Many horse riders could be too heavy for their steeds

A recent news story caught my attention this week. It reported on the results of a study which suggested that equestrianism could be facing an obesity crisis.
I realise I might have to clarify that statement. I don't mean that participants have been purchasing horse rugs in XL sizes, but rather these people could be getting too big for their riding boots – in a manner of speaking.
It has been stated that when mounting a horse, an individual should weigh less than 10% of the animal's mass. To put that into perspective, if a steed is about 500kg, the rider should be approximately 50kg.
However, the results of the study – published in the Journal of Veterinary Behaviour – suggested that many individuals could be too heavy for their mounts. In fact, it appears that only 5% of riders could be within the above limit.
Moreover, approximately 32% could be so heavy that they may place the health of their horses at risk. As a result, their steeds might suffer from various problems, such as back pains, arthritis in parts of their legs, and could even become bad tempered.
Now, I realise this is quite a sensitive subject, but perhaps riders should consider investigating how much they weigh before jumping in the saddle. As a spokesperson from the Association of British Riding Schools put it when speaking to the Daily Telegraph: "What's more important – saving someone's blushes, or saving the horse's back?"
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