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Horse Riding: Risk of Injury to the Horse

September 18, 2010 By 7 Comments
Horse Riding
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How risky is riding a horse to the horse?

We know that horse riding is risky. Falling off a horse can sometimes cause pretty severe injuries, such as happened to Christopher Reeves. Even being around horses can lead to injuries, they are large animals that weigh much more then us mere humans and they can pack a very powerful blow.

But what about the horse? Is the horse at risk of injury when we ride? Well about 25% of horse owners this year will experience a lameness in their horse – is it from riding?

The answer to that question is… it depends.

Risk of Injury while riding depends on the following factors –

  1. Discipline
  2. Level of riding
  3. Conformation
  4. Ground Surface
  5. Previous Injury
  6. Fatigue

Discipline - Obviously a race horse will have a higher incidence of injuries than a trail horse. Jumpers, Barrel Racers, Reiners, Eventers, Dressage horses all have different common injuries related to the discipline in which the horse performs.

Level of Riding – The higher the level of riding the more likely for injury – A Grand Prix jumper is more likely to have a serious injury than a training level horse.

Conformation - A horse with crooked legs will more likely to move incorrectly and cause injury to itself.

Ground Surface – Uneven ground, deep footing in an arena, wet ground will be more likely to cause injuries when riding.

Previous Injury - an old injury or even an existing unhealed injury that may be unknown to the rider is more likely to be reinjured or more injured.

Fatigue – A tired horse is much more prone to injury.

Of all of these factors the one that is in complete control of the rider during competition is fatigue. It is up to you as a rider to monitor your horse. If your horse is tired and has signs of fatigue, YOU are in control, then it is up to you to slow down or even stop. A common injury in competition horses is damage of the Suspensory Ligament and/or the Superficial Digital Flexor Tendon and it is much more common to have this injury in a fatigued horse. Is it really worth another class at a horse show to risk injury to this ligament because your horse is tired?

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How much weight should a horse carry?

August 23, 2007 By 4 Comments

One question asked a lot is exactly how much weight should a horse carry? Now usually this is asked by someone watching a larger individual get on a small horse and ride the living daylights out of the poor little thing. Many people promote a rule of thumb of 10% of the horse’s bodyweight, but before I go and promote the same thing lets compare horses to humans for a minute.

How much weight can you comfortably carry for long extended periods of time 1/2 hour or more?

If you are a soldier in the army and you weigh 200 lbs then your 100 lbs rucksack is 50% of your body weight and you will be carrying that all day long!

If you are a 140 lbs Mom you can easily be carrying your 30 lbs 2 year old through a store for 15 to 20 minutes and that is just over 20% of your body weight and it depends on what shape you are in if you can carry that child comfortably or not.

SO what does this mean for a horse? If still means what kind of shape your horse is in, what type of structure your horse is, and if it has any other complicating factors such as arthritis as to how much weight they should be carrying. In my opinion the rule of thumb should be 10 to 30% of the horse’s body weight depending on condition of the horse and how long of a ride and what type of riding you will be doing. A nice easy trail ride on a good conditioned horse (meaning one that has been ridden for a couple months at least three times per week for a minimum of 20 minutes at a time) should be able to carry 25% of its body weight for an hour to two hour trail ride without a problem and with rest stops in between should be able to go all day long. That same horse should be able to carry 25% of its bodyweight in a competition setting say like jumping or dressage for 20 minutes without a concern.

So on average a horse weighs 1000 lbs (Arabs and ponies are smaller more like 700 lbs and Warmbloods and draft crosses are larger more like 1200 to 1500lbs) so that means if you and your tack weigh less than 250lbs and your horse is properly conditioned you should have no problem going for an hour long trail ride or an arena type event.

Now lets go bigger. Lets say you are a Cowboy of a larger stature and weigh 250 lbs yourself and your saddle and gear weigh 50 lbs that is a total weight of 300 lbs. Your horse either needs to be conditioned well and weigh 1200 lbs or needs to be in top condition and weigh at least 1000 lbs. These poor little Arabs that weigh only 700 lbs and have a 250 lbs lets say guy riding them on a 25 mile endurance ride are definitely more like the Army guy carrying the 100 lbs rucksack; oh it can be done but their body sure takes a beating from it.

So to be nice to your horse – if your horse is not conditioned stay at the 10% of the horses bodyweight, if it is conditioned well you can up that but stay below 30% to have a happy healthy horse!

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