How hot is hot?

[palo1]

Happy to give the horses a day or two off if it gets over about 25 degrees here!! 2 of our horses love the heat (araby things!), one is a very tough customer (hill horse) and my poor black Welsh mare finds it very trying. I have clipped the black mare and she is very happy to play with being hosed all over. I am not remotely motivated to ride in the heat and much prefer to tog up in winter and really get stuck in with the weather then. I have a very good winter riding wardrobe but no interest at all in sweating and dealing with vile flies on really hot days though I do get up early some days to ride.

As we never get long enough to acclimatise to any particular temperature here it is no wonder we feel all the changes tbh. Animals too!!

 

[LadyGascoyne]

For me, 30+ is hot and 35+ is too hot.

My husband and I have both commented that the UK feels much hotter than it is though.

30 in the south of Spain is different to 30 in South Africa, which is different to 30 in Auckland. UK 30 is a very close heat, and I think that’s why it can creep up on some people.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

I'm moving to somewhere in the US that is currently experiencing a heat wave and is generally very hot in the summer and brutally cold in the winter. There are many places like this in the US. I call them Hell Holes and every time I've lived in the US, I've managed to live in one ?

My Spanish horse is an odd one because he's so wooly in the winter and even his summer coat is quite dense so it's not out of the question to clip him in the summer but I know his fly sheet will rub him and he'll have other insect related issues. He belongs in Iceland.

 

[GSD Woman]

For me, 30+ is hot and 35+ is too hot.

Holy heck yes! Especially if it is humid.

 

[GSD Woman]

I'm moving to somewhere in the US that is currently experiencing a heat wave and is generally very hot in the summer and brutally cold in the winter. There are many places like this in the US. I call them Hell Holes and every time I've lived in the US, I've managed to live in one ?

Sounds like the Dakotas or Minnesota!

 

[Peglo]

Up here in the north isles of Scotland we are OBSESSED with the weather. (A fairly British thing I think) It’s the first topic of conversation and we’re NEVER happy!
cold the day. Too hot the day. Could do with some rain. Wish this bl**dy rain would stop. Could do with some wind to dry things up. This wind is a nuisance etc.

anything over 23ish degrees is too hot for me if I have no way to cool down for a minute or 2. But I’m also not a fan of being cold.

 

[HashRouge]

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!

Ah you see but this misses a fundamental point, which is that we like complaining about the weather. It's one of our national pastimes! And we certainly don't want to get good at dealing with snow, because then we wouldn't have snow days and all the delightful chaos that comes with it.

 

[Juniper Jack]

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.

Interesting. I translated 20 and 15 into F and got 68 and 59. In the summertime I turn my AC down to 68 at night because I sleep hot, but when I wake up in the morning 68 feels like freezing. I usually keep the AC at around 72 (22C) during the daytime year round.

It is interesting how different people find different temperatures comfortable. When the TV weather people predict "great" weather for a summer weekend -- 80F/20C -- I think "heat wave ".

I live just over the state line from North Carolina but I have no idea what a borehole is! In Georgia and Alabama the barns have taps with hoses attached. And the horses' buckets get refilled with fresh water at least every other day IME.

 

[Juniper Jack]

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.

Your Caribbean houses sound like older houses here in the Southeast US. High ceilings, attics, deep porches, tall windows in every. single. room. In my childhood in the 1950s our then-new house didn't have high ceilings but did have windows in every room, and screen doors at the front and back, so we got nice cross-drafts in the summertime. We didn't get AC until I was 11.
I can't imagine living without AC in the summertime now.

 

[Rowreach]

Interesting. I translated 20 and 15 into F and got 68 and 59. In the summertime I turn my AC down to 68 at night because I sleep hot, but when I wake up in the morning 68 feels like freezing. I usually keep the AC at around 72 (22C) during the daytime year round.

It is interesting how different people find different temperatures comfortable. When the TV weather people predict "great" weather for a summer weekend -- 80F/20C -- I think "heat wave ".

I live just over the state line from North Carolina but I have no idea what a borehole is! In Georgia and Alabama the barns have taps with hoses attached. And the horses' buckets get refilled with fresh water at least every other day IME.

15 Celsius is about 60 Fahrenheit, so even cooler than that.

Borehole = well ?

 

[Juniper Jack]

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.

We used to have to decide whether to ride in the indoor arena (out of the sun) or in the outdoor (at least an occasional breath of air despite the high humidity). And we always to ride before 9 am. Southeast US.

 

[Juniper Jack]

15 Celsius is about 60 Fahrenheit, so even cooler than that.

Borehole = well ?

Thank you.

 

[st_marks]

I live in a hot region of the US and am not too bothered by the heat til it hits about 90f / 32c. I'll happily ride at 85f as we have very low humidity here and often a nice breeze, though the sun is very strong. I have definitely acclimated while here... I now find anything under 70f to be FREEZING despite sending half my life battling snow and ice in the Northeast.

