Re: Horse & Rider Weight ratio ??

[Susan Evans Garlinghouse <suendavid@worldnet.att.net>]

This question is right up my alley, Mike, I published some research on
this very subject.  In looking at 374 horses, we found that horses can
easily carry over 30% of their own bodyweight for 100 miles and not only
compete, but compete well.  So you're not even close to being too big
for your horse on that basis.

What we found as being more important is the substance of the horse,
meaning both body condition and bone structure.  Body condition means
that a horse with well-covered ribs performs better than a thin horse,
so keep some meat on those bones.  By bone structure, I mean substance
of the total horse, but we looked primarily at front leg cannon bones. 
Here's a handy-dandy index we cooked up that seems to be working out
well for us so far (we're going to be developing this formula further
this summer):

1.  Add up the total weight in pounds (kg x 2.2) of the horse, rider and
tack.

2.  Divide this number by the circumference, in inches (cm divided by
2.54) of the front cannon--skin, tendons and all---measured midway
between the knee and fetlock joints.

3.  Divide THIS number by two.  You should get a number, in your case,
probably around 75 or so.  Values at or around 75 are ideal, and below
75 is even better.  Values from 75-80 are still okay.  Values over 80,
you should probably keep an eye on the legs and train carefully,
especially on downhills.  Values over 85 and I would agree that you
probably need to find a horse with more substance.

Keep in mind that cannon bone circumference increases significantly as
LSD and endurance  iles increase, so if your horse is right on a
borderline, say around 80, it doesn't mean you're too big for him---just
put plenty of LSD miles on him and let the bone build up slowly---it
ccan take up to three years for bone to remodel, so be patient.

Hope this helps and answers your question.  

Susan Garlinghouse, MS
Equine Research Center
Cal Poly University

guest@endurance.net wrote:
> 
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> From: Mike Dickson
> Email: mdicko@ozemail.com.au
> 
> Can anybody advise me of an acceptable Horse to Rider weight ratio ?.
> My horse is 15hands and weighs 460k. I ride at 95kilograms. I have been told that I am to big for my horse by several people although these same persons want to buy him !!!
> 
> Is there any guide to use. ie 5:1, or 4:1 etc. Or any discussion on this matter would be appreciated.
> 
> regards
> 
> Mike Dickson