’ve averaged is about 8mph
(moving).Climbing may have a
bigger impact, but maybe it isn’t as bad if you slow down enough for the
hill. I really don’t know for
sure, just that my feeling at this point is that if the horse is conditioned by
the rider that competes, the impact of weight isn’t that significant.
