Horse jockeys: their size and battle to gain weight

Why Can’t Jockeys Be Rich?

I frequently ponder whether any of the jockeys are strong enough to control a racehorse hurtling down the racetrack given their diminutive stature. This idea prompts the query, “Why can’t jockeys be big?”

There is no minimum height restriction, but racing commissions set a minimum weight for each horse in a race, which is normally 115–116 pounds with tack. A tall individual, however, will almost never be able to reach the required weight while still being strong enough to ride and control their horse.

Each horse is assigned a weight that it must carry throughout the race before the race. The jockey must walk on the scales and weigh himself while holding his equipment to ensure the correct quantity (including saddle).

Thin lead weights placed in a particular saddle cloth will make up any discrepancy if the weight is less than the designated quantity the horse was given.

All of the jockeys must repeat the process when the race is finished. They will take their riding equipment with them. To make sure the horse carried the right race during the run, weighing is done.

Trainers of racehorses desire that a jockey be as close to the specified weight as possible. They think that the horse can carry the weight more effectively when it is on a live body as opposed to additional weights in a bag.

In a piece I did about jockeys, I included some fascinating information about why they dress the way they do. I advise you to check it out if you want to learn more about what it’s like to be a jockey.

How do jockeys manage to stay so small?

In order to stay inside the limit, some riders will practically saw off their legs. Eddie Arcaro, a jockey in the Hall of Fame.

Because jockeys only earn money when they ride, racehorse owners always prefer a lightweight jockey to ride their horses. Riders might weigh as little as 95 pounds, including the weight of their equipment, in 1929. Jockeys have employed a variety of strategies over the years to achieve their weight objectives.

Jocks’ weight-loss techniques

The most popular weight loss techniques employed by jockeys are listed below:

Flipping is the jockeys’ slang for throwing up. Because it was so frequent, “flipping bowls” were put in the jockey rooms. These bowls were taken away over time, although “flipping” is still a common habit.

Meal skipping: According to a research on jockeys’ health conducted by the Chicago Rehabilitation Institute, 69 percent of the riders skipped meals in an effort to shed weight.

Laxatives: These drugs are typically taken to induce bowel motions. They are both a common weight loss strategy and a treatment for constipation. Different laxatives work in different ways to encourage bowel motions.

Dehydration: To shed water weight, jockeys take diuretics. Diuretics not only make a person “lose water,” but also do so in a number of other ways, such as by preventing the kidneys from reabsorbing sodium. In addition to using saunas and hot baths, jockeys also take Laxis to lose water weight.

Excessive exercise: In order to shed weight quickly, jockeys will run while wearing thick sweatsuits or rubber suits.

Smoking: Using smoke to suppress one’s appetite

A diet pill

Jockey put their body through a rigorous challenge, just like other athletes who have to adhere to rigid weight requirements. They need to drop a ton of weight, but they also need tremendous maintain their health so they can control and ride their horse. A rider can ride more horses if he is lighter.

Jockeys experience major health issues and gain weight.

The struggle to gain weight among jockeys has an impact on both short- and long-term health. Dental erosion, nutritional inadequacies, irregular menstruation, low bone density, dehydration, and heat stress are a few drawbacks of their attempt to lose weight. On race day, any of these things could hurt the rider.

As is well knowledge, jockeys typically weigh between 108 and 118 pounds and stand between 4’10” and 5’6″, with an average height of 5’2″.

According to a typical Height to Weight Ratio Chart, a fit 5’2″ male weighs an average of 137 lbs, and a fit girl weighs 125 lbs. Cutting weight for jockeys to 105 pounds is dangerously unhealthy.

It makes sense to have more female jockeys because fit ladies naturally need less weight to drop in order to ride in a race, which reduces the burden horses must bear.

Recently, doctors created specialized food plans and exercise programs designed to support jockeys in maintaining a healthy weight. Although dietary changes have advantages, the simplest practical change is to have horses carry more weight.

The frequent dieting of jockeys causes their bones to grow brittle.

Long-term food misuse reduces bone density, which increases the risk of fracturing a bone compared to the average person of that individual’s size.

An ordinary person would suffer harm if they fell off a horse that was six feet tall and moving at 45 miles per hour. Now factor in the fact that the rider is malnourished and has weak bones, and you have the makings of a calamity.

