Can my mini/sheltie be ridden?

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miniaturehorselover

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Im 100 pounds and own a what I thought was a miniature horse just to find out she is a mini / shetland mix..I been told and actually harassed on people telling me that I shouldn't be breaking her to ride yet alone me riding her.. I haven't ridden her yet as I don't have a proper saddle or even a clue on how good or bad she can be and she's a pretty big stocky built mare just needs to put on a few pounds as she was abused and neglected please don't flip on me lol! Thanks and im aware minis shouldn't cary more then 30-50 pounds

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Alright thanks
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Teach her to drive, she can easily pull you and a cart and probably a friend riding with you in the cart, once properly trained and conditioned.
 
I would but she was abused with a harness on :/ they use to wip her and beat the crap out of her she doesn't even want to see a harness... she gets to stresed by looking at it or even seeing a cart move
 
I'm confused by your post...you say you know minis shouldn't carry more than 30-50#...yet you say you weigh 100#....so are you asking the question is it ok for you to ride her??? Or maybe you don't have a question in your post...

I have a horse that had something happen bad in regards to a saddle....but I am taking the time to train him that a saddle and riding isn't something to be afraid of...so you too could train her to drive if you have the time and patience to do so...it is alot of work but it can be done...just because a person or animal has had a bad past doesn't mean they can't learn to trust again...

Sandi
 
I have a 45" welsh x shet (?) that is well built with a short back and weighs a solid 500 lbs. he is in great health and is very physically fit. He packed around an 70 lb child for a few hours this weekend with no issues. That being said - we know this child is too big, too tall, and not fit to ride him long term. He rode bareback to minimize weight as well. It was the ponys first ever time under saddle, and a bold light preteen is a better guinea pig than a 5 or 6 yr old. The boy I had training him will probably never ride him again. I rode many a pony I was a bit too big for when I was in double digits age wise but not quite a teen. I would get a solid walk tort left right and whoa on them and never return to their backs unless they needed training a younger kid couldn't do.

That being said - I would assume this is your mare that literally just foaled and needs weight? Why would you even consider riding her at this point? You are clearly too tall for her (assuming that's you in the pic) and would not be fit to ride her. Her back looks long and weak to me too, pointing towards her being a .'leadline only' pony. The people telling you you should not be riding her are 200% correct. If you want a saddle horse buy a saddle horse, don't try to make her 'do.'
 
Since you like to trick train, it should be a nice challenge for you to retrain her to drive. She is a very pretty girl and seems to trust you already.

It is a hard decision about riding when you have a pony and not a miniature.

I agree, a bold, light pre-teen is a much better candidate to teach a horse to bear a rider than a scaredy 6 year old.
 
You don't want to be "beaten up" here, and I don't blame you. This is a great place to ask questions without feeling judged just for asking them. My 300+ pound, 37 inch gelding is a fantastic riding horse. No, a 100 pound person can't/shouldn't ride him, but he has had many small children ride him over the years, both on the leadline and off. My daughter learned to ride on him- walk, trot, canter, and jumping! She was very small for a long time. When she outgrew him we trained him to drive. I currently have a 42 pound 9 year old boy taking lessons on him. He is so tiny for his age, but what a great thing to be able to feel comfortable riding a horse that is "his size". A lot will depend on your horse's conformation and condition and the rider's ability. An out of balance 40 pound kid may be more difficult than a 60 pounder who knows what she's doing. Ideally, a horse should not have more than 20% of his body weight on his back, but 25% is acceptable for shorter, less intense rides, which I assume most kids would be doing. Good luck and enjoy your horse!
 
Don't shoot me... but when I was a teen and I weighed about 100 lbs. I broke and exercised many ponies. They were wonderful ponies for leadline and riding ponies for little kids. We turned out some excellent ponies that were safe and sane. A lot depends on the pony, the strength of the pony and the health. My ponies did not suffer and they did not struggle to tote me around. We did lead line pony jobs and it was necessary for me to keep the ponies fit between jobs and so they didn't buck or act up. Now that I am heavier.... I wouldn't think of getting on a small pony. Every case is different in my opinion. I have seen average sized horses ridden by 300+ pound riders using heavy western saddles, kind of the same sort of scale.

I mostly rode bareback.

I figure this though, if it looks ridiculous and feels awkward, and your feet are near touching the ground, you are probably too big.

that all said... I do not let anyone ride my minis, and would never allow a big kid to break my minis to ride.

Yours being a mini pony cross, I think you will get answers both directions and my advice above is what still comes to mind. If it looks awkward or weird or makes somebody say "oh my" and your feet are close to the ground when bareback sitting... then you are in my opinion too big....

Not burning you, its a real good question and a great thing to bounce around on a forum, thanks for posting.

ps, she is very cute, love her mane.. she sounds lucky to have found you.

I second the driving training advice. You might just someday find yourself driving around in one of Carriage Bob's Hyperbikes and loving every minute of it.
 
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