# If you decide to impose a weight limit **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 13, 2015, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-decide-to-impose-a-weight-limit/731117 "2015-09-13T18:46:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Brodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cc9497/32.png) [@Brodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brodi)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-decide-to-impose-a-weight-limit/731117/1 "2015-09-13T18:46:56Z")
PLEASE PUT IT ON YOUR WEBSITE AND/OR TELL ME WHEN I CALL ASKING ABOUT YOUR PROGRAM! I contacted a program in my area that does therapeutic horse back riding for adults last week after I looked at their website and saw that it was certified with PATH (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International) and that it looked legit and so I called them. The woman who answered the phone asked me to fill a form and to have my doctor fill out another. Got that done and mailed to them. Someone else, not the woman I talked to, calls and tells me I’m too heavy for their program. They only allow people ≤ 180lbs to ride their horses and that I’ll have to find another program. :mad: I am not some morbidly obese person; I’m a 6’0, 200lb man! Horseback riding helps with a connective tissue disorder that I have and I need a “dead broke” horse for my safety and horses in PATH certified pragrams tend to be better trained and more of a “been there, done that” type of horse. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-decide-to-impose-a-weight-limit/731117/2 "2015-09-14T03:33:04Z")
Good idea! I;ve sent this on to the [50 Therapeutic Riding programs in Minnesota](http://www.mnhorsecouncil.org/list%20of%20therapeutic%20riding%20programs.php) we’re affiliated with. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-decide-to-impose-a-weight-limit/731117/3 "2015-09-14T04:24:46Z")
Damn, I thought the weight limit would be something like 300 pounds. 180 is really damn strict. That isn’t even BMI-overweight for heights above 5’11". ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-decide-to-impose-a-weight-limit/731117/4 "2015-09-14T11:58:28Z")
Sounds like they’re working with older or smaller horses. The general rule of thumb is a horse can comfortably carry 20% of its body weight. You’d need a 1,000lb horse, which is on the lower side of large- an average size Thoroughbred. Interestingly, racing horses are capped at carrying about 119lbs during a race. I agree with the sentiment, though- more information is always better. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-decide-to-impose-a-weight-limit/731117/5 "2015-09-14T12:20:58Z")
> [@Brodi](#): > > Someone else, not the woman I talked to, calls and tells me I’m too heavy for their program. OTOH, they actually looked at your information and called you rather than waiting for you to schedule an appointment, pay, and show up, before realizing you were too heavy. It’s the little things that get me through the day. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-decide-to-impose-a-weight-limit/731117/6 "2015-09-14T12:31:46Z")
> [@bobkitty](#): > > Interestingly, racing horses are capped at carrying about 119lbs during a race. That’s not a maximum weight, that’s a minimum, and varies from race to race. Obviously, the trainer doesn’t want to go over the minimum, but there is nothing actually to stop the trainer from putting up a 200 lb. jockey if he wants to. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-decide-to-impose-a-weight-limit/731117/7 "2015-09-14T12:39:44Z")
> [@bobkitty](#): > > Interestingly, racing horses are capped at carrying about 119lbs during a race. Off-topic, but horses used to carry 126 lbs. in the Triple Crown races. That may have changed since the days when I was paying attention to such things, but it would surprise me to find that it had changed downward. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-decide-to-impose-a-weight-limit/731117/8 "2015-09-14T14:01:15Z")
Hell, I’d agree with the OP even if you were morbidly obese. Maybe if it were just you filling something out, but having you fill out something from your doctor, too? They need to let you know before you go that far. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-decide-to-impose-a-weight-limit/731117/9 "2015-09-14T14:03:03Z")
180 pound limit? That’s completely insane. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-decide-to-impose-a-weight-limit/731117/10 "2015-09-14T14:21:58Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > 180 pound limit? That’s completely insane. Weight limits can be arbitrary and pointless. One thing I looked forward to in Hawaii was a helicopter tour of one of the islands. They had some absolute weight limit - 280 or 300 - but also imposed a significant surcharge on anyone over some much lesser weight - 190? 200? When I tried to book the 4-person flight, I pointed out that while I was over the surcharge limit, my wife was of average weight and the other two were 70-pound children. In my view, adding up to less than four adults negated the need for a surcharge. Wrong. “It just doesn’t work that way.” We skipped the flight. It was already expensive enough without another $90 that the person on the phone couldn’t give a justifying reason for. ---
**Author:** ![Brodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cc9497/32.png) [@Brodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brodi)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-decide-to-impose-a-weight-limit/731117/11 "2015-09-14T14:41:54Z")
The woman on the phone did sound apologetic, like she honestly wished they could help me. It wasn’t a “Go away, fat man!” type response more like, “Gee, if you could lose some weight you could ride with us.” Amateur Barbarian: It does sound like they were trying to scam you with the $90 charge. Big T: That part is what really ticked me off. Even though the copay is low ($12) it is still irritating to have to have gone through all those hoops (Dr had to go back several years through my medical chart for the info they wanted) only to have it come to nothing.:mad: The doc was all excited about it and had hopes that it would help with several of my problems. Luckily another place I’m looking at has NO weight restrictions and doesn’t need a Dr to fill anything out. ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-decide-to-impose-a-weight-limit/731117/12 "2015-09-14T15:07:28Z")
It sucks for the OP that this turned out the way it did, but it may well have been one of those oversight things, ie: at one time they could accommodate people over 180 but then they lost that horse and it never occurred to anyone that the change should be put on the website and made part of the regular introductory spiel. Not every horse can be a good therapy mount and organizations will protect the ones that they have, even being a little overcautious sometimes. Also, if they did lose a weight carrying horse, finding a good replacement is not always as easy as it sounds, nor is it likely to be cheap. It still sucks for the OP though ☹ I hope the new contact comes through for you! ---
**Author:** ![tonyfop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/85f322/32.png) [@tonyfop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tonyfop)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-decide-to-impose-a-weight-limit/731117/13 "2015-09-14T15:08:45Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Weight limits can be arbitrary and pointless. > > One thing I looked forward to in Hawaii was a helicopter tour of one of the islands. They had some absolute weight limit - 280 or 300 - but also imposed a significant surcharge on anyone over some much lesser weight - 190? 200? > > When I tried to book the 4-person flight, I pointed out that while I was over the surcharge limit, my wife was of average weight and the other two were 70-pound children. In my view, adding up to less than four adults negated the need for a surcharge. > > Wrong. “It just doesn’t work that way.” > > We skipped the flight. It was already expensive enough without another $90 that the person on the phone couldn’t give a justifying reason for. Weight and Balance calculations for helicopters are very tricky. You often don’t realize that there is a “Balance” portion to the calculation. Depending how the seats are arranged, your position in the helicopter may be too far from CG for the weights to just average out like you assume they would, and it may require reconfiguration of the aircraft. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-decide-to-impose-a-weight-limit/731117/14 "2015-09-14T15:13:17Z")
Is it just me, or is anyone else’s woo meter pinging? The Wikipedia article on equine-assisted therapy includes lots of references demonstrating psychiatric benefits, and none demonstrating physical benefits. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-decide-to-impose-a-weight-limit/731117/15 "2015-09-14T15:26:10Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Is it just me, or is anyone else’s woo meter pinging? Complete and total woo. I’d provide a cite but we all know animal companionship has no beneficial effects what so ever and that people that have pets are actually psychotic and should be put into mental institutions. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-decide-to-impose-a-weight-limit/731117/16 "2015-09-14T15:27:44Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Is it just me, or is anyone else’s woo meter pinging? The Wikipedia article on equine-assisted therapy includes lots of references demonstrating psychiatric benefits, and none demonstrating physical benefits. Psychological benefits can be a huge help for someone with a chronic (and possibly painful) medical condition. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-decide-to-impose-a-weight-limit/731117/17 "2015-09-14T15:49:39Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > Psychological benefits can be a huge help for someone with a chronic (and possibly painful) medical condition. Sure, but I read the OP as saying he is supposed to derive a direct physical benefit from the program. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-decide-to-impose-a-weight-limit/731117/18 "2015-09-14T15:53:59Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Damn, I thought the weight limit would be something like 300 pounds. 180 is really damn strict. That isn’t even BMI-overweight for heights above 5’11". The horses apparently have a very strong union. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-decide-to-impose-a-weight-limit/731117/19 "2015-09-14T17:08:19Z")
> [@tonyfop](#): > > Weight and Balance calculations for helicopters are very tricky. You often don’t realize that there is a “Balance” portion to the calculation. Depending how the seats are arranged, your position in the helicopter may be too far from CG for the weights to just average out like you assume they would, and it may require reconfiguration of the aircraft. Discussed that, actually. The bird had three-across rear seating and I offered to sit in the middle rear to take any load off of CG issues. I may have missed something but the (bitchy) woman I spoke with insisted it was an absolute, in all cases, loading and (what we spoke of) balance notwithstanding. S’okay, we went on a submarine instead. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-decide-to-impose-a-weight-limit/731117/20 "2015-09-14T17:09:42Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Is it just me, or is anyone else’s woo meter pinging? The Wikipedia article on equine-assisted therapy includes lots of references demonstrating psychiatric benefits, and none demonstrating physical benefits. As the old joke goes: “She took up horseback riding to reduce. So far, she’s taken off 20 pounds… from the horse.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-decide-to-impose-a-weight-limit/731117.md?page=2)