Riding in bad weather.

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not_with_it

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As the weather has been really windy I have been unable to ride for a couple of days. Instead I have been lunging or loose schooling to keep my mare exercised.
This morning I decided to ride and ended up only walking and I eventually managed to get her relaxed and working well. Doing anything else would have just been pointless.

The reason I dont ride in bad weather is I dont see the point in riding a tense horse who doesnt want to concentrate. I dont think it does the horse any good and I dont think it does the rider any good. The horse only learns your weaknesses.
Now I know that when competing you cant choose the weather but I can choose when to ride. I know that some horses dont care either way, im more interested to find out about highly strung or competition horses.

So what are your opinions on riding in bad weather? Do you think its good for the horse to learn? or do you think it has negative effects?
 
I like to ride, but I tailor what Im doing to the weather. So on windy wet days I just take him out for some roadwork, on nice days we do schooling etc.
I think the main thing is to judge the horses mood really!
 
As Ive got older Ive become less and less inclined to do anything out of doors in bad weather! Time was when id hack out no matter what the heavens threw at me but things have changed a bit since then!

Both my horses will work in the wet quite well but none of us actually enjoys it. Lifes supposed to be fun, riding is only a hobby, so I vote to have a cup of tea instead!!
 
Unless you HAVE to ride (competition training etc), I think it depends on the horse.

If your horse is unsettled, spooky, not concentrating when ridden in bad weather, then it's no fun for anyone, whereas if he's happy in all weathers, it's not really an issue.

Personally, I agree with Spaniel though.
Who wants to be out there in howling winds and rain when you could be sitting at home in the warm with a nice cuppa.
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At the moment i have two horses to ride, my mare who i have had for 5 years, and her fieldmate(BG), BG is a lot more spooky than Ellie, so i tend to lunge him if it is really windy, but i am happy to ride my girly in any weather, and she seems completely unphased by it all. However when we had galeforce winds earlier in the week, i was the only one insane enough to ride!
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Afraid these days i dont ride in really bad weather unless i have too!!!, riding my own horse is for fun and rain is not fun. I work with horses as well so i have more than enough bad weather there!!!
 
Riding in cold or wet weather doesn't bother me, but Danny hates wind and is more likely to mess about throwing his head around when it's blowing a gale so if I can avoid riding when it's blustery then I do, and I most certainly wouldn't hack out when it's windy as I like to be able to hear traffic.

He's fine when it rains though, I've rode him through floods and everything and he just keeps going
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I generally don't ride in bad weather, I just don't see the point in getting him, me and my tack soaking. But I just ride for fun, Chex doesn't learn anything on our rides. He is a complete woose as well, he hates rain and wind.
 
I will ride (hack out) in most weathers e.g. in the gale force winds like we had the day before yesterday, on Storm becaue she's pretty idiot proof on the roads whereas I would think twice about missy because I don't want to die! I HATE riding out in the rain! You just get soaked and cold the horse get's soaked, your tack becomes a mess, every bit of dirt sticks to you and it's just minging! I usually go into either the indoor or the covered arena if the weather doesn't appeal to me
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Well, it's no fun riding in cr@p weather...but then it's no fun for your horse being couped up either....

I will ride in any weathers if I feel the horse needs to get out....In fact I did just that this morning....and Trike absolutely loved it
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I also believe that it is good experience for them to be ridden in all conditions. As you say, you can't always pick and choose the weather that your competition will run in, so give yourself the best possible chance by desensitising them to it at home
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i aggre with you,,,,,,,my horse hasnt been ridden since before christmas, last time i rode we went out it was nice ,,,,,the weather changed quick became very cold and wet, to the point my poor old bones and joints hurt,,, so i have now hung my hat up till it has warmed up,,,,is my horse bovvvvverd ???? NO
 
I ride in all but the most horrific weather. My horse tends to have set days off and outside of these, i ride. Firstly and primarily, im a firm believer in horses needed consistency to improve and to stay fit and healthy. Progress isn't made when people ride for a day, give them 3 days off, ride for 2 days, give them 2 days off etc etc. Secondly, I think horses need to be used to riding in all weathers. I cant always guarentee that my horse can be out in the field if the weather is truely horrendous and I hate to see horses stood in their stables. It's important to me that i can trust him to be sensible even in the worst of weather.

Bad weather is what good outdoor clothing and exercise sheets are made for
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Archie i would classify as quite 'highly strung' - he couldnt care too hoots about what the weather is going! He hacks out in the wind, school in the wind and drizzle. However i never ride in heavy rain as i dont see the point in getting soaking wet.

Also im reading one of Carl Hesters books atm and he says he never schools his horses in the rain because its totally pointless as they dont enjoy it and nor does the rider.

Blossy hates the wind and i cant hack her out in it as she gets really silly and bucks and leaps all over the place. i can school her in the wind, but she hates the rain.
 
I know my horse isn't a competition horse but she used to be REALLY spooky in bad weather. I'd never ride if it was raining or windy as she was really quite nappy in that type of weather, or a bit darty, jumpy.

However, last year I HAD to ride her every day after her tendon surgery left her with adhesion which required daily riding to break down. I was dreading it as it was the beinning of February. However, I stuck to it (after buying a body protector!!!) and I've actually been surprised at how she eventually seemed to get used to windy weather.

It was quite windy today when riding, and Wednesday and whilst I sometimes feel like I'm blowing about on top of her, she's actually behaved really well.
 
I think its good for them to be used to working in dodgy weather if they compete (just like I think all horses shouldnt be ridden in a nice sand school all the time because they dont know how to balance on wet ground at an event!).

At the same time, I dont tend to ride mine in windy conditions. Mainly because one especially, is a total lunatic!! But I find in this case, if its windy at shows he's more chilled out with other horses being around all the time. So I dont think he'd learn anything if I rode in high winds at home.

Wind and horses simply dont work well together!!
 
it was gale force winds where i was on a work trial last week, and we still had to ride all the horses out on the hacks, just 20 mins hacks each, taken out in pairs, but i did end up having fun rearing and someone else very nearly ended up in a ditch! we had to ride out because they all needed exercising, because they need fittening for eventing, and the horsewalker was being used by someone else who has lots of horses based at the yard!
 
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