 

[GSD Woman]

And we certainly don't want to get good at dealing with snow, because then we wouldn't have snow days and all the delightful chaos that comes with it.

Little did you know that you live in from parts of the mid-Atlantic down the East Coast of the USA. There are people who absolutely, positively, will not drive in the snow here. Then we have the people who speed in their 4 wheel drives and end up in the medians.

Do y'all crowd the grocery stores before snow is predicted? It gets crazy here.

 

[Keith_Beef]

We used to have to decide whether to ride in the indoor arena (out of the sun) or in the outdoor (at least an occasional breath of air despite the high humidity). And we always to ride before 9 am. Southeast US.

It turns out that by 19h00 the sun is low enough that the stable blocks with apartments built over them cast long enough shadows for about 2/3 of the arena to be in the shade.

Saturday afternoons lessons are all cancelled, and Sundays competition has been changed so that the first riders start at 07h00. I suppose that means being at the venue for 06h00, so maybe begin loading at 04h30 to set off for 05h00... I don't compete.

 

[Juniper Jack]

I live in a hot region of the US and am not too bothered by the heat til it hits about 90f / 32c. I'll happily ride at 85f as we have very low humidity here and often a nice breeze, though the sun is very strong. I have definitely acclimated while here... I now find anything under 70f to be FREEZING despite sending half my life battling snow and ice in the Northeast.

Talking of the number 70, I will be 70 this summer and this is the first summer I've waited 'til the middle of June to switch to shorts from long pants. I just feel the cool more this year (can't actually call it "cold" in June!). Fortunately my AC is included in my rent, as is the heating in cold weather.

 

[Juniper Jack]

It turns out that by 19h00 the sun is low enough that the stable blocks with apartments built over them cast long enough shadows for about 2/3 of the arena to be in the shade.

Saturday afternoons lessons are all cancelled, and Sundays competition has been changed so that the first riders start at 07h00. I suppose that means being at the venue for 06h00, so maybe begin loading at 04h30 to set off for 05h00... I don't compete.

I remember hating the swimming pool at one apartment I lived in in Alabama years ago because by the time I got home from work (around 5 pm) the pool was 2/3 in the shade of the trees that overhung the pool on the western side. I missed childhood summers of being able to swim when the sun was at its zenith!

I like the idea of moving up the start times. Where I've lived, dressage shows have waived the coat requirements in the summers. Hopefully the same is done for XC and stadium now as well.

 

[lynz88]

We used to have to decide whether to ride in the indoor arena (out of the sun) or in the outdoor (at least an occasional breath of air despite the high humidity). And we always to ride before 9 am. Southeast US.

Had to do the same in Canada....either ride pre 9am or post 7/8pm

 

[palo1]

Ah you see but this misses a fundamental point, which is that we like complaining about the weather. It's one of our national pastimes! And we certainly don't want to get good at dealing with snow, because then we wouldn't have snow days and all the delightful chaos that comes with it.

Never was a truer word spoken!! Weather sorts the wheat from the chaff here Heroic if you get to work in an inch (or possibly less) of snow and if you are not inclined to face the immense challenge of 'going somewhere' when it is snowy you can stay at home talking about how 'IRRESPONSIBLE' it is to try any kind of leaving home activity. Weather is utterly embedded in our culture and it really doesn't matter what it does, we are all still going to have strong opinions and feelings about it lol. I think in part it is the price we pay for the beauty of our little green island.

 

[Rowreach]

Well it's absolutely chucking it down here, and it's darker now than it was at 5am. NI Water issued guidance yesterday about using watering cans instead of hose pipes in the garden. Ha ha. I haven't had to water a single plant this year. In fact, I can't see the real plants for the weeds, which are loving the conditions.

Enjoy your sunshine ?

 

[PapaverFollis]

It's all down to acclimatisation I think.

I spent a couple of months in Belize while studying for my masters and I have NEVER been as cold as I was at night, in my camping hammock, when the temperatures when DOWN to 20 degrees. ? I couldn't sleep unless I put on every stitch of clothes I had carried into that darn jungle with me, every night. It was 40 plus, I guess maybe more, during the day and stonkingly humid, but we were walking and working all day with no issues bar being soaked through with sweat.

Yet now, here I am in the North of Scotland wearing vest tops and retreating inside at 16 degrees... ?

Acclimatisation and infrastructure. And perhaps a little human variety.

 

[LadyGascoyne]

Never was a truer word spoken!! Weather sorts the wheat from the chaff here Heroic if you get to work in an inch (or possibly less) of snow and if you are not inclined to face the immense challenge of 'going somewhere' when it is snowy you can stay at home talking about how 'IRRESPONSIBLE' it is to try any kind of leaving home activity. Weather is utterly embedded in our culture and it really doesn't matter what it does, we are all still going to have strong opinions and feelings about it lol. I think in part it is the price we pay for the beauty of our little green island.

