How hot is hot?

[GSD Woman]

I know that my neck of the woods tends towards hot and humid this time of the year. If I understand correctly hot in the UK is in the upper 70s to lower 80s F. Is this a matter of horses and humans not used to such temperatures that makes it hot? FWIW, at those temps I would be out cutting out dead wood from shrubs, pulling invasive weeds and in short, working out of doors until I dropped or it was dark.

 

[SEL]

I've just done the conversion and it's supposed to be 80f today and just under 90f tomorrow.

When I was working in Australia I acclimatised to those temperatures and so did the horses I worked with. But I've been back in the UK over 20 years and now melt! Plus it's hayfever season here so outdoors is pretty unpleasant for me this week.

 

[ycbm]

I know that my neck of the woods tends towards hot and humid this time of the year. If I understand correctly hot in the UK is in the upper 70s to lower 80s F. Is this a matter of horses and humans not used to such temperatures that makes it hot? FWIW, at those temps I would be out cutting out dead wood from shrubs, pulling invasive weeds and in short, working out of doors until I dropped or it was dark.

I think it's all about contrasts for most people.

Temperature perception is a weird thing. Why do we walk around the house and outdoors happily in summer in a T shirt at 20c and in winter at the same temperature inside a house go for a jumper and turn the heating on?
.

 

[Rowreach]

I think it's all about contrasts for most people.

Temperature perception is a weird thing. Why do we walk around the house and outdoors happily in summer in a T shirt at 20c and in winter at the same temperature inside a house go for a jumper and turn the heating on?
.

In the winter I’d combust if my house was as hot as 20’, I like it at 15’. In the summer I long for hot weather and bask in it, and would be delighted if it was 30’ ?

I remember having a group of equine students from North Carolina here one year, who thought it was hilarious that we constantly chuck out water to give horses fresh. They had one borehole for the entire barn, in the middle of nowhere - the horses drank what they had.

 

[lynz88]

For me, hot is anything over 30°C as a base temp plus humidity into the low to mid 40s. I remember showing at 35 but with humidity was more like 48. Lots of water for both horse and human, tack off as soon as you are done in between classes if there is a break, shade, water and sponge. Definitely doesn't get nearly like that here in the UK where 25 is a heatwave, -2 is beyond freezing (tbf I do find -15 back home much more bearable than -2 here) and 0.2cm of snow stops everything in its tracks. ?

2 years ago I was home during covid and it rarely went below 30 as base temperature. The day that it did go down to 28, it was time for jeans and hoodie!! When I flew back to the UK, it was 25 and everyone was in shorts and t-shirt and I was all wrapped up in winter clothes ?

Ycbm pointed out something that I've always wondered myself....

 

[paddy555]

I know that my neck of the woods tends towards hot and humid this time of the year. If I understand correctly hot in the UK is in the upper 70s to lower 80s F. Is this a matter of horses and humans not used to such temperatures that makes it hot? FWIW, at those temps I would be out cutting out dead wood from shrubs, pulling invasive weeds and in short, working out of doors until I dropped or it was dark.

it's just that in the UK we panic about a heatwave if the temp. goes up a couple of degrees. Similarly we panic if it goes down as we could be entering another ice age. If we have a couple of inches of snow another panic as the roads are impassible. If we have storms and a lot of rain then again we panic.

I think in all honesty the weather is so changeable that it doesn't do anything for long enough for us to adapt.

 

[meleeka]

I really don’t mind being warm, but I’m miserable if I’m even a little bit chilly. My OH thinks the opposite, that it’s better to be cold than hot.

 

[poiuytrewq]

I have to admit I’m not great in hot weather!
I’m happy up to 25 ish but anything over I’m not loving. Im not so bad that I can’t do anything like some poor people who really suffer.
I ride and dog walk early for their sake more than mine but can poo pick and do stables or currently decorate etc in the hot I’d just rather not!

 

[sbloom]

My thermostat has never worked. We do have very high humidity here which makes it feel hotter compared to some other place but, for me, even low 20s can be a bit hot if I'm out saddle fitting and trying not to be a sweaty mess in front of customers, upper twenties are very uncomfortable working, and I cancel at 30. We have no aircon in this country as a rule, never get a chance to cool down.

20 in the house in winter - if I'm watching telly or even sitting at my desk (cold hands!!) then I'm going to be a lot colder than outside doing stuff in the summer.

 

[I'm Dun]

I'm fat, anything above 22 is considered to flipping hot for me!

 

[Shilasdair]

I think it depends on the type of heat - and how acclimatised we/our horses are.
I dislike anything above 25 degrees - but it's much worse if it is humid. Dry heat is easier, I think, but in the UK it's 3 hot days with building humidity and then a thunderstorm!
Also - unlike some other countries we don't tend to have AC in our houses, or even our cars.

