Height and weight issues for riding animals in Mongolia
I'm about six foot four, and my weight varies, sometimes being on the wrong side of 90 kg. Am I likely to be too heavy or too tall to ride a camel for health, animal welfare, operator legal liability or any other reasons?
Likewise, is height or weight likely to be an issue for horse-riding? I've heard that Mongolian horses are fairly short.
I've ridden horses and camels before, but only a couple of times. I plan riding as a single-day experience, not a multi-day one.
While checking the limits for camel riding, I came across http://www.redsuncamels.com.au/index.php?EXP=166 , which is for Australia, not Mongolia, having a restriction of 95kg for an individual and 165 kg for a couple
As additional questions, is body tone an issue? (If that is an issue, then it might indicate I'm ok, because I would have better body tone than someone a foot shorter with the same weight) Also, can I trust Mongolian tour operators to be both competent with regards to animal health, and reasonably concerned about animal welfare?
Best Answer
It's not usually about tone, you could have a six pack and still weigh 120kg, look at a lot of rugby players! And the camel/horse still has to lift it and carry it, no matter what shape you are.
It looks like you'll be ok, for the most part, as long as you don't go too far past that 90kg. Some sources:
- Visit Mongolia cites the max weight for a horse at 100kg (220 pounds)
- a blog about camels cites their 'comfortable' capacity at 150kg. This explains how I've seen two tourists riding a camel in the past - if 90kg was a limit, the camel would have been in dire straits!
It's interesting to note your source, Red Sun Camels specifies 95kg per person and 165kg per couple. Given Australia is pretty good for animal safety, I'd consider this a good guideline. If the company you use is trying to put more than that on a camel you're on, it's time to refuse!
Finally, a reddit thread about some people being too heavy for camels. There's a lot of fluff about obesity etc in there as well though. There's definitely some views there that camels should not take more than one person, however.
Pictures about "Height and weight issues for riding animals in Mongolia"
How much weight can Mongolian horses carry?
Mongolian horses have great stamina; although they have small bodies, they can gallop for 10 km without a break. When pulling a cart, a team of four Mongol horses can draw a load of 4400 lbs for 50\u201360 km a day.Can you ride a horse across Mongolia?
Logistics of Horse Riding Across Mongolia Like the Gobi Gallop, there will be 2 horses per rider. But these horses will be changed several times during the ride. That means it is likely that the ride will involve in excess of 200 horses from across this wild land.Is there a weight limit for riding horses?
There is no exact weight limit for horseback riding, but as a general rule, horses should not carry more than 20% of their total body weight. This includes the weight of the tack as well as the rider. How much a horse can carry depends on a range of factors such as height, weight, build and its overall condition.Why were the Mongolia such good horse riders?
The Mongolian saddle, both medieval and modern, has short stirrups rather like those used by modern race horses. The design of the stirrups makes it possible for the rider to control the horse with his legs, leaving his hands free for tasks like archery or holding a catch-pole.Natasha Fijn - Sensory Attunement between Horse and Rider in Mongolia
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: willsantt, Brett Sayles, Pixabay, Kássia Melo