Appoloosa rider weight Advice

[Horse&PonyGal18]

I have an 18 year old Welsh X Appoloosa pony who is 13.2 who i have had since i was 4 years old ( I am 18 and Ben- the pony shares the same birthday as me). Anyway i want to get back on my lovely boy as the girl who was riding him before has gone off riding but im worried as im about 14 stone to get back on him as i am afraid i could hurt him. Would anyone be able to tell me if it would be a good idea to ride him or continue driving him as he has always been a ride n drive pony. Any advice or help will be very much appreciated. Thank you .
P.s The photo below has my youngest niece on him not my other niece who has lost her confidence. And believe it or not but his passport says that he is a bay but over the years like an old man he has turned gray

 

[carthorse]

I'm not clear on your weight because I very much doubt you're 14lbs! My general advice is use your common sense, for instance there's no way I'd ride a show pony, and if that suggests it wouldn't be unreasonable then give it a go and see how he copes, you can always get off if he feels like he's struggling.

 

[Horse&PonyGal18]

I'm not clear on your weight because I very much doubt you're 14lbs! My general advice is use your common sense, for instance there's no way I'd ride a show pony, and if that suggests it wouldn't be unreasonable then give it a go and see how he copes, you can always get off if he feels like he's struggling.

Not 14 lbs..oops that was a big mistake 14 stone is more likely to be the right answer. And to be honest i am using my common sense by not wanting to get back on him but due to things happening my family wants me to get back on him. But like you said in my opinion i wouldn't get on a pony but like i said my family argues with me to get on him hence my concern and issue with the idea. Thank you for your advice and i need to edit my post about my weight

 

[chunky monkey]

Well its a tricky one. I dont know anything about appolossas and how much they can carry. As hes 18 hes getting on a bit. Personally i would find a lighter rider for him. 14 stone might be a bit much for regular riding. If you are hacking on flat ground, no hills and are just wanting to plod with a little trot, canter and do a short ride, then the odd ride is probably going to be okay. But i would either slim down or get someone lighter once he gets to 20. Also it will depend on any health issues.
I have a 14.1 that is 23yrs but he has back issues and finds me too much at 10 stone. He has a lighter rider once a week which he seems okay with. I have the odd ride on him like once in about 2 months. The rest of the time he is driven as its less pressure on his back.

 

[Jessey]

I can't really tell from the picture how he's built, but my first instinct is 14st on a 13.2 is pushing it, perhaps for an occasional gentle ride but I'd probably not make a regular thing of it, unless he's super chunky with no physical ailments and pulls like an ox but can't tell that from a picture

 

[carthorse]

Ok, from what I can see of that photo and he's 13.2 I'd say 14 stone is probably too much, plus on a 13.2 I think you'd be struggling to get a saddle that fitted you both. I wasn't sure if you'd meant 14 stone or 140lb, which he probably would cope with.

Why are your family pushing you to ride him, particularly when you can have fun driving him? Driving had always been something I'd considered for mine if he hadn't made big enough for me to ride, and when I've been with friends it's great fun.

 

[Horse&PonyGal18]

Ok, from what I can see of that photo and he's 13.2 I'd say 14 stone is probably too much, plus on a 13.2 I think you'd be struggling to get a saddle that fitted you both. I wasn't sure if you'd meant 14 stone or 140lb, which he probably would cope with.

Why are your family pushing you to ride him, particularly when you can have fun driving him? Driving had always been something I'd considered for mine if he hadn't made big enough for me to ride, and when I've been with friends it's great fun.

Its quite annoying really because my grandfather doesn't want to drive him anymore but has seemed to have forgotten that i have driven him many many times. And all of a sudden they want me to ignore driving and start riding him again. Which is frustrating as i am part loaning a horse so my time riding is kept up by that. But thanks for your advice