Rain....Do you ride/school/lunge?

Christmas Magic

Christmas Magic

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Hi everyone! With all this rain for nearly three weeks and no indoor school I didnt have a chance to ride a lot. How do you manage? Do you ride/school or just lunge,or nothing? Our two live out,of course rugged when its raining,and we only have winter fleecy exercise sheets,and they to warm to use. I rode couple of times under rain,but then after i've got wet horsey,and I have to rug him. What do you do when its raining and your horses live out and dont have a stable to dry in? Also,what do you wear?I found my waterproof chaps really slippery when wet. Will be really interested to hear your thoughts and experience.
 
I've been very lucky in that each time I've ridden over the last few weeks, the rain seems to stop and starts again once we're back in the barn.
Neither of mine are rugged today unfortunately, as its very wet and windy, but I'll probably hack one and lunge one after lunch. Rain doesn't stop us but maybe its a bit short and sweet rather than long or intensive.

If they are wet, I dry off the saddle and girth area and put on a wicking girth sleeve to stop rubbing and same with a good saddle pad.

Wear water proof jacket that covers the saddle and full chaps, waxed or suede, both keep legs dry.

Have exercise sheets but don't use them often as they keep warm enough usually and the mare only objects when hail stones hit her bum.
 
I ride or lunge in our outdoor school, if its hamering then i will tend not to bother though. Ride in normal riding clothes and just change or go straight home. Horse will have a fleece on to dry after work and is stabled at night so will change once dry to a stable rug, then his TO in the morning. Only thing i hate is having to clean tack after its got soaking wet!!
 
I'm a fair weather rider I'm afraid and head out only after the rain stops. If we get wet coming home, then that's a failed plan.:eek::D

I have though borrowed one of those long riding wax coats that cover the back of the horse too and they work quite well considering.
 
If its not really windy I usually hack out in the rain, I have various exercise sheets from a full cover bucas ride on rug to a masta quarter sheet with others in between like a pink equisafety one.

I can't ride him in the school in the rain as he spends most of the time with his neck twisted and head bent away from the rain ! but is fine hacking

He's 33 so dont' lunge anymore
 
So,as I see most of you ride. Hmmm,i think I need to invest in lightweight exercise sheet and long coat to stay dry. Another small problem is,im wearing glasses,so cant see where im going:)
 
Al mans up and gets on with it on the whole, even if Reg would rather be warm and snug! He has a sheet on, she's waterproofed up and off they go. Lessons and the likes in hail and howling gales as well... They both knuckle down and work hard enough to stay warm!
 
I leave her in the field and go into hibernation until I HAVE to go back out. There's no point in riding her in the rain as she hates it and won't do ad asked, I also hate rain and it puts me in a bad mood so we just end up in an argument. Not really worth it!
 
It's not just us getting wet in the rain while riding,its field getting absolutely killled! By the gate area one big mud bath,field getting more and more like a bog! Thinking maybe move them to second field nod,while it rains so much?But I dont have electric fencing to fence half of it,and its just so much grass in there,dont know what to do:(
 
If I can get any sense out of him which is rare in the rain as all we normally get is sideways piaffe followed by extended canter, he really is a pansy, then I will. If not I just tend to do some fast work as then I dont mind how fast he is going and it keeps us both warm enough and sideways doesnt matter as much :D.
 
We sit it the barn with chippy and 'consider' going out then agree it's wayyyyyyy to horrible - I do generally ask the horses if they'd like to go out but they agree with me, stay in and keep warm ;)
 
Can't do anything in the field when it's like this as it gets trashed but will hack out. Normally just get wet then stick a fleece on the pony for half an hour before the turnout goes back on, but could use an exercise sheet if it's bad enough.
 
Waterproofs on, exercise sheet on, plan hacking route to keep out of worst of the weather then go and 'play in puddles':)
Don't normally bother to school if it's really horrible but will def hack.
 
I am pretty hardcore with share horsey as I only have two allocated days to ride and need to make the best of it :-) I am having to spend a lot of time outside doing surveys of plant species and things too with uni, I kind of get used to it!

I bought a really nice Joules waterproof jacket off eBay for 40 quid, BEST purchase I have ever made and really appreciating it in this weather!!

I also washed my jodhpurs last night and they take forever to dry, I have them on the radiator but there really is no point!
 
My OH wont ride in the rain no matter how much i'll ask him,and Magic wont go on his own yet,its a new place for him.Well,he will go,but will jog all the way round! Aargh.whent this horrible weather will be over?!:-(
 
I put on my waterproofs and a rain sheet on my horse and either hack out or school. I got caught in torrential rain and hail last week and my horse schooled much better!

My horse lives out so if we get caught out, I towel him down, put a fleece on him and by the time I've finished he's normally just about dry. I put his rug on and put him out. He dries off fine as rugs these days are breathable.
 
So do you put a fleece on him under normal rug till he dry,or you have cover to go under? Our live out,and we dont have a cover,so if it rains,we have to tack up under rain too.
 
I share so only have two days a week, but not including yesterday, I've not ridden for the last three or four days because of the rain, it seems to come down just as I go to ride!

Although I did manage to lunge him the other day just before it rained but it started as I was about to get on and he does NOT like the rain and started being a git so I left it.

I can only school or lunge as he doesn't hack alone, which is a shame as I'll hack in the rain but dislike schooling or lunging in the rain! And I don't have an exercise sheet for him so I feel bad if he gets wet as I put him straight to bed when I'm done as I muck out before I ride.
 
don't know about waterproofs, i'm going to need a wetsuit and flippers if this rain doesn't let up!!!
i have been riding in between the downpours but the field i normally ride in is now resembling a lake so i think riding is off until it dries a little:(
 
I go in the indoor if it is raining! ;)

Having said that I have lots of good waterproofs so don't mind hacking in the rain. Goretex is your friend in this weather.
 
I don't mind getting wet when I ride but I find it impossible to see through my glasses, or they steam up as soon as I stop. I can't ride in my contacts as I find bits of dust get in between my lens and irritate my eyes.
Very annoying!
 
I ride/ school/ lunge in what ever weather (obviously not in extreme weather i.e. massive snow storms or gale force winds etc). At the end of the day humans and horses wont melt!!! :D
 
taz really hates the rain because it gets in his ears and just turns into deamon horse so i dont bother if its hammering it down.. if its drizzling or showers he has water proof exercise sheet saddle cover and i have a long waterproof riding coat but we only hack as we school on grass and it gets really slippery! :)
 
I melt in the rain. Sorry, rain = horse holiday :D

I'm allowed though coz I'm old. Have sneaky feeling I'm going to be made to ride tonight though... quick! Excuses needed!!!!
 
Christmas Magic said:
So do you put a fleece on him under normal rug till he dry,or you have cover to go under? Our live out,and we dont have a cover,so if it rains,we have to tack up under rain too.
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I just hang around the yard where we have a bit of cover. I have in the past put a fleece on under a rug and turned him out and then gone up a bit later to make sure he was all right. If the horse is completely soaked it's better to have a spare rug to change with after about an hour incase it hasn't been able to evaporate.
 
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