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?

Plenty of people. I work at a riding school with an upper weight limit of 12 stone. It is incredible the range of people who weigh dead on 12 stone

I'm very confused. You noticed today that she's gained a lot of weight in one thread, but in another thread, you think her weight has stayed the same for the last 6 months? Which is it? A weight measurement from half a year ago will count for nothing, even if they are willing to take parents' words for it. I'm sure they will try to be discreet.

DD will be heavier this year and the pony will be a year older therefore may have had its max weight limit reduced.
It would be incredibly irresponsible if they did not weigh her.

This makes no sense. If she is the weigh you claim then she already knows if she can ride the same pony or not before they weigh her to confirm.

She will only be embarrassed if they end up finding out that she's a different weight than you claim and she can't ride the pony she was hoping to ride leading to arguments or disappointment on her part due to unmanaged expectations.

They won't promise a particular pony because it may be better suited to a different rider - because of size, weight or ability. Even if your daughter is still in the weight limit for this particular pony, they might have lots of lighter children who would be better suited to it/ less well suited to one of the others or they may have lots of heavier children who are shorter and this pony suits them better.

Based on this thread and your parallel thread about her recent steep weight gain, you presumably know that the weight you recorded 6 months ago will be inaccurate? If you think the horses should be protected from too-heavy riders, why would you not want her actual weight to be used to select a horse for her?

I would perhaps casually mention the weigh-in beforehand so it doesn't come as a shock.

It sounds as if you know she’s too heavy for the pony @TheQuaintLemonDuck

Otherwise, why the worry?

Is this real? They have to be insured, the rider has to fit the horse & vice verca.

Why would your daughter be embarrassed- oh, because you lied on the form. Ok I get it now.

Looking at your other thread it looks like your daughter has put on weight over the past few months which suggests that she may no longer be able to ride the same pony so it's you're job to manage her expectations before the day but expect the stables to just accept what you say without confirmation.

The stable isn't weighing her to embarrass her so if you've already weighed her at home then you should know if she can ride the pony or not and make sure she knows ahead of the day.

Also she's 17, has she told you that she doesn't want to be weighed or is this you projecting?

Of course they can. Would you let her go on a driving lesson, without the instructor seeing her provisional license, or is your word good enough? Do you want her or the horse injured? I would bump you from lessons if it were my yard. Self entitlement at its best, ladies like you ruin things for the reasonable rest. I do nope to not meet you.

Dear god. If she’s 17 why are you filling out forms and dealing with this?

Surely that’s obvious given your question?

Basically this. You're planning on lying to the stables about your daughter's weight. A really ridiculous, and potentially very dangerous (not least for your daughter), course of action.

A good stable's priority is the safety of their horses and hence yes, they must ensure that riders meet weight limits.

Unfortunately, some people lie about such things and then scales are needed.

What happens when you weigh them and they aren’t? 🙈

It’s perfectly normal to get weight and height checked for activities.
climbing, skiing, zip lines, horse riding..
especially when it’s an animals welfare involved.

The whole weight issue is becoming ridiculous now. I worked for a riding school for over a decade and we never felt the need to weigh anyone. We had a decent range of horses to cover the whole client range we had. We had everything from big stocky heavyweight cobs right down to tiny ponies. It’s not rocket science to match up the rider with the horse.
We have lost sight of common sense and have become reliant on rigid rules which don’t take into account the build of the horse, their fitness or that of their rider. A 14hh stocky leg in each corner type cob will carry far more comfortably than a 16.3 TB.

I’ve seen pics of Andrew Mountbatten Windsor riding and I bet his horse wishes someone would weigh him.

Why are you saying that the rules don't take into account the build and fitness of the horse? The whole point is that they do! Nobody is suggesting that the weight of the rider is matched to the height of the horse. They are matched to the weight carrying ability of the horse as well as the ability of the child and temperament of the horse.

I’d imagine that the right to weigh riders is part of the stables’ terms and conditions. And of course it’s reasonable for owners of horses to ensure the horses’ wellbeing.

If your daughter is 17 and a rider then she should be aware of her weight anyway so weighing for this purpose should not present any issue.

I don’t think the school I worked at ever weighed anyone either. But it did lead to problems - if you’re relying on a “by eye” measurement it causes arguments when someone swears blind their child isn’t over “x” stone and you know damn well they are. Easier and fairer to at least reserve the right to weigh riders, especially when hats and body protectors (not a thing in my day!) add to the overall weight.

Also, average weight is higher these days plus welfare standards are (rightly) tighter.

I used to teach a bit back in the day (30-odd years ago) at a riding school and would have to use a school horse myself if e.g. we went out to the far fields or if I needed to demonstrate. There were a couple of ponies (13:2) who were fine for me to ride, but equally there were a couple of nice chunky looking cobs around 15hh who weren't up to my weight for different reasons.

Yes things like weight were done by eye then, but we would still cast an eye over new pupils and swap them around between horses often at the last minute e.g. if a larger than expected person showed up then the person slated for the biggest weight carrying horse would be shifted off, or someone particularly short turned up then moved them to a narrower horse & the original rider of that horse onto someone else.

But these days customers tend to be much more demanding so you need empirical proof to them why they can't have what they want. If you just go by eye you'll be accused of bias or fat shaming or something, whereas if you go by proven weight they have no recourse.

Some horses are chunkier than others. The barrel of the horse is sides and belly. Ideally a riders feet should not come below the horses belly.

A tall skinny person could be perfect weight wise for a slender horse but too long in the leg to ride them without hoiking up the stirrups which would throw off their centre of balance.

So you give them a similar height horse who is wider and takes up more of their leg and they can get in a better riding position.

Experience! Seen it so many times. The heavier you are the taller the horse they tend to pull out. Decades of experience has proven it.

We never allowed people to choose specific horses either. They could request but not demand. Anyone who tried was advised to go elsewhere. Horses were allocated based on weight, height and riding ability.