I started college about 2 weeks ago. My major is Horse Science and I want to become a trainer once I am out of school. Im in a riding class twice a week. They have me scheduled with their monser horse who is easily 17 hands tall. He is huge. Well I was talking to my riding instructor criticized me about my height and my weight and saying how this is the only horse that I can ride. I am 6'1 and 214lbs. Ive been dieting and its improving but im so stressed about her saying the only horse that can carry me is this 17 hand tall horse. Both of my horses are 15.2-15.3 hands tall and ive ridden them for 6 years and they have seemed to carry me quite fine. But now that my instructor is criticizing im starting to wonder if i should continue working at this major. I love horses they have always been my number one priority i would die with out them in my life. But how can i become a trainer when the only horses that i can ride are 17 hands tall? What really makes me upset is the fact that she has another rider who is much bigger then me on a 15 hand tall quarter horse. is it mainly my height or mainly my weight. Ive always been told you should not exceed more then 20% of your horses weight. These horses are nice and well fed. Im just so frustrated right now!!!

Thanks for reading. 

RELAX! I'm sure some other people will speak out, but I'm sure you're not the only person that size who loves horses. Full grown men ride quarter horses and arabians all the time, and I mean big, brawny, manly men, lol. We have a 17.3 horse who actually, because he is so big and his back is so long, has more trouble carrying weight than our very compact, 16 hand half connemara pony gelding. So it depends on the horse. Dont let your trainer get you down, trainers are sometimes overly critical. If its something you feel passionate about, you shouldnt let anyone discourage you about it!

Hmmmm, sounds to me like your trainer has her own size-complex that she is trying to put off onto you! 

FCP is right, don't focus so much on this one thing about your trainer that bothers you.  I can imagine it hurts and discourages you, it would me too, but you just have to make your mind up not to let it.  Don't let her live rent free in your mind!

And certainly don't let her ruin your life's ambition, you're gonna run up against so many more people like that, especially in the horse business, let this be good practice for you for future.  And just keep reminding yourself, it's her problem, not yours.

Absolutey do not let this trainer undermine your self-confidence or ambitions.

My dd is 18, and in her last year of high school.  She too wants to be a trainer, and in fact, has trained every horse she has ever shown.  She weighs more than you do, and is working for a BN trainer in our area now.  The trainer has her train every young QH that comes in.  And these horses are all under 4 years old.

She also placed exceptionally well in her first AQHA show, even though she is overweight.

She rode her 15.2 muscular QH for the last 7 years, and he looks great.  If you want to see a video of them doing English and Western, just pm me.

Your chosen profession should make you happy, not your trainer.  Good luck and keep your chin up!

It really depends on the structure of the horse, NOT how tall they are.  She may have thought you'd be more comfortable on a taller horse because of your height.... or maybe she was just an idiot. It can be hard to wrap your legs around a smaller horse when your legs are hanging off their belly! 

The more fit you are, the easier riding and training will be, but please don't let one person's seriously flawed opinion crush your dreams.  Keep working at it,  and prove her wrong!

Thank you all!! I just got back from the barn today was a free riding day. I rode a 15.2 paint horse he was very widely built. I decided to be brave and ask the teacher if i was ok for him. She said yeah maybe a little big but he will work. That some what made me relieved. Then at the end she told me that he responded better for me then for anyone who has ridden him the past two weeks. Now every horse i take out im like paranoid. Im afraid shes going to look at the horse then at me and say nope your to big for this horse. So its going to be an interesting year.

 See?  It really depends on the horse and how that horse is built.  I hope your instructor is thinking about how you'll look on the horse, rather than if she thinks you weigh too much.  You might be able to diet, but you'll never change your height!  Be proud of it and stand tall.  Please try not to let your instructor get you down.  I've seen many "larger" women that are excellent riders and sit more lightly in the saddle than some of the stick-figure women that are shorter and weigh less.

