Bone-tendon circumference indicates the horses' weight bearing capacity

A while ago I was looking at horses with two friends. One of them bent down and looked at one of the horses' legs and said: - and I always have a measure tape with me and now I do not, with some irritation in the voice. - What did you want to measure, I asked. The bone-tendon circumference was the response.

On the way home I asked what the measurement was of importance. In all my years as a horse owner, I have read bone-tendon measurement in descriptions of stallions but never thought about what it means. Embarrassing, but true! What I've known is that a horse that is narrow under carpus should be avoided and now I know why.

I have learned that a horse can carry about 20% of its own weight but it is a fairly rough measure that in itself does not take in consideration to the horse's conformation.

The bone-tendon measure gives, along with other exterior qualities at the loin, the angles of the legs, the horse's own weight and height at the withers (!), The sum of all these objects gives an indication of how much weight the horse's skeleton can carry without the risk of health problems.

A circumference of 20 cm means that the horse is able to support a body weight of 454 kg.

A horse that weighs more than 660 kg is not designed to carry any weight beyond its own without the risk of sustainability problems. Horses over 162 cm may also have problems to have strong enough bones to withstand the extra weight of the rider and equipment brings on the horses’ skelton.

The lower the horse's own center of gravity, the more weight it can carry. A horse that is 142 cm, weighs 454 kg, has a bone-tendon measure of 20 cm, has a short, strong loin and good angles in the legs can carry up to 30-35% of its weight (136-158kg), without durability problems. This explains why the Icelandic horse is capable of carrying full-grown men that is likely to weigh closer to 80 than 60 kg.

If I look at Amaretto, my new horse, who is 153 cm, weighs 490 kg (weight tape measure) and he is overweight (crested neck, fat over the ribs), with a slightly long back, wide croupe and pretty good angles in the legs and a bone-tendon measurement of 21 cm, indicates that his skeleton is optimized to support about 474 kg.

You see what that means? I'll have to wait to ride him until he has lost at least 20 kg. How is the situation for your horse?

"Admire the big horses, ride a small."
Words of wisdom presented by Ed Dabney