Can stables weigh my daughter rather than accept my word?

[TheQuaintLemonDuck]

Are stables entitled to weigh my daughter rather than just take my word for it?

I was wondering that too.

At my stables, on Facebook videos of massive children going over the jumps with their tiny show ponies, at holiday hacking spots where they put profits over animal welfare.

Me too!!

At the stables my daughter used to attend there was a sign for max rider weight for each horse/pony and some bathroom scales. I think its 15% of the horses weight = max rider weight.

Now I've weighed as much as 17st, now I'm lighter thankfully, but I respect a riding school advertising a max riding weight they can accommodate.

How old is she, so that her weight is unlikely to have changed?

And why would she be embarrassed if what you wrote is accurate?

Id also argue that your resistance to her being weighed to get an accurate figure is as bad for animal welfare as those who lie

Very unlikely. If she's too small they don't need to weigh her.

It’s all part and parcel of horse riding, OP…

The overwhelming majority of the time riders way more than they say they do.

It takes away the awkwardness if everyone has to be weighed at the stables & it's vital for horse welfare.

Also most people have no idea how much their boots, hat, winter coats etc all weigh.

I worked on a yard that covered the numbers on the scales with coloured blocks & each rider had the colour recorded eg under 40kg Red, 40-50 kg pink, 50-60kg green etc. The horses were then given corresponding colour codes eg Ruby could only take 'Red' riders, Rosie Red, pink & green etc

This. I am not forcing anyone or anyone's child to be weighed but until you do, you aren't getting on one of my horses.

Yes they do there was a post on here with these exact circumstances. Mother had obviously lied about child’s weight. They know which horses are suited best for their size and ability. If they are too heavy for the horse that horse will be out of action for some time. As well as having a sore back. They are looking out for the wealthsre of their animals as well as following health and safety protocol.

She Would have grown in that time as kids do and obviously gained some weight. You see her every day so you won’t notice her height and weight changing.

There protecting the horses.

No idea about the legal position but morally, the welfare of the horses in their care should come first.

Weight wouldn't be announced anyway. At least where I work, it's pretty low key, minimum fanfare. We have a chart with horses names, the rider hops on the scales, stands against the height board if needed, we glance at it and either leave them with their system allocated horse or wipe them off and write them against a different, more suitable horse. No comment on the numbers beyond 'give her someone with a barrel, she's leggy.'

Whoa, that is so out of order to lie like that!

OP you sound like a prick.

Why not pre-empt any embarrassment by weighing her at home again?

Unless I've misinterpreted your post, you have clearly demonstrated why your DC should be weighed at the stable. You have given a weight from 6 months ago! You don't think that a growing child weight would have changed in that timeframe?

Of course the weight of a growing child can cogne in 6 month. They are doing it to look after the health of the pony and the safety of the child, there is no need for her to be embarrassed (& this is a good teachable moment for you that weight is not a matter for shame) and you really don’t need to take offence where no reason exists.

@Balloonhearts

'give her someone with a barrel, she's leggy.'

what does that mean?

Guessing you’ve not been to the zip wire in Wales where everyone gets weighed and it written on a wrist band - essential for safety. Why should ponies have to put up with it?

It means that despite being a child or small adult, they have long legs. So may not need a taller horse but one that's broad or round so "takes up the leg". A thin horse will mean legs dangle further down the horse's body than a wider horse.

Like the difference between being astride a bike and astride a wider object like a chair.

So you want your big daughter to ride a small pony?

Who cares if she wants the same pony this year as next year. She's too big and next year she'll be too big for this year's pony.

They are animals not bicycles. Have some respect for both the animals and the people running the camps. Actually have some respect for your daughter too so she doesn't look like a big hefty lump on top of a suffering animal. People will both talk negatively and laugh at her.

Yes, health and safety of the horses comes first. They could be injured severely and for such a frivolous reason as recreational leisure for a rider too large for their spine.