that's a crazy low weight limit. find another place to take lessons at. a "general rule" is that horses can carry 20% of their body weight "safely". it's not a hard and fast rule, but it's what people typically use as a guideline. most horses weigh around 1,000lbs (or more, honestly, people don't understand how heavily horses actually are). so, 20% of 1,000 is 200lbs. weight limits are typical, but 170lbs seems a bit low to me. i'm also of the mindset that it depends on the horse and what you're doing with said horse. a beginner bouncing all over the place is going to be worse on a horse than a person who may be "over" that 20% but is well balanced, quiet, and a good rider. More on reddit.com

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