tacking and riding a wet horse yay or nay?

[daydreamer]

hi, I got my share horse in this morning and he was soaking wet. After an hour at the yard doing jobs and generally kibitzing he still wasn't dry so i decided to come home and go back later.

I just wondered if other people tack and ride wet horses. I can't seem to remember being told not to so am wondering if I just made it up that it isn't a great thing to do?!

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

I do, I just make sure I rinse them off afterwards.

 

[FlyingCircus]

I don't tend to - but if I do (for lesson or when I HAVE to ride), I dry off their back as much as possible with a towel so they're more slightly damp than wet

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Yes I do, or I would never ride over spring, summer & early autumn.....when my fuzzy is out unrugged

I make sure I towel off the worst, then have a saddle cloth under the saddle which will be washed straight after.

 

[Phoebe+Sophie]

I don't because I would be paranoid about girth galls and saddle sores

 

[JennBags]

I prefer not to, but like TFF I will towel dry the worst off and I always use a numnah, rather than not riding.

 

[dogatemysalad]

It's not a problem. Just ensure the saddle pad and girth are clean and the horse is mud free under the tack and it'll be fine. If mine are very wet, I use a sheepskin cover on the girth to lessen the chance of rubbing.

 

[Moomin1]

I try not to, but if you have a well fitting saddle and use a saddlecloth (clean, preferably) then you shouldn't find saddlesores etc a problem generally. Though depends on the amount of work you are doing, how often you do it etc.

Tbh, it's only really the same as when your horse sweats under the saddle anyway.

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

Yes I do, as long as its clean wet not mud. It's no worse than when a horse sweats under the saddle and girth area. If its a horse I want to rug up for the night (but who is out unrugged in the day) riding helps to dry them off a lot quicker than anything else.

 

[Cocorules]

I do. Mine lives out and rarely needs to be rugged. I just towel her down and go. I have never had issues with rubbing and she comes back dry under her saddle. I would not ride much for much of the year if I didn't.

 

[Jo1987]

I did this morning! Prefer not to obviously and will towel off as much as possible before tacking up. I've done this many times and never had any issues.

 

[wattamus]

I did it last night, I only get to ride on Friday afternoons and weekends so was not letting a little rain stop me. I used a metal comb to get some water off made sure there was no mud then tacked up and went- and got rained on some more!!! Got to make the most of it, horse didn't seem that bothered once she'd got going either. Decided to put a rug on now though as I'd prefer not to put anything on a wet back especially as she can be slightly cold backed too.

 

[daydreamer]

Thanks for all the replies. At least I am not the only one who seems to prefer not to if possible. I guess I am lucky that I can usually avoid having to. I ended up going home, having a snooze with the cat and then some lunch then going back to the yard. I expect Legs had had something to eat and a snooze too. He was all dry and it had stopped raining - a win win situation all around!

 

[OldNag]

I have a Thermatex numnah which is fab if the ponies are wet.