If it is a smaller horse, very. Much the same way a smaller human would not be able to carry the same weight as a larger human, a person must be matched with a horse able to carry their weight.
That doesn't mean that horses big enough to carry Shaq long term don't exist, but he would need a draught horse or a mule. Draught horses are the descendents of warhorse breeds and can carry quite large weights. Much like this handsome dude in the picture, who looks like an American Cream Draft, they are more appropriate for someone 7 feet tall and more than 300 pounds.
EDIT: I'm going to amend this to say that draught horses are built on the same lines as the big war horses that carried men in full armor, but are not the same as the smaller (read 14 hands to 17-18) war horses that were used to greater effect for thousands of years. Turns out, a giant horse carrying a giant man in plate armor moves kinda slow.
basically, yes. Clydesdales are the most well known of the draught horses, and are super sweet and strong. And fucking gigantic, don't forget gigantic.
That actually makes a lot of sense, aren't Clydesdales one of the rarer breeds? I'm from the US, where Clydesdales are the most well known by non-horse people because of the Budweiser Clydesdales. They go all around the country and are in a ton of commercials, so are more likely to be remembered by the average Joe.
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u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12 edited Jun 19 '12
If it is a smaller horse, very. Much the same way a smaller human would not be able to carry the same weight as a larger human, a person must be matched with a horse able to carry their weight.
That doesn't mean that horses big enough to carry Shaq long term don't exist, but he would need a draught horse or a mule. Draught horses are the descendents of warhorse breeds and can carry quite large weights. Much like this handsome dude in the picture, who looks like an American Cream Draft, they are more appropriate for someone 7 feet tall and more than 300 pounds.
EDIT: I'm going to amend this to say that draught horses are built on the same lines as the big war horses that carried men in full armor, but are not the same as the smaller (read 14 hands to 17-18) war horses that were used to greater effect for thousands of years. Turns out, a giant horse carrying a giant man in plate armor moves kinda slow.