Riding on a school covered in snow

Y

YummyHorses

Well-Known Member
Joined
4 April 2009
Messages
596
Visit site
Chaps,

Do you think I could ride on my arena? Its soft, but is covered in snow, about 3 inches deep. Just my horses are going mad (although I have been able to get them all out at grass for an hour each day) but they would all benefit from being ridden. Could I almost scrape a track around the outside and give it a go?

What do you think? Or I am just being silly and should wait. Advice please?
 
Some have been ridden in our school in the morning with the snow taken off the outside. If your horse isn't likely to go bananas and will work slowly then I would. Both of mine however, are not being sat on till they have been out for a couple of days and lunged first. All they are doing is walking out in hand and are getting very very fresh!
 
If your horses are barefoot just get on with it,
If not I have seen people on here putting vetwrap on the hooves to stop it balling up and then riding in the snow :)
 
Hi,

If the snow and school surface are soft we ride in ours. We don't over do it and stop if the snow balls in their feet, some horses seem more prone to this than others. Ours really enjoy it and don't play up. :D
 
Ours had just over an inch of snow on it yesterday morning, I gave it quite an intense harrow for about half an hour and the snow broke up and pretty much disappeared, it's been riding really well. I was going to clear a track round the outside but didn't need to - plus we are due more snow tomorrow apparently so quite glad I didn't :eek:
 
Just fibergee inside of hooves and vet wrap round up onto leg a little and but ex bandages on to stop vet wrap coming undone. Works a treat :) I've been riding/lunging/loose schooling everyday :)
 
I've ridden two barefooters the last two days. It was fun, especially yesterday when it was absolutely unmarked before I went on it :D
 
Cool, I might give it a go.

One of them will be good the other will a complete prat so might not bother with him. Cant even walk him in hand as he is rearing and prancing around. I have managed to get him out to grass for about 45 mins every day but as the grass doesn't jump up into his mouth (very lazy horse in the field) he just stands at the gate and shouts at me! When I go to get him, he just clears off and gallops around. Funny to him, irritating to me!!

Will be so glad when it has gone. Not finding it funny any more.
 
Are they barefoot? Can you get straight on and expect to live? Is your school pretty easy to repair if you make a track around it to ride on?

When it's slippery I don't school or ask the horse for much turning etc because I don't want to interfere too much. But if I can get a track around the outside I'll do some "interval training" around the outside. I actually find it very helpful - I concentrate on rhythm, on my position, on keeping the horse as straight as possible into the hand, keeping the topline soft over the slippery bits so the horse doesn't resist and trip, on working "within pace" so the horse can find its balance etc. If I'm really feeling mad I jack my stirrups up and do some sets either in two point or "two up, one down" trotting to work on my own balance and fitness.
 
I lunged both of mine yesterday. I greased their feet with vaselinembutmit was still balling up...then I decided to attempt a couple of steps min trot...and no balling up! They were just just flicking all the snow out their feet rightmaway.

And it's cleared a circle in the lunge pen of snow now. I don't want to risk riding as I can keep an eye on whether it's balling up in their feet on the lunge plus I figure if it does ball , it must be a lot more strain on their legs with me sat on top.
 
I cleared a 20m circle in the snow down one end of the school and rode my just backed rising 4 year old round it and my 20 year old. The 4 year old was barefoot and cos she's a baby occasionally lost balance and fell out onto the snow but didn't ball. The 20year old was a right pain after a week off. I couldn't walk one step on the snow with her without her gaining stilts.
 
I've managed to lunge Fab for the past too nights. However vaseline didn't make a jot of difference to the snow balling up in his feet, neither did baby oil which was my attempt yesterday! However as soon as he was in trot it stopped balling up. So unfortunately he had a quick walk on each rein then straight into trot work! At least means he's got some exercise a couple of times this week.

Just hope it doesn't mean we're in for the horrible weather of last year as we started with snow in January then too :(
 
mine are barefoot and have worked every day, havent bothered to clear a track but no balling issues.
star has worked all his bits and bobs as normal, tempis, pi/pa, piris without a problem and fig has done all his lateral work and some half steps, also no probs.

if they were shod id be moving heaven and earth to clear a track to ride!
 
Not quite heaven and earth, but cleared a lot of snow to make a track and two 20m circles in our school and it was been workable all week.

Well worth the effort!
 
Have worked everyday.
Walking hacks in the powdery snow. Walk trot schooling sessions with lots of lateral and bending. Lunging walk trot when the school is on the turn and if it really is a bit hard then we do ground work in a pressure halter.
Goes a bit stir crazy if he's in 24/7...need to keep his brain active.
Depends on the horse I guess. Some of the more spirited customer eventers have been in a box for nearly a week now.
 
YummyHorses said:
Chaps,

Do you think I could ride on my arena? Its soft, but is covered in snow, about 3 inches deep. Just my horses are going mad (although I have been able to get them all out at grass for an hour each day) but they would all benefit from being ridden. Could I almost scrape a track around the outside and give it a go?

What do you think? Or I am just being silly and should wait. Advice please?
Click to expand...


In South Wales we have had it very bad. Lots of people turned out in the school which broke it up and Ive been riding and even lunging in it loosely. Its loose underneath and their feet are now going straight through it.

When the snow was so think they didnt penetrate it - I was sticking them loose in school or taking lovely walks across the field and letting them roll and forage in hand

Only slips I have had in on the thin ice where ironically there is no snow!
 
We've cleared a figure of 8 track in our school, and so it's now lovely to ride on. I found that I literally had to scrape off the top layer of snow and then the bottom bit melted in to the rubber.

It's a little bit repetitive but definitely worth the effort to continue riding!

I've ridden every day since the snow as didn't want mine going stir crazy!
 
Granted ours are all unshod, but we have managed to ride happily all over our arena in walk,trot, canter & lateral work even with the snow on top. Not sure if it is because the snow was dry and powdery, or just because of the lack of shoes, but we had no problems with slipping or snow packing into hooves.
 
Well we had so much rain last night and mainly sun today that by the end of the afternoon all the white stuff had gone.....!!

I had a walk out on my mare who had just come back into work before the snow arrived and decided to lunge my mad gelding tomorrow. Will lunge him for a couple of days and then I will get back on. Promise!

Hope everyone had a productive day.
 
Shod horse on about a snow covered field:
205820_10151370626034378_2049923796_n.jpg

;)

As FF said, I found the snow only really balled up in walk - had no problems trotting and even had a couple of short canters. No slipping etc.

Worst thing about the snow was that neither me nor Wibs noticed the water tray buried under the snow until he stood on it :eek:
 
too late now but my OH is a farrier and has been to a few yards that covered their schools with tarpaulins. They shovel the snow off and bobs your uncle -a clear and rideable arena. I'll be doing that next time it's due to snow.
 
Canadian here eh?
we school in the snow all the time Dressage to jumping to skiorging
I use common sense about the terrain for sure and we have an arena ripper that goes on the JD to work any place that has iced up, but almost all my riding is outside

I know my man often looks at the indoor riding arena with thoughts of a new hay shed because I use it so little but that is not happening....our springs here are awful
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top