Very true! I suspect that England’s terrible rep for weather is mainly down to the amount of focus it gets ?

Auckland wasn’t any drier than Oxfordshire, and only slightly warmer, and yet everyone is really positive about the weather and builds their lives to take advantage of it. Perception has a huge amount to do with it.

 

[Caol Ila]

I may have wanted to scream during last year's snowpocalypse. Glasgow got a whole inch. My yard freaked out and we had lots of people (including the management ) saying that horses could not possibly function in an inch of snow and must be kept in their stables. I contributed by passive-aggressively posting YouTube videos of Ski-joring on the livery What's App group. My Ukrainian friend was a bit more blunt, and she was informed that "UK horses are different than the horses in your home country."

 

[milliepops]

it is mainly because we are not set up for it though. My yard goes like an ice rink at the drop of a hat. the concrete is not really up to repeated salting. the fields are miles away on a rutted muddy or deep puddle track depending on what the preceding weather was. so that is either mud-boulders or sheet ice when it freezes.
last yard was steeply sloping concrete straight out of the stables.
all utterly useless if it is frozen or snowy. if that weather was more frequent then it would be set up differently.

 

[palo1]

I may have wanted to scream during last year's snowpocalypse. Glasgow got a whole inch. My yard freaked out and we had lots of people (including the management ) saying that horses could not possibly function in an inch of snow and must be kept in their stables. I contributed by passive-aggressively posting YouTube videos of Ski-joring on the livery What's App group. My Ukrainian friend was a bit more blunt, and she was informed that "UK horses are different than the horses in your home country."

Oh yes. The struggle is real. Until we sold one pony to a neighbour 2 of our herd had been born in the snow and spent their first 12 days with that being their world. Occasionally when the weather has a prolonged cold spell I stagger up the hill risking falling into gullies up to my waist to check on the blighters; they are always completely fine of course!! You can literally see them asking 'Am I bovvered?' 2 years ago I think OH and I had to ride to his FIL's as that was the only safe way to get there and FIL needed help etc as having chemo. Horses - both Arab x geldings thought nothing of it and it is the only day's proper 'work' either of them have or probably will do in their lives - just 10 miles in varying depths of snow. BUT if it is icy it really is difficult and dangerous and we don't seem, in the UK, to have quite got the hang of the whole winter/summer infrastructure thing; hence boiling hot stables in summer and dangerously icy yards and walkways in winter. Not to mention the frozen, rutted fields which are unpleasant for all concerned. All weather turnout is a thing in 'other places' of course...!!

 

[splashgirl45]

I have just looked at the thermostat in my living room and it says it’s 28.8 which is over 80 f…my cottage was built in 1880 and has thin walls so it’s blooming hot. I dread to think how hot my bedroom is. Somehow it’s easier to cope in the winter, just put more clothes on and move quicker, I find this heat very difficult to deal with and would love air conditioning but it’s too expensive for the odd few very hot days we have..it’s supposed to be a bit cooler tomorrow

 

[GSD Woman]

splashgirl45, darn, I am so sorry for what you and everyone else is going through. Could you invest in a small window unit or a portable unit? A couple of years ago it cost me ~$100 US to buy a nice window unit. I noticed the other day that the smaller units are up to 125-150 US. I'm having to really pinch pennies right now so I'm using fans if the heat outside stays below 87 or 88 degrees with any humidity. That's 31.111 in C.

I copied this link to an article from the Washington Post. It is very timely. If y'all can't read it let me know. I'm pretty sure there is another way to share it so that you can read it.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/06/17/heat-wave-europe-uk-spain-france/

 

[GSD Woman]

Here is the "sharable" link: https://wapo.st/3tIADaR

 

[Dave's Mam]

I have just looked at the thermostat in my living room and it says it’s 28.8 which is over 80 f…my cottage was built in 1880 and has thin walls so it’s blooming hot. I dread to think how hot my bedroom is. Somehow it’s easier to cope in the winter, just put more clothes on and move quicker, I find this heat very difficult to deal with and would love air conditioning but it’s too expensive for the odd few very hot days we have..it’s supposed to be a bit cooler tomorrow

These are brilliant. I have 2. You can put the filter in the freezer to cool & you add water to a little tank.

https://www.jmldirect.com/at-home/u...-air-personal-space-air-cooler-and-humidifier

They don't have a huge range & are a bit noisy, but I can sleep with mine on, pointing at the bed.

 

[oldie48]

"The thermometer at London’s Heathrow airport topped 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius). “Worcester will be hotter than Hawaii,” one local headline read."
This made me laugh (taken form GSD's link) I have a young friend staying with me, she comes from Hawaii and together we worked all afternoon cleaning out my lorry so it could go on sale. I don't think she thought it was particularly hot but she was surprised that I didn't grow lemons in my garden!