I'm throwing in my 2 cents on the issue of size and such. Basically, I
don't think there are any hard and fast rules.
First, I seem to remember reading in some book about the crusades, that as
the Knights left Europe, they found the Arab horses worked for them as well
as the heavier breeds they used in Europe. Many switched (probably need and
cost).
From what I've been told, what I've seen, and what I've read, it is the
horse who decides what he can carry (you can convince him, but he'll let you
know). I've seen small people on big horses (fence judge at a horse trial
today), big people on small horses, small horses that were as wide as they
were tall, and any combination in between. I've watched eventing (3 day
upper levels, and lower schooling levels), team penning, sorting, roping,
reigning and trail rides. If the horse decides he isn't going to carry you,
or you hurt, he will let you know, and most likely the horse will either
dump you, or find some other way to get out of it (like never come to you in
the pasture). At worst if you are too heavy, or too big, the horse will
come up lame or sore and you will know this isn't the horse for you.
Weight: Rider weight. The more you weigh, the more the horse has to carry,
and the greater the stress on the horse (my guess is that it's proportional
to the ratio of rider weight, to horse weight). Some horses can handle it,
some can't. I've yet to see hard fast rules.
Horse weight, size, and lameness is a bit trickier. The lame horses at my
barn range anywhere from 14 something to 18 hands. (actually 17 2). The
problem is what makes them lame. The smaller ones seem to be prone to
Founder, with resulting foot and hoof damage. The largest one (my mare
Finders Keepers or Keepers) has ringbone she got from years of bad shoeing
and an early carreer as a pulling horse in Northern NY.
I attended a driving show, and was talking with a trainer for a 4 hitch
team, he told me that he found that many of the "training" techniques used
on smaller horses don't work well on the larger drafts. For instance,
Longing (Lunging? that thing where the horse is on a rope and runs circles
around the person holding the rope and whip?) is not good for the heavier
drafts. It puts too much strain/torque on their joints (all that weight on
that "ankle" with the need to make a sharp twist to keep turning in the
circle) and makes them develope ringbone. His lesson was that drafts should
not be "lunged" (I can't spell this word).
I don't think the problem is that large horses go unsound faster than small
horses. The problems come when large horses are treated the same way as
small horses. There is a reason you don't see football players doing
olympic gymnastics, it's too hard on their bodies, and the reason gymnasts
don't play football is they are too small (I was in a class with a gymnast
once and commented on his muscular build and looks, and his reply was, they
may look good, but none of them were attached to his bones anymore).
However, if you search, there are tall people doing gymnastics, and short
people playing basketball. Just like athletes are individuals, so are
horses. Big horses should be trained differently than small horses, and
vice versa.
I guess everything comes down to "Is it right for this particular horse".
Horses aren't bicycles, and they aren't interchangeable.
My big question is "How does training differ when working with a big horse
vs. a little horse? "
Charles
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