Riding on hard ground

[doodle]

Like everyone the ground round here is rock solid. As such we have only been hacking in walk and trot. However it has rained recently. Today the hay field had been cut. So we headed down there with the aim of having a decent canter. But when we got there the ground was still like concrete, there were cracks. So we just had a lovely trot round, Robin desperate to canter too.

How bad is working in hard ground? Do you ever do it? Is there anyway of making it safer?

2 years ago he was eventing when we had the long dry summer. He threw a splint. Although was never lame, vet said ignore it and it has now gone away.

But I don’t want him damaged just for the sake of a canter.

It is now raining and due to rain for next 36hrs so hoping with hay cut the rain will get into the ground and soften it a bit.

 

[be positive]

I think as long as they are fit enough, well conditioned then having a canter on hard ground should do no harm, it is often less jarring than trotting, the ones here are cantering regularly in the fields where allowed, they are fit, in full work, cantering in the arena as well so no need not to, they are just, if not more, likely to break having a hoon in the fields when they are turned out.

 

[scruffyponies]

We regularly canter our barefoot ponies on tarmac. The ponies love it and are very forward, but they will usually tell us they'd rather not on hard ground, which has much less give and is more like concrete.

 

[huskydamage]

The paths near me are all gravel/hard type so I have no where else to canter but those. I also do a lot of road trotting. Ive had one horse 3 years and the other 17yrs, only the longer one has had tendon injuries which she got in her late twenties and has healed. I've never known them to have splints or anything else. I don't gallop or jump on hard ground and I keep the canters shorter and slower atm. They are both well used to it and doing lots of roadwork.

 

[AFB]

I think most things in small amounts are fine, I've been careful but did have a few steady canters last night in a field (we've had a bit of rain over the last few days) as it helps my horses brain.

Hammering them on hard ground daily isn't going to end well but I don't worry about the odd bit.

 

[VioletStripe]

I think the odd bit is fine - particularly going uphill as this takes the pressure off the front legs which would otherwise take the brunt. As long as the horse is fit and conditioned it should be fine - when fittening I always do the old school exercise of road work and trotting a bit on them to do this. I know a few people who boot up their horses when the ground is hard as it offers a form of support and can theoretically help absorb some of the pressure/reduce concussion...

Also the way I see it, if you give them a controlled stretch on the grass, potentially a bit uphill while ridden, the less likely they are to go nutty in the field which could arguably cause more issues on hard ground... guess that depends on the horse and the herd though

 

[JFTDWS]

Mine all lope on hard ground - by which I mean, they have a slow, lope-like canter which we use out hacking when the ground is harder, or, occasionally, on tarmac. I prefer a balanced canter to a fast trot, and I'm also willing to risk a bit of extra wear and tear on joints if it means I can control their weight (and reduce stresses that way too).

 

[IrishMilo]

I'll do a slow canter on hard ground if there's enough grass coverage. If they're barefoot I'm much less concerned.

 

[SpotsandBays]

I’m doing walk trot and canter at home in the fields. Granted, not loads of canter, and he is shod in front. The field I ride in has good grass coverage also. I’m really keen to jump but definitely waiting for rain!

 

[C1airey]

I’d wait for an uphill stretch and aim for an easy pace.

Out in the field the horse isn’t thinking ‘ooh, best not, ground is a bit hard!’ Although I accept that we’d all be a lot richer if they did.

 

[pansymouse]

Mine is barefoot and we tend to go for it where there the is a decent depth of grass thatch. She loves a good leg stretch and is tiresome if she doesn't get one at least once a week. We canter every hack but not full pelt.

 

[Orangehorse]

I'm not sure, I think in this normally dampish climate our horses are not that great doing too much on hard ground.

I had a riding holiday in Montana, we quite literally cantered up a mountain, on some logging roads, i.e. rock hard - and since it doesn't rain much in Montana I guess the ground is always rock hard. Well it was the longest canter ever, uphill. Another the person on holiday was a vet who agreed that horses in the UK don't know what work is. I took notice the next day to see if any of the horses had any puffy legs or anything to suggest what they had done before and they all had perfectly cool hard legs. How long they last as riding horses, who knows? But they are valuable, as the ranch said, getting the right horse to be guest horse is not always easy.