 

[Keith_Beef]

I used to find 22°C hot, but after living in France, the USA and again back in France for a long time I find that I've got used to the heat.

I'm going to struggle tomorrow (35°C forecast) and Saturday (38°C forecast). Riding tonight and tomorrow night, and again on Sunday morning (should be a comfortable 20°C at 10h00).

I'll try to remember tonight to ask my instructor what temperature he considers too hot to ride.

 

[SEL]

I rode in 42 degrees in Namibia - but there was no humidity

Horse had grown up in a feral herd and was perfectly adapted to the heat. Human had flown from the UK in March where the wings of the aircraft had been defrosted with special machines and was definitely not adapted. I got heatstroke on the hottest day and was violently sick all night.

Still a great trip but I'm pale and probably have viking ancestry which means anything over 20 degrees is a heatwave. My genetics are not set up for riding in the desert.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

If I could live where temps never went below 10 and never over 17/18 I would be a very happy TFF.
I cope if its colder than 10, even to minus 10, but I start wilting once its over 20 and just don't function v well at all from high 20s upwards.

So, spring and autumn it is then ?

 

[oldie48]

It's humidity that I dislike so I find a high humidity with a low temp much more unpleasant than a dry high temperature. tbh I think horses adapt quite well to temperature but if it's hot I much prefer to ride early morning. Are we having a heatwave? According to my outdoor thermometer it's 75f but a very pleasant 68f indoors. I think it's just media hype.

 

[paddy555]

If I could live where temps never went below 10 and never over 17/18 I would be a very happy TFF.
I cope if its colder than 10, even to minus 10, but I start wilting once its over 20 and just don't function v well at all from high 20s upwards.

So, spring and autumn it is then ?

me too!!!

plus it has to rain at night only so as not to affect riding plus there are to be several dry weeks in June and July so as the hay can be made easily.

 

[Esmae]

I think it's all about acclimatising to the heat. In the UK it rarely stays hot enough for long enough for anyone to acclimatise to it and if you add to that, the fact that temperatures can fluctuate wildly, from quite cool to boiling in the blink of an eye, it's hardly surprising that a lot of us struggle with it.

 

[Caol Ila]

it's just that in the UK we panic about a heatwave if the temp. goes up a couple of degrees. Similarly we panic if it goes down as we could be entering another ice age. If we have a couple of inches of snow another panic as the roads are impassible. If we have storms and a lot of rain then again we panic.

I think in all honesty the weather is so changeable that it doesn't do anything for long enough for us to adapt.

Yeah, people on these islands are wimps. I despair sometimes! Americans in parts of the US that go from extreme cold and snow to extreme hear just get on with it, through scorching temperatures in the summer and tons of snow in the winter. Maybe it's because they have larger problems -- wildfires, hurricanes, tornados. Before anyone says, "But dry heat," I should point out that the Northeast and Midwest US is humid. It is a heavy, sticky humidity, and it is miserable. I spent a summer in NYC, in an apartment that did not have A/C. It was about 90F and 90% humidity, almost every day. That was fun. Nothing builds character like wearing a black dressage coat and stock tie when it's that hot.

Don't get me started on British people v. snow. I despair. I mean, fair enough in the south of England, but it snows every year up here, and it does so frequently in the Highlands, yet everyone panics and no one can drive.

That all said, I too have become a wimp and feel like I am melting away if it's over 25C. We were in Namibia a couple years ago, during their winter. It was still about 30C. All the locals were wearing long sleeves. A couple teens asked us why we were in shorts and t-shirts. We said, "It's bloody hot." They laughed at us and said, "This isn't hot. It gets up to like 50C in the summer." Yikes!

 

[Tarragon]

I think it's all about acclimatising to the heat. In the UK it rarely stays hot enough for long enough for anyone to acclimatise to it and if you add to that, the fact that temperatures can fluctuate wildly, from quite cool to boiling in the blink of an eye, it's hardly surprising that a lot of us struggle with it.

This! The UK temperatures may be temperate (is that the right word? as in no extremes) but it is so varied and unpredictable it makes it difficult to get into any routine. Just imagine packing for a week in the Lake District for May - you have to pack water proofs, cold weather clothes and shorts and flip flops, and no doubt all will be worn at some point!
I worked in Western Australia for a year and I remember that in the first couple of weeks I was saying "come one everyone - let's go out and enjoy this lovely weather!" That soon changed to complete lack of interest in the permanently sunny days with the only excitement caused when there was an odd thunderstorm and a bit of rain!
I came back to the UK in May, and thought that nothing looked as beautiful as an English bluebell wood.

