Are you riding? Hard ground/heat/flies?

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canteron

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I am finding it really difficult. The school is so dry she coughs all the time, the paddocks are so hard it’s only possible to walk and riding out is a battle with horse flies (for both of us) and the hot hot weather here doesn’t help.

Please tell me I’m not alone in thinking of giving her a holiday until it cools down as it is really no fun and I can’t even keep her ticking over with any enthusiasm from either of us.

But then I see the professionals still taking their horses out and about to compete …. It makes me feel as I’m being too wimpy.
 
I refuse to not ride when it’s hot weather. Think we are going to have a lot of hot summers in the future. And then very wet winters. I suffer in the heat. So, I either ride early. Or late. I hack out and stick to routes that are more shady. Horses are sprayed up. And have a ride on fly sheet. A 7am or 7pm potter out is wonderful. I did cancel last weekends jumping comp as it was 36 in East Anglia with the humidity. Have a lesson this weekend but it’s early so will be back before it heats up.
 
I think 99% of riding is when it’s too hot, or too rainy, or too windy, or too cold….and 1% actually enjoying a nice day 😄

So I just get on with it. But I’m very goal driven, whether it’s competing or just strengthening and improving my horses. I don’t really just “ride for the fun of it” in the sense I like to see progress, and I know that progress doesn’t come unless I put the work in.

So I’m generally very structured with what we do. It’s a bit challenging at the moment as our arena is deep and dry and the fields hard. I do one arena hire a week, substitute canter work for hill work and try to get out to the gallops once a week.

But I’m a bit hyper focussed and if I ‘give up’ I find it hard to get going again as I feel a bit hopeless.
 
Mine had it easy the last
week and this week with the wheather , and i am going away next week so
Will have a easy week on
Holiday livery , I really need
To be getting out and about but the ground is hard / I have box up to school to use arena and been to hot to travel , some days I feel guilty but then there is no pressure a few quiet weeks won’t do them any harm x
 
Barely. What with a lot of other stuff going on and me being busy - and usually too mannered by the evening and not always wanting to get up super early due to being tired, the hard ground and also two out of the three currently very itchy/be very sore from fly bites (think my mare has had an allergic reaction on her back so can’t ride her at the moment in any case) The Friesian I walked out today under saddle for the first time since his liver biopsy and my old boy is just very itchy, generally not a fan of summer and hard ground but I still feel guilty about not riding him! Can’t shake the feeling! 😞 I’m sure he isn’t bothered but I’ve always been like it and I’m struggling to get rid of the feeling.
 
Rough and tumble said:
Mine had it easy the last
week and this week with the wheather , and i am going away next week so
Will have a easy week on
Holiday livery , I really need
To be getting out and about but the ground is hard / I have box up to school to use arena and been to hot to travel , some days I feel guilty but then there is no pressure a few quiet weeks won’t do them any harm x
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I’m glad I’m not the only one who feels guilty. Goodness knows why, the horses are living out most of the time and I’m sure they aren’t that bothered but I still feel bad.
 
I'm a little different in that our own coblet is retired and I ride other people's horses 3-4 x week so I'm guided by them.
Last Saturday was immensely humid at 30C with no air and even though I was planning on riding the big, fit ID the owner and I both were on the same page in giving him the day off, but I was back on again on Sunday which was a little cooler with some light showers and we did a lovely 1.5 hr route with a fair bit of canter work. Yesterday was a warm 23C but he felt great when we headed out at 2pm and we did an undulating 2 hr circuit again cantering the freshly cut verges. He was very sweaty when we returned but he's used to that level of work so I wasn't overly concerned and showered him off.

I think it they are like us humans and it comes down to what they are conditioned to.
 
spotty_pony2 said:
Barely. What with a lot of other stuff going on and me being busy - and usually too mannered by the evening and not always wanting to get up super early due to being tired......I still feel guilty about not riding him! Can’t shake the feeling! 😞 I’m sure he isn’t bothered but I’ve always been like it and I’m struggling to get rid of the feeling.
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Yep....all of this! This is me too. Fortunately mine are out 24/7 in a big field so my ridden horse is fit enough to just get on at the weekend and have a nice ride.
 