Numerous jockeys experience dental deterioration as a result of forced vomiting.

The jockeys’ severe diets continue to have a deleterious impact on their long-term health. The effects of forced vomiting include tooth erosion, cavities, gum disease, water retention, abdominal bloating, stomach discomfort, fluid loss that lowers potassium levels, irregular or absent menstrual cycles, swallowing problems, esophageal damage, and in some extreme cases, esophageal rupture and weak rectal walls.

Lasix is a medication that is frequently given to racehorses to help with fluid control and to limit lung hemorrhage. To get rid of the last bit of water weight needed to make weight, several jockeys utilize Laxis.

Lasix helps jockeys lose weight.

Utilizing laxatives might make the kidneys overwork, which results in long-term renal damage. These athletes experience all of these health problems in order to trim down before their competitions.

Their strength and defense deteriorate along with their weight loss. Weight restrictions ought to be raised. A cyclist that is at their natural weight will have sturdier bones and keep more muscle.

Higher weight restrictions will lessen the harmful long-term health impacts of the excessive diet and avoid numerous injuries. The jockeys pushed their bodies to the limit in the 1920s and 1930s in an effort to gain weight.

Eddie Arcaro, a hall of fame jockey, once said

In order to stay inside the limit, some riders will practically saw off their legs. Visit the following sites for some fascinating accounts of the extraordinary lengths jockeys would go to:

Weight Control Among Jockeys

One of the stories on the aforementioned link is as follows:

“Under the stress, many jockeys’ bodies were unable to operate. Sunny Greenberg ran endlessly around the track while wearing a rubber suit over several layers of heavy clothing in order to lose enough weight to ride a horse in Windsor, Canada. Sunny Greenberg also steamed in a Turkish bath, drank Epsom salts mixed with jalap, took a boat from Detroit to Windsor, vomiting the entire way there.

He stumbled towards the woods, whereupon he either passed out or collapsed. He awakened in a puddle of perspiration and downed a half-ounce of whiskey to try to get his bearings.

He dragged himself to the scale and saw that in just one night, he had lost 10.5 pounds. Everything was for nothing. He was too feeble even to sit upright in the saddle by post time. He delivered the mount to someone else and left shortly after.

Why Are Weight Limits for Jockeys in Place?

The horse’s health is the straightforward answer. A lighter jockey can have more control and put less strain on the horse, according to owners and trainers who have made this argument over the years.

They contend that adding extra weight to the rider would cause the racehorse to break down more frequently. They specifically think that bearing the additional weight would result in more leg injuries.

If you want to discover more about racehorse wounds You might find my piece on the frequency of horse fatalities at racetracks to be informative.

However, jockeys who are heavier frequently train racehorses six days a week. The majority of exercise riders weigh between 150 and 160 lbs, and there have been no adverse effects on their health.

There are no credible studies that demonstrate how a 5lb weight gain will harm racehorses. The typical weight of a steeplechase jockey is 135 lbs. Horses used for steeplechasing experience intense leg pressure.

They are not only moving quickly, but they are also jumping. A racehorse running on a flat should be able to handle the weight if these thoroughbred athletes can, right?

Have Any Tall Horses Ever Raced?

One jockey stands out from the others at the racetrack, yet he is probably only 5’7″ tall. I pondered whether or not there have ever been any exceptionally tall jockeys after seeing him during our most recent trip to the track.

There have been some jockeys who are tall. With a height of about 6 feet 3 inches, Stuart Brown of Australia held the record for being the tallest jockey in his nation. Despite his unique height and struggle to maintain the proper weight, he still had a long and prosperous career.

Johnny Sellers, who stood five feet seven and a quarter inches tall, was the tallest jockey to ever win the Kentucky Derby. Richard Hughes, a jockey from the United Kingdom who stands 5’10”, is the tallest man currently on the track.

However, Louise Moeller from Denmark, who stands at a high 6’1″ and barely weighs 112lbs, is the tallest jockey currently riding, regardless of gender.

Manute Bol, a former NBA player, holds the record for being the tallest jockey of all time. He is a 7-foot-7 man. The Indiana Horse Racing Commission granted him a jockey’s license so he could ride at Hoosier Park.

He did this to raise money and public awareness of the problems of his native Sudan. Manute is not regarded by me as a genuine jockey, nevertheless.