A horse for me and DF to share -impossible?

[GillyMac93]

Hi folks, looking for some wisdom , iv been thinking about getting a second horse for a while now .Df has always been very hands on with my welshie , always helping change rugs ,muck out or lunge her when im working , hes had a ride on a friends horse a few times and loves it !Heres the problem though DF is 6"2 and nearly 16 stone , are there any breeds that would take his weight comfortably?Thank you

I suppose it depends on what you want to do - a heavyweight hunter of some variety (particularly either an Irish draught or Sport horse type) would certainly do it. Dressage might be a little challenging, but you'd definitely have fun show-jumping/x-country.

A highland or dales would carry him with ease. Ditto a solid cob or a big welsh D. His horse doesn't necessarily need to be tall, a big round sturdy barrel will take up plenty of leg.

Ok the weight limit on unicorn Iceland hols is 24 stone, yes for 12-2 ponies.
Is he a beginner, large cob type,
Or just a 16-2 hunter type!
Think thickness of the horse legs not the size of the horse.

Thanks folks !

My dh is a similar size and fairly novice. His horse is a Belgian draft and they suit each other really well. A horse with plenty of bone should be fine with a stone per hand, so something about 16hh should be ideal. I think the native pony breeds would be a bit small. I have a 14hh fell who dh doesn't ride as he's too big for her. Heavy horses are fab.

My dh is 6ft 3in and has ridden my 15hh welshie with no trouble, and he took his leg up. BUT he's about 14 stone, which I actually think is the max weight I would ask my horse to carry on a regular basis. I agree with 50bales something chunky like a beligian draft, maxi cob type or irish draft would be good.

Think peep were talking about little natives, just to prove it was poss

I think the rider's balance is a huge factor here. A beginner rider is likely to land heavy in the saddle, lose his balance forwards and backwards and generally put more of a strain on a horse's back. It doesn't mean it's not possible, but I think long term the horse's back could seriourly suffer if it's not the right horse.

My DP had had lessons in a riding school for a while but was very much a novice when I got him a horse. The horse a 16hh Suffolk Punch and very HW (800 kilos of muscle!) and DP is 6 foot and was about 15 stone at the time (he also lost a lot of weight from riding all the time). The two of them got on fine for a couple of years until Dp lost interest.

The other thing is that HW horses suitable for novices are tough to find, we saw about 15 (called about hundreds) and the one we bought was the only contender. Even he was younger than I wanted at 6yo, so I had to make sure I rode him very often to keep him nice and sweet.