> > > I'd like to reply to this post from the therapeutic riding list, but I don't > speak with much authority. Anybody want to point me to something I could > send to refute this statement. In her economy, a 1200 lb quarter horse > could carry 600 lbs. > > Nancy >
jeez louise. and yeah, maybe they can carry it, but for what and how long? For one, and believe me i KNOW, a saddle big enough to hold her may be too long for the horse's back. Also, I can carry a hundred pound sack of feed but I dont do it cause I can actually feel my guts are about to be torn loose just walking ten feet. I rode Jaspar when I was much heavier and he was much younger. He has back issues now. Was that caused by me? In humans, men carry loads of bricks all day but how many bricklayer laborers have you seen past age 40? They are ruined by then. Look at farriers and their bending etc. As they age they start getting all gimpy. My friend ruth was 21 and her horse was 3 and they were galloping at night with a group and her horse hit a steel cable fence in a park, flipped end over end, hurt her back, hurt his back. He had pasture rest two years before she started riding him again. He was great for years. now he is 19 and can hardly walk, drags a hip, has to have meds and supplements, chiro work frequently, can't even step up into a horse trailer his back is so bad. If he was a horse she HAD to ride she would have him put down but she feels she owes it to him to let him live at pasture as pain free as possible, but basically that fall when he was three ruined him from about age 15 on. she is just lucky she can afford to give him what he needs to be comfortable. janice -- courage is being scared to death...and saddling up anyway--John Wayne
