Too plump to jump, overweight horse riders risk competition ban
THEY conjure up a world of plump girls urging their panting ponies over the jumps at their local gymkhana.
But it now appears that life is increasingly imitating the much-loved cartoons of Norman Thelwell.
Vets and animal welfare officials have warned that the sight of riders who are simply too heavy for their steeds has become a growing concern.
Experts believe the problem is caused both by riders becoming too fat and choosing the wrong size horse.
British show jumping authorities have now launched a study to determine the maximum weight a rider should be in proportion to their horse.
That would allow show officials to disqualify or exclude riders who are clearly too heavy for their animal.
Such is the scale of the problem that judges at amateur jumps have already begun ordering riders to dismount after deeming them to be far too large for their horses. However, officials have been warned to exercise sensitivity when dealing with children who are overweight or too large for their ponies for fear of upsetting them.
Animal welfare experts fear that horses could suffer long-lasting or even permanent damage, including back problems, arthritis, lameness and muscle strain, by carrying riders who are too large for them. Carrying a rider too heavy for them can also make a normally placid horse bad-tempered.
The British Equestrian Foundation (BEF) says that in many cases normal sized riders are climbing on to ponies that are proportionally too small for their size. But there have also been a number of cases in which overweight riders have arrived at events on horses clearly labouring under their bulk.
Jan Rogers, head of equine development at the BEF, told The Telegraph: “We’re talking about the appropriate ratio for rider to horse, but sometimes it’s a case of riders being too heavy.
“It may be that people are not as good as they used to be at working out what size horse they should be riding for their size and we need to be able to give them the best advice available.”
She added: “We want to encourage all sorts of people to ride and want to encourage them to be fit enough to ride. We don’t want to put people off riding if they feel they’re a bit heavy, but we also have welfare concerns about the horse that have come to our attention.”
The study is to be conducted by the Animal Health Trust in an attempt to determine the safe and correct ratio of rider’s weight to the horse’s size. The
‘We don’t want to put people off riding if they feel they’re a bit heavy, but we also have welfare concerns about the horse’
problem reached farcical proportions when eight riders at the Great Yorkshire Show this summer were asked to climb down from their ponies over fears the animals were too small to carry them.
Amid what observers described as “ludicrous” scenes, officials intervened after the eight adults were seen riding children’s ponies in the warm-up area of the show, held in Harrogate.
The eight adults were said to have been exercising the ponies on behalf of their children before the start of a competition, but vets feared they could cause the animals long-term damage.
Amanda Stoddart-West, the entries coordinator at the Great Yorkshire Show, said: “Our vet noticed a number of adults on ponies that were too small to carry them. We’re not saying people should not ride and we don’t want to discourage people of all sizes from riding.
“But they should be on the right size animal. A small pony, such as a 12 horse height [ just under 4ft], being ridden by a large adult is just wrong.”
One proposal is for show judges to simply deduct marks if the rider is too large, “so the judge does not need to directly engage with a child or adult” to avoid them being humiliated in public.
It has long been assumed in riding circles that a rider to horse weight ratio of 20 per cent is the maximum sustainable. However, some experts believe that a rider should be no heavier than 10 per cent of the horse’s weight.