Haflingers or Friesians?

I'll check it out. I plan on losing weight, but for now I want to make sure I'm not going to smash the horse. (Just kidding. At the very worst I'd cause muscle/bone damage.)

Back to Nature said:

I'll check it out. I plan on losing weight, but for now I want to make sure I'm not going to smash the horse. (Just kidding. At the very worst I'd cause muscle/bone damage.)

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LOL.... There are lots of good stout horses out there that are excellent for those of us who are "fluffy".... Matter of fact Icelandics are considered a pony and they regularly pack six foot tall men that weigh upwards to 250....

I rode consistently till I was about 220 or so till I got pregnant. Then the next barrier was not being able to mount from a mounting block. My Katee is seventeen hands tall. So I gave up riding to concentrate on driving.

deb

I love riding. I just can't do it much right now. My goal is to get horses when I purchase a house with property.

I realize this is an old thread but I just have to chime in! If you are wanting a farm horse definitely go with the Haflinger. Friesians, while capable of farm work are expensive, high maintenance, larger and a bit more sensitive to diet and climate. Typically foals beginning prices start around $7,000 and only go up from there. They have a lot of mane which needs to be braided (or to the horrors of many Friesian owners, cut) to keep it out of the way of the harness. Their highly "feathered" feet are easily prone to scratches and due to unavoidable inbreeding the Friesian suffers from other skin issues as well. You will also find individuals with allergies. The breed doesn't tolerate extreme heat very well and a lot have anhydrosis. Very fun horses but the Haflinger beats them out on all counts in this one.

Just want to throw it in there the quarter horses are bred to be the farm and Homestead horse.

Another post bringing this thread up from the grave. On the point of how much can a horse carry, well, it depends on the horse. I have a Arabian gelding that is 26 now, but he has never been able to carry someone comfortably, even when I was less than 120 pounds it took chiroproctic and acupuncture yearly to keep him sound... On the other hand, I had a 30 year old appaloosa gelding, 14.3 hands high, only an inch to big to be a pony, and I could put him in a roughly 50 pound western saddle and put my 300 pound husband on him and he would comfortably carry him where ever, and even ran off with him up a steep hill once!