what colour ear bonnet for dressage

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Mrs C

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Hi all. Just wondering what colour ear bonnets you use for dressage... I wear tweed so can't do black/navy to match my jacket... Pics appreciated! :-). Thanks
 
Tone to match the horse - Black for a bay, brown for a chestnut and gray or white for a grey, definitely not to what you are wearing - its not a fashion parade.

Why would you want to use them for dressage anyway? They don't block sound at all.
 
Star the navy does look super smart - I do have a navy with white trim I could use. Tnavas its for the flies - she wears a bonnet every time i ride through spring/summer - she just shakes her head constantly without... Thanks all will go with navy/black
 
I have navy blue on a bright bay which looks very smart, didn't want to buy black or brown as have tack in both colours so wouldn't have matched. Good for wet weather as it keeps the wind and rain out of his ears, and good for keeping the flies away too.
 
As above, not for fashion should blend in with the horse I.e dark brown or black for a bay depending on what shade they are. White on a grey, chestnuts are harder to match, usually a brown though.

Navy is also ok if you are wearing a navy jacket and you cannot get one to match your horse.
 
Brown was completely the wrong shade on my bright orange horse so I've now gone for blue to match my jacket/hat. I use it because he headshakes if any flies or rain or wind around.
 
Those of you with horses that are affected by wind/rain/flies have you trimmed the inside of your horses ears?

I can't understand this - having worked with 100's of competition horses over the years have never found any that are that sensitive to the elements and flies. Ones I have seen have problems are those who've had their ears trimmed.

Even my TB couldn't care about the rain once his neck had been fixed. And he was terribly precious about things.
 
I have a TB, I never trim her ears but she hates flies and I find an ear veil the best solution. If I'm allowed to use them to minimise the head shaking then I will!
 
Two reasons for mine, 1) hates midges and 2) she is slightly less reactive/spooky.
I don't trim hair inside ears, but do cut level to ear surface
 
I took to using one after my mare had a paddy when a big chunk of rosebay willow herb seed fluff flew into her ