31/08/2026
Well done ROR and I hope others follow closely behind. Sorry if you're offended but the horses well fair is always paramount.
‼️BREAKING‼️ Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) has introduced compulsory horse-to-rider weight ratios for its competitions and ridden events!
And the numbers are rather more interesting than a lot of people realise…. 🤔
The guidance says the rider + tack should ideally be no more than 17% of the horse’s healthy bodyweight, with 20% as the absolute maximum.
So, for a 500kg Thoroughbred:
➡️ 85kg / 13st 5lb combined = recommended maximum
➡️ 100kg / 15st 10lb combined = absolute ceiling
And yes, that includes the tack. Because apparently saddles have finally been invited to the conversation. ⚖️
Here’s where it gets uncomfortable… 😳
The average UK/Irish Flat jockey weighs around 56kg (8st 12lb).
Racehorses spend their careers carrying riders who are specifically selected and trained to be exceptionally light. Retirement doesn’t magically turn a Thoroughbred into a different type of horse with a different skeleton, different joints and unlimited carrying capacity.
Yet somehow, once a horse leaves racing, the conversation can become:
“Well, he’s 16 hands, he’ll be fine.”
Will he though?
Height isn’t a weight limit. Breed isn’t a weight limit. And looking at a horse and deciding it ‘looks capable’ isn’t exactly a scientific assessment.
RoR’s welfare guidance highlights the potential consequences of excessive weight, including muscle fatigue, altered posture and movement, lameness and behavioural problems.
None of this means anyone should be commenting on somebody else’s body.
It means we should be asking a question about the horse.
Is this particular horse physically suited to carrying this particular rider, plus tack, while doing the job we’re asking it to do?
That’s it.
Not “Is the rider too big?”
Is the horse appropriately matched to the load?
Because Thoroughbreds aren’t all built the same. Some healthy Thoroughbreds weigh little more than 400kg. A much more substantial National Hunt type might be around 600kg.
So perhaps the idea that “Thoroughbreds can carry X” is a bit… convenient.
We obsess over saddle fit.
We discuss hoof balance.
We monitor nutrition.
We spend thousands trying to optimise every aspect of a horse’s physical wellbeing.
But mention rider weight and suddenly everyone acts as though you’ve committed a social crime.
Why?
RoR has now put some very clear numbers on the table:
17% — recommended maximum
20% — absolute maximum
You don’t have to like the rule.
You don’t have to agree with every aspect of it.
But surely we can at least have the conversation without pretending rider weight has nothing to do with horse welfare.
Because here’s the bit it always comes coming back to….
The horse doesn’t get to choose who sits on its back.
We do.
So perhaps the uncomfortable conversation is actually the responsible one. 🐎 🤷♀️
