The US and British Cavalry forces used to reckon that a fit riding horse could carry a rider, saddle
and equipment weighing up to 25% of his own body weight. This is a useful rule of thumb provided
that the horse is well conditioned and his rider is competent, well balanced and fit. It goes without
saying that saddlery must be a good fit and must distribute the weight of rider and equipment over
an appropriately large area of the horse’s back.
The quote is from The Riding Holiday Centre Handbook the book written by my friends of Unicorn Trails . I found the book really interesting and complete, and this is only one of the hundreds of subjects you can find.
This is a very delicate subject for most of the riders, specially for overweight ones as myself. A lot of times, specially in this kind of terrain, it is useful to think it.
It is not the same to force the horse in easy paths than in a desert of stones
All right, we have some extra kg. They let us ride and we are fit enough to stand 7 hours riding for several days. Of course the horse will suffer. But why do we take some extra weight in equipment other than the saddle? Big and full saddlebags over an already overcharged horse it is something we can change easily taking with us a spare horse to carry this extra-weight.
Rebujito fully equipped
Of course, to take an extra horse will be hard, to prepare it and load and unload even harder. But here, this is what should be done.
Are you able to take another horse with you?
The tack of this spare horse would be another subject, and a difficult one! 🙂 Another day
Spare horse tack
