This message is from: "Denise Delgado" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> dear alex, about the fat rider. i would not let her ride at my place until she lost some weight! the liability is just too much to handle. overweight people don't have the balance, coordination and quick relflexes riders need. it is trouble just "weighting" to happen. i'm an r.n. and you are lucky she just got a pelvic fracture, which can be life- threatening in itself if she had ruptured a major internal artery or ureter, kidney, liver, speen etc. for your own safety, think about it carefully. only trying to help, denise delgado in hot northern calif. ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, July 11, 1999 8:18 AM Subject: Weight Carrying Abilities of Fjords
> This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Dear KariAnn, > I had a woman come to my riding stable asking for lessons. the > problem being that she weighed over 300 lbs. I thought about it and > decided to let her try riding Gillyn, my eight year old Fjord gelding, > who is big (15.1 hands) and sturdy. I took extra care with the mounting > process, making sure she had a mounting block and someone to hold > Gillyn, and someone to hold the other stirrup, to prevent saddle slippage. > All went well, as Gillyn is very patient and is very glad to just walk, if > that's all a beginning rider is ready for. Many lessons went by uneventfully, > and the woman was having the time of her life. One day, however, it all came > to a screeching halt because she tried to mount by herself and the saddle, > which she had put on herself, was too loose. It slipped, she and Gillyn were > upset, and I made the mistake of continuing on with the riding lesson. She had > been trotting beautifully in the previous lesson, and since I had other > people in the > class, and didn't want to hold them back, I gave the command to trot. She > told > Gillyn to trot and he did, bless his heart, but she wasn't ready, or didn't > believe in her own ability enough, and she didn't lean forward with the > motion, > so sort of got back on his croup, and he got a bit scared and trotted right > out > from under her, with a buck thrown in, as I'm sure it was a relief to get out > from > under that weight. She fell with a thud, and visions of loosing my farm > flashed > through my head. Fortunately, as I'm relying on my homeowners, she is a very > sensible woman and realized that the fault was shared. I offered to pay all > her medical expenses, which she refused. The injury was a cracked pelvis, no > concussion, or other effects, and no surgery necessary, only ex-rays, rest, > and > a few follow-up visits. This discouraged her from riding, but probably not > permanently. She's gone for the summer, but wants to resume when she returns. > The mistakes I made are as follows: (Please learn from them!) > 1) I didn't (and still don't have sufficient insurance to be > teaching > riding lessons, in ten years this is the only serious > accident we > have had. I work full time, and the lessons are a > sideline, so it's > hard to justify the cost of the insurance. > 2) I was helping another student tack up at the time she > tried to > mount by herself. Tell beginners never to mount by > themselves, > until you okay them for that step. She was bursting > with "I wanna > do it myself!" I guess that's why they say "Pride > goeth before a fall." > 3) I mixed students of different riding ability levels. This > is not a good > policy. The more advanced ones get bored with the > simple drills, > and the beginners try to hard to "keep up" with the > more experienced > students, thus trying things they are not really > ready for. > 4) I mixed age groups. I asked if everybody was ready to > trot, before I > gave the command, but since adults are usually ahead > of and in > charge of children, it would have been hard for this > adult student > to admit in front of those sassy intermediate girls, > that she wasn't > ready to trot, which she wasn't. > The Fjord was perfectly capable of carrying the weight he was asked > to carry, > and he did it to the best of his ability; the problems stemmed from other > sources, as I have outlined. > You should think about the special conditions your weight may impose > before > selecting a riding instructor and a mount. As I told this heavy woman, asking > Gillyn to carry her, (300 to 1200) was like asking her to walk and jog with > 75 pounds strapped on to her back. she said "That's a lot!" Yes, it's a lot > but > it is doable, under the right circumstances. > Best of luck and keep us posted how it goes. You may not be anywhere > near as heavy as the student I am talking about. Fjords are capable of > carrying large men or women, because of their heavy bone. They should > however be well shod, well conditioned and truly mature. > Alex Wind > Harmony Springs Farm > Shawsville VA 24162 >