 

[smolmaus]

I am perfectly adapted to my temperate climate tyvm. Between 0 and 17C please. If its 20+ I don't want to be doing anything other than sitting in the shade with a cold pint, my brain doesn't work.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

I like the temperature to be right around 25. A little higher or a little lower I'd doable too.

I don't care for 35+ but usually we only have those temps for a week or so at most.

AC also isn't really a thing here. The German houses are better than stick built American houses in that they're thick concrete and usually have Rolladens so I can put those down to help block out the sun, and open everything at night. We also have a ceiling fan and that really helps.

Our best discovery was taking a floor fan and putting it out on the balcony to blow air through the door and into the bedroom at night. It really cools things down.

It's hard in many parts of the US because you'll get into the 90-100+ (F) temps and it hardly cools down at night. If it's 95 here it might still be in the 70's at night so you can cool down a little just a bit.

 

[Keith_Beef]

The UK temperatures may be temperate (is that the right word? as in no extremes) but it is so varied and unpredictable it makes it difficult to get into any routine.

The British Isles don't have a climate, just lots of weather.

 

[I'm Dun]

If I could live where temps never went below 10 and never over 17/18 I would be a very happy TFF.
I cope if its colder than 10, even to minus 10, but I start wilting once its over 20 and just don't function v well at all from high 20s upwards.

So, spring and autumn it is then ?

I did spend a few hours one day looking for somewhere that had a temperate climate. Somewhere between 12 and 20, usually in the middle but occasionally going to each extreme. Enough rain that its green, but not too much that its wet and soggy. That would be my ideal!

Ironically, I'm olive skinned and dark hair and of Italian descent, but I clearly didn't get the message about liking to be hot!

 

[GSD Woman]

I really don’t mind being warm, but I’m miserable if I’m even a little bit chilly. My OH thinks the opposite, that it’s better to be cold than hot.

I agree with your OH. I can always put on more clothes but once I'm naked that it's it. I do have air conditioning which is a god send. I've been turning on the ac when it gets in the upper 80s or low 90s. Last night I had it on in the bedroom and it ran at 72. I thought I had raised it to 74 but it didn't reset. I had to pull up my comforter.

We joke here about if you don't like the weather wait 20 minutes. In the summer though only a strong front going through will accomplish that.

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

I always see this posted on Facebook around this time of year

 

[Keith_Beef]

Here, it is a measured 30°C in the shade, and a reported 28% humidity. 30°C is 86°F, 86+28 is 114, so should be OK for today.

The forecast for tomorrow (Friday) evening is now 33°C (91.4°F) and 39%, giving 130.4... borderline.

For Sunday morning the forecast is for around 21°C (69.8°F) and 59%, giving 128.8, so still close to borderline even though the temperature has dropped more than 10°C since Friday.

I wonder if we'll be in the covered school, in the shade, rather than out in the arena where there is very, very little shade.

 

[Esmae]

I came back to the UK in May, and thought that nothing looked as beautiful as an English bluebell wood.

There is nowhere as beautiful as the Uk on a lovely warm day in May.

 

[Pippity]

British houses (and stables) simply aren't designed for the sort of heat we're getting now (and will be getting more of in the future). I grew up in the Caribbean and, even on the rare occasions we were living on land, we didn't have air conditioning but the houses were built with the heat in mind - large overhanging roofs, light coloured walls, thick walls, lots of ventilation - so it wasn't an issue.

I get annoyed with the, "Well, around me we always have temperatures this high/low, I can't believe you're all too soft to cope," crowd. If the basic infrastructure and knowledge for dealing with the temperatures isn't in place, people are going to struggle. And, yes, people are going to die. The 2003 and 2006 heatwaves caused upwards of 2,000 deaths each.

 

[milliepops]

people are dying in the US now so a long history of exposure to high temps doesn't mean they are immune anyway. it's getting worse for everyone, basically.

I'm getting a headache just thinking about wedging my riding hat on

 

[GSD Woman]

Eons ago I worked with an expat who explained to us that the houses in the more northern parts of Europe were meant to keep heat in. It was a big lightbulb moment for me. After all most of us have some sort of air conditioning. I have 2 window units, nothing fancy but it keeps me cool. My area opens cooling shelters when the heat gets too bad. My friend, Miss Angie, has been known to buy Styrofoam coolers, ice and drinks for the homeless that she sees and some of the older neighbors. She's a good person.

The mid western US is having a horrible heatwave. A friend who lives out that way said all of the horses are sweating standing in the shade. That is except for her daughter's new horse who is an Arab. My friend's next horse will be an Arab or a draft mule. Can't say I blame her. She rides a Percheron former carriage horse now.

The USA is a big country and some areas stay cool during the summer but have hard winters. Some have sucky summers and winters, I'm looking at you Chicago, and some stay nasty hot. I much prefer cool summers and hard winters if I have to chose.