To stud or not to stud?

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mrsh2010

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I come from a background of purely happy hacking.

A few years back I ventured into dressage, and am now affiliated. However recently we've started jumping and are really enjoying ourselves.

So far we have only jumped on surface, and also since affiliating stuck to non-grass dressage.

However I have pluck up the courage and entered my first ODE it'll be on grass, I know he can slip in the dressage stages on grass, as we used to do unaffiliated on grass until our old instructor advised us to stop.

I've never had dealings with studs, so not sure where to start.

So my question is, would you stud or not?

I've got: ODE end of March (on grass)
HT start of april (on grass)
Combined Training mid-april on grass

Thanks in advance
 
If you know he is likely to slip then I would stud, it can really knock their confidence, not to mention your own, if they slip going round a corner in the dressage and with the cost of entering it can spoil your day if the marks are low due to a poor dressage test, even if you don't think you will be placed it is worth doing everything you can to make the day a positive one.

I would get the farrier to put 2 holes in each shoe, if they are not there you cannot use them but if you don't need them it doesn't matter, on the day what studs you use will depend on the going, it may dry out between now and then but I would normally just start with a small stud in the outside of both hinds unless the ground is really slippery, this is usually enough to give that little extra grip when cornering, having too many or too big studs can be worse than none if they are not used to them but I have never had a problem with just one on many that have never had them before.

You can get complete stud kits with a few different ones to get you started and all the tools required to put them in, have a practice at home as they can be tricky until you get the hang of holding foot, tool, stud, it helps to have a person pass you the appropriate thing when you are ready.
 
TBH I would just put one stud hole in the outside of the hind feet and start small from there, you may find thats enough to give you what you need, I find that horses can slip more in the dressage than jumping too. Also, afaik, it costs per stud hole to put them in the shoe, so to be thrifty I would start small and go from there! A bit of slipping is fine for a horse when it comes to jumping as it helps their limbs absorb the pressures of the jump, heavy studding can jar the legs and potentially damage them.

I would also buy a magnetic dish for keeping the studs together when you're putting them in, and keep a nail from the farrier somewhere safe to dig out any bits in the holes before putting a stud in.
 
I would stud, you don't need to use them if the ground is perfect.

I used to put two holes in each foot and pick and choose. However my current farrier - we moved so changed farriers - recommends one stud hole in each shoe.

There is no right or wrong, just use the smallest studs you need and think about a stud girth :)
 
Do you spend much time schooling on grass surfaces as part of your preparation? It's amazing how much riding the horse on a variety of ground conditions, very regularly, makes the horse a lot more foot sure. Just a thought.
 
I always had two holes in each shoe.
Dressage used studs in all shoes, sj and xc just in hind shoes as you want to keep a bit of movement on landing on the fronts when jumping.
Depending on how horse moved I would use smaller stud on inside of show compared to the outside stud.
Really dont like single stud use as it can cause the foot to twist on landing
 
I think the hind feet are supposed to twist though aren't they?

As another note I would also be very careful of studding on the inside, having had my horse stud himself through his coronet band whilst standing still (ish!) when he only had studs in the outside of his shoes!!! Personally I think he's just work shy and decided after the warm up that he couldn't be bothered to jump.
 
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