Really irritated with this girls mother.

Great work, OP! You did some grand problem solving with compassion at its core.

I very much enjoyed this thread, thank you! A nice change from the norm.

I’m sure riding for the disabled would be very happy to have your services to help with the myriad of yard duties. That way you get lots of equine interaction and the satisfaction of helping others.

What you should have done was maybe tied her to a long rope and then make her jog along behind the hack. After a few days of that she'd be down to riding weight.
Problem solved.

‘Break’?? A horse is a living, sentient being, not a fucking chair!! 😡

You need to have a "quiet word" with her mother and explain you have weight restrictions. Obviously a tricky situation but it's a H&S issue too. You need to make the mum understand that you need to take the health of your horses into consideration

Ahh, Op, I really love the way you write - humour, empathy, real love for your subject. Beautiful.

You handled the initial issue so well, and I bet that child feels amazing for having been able to ride an absolutely massive horse! I always got given the “spirited” horses when I had riding lessons so it always felt great when they actually did what they are supposed to 😂

Well done OP .. you sorted an awkward situation brilliantly.
As the mother of daughters who did a school based pony club I can confirm that some mothers take it oh so seriously.
My girls used to ride with a girl who just hated it; she was terrified. Turns out that her mother had wanted to ride as a child and was now giving her daughter all the opportunities she herself didn’t have.
On several occasions I ended up with a bruised arm when said mother grabbed me when her child was jumping.

I'm sorry for laughing but this is hilarious. You write very well too.

I'm glad the girl was spared any embarrassment and got to ride the giant.

Weigh her. Just say you don't have a suitable mount. Book her back in on another ride. Safety first - for horse and rider.

If you're not using humorous sarcasm, that's quite a nasty puerile comment which is also of no help whatsoever to OP.
If you are, then I apologise.

Oh please!

It’s always the parent. They have no clue. Thank you for being so kind to the girl. Pony weekends are brilliant

YABU, as I don’t think you need to tell the little one the reason at all! Yes, speak with the mum privately or send an email, but why do you consider telling the kid?

OP you have handled this amazingly well. I’m frustrated on your behalf and by the number of commentators who have immediately jumped to “don’t fat shame a child”. I completely agree with this- kids should not be fat shamed. However, the parent of the child should be discreetly taken to one side and told in no uncertain terms that they jeopardised the whole hack and ran very close to their own child being extremely disappointed and potentially humiliated. This situation should not have arisen and it is on the parent. Huge kudos to you for being compassionate and enterprising.

Had similar when a mother informed us of her child weight for a class party where the children was using Zorbing balls on a lake. Luckily we found out before the party. The company handled it well by telling the girl it had ‘run out’ of child size balls and as she was the tallest left ( the two girls talker was already assigned a ball) she had to use an adult one.
Very difficult as the mother couldn’t understand her daughter had a weight issue.

Horse people know when someone is too big or heavy for a known horse.

When riding you have do update at least 3/4 times a year your weight and height to match the horse to child!
be honest and say to mother!

I took it to mean wobbly as a beginner not wobbly through being fat!

You have to think of the horses welfare. The mum should be aware of that and not just think of her child.

Yes, of course she knew that. There would have been no point lying about her daughter’s weight if she didn’t realise a heavier person will need a stronger - therefore bigger - horse, it wouldn’t have occurred to her. If she was worried about the size of mount her daughter might need she should have gone and discussed it with the school beforehand - asked if there were maybe any strong enough but not too tall horses, I think from what the op says there were some not as big as the one she ended up on.

If the woman was that concerned about her daughter's safety she would give the correct information so that when her child is being paired with a mount, it is suitable for her. The right horse, or pony, for the right rider is quite critical in a dangerous sport. It is vital that people give the right information to riding schools to avoid accidents.

And as the OP pointed out, horses don't break, they get hurt.

I think it’s obvious that some loads will be too heavy for some horses, and that the horses could be hurt or injured if they carry too heavy a load. The mum knew that, she’s not completely thick, surely? She just didn’t care.

So Mum did it deliberately to get her daughter on a too-small pony? Jesus. I hope it was pointed out to her that the weigh limit for each horse is for animal welfare reasons. Thank goodness the girl herself has more compassion for them. People are dumb or selfish sometimes.