Kirstd33 said:
I'm a little different in that our own coblet is retired and I ride other people's horses 3-4 x week so I'm guided by them.
Last Saturday was immensely humid at 30C with no air and even though I was planning on riding the big, fit ID the owner and I both were on the same page in giving him the day off, but I was back on again on Sunday which was a little cooler with some light showers and we did a lovely 1.5 hr route with a fair bit of canter work. Yesterday was a warm 23C but he felt great when we headed out at 2pm and we did an undulating 2 hr circuit again cantering the freshly cut verges. He was very sweaty when we returned but he's used to that level of work so I wasn't overly concerned and showered him off.

I think it they are like us humans and it comes down to what they are conditioned to.
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100% agree. Mine are both pretty fit and have been coping really well with the heat. I've done walk/trot/canter hacks in 30'c and my gelding has only broken a sweat under his girth. We were also out XC schooling and showjumping in the heat and again, he only sweated under his saddle. Certainly wasn't dripping and was full of running jogging all the way back to the lorry. I pay close attention to how they are coping though and how quickly they recover from exercise, if they were showing any signs of struggling or just not enjoying it, I would do less.
 
I don't ride when its very warm - I get heatstroke ridiculously easily. If I'm going to ride Ill do it early morning - early as possible, especially if I'm hacking (to avoid the worst of the flies). There's also been a recent thread on here about ride-on fly rugs - mine is a god send - I couldn't hack at all during horse-fly season without it.
 
I'm lucky we've been having intermittent downpours so I try and ride when it rains. Also means the ground is pretty good. The flies are terrible this year were both covered in bites and so itchy it is making me rather uninspired.
Apologies but it does make me feel less alone when others are struggling to as I'm swamped with work and so tired at the moment plus my pony isn't the easiest that you can just hop on and toddle off for a relaxing ride definitely not riding as much as 'id like to'.
 
I think in the end, it's down to each individual combination what you do. There is no point either of you being miserable because you feel you "have" to ride. On the other hand, with the way the climate is going, find that ideal weather to ride is going to be harder and harder. I think it's down to finding the balance that suits you.
I'm riding one and a half horses that are not mine at the minute. Enormosaurus is out 24/7 with shelter, so on paper should be fine left to her own devices, but she is fat on thin air, so needs the exercise. Green TB is stabled part of the time and also needs to progress enough over the summer to become riding school usable in order for her to stay, so I feel the work is important for her as well. I usually ride after work, but will switch to the morning if I have to on weekends. I adapt my horses' work type and load to the weather. Hacking out is generally best and I go for the shadier hacks. We have an indoor arena that is kept watered and is perfectly usable or we go to the village green to work on that has an open area and plenty of trees on the other side, so can hide in the shade but go out for slightly faster work to avoid doing a George of the jungle.
 
Mine being older and not very fit, we're just doing a bit now and again if I can get up early enough. They're out 24/7, with shade and plenty of water, but I can see now that the heat is starting to affect them a bit and am dreading next week when it's forecast to go into the thirties again; high 20s we can cope with. It doesn't help that I get heat stroke quite easily either, so that's another reason to take it easy at the moment.

I do agree that we're going to have to get used to these temperatures. Though for younger and fitter animals it's probably easier as they're 'growing up' with it.
 
We're in the same boat. I haven't been able to get going at all this year as the ground has been rock solid. Horse is 20 with mild arthritis so I am super precious with him, but I really hoped to get out and about as I'm conscious we don't have forever, and my partner and I plan to start a family next year. Can't believe it's nearly July already.
 
arena is ok so still schooling as usual, hacking as late/dark as possible to avoid flies and luckily the grass gallops are still soft as they take silage off the middle so its being watered and fertilised weekly it looks like!
 
We haven't got an arena and our horsebox has been out of action, so realistically they've gone from being exercised 5 times a week to 2 hacks if we can fit it in early morning before it gets too hot. We are aiming to get them back out to arena hires/lessons twice a week when heat/transort allows. They both need it, having piled on a few pounds!
 
Horse is older and only on limited turnout for medical reasons so doing quiet hacks in mainly walk or in hand walks or work on school to keep him active and entertained. Rode at 6 am the other day when really hot. Flies not too bad as seems to be really windy all the time. Definitely all down to individual circumstances.
 
Flies are driving me mad! If anyone sees video of me randomly slapping my horses please don't report me to the authorities - I am an expert fly swat.

If I only rode in weather than suited me I'd barely sit on a horse so yes, am riding. I only have a grass arena at home so working my way though various pole exercises that can be done in walk, lots of suppleness stuff too. Hacking is also pretty much in walk but I think it keeps their brains engaged and muscles ticking over.

I'm not doing any jumping on hard ground so have cancelled the x-c training I hoped to do - shame because I was looking forward to it. Riding club area dressage was on grass 2 weeks ago and it was horrible for the younger cob so only competing on a good surface.
 
Mine haven't been out of walk for weeks. Luckily i can ride early morning before work, ride on fly sheet and an abundance of fly spray. It is difficult at the moment so just making the best of it. Before the winter arrives and we moan about rain and mud!!
 
I take a bottle of powerphaser with me on hacks and it works really well, when the horse starts to get bothered, I can just top up the fly spray and they're left in peace again. It does rely on having a horse that doesn't mind fly spray though!

Mine are being ridden as normal apart from avoiding the hard ground. I'm not even trying to get out eventing at the moment and am also missing some showing. Out hacking I'm pretty much walking unless I go somewhere that has that lovely, springy turf that very rarely is too hard.
 
When I used to have to stable them most of the winter and rode most days, TBH summer was an excuse not to do anything, so they were turned away and then I started getting them fit the end of August.
When my children were riding we only when the weather was 'nice', not too hot or cold, because we would all be miserable, it would be two hours of moaning. I hate the heat so riding in it is just torture. I always used to pay extra on the day for entry fees if I could and decide the day before if we could all be happy having a trip out.
 
I won’t stop. Riding is my relaxation and my favourite hobby by far although I do have more than one now! I just ride earlier and sweat in my body protector 🤣. Think I need to give it a sponge bath soon! Any tips on that?
 
I am still riding but my pony is a baby so we are doing very much anyway. Temp wise it's been ok here this week. Mid 20s but cloudy with a breeze. Also had some small patches of rain so ground is not rock solid.
Hacked this morning and it was warm but with a fresh breeze so had a couple of short canters, which was nice and baby pony was a super star.
 
Yes generally but not today - and I drove out of the yard with all ponies dissatisfied by that choice. They had hay, water, clean fields… but no entertainment. How dare we all have a day off???

(I’m so tired I got home at lunchtime, sat down and fell asleep for hours!)
 
For someone who mostly rides on roads (little lanes and through villages) or on stony tracks and always ride first thing in the morning, nothing has changed! The only concession is not to canter unless I find a corner of a field somewhere ;-)
 
Just about ticking mine over with some early morning hacks or a bit of light schooling. The older boy is semi retired anyway so only gets ridden a coupe of times a week. The other one is having an easy time and is i think quite greatful. Neither of us are particular fans of the heat. I am semi retired but spend a couple of days a week in hot airless classrooms (no air con in most schools, yet we expect chidlren to function!). When I get home the heat means I am exhausted.
 
I gave the horses last week off as it was so hot and no breeze. One of my mares struggles with her breathing so didn’t think it was fair to work her and a week off wouldn’t hurt! It’s a fine balance - if you aren’t chasing competition goals just have an easy week and enjoy the weather/extra time with your horse!
 
We are still riding but we tailor it depending on the weather. The indoor arena is watered so doesn’t get dusty, and we have had overnight rain quite a bit which is helping the outdoor ones, so we can pop some fences there. We have lovely wooded areas to ride around to help us keep cool. The biggest problem for us is the flies so we alter where we hack depending on whether there’s any wind to keep the pesky things away!
 
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