As for fitting the horse, it just depends on your build and the build of the horse.  If you have long legs, a big barreled horse will take up that length and you'll look fine, even if the horse is shorter.  Having a tall horse doesn't necessarily mean that the fit will be right.  I'm 5'5" and fit my 17 hand TB well, since he was pretty slab-sided.  But, I'm currently riding a 15.2 hand horse that is built like a barrel and he takes up a lot of my leg, making me look even shorter!

If you feel that you need to lose weight, do it because YOU want to and not because someone else thinks that you're "too big".  It will be much easier that way.

This morning I went out to the barn and I was competely confused. They switched a couple of peoples lessons horses and I was one of them. She took me from a 17 hand warmblood which she said was the only horse that really fit me and she put me on a 15.3 hand thoroughbred mare. So im thinking ok that cool i guess. I brought my own saddle. i had intended it for the warmblood because he is old and boney and his withers are really high and all of the western saddles seem to sit on his withers and my saddle has a really high tree so i figured i would try it out. Well the girl riding the warmblood didnt want it so i put it on the thoroughbred. I was looking at it and i thought it seemed tight. I took it out to my "wonderful" riding intstructor and she said yeah its fine. So i get up on the mare and am riding her but she keeps wanting to take off from a walk and im looking at the saddle and i can see its too narrow for her so i called the riding instructor over and showed her and she said yeah that saddles deffinately too small. So i took her in and grabbed the only other western saddle they had their and that one was no better then mine. i took it out and showed it to her and she said you can try it and see what she does but she doesnt like the saddle or she doesnt like your weight. Right there i just turned the horse around and walked out of the arena. She must've known that i was p***ed cuz after that riding lesson was over she found me in the barn and said go and tack up blue and ride in my next lesson which i couldnt do because i had a job interview. This is really starting to drive me crazy she loves to criticize me about my size. I dont know if she really has the idea that im to big to be on a horse or if she just has something against me. My mother thinks that she just doesnt like bigger people but i dont know.

I really love riding. My first week here i couldnt wait to get up on a horse now i dread my riding lesson days because in the past 3 weeks i have not had one that has not made me horribly angry or had me breaking down in tears. Im sorry i dont mean to be like complaining on here but i need somewhere i can let it out. I dont know exactly how im going to handle this but i can honestly say i really do not like this lady

That is definitely discouraging.  Any instructor that can discourage a student like that has no business teaching. 

I know it is easier said than done, but don't let her get to you.  Is this a teacher for a class for school or is she your recreational riding instructor?  Either way, you just have to deal with her for the year if she is your teacher for school (and I'd report her directly to the department chair and voice your concerns if she continues to handle her bias so unprofessionally) or I'd start looking for a new instructor ASAP if she is simply your recreational riding teacher. 

ETA - I just reread your original post and realized she is your teacher for class.  I would seriously consider confronting the teacher in a professional manner about how you feel, and if she still acts like she has been, I would report her to the department head.  Don't just rely on those simple anonymous teaching evaluations.  I would be livid if a teacher treated me that way, with the tuition I'm paying for their salary!   I'm VERY opinionated when it comes to my education and make sure to get my concerns heard! 

Riding IS fun, and it should always be fun.  As long as you are taking your lessons seriously and trying your best to learn and be a better rider, there is NO reason for your instructor's behavior to be acceptable in my opinion.

Thank you!! Today went alot better I think she realized that I am not a big fan of her. I didnt have a riding lesson today but she did come find me in the barn and tried making conversation then she had the beginner riding lessons today.

Through the past couple weeks ive been trying just to ignore all of her comments although yesterday i think the best thing i could've done is walk away. I guess i still have highschool immaturity in me because if im confronting someone it will start off in an adult manner but if something gets said that strikes a nerve i will go off which never leads to anything good.

This lady is in charge of the horse department here. She does our morning practicum where each of us is assigned a horse which we come in every morning we feed them water them clean out their stalls and groom them then we have our riding lessons which is between 2 to 3 days a week then later on in the day about twice a week we have horse lectures and labs that she also teaches so shes in my daily routine quite often.

Thank you all for reading!!