# what weight can a 36+inch horse carry?



## StellaLenoir (Nov 14, 2007)

These are not the best pictures, but it shows Silvers size.

I measured her to be 36 inches, but she may be a little taller.

I was not exact! I want to have her trained to ride.

I have 2 little girls, 3 and 18 months.

I would like them to be able to ride being led by someone.

These would be short rides.

I think Silver could use the exercise and I know my girls would love it!

Here is Silver just being Silver (rooting for hay!)

but it shows her bone structure a bit.







Here she is next to me. I am about 5'8".






I also want to train my mare Rain to ride,

when she is done nursing and is for sure a healthy weight.

Here she is. Rain is also about 36 inches.











this pic is from early Sept, when I was begging for a farrier





thankfully all feet are trimmed and happy!!

I have heard so many different percentages to use,

15%. 20% even 30% for light riding.

What do some experienced mini people think?

All rides would be led only and not very long.

My oldest girl to ride is about 34# right now, at 3 years. thanks!!!





ok tried to make pics smaller but could not, sorry they are huge!


----------



## Karin - NaKar Miniatures (Nov 14, 2007)

I feel that 20% of the horses weight is a good figure to go with.

Many times I see where people have posted pictures, especially on the Sale Board, with a child riding a mini and you can see that the child is way too big to be riding the horse. Their legs practically touch the ground. It makes me me feel bad for the poor horse.

If your horses are about 36" I would guess that they might weight about 350 lbs. So a child weighting 70 lbs. would be alright for them to carry.


----------



## chandab (Nov 14, 2007)

Karin - NaKar Miniatures said:


> I feel that 20% of the horses weight is a good figure to go with.
> 
> Many times I see where people have posted pictures, especially on the Sale Board, with a child riding a mini and you can see that the child is way too big to be riding the horse. Their legs practically touch the ground. It makes me me feel bad for the poor horse.
> 
> If your horses are about 36" I would guess that they might weight about 350 lbs. So a child weighting 70 lbs. would be alright for them to carry.


Don't forget to include the weight of the saddle and pad in the total. So, in this case 70# total minus weight of tack (I imagine small kids saddles are only 15# or so, maybe a little more - I know some leather saddle are extremely heavy, but they would also be very expensive for how quickly a child would outgrow them).


----------



## StellaLenoir (Nov 14, 2007)

thank you for the replys! I too thought 20% seemed ok. I plan to get the lightest weight saddle I can, I also saw some pads with handles, and a little seat from the Uk.

My oldest 9, could even ride for a short trip! That is great, she could help in the training. I have a freind willing to train them for $150 which I think is a good deal. She is very experienced and I am sure she would do a better job than me





What fun this will be! My 18 month is forever saying "horth horth" her version of horse!


----------



## nluszcz (Nov 15, 2007)

My 38" pony weighs in on (scale weight) 300lbs. 350 for a 36"er might be a little high, unless he's kinda chubby.


----------



## CritterCountry (Nov 15, 2007)

Your silver looks identical to my Sable



My Sable is also 36". she has toted a few kids around for max. five minutes. I don't have a saddle, my kids hopped on bareback. But I have cut them off now as they are too big.

Best bet is get a bareback pad. They are light and if you get the one with a handle it makes it easier for the small kids to hang on. My rule with Sable is no one sits on her that weighs more than 50 pounds. And I have time restrictions with how long they can ride. And always on a lead rope.


----------



## evedex (Nov 16, 2007)

A horse, no matter what kind, should only carry between 1/5 and 1/6th its weight...the smaller Minis are more towards the 1/6th amount.

I had a 35.75" Mini with about the same build as yours and found that she weighed about 285-300 lbs on a good quality livestock scale.

Please watch your horse when you put the child on its back and really be critical about how it reacts to the weight....remember to carry the 1/5th its weight the horse will need to be conditioned to that amount....please start at the low end and work the conditioning up.

Minis are not really riding horses for most, and will put up with a lot so be careful.


----------



## StellaLenoir (Nov 16, 2007)

Thanks for the additional info.



We would still be in the safe range with my little girls. I will go very slowly, and would never do anything that would harm my horses.



I think all would benifit, we could do much more exploring, which Silver loves, if I only had one little girl to worry about walking with us. If one rides, she cant get away! lol!

Thanks again


----------



## Shari (Nov 16, 2007)

I am a little worried about letting anyone ride your mare. She looks like she has a roached back,, which could cause her pain if any weight is put on it.

Wasn't sure if I would even bring this up or not, but knowing another horse with a roached back and how it reacted,,, just thought maybe I should bring it up.


----------



## StellaLenoir (Nov 16, 2007)

Shari,

I wondered that too, about the roach back. The mare you see with the weird back is Rainbow. She does seem to have something going on in the pics. But as she has filled back out after the baby, her back is much more level. I asked the vet about her and he seemed to think she is ok.

I am not sure if it was the weight of the baby pulling her down, or what was the problem with her top line. But I have been feeding beet pulp and increased her grain, and she is filling out up there, but not fat. If you were to run your hand down her back, it is straight, and then dips down by her loin. It does not hump up. I was concerned about her possilbly having a mild roach back but everyone who sees her in person does not think so.





I will have the vet give me an opinion specific to riding when he comes next month for my 2nd set of foal shots. If he says no, than ok, she just is a pet





And thank you for bringing it up!



I would hate to not know something and cause her pain!


----------



## Magic (Nov 16, 2007)

I agree with those that say a horse can carry about 20% of their own weight. Since the mare would be led while ridden, she won't be doing any strenuous work while carrying a child (running, jumping, etc) nor being ridden for hours, so she should be fine carrying that much weight, IMO.

If you could get your mare(s) trained to drive, then once conditioned they ought to be able to pull both you and two of your girls at once!



That would be fun to do together. Just an idea!


----------



## Shari (Nov 16, 2007)

StellaLenoir said:


> Shari,
> 
> I wondered that too, about the roach back. The mare you see with the weird back is Rainbow. She does seem to have something going on in the pics. But as she has filled back out after the baby, her back is much more level. I asked the vet about her and he seemed to think she is ok.
> 
> ...


Thank you for not being mad at me for bringing it up. I will see if my friend has back pictures of that Roached back Icelandic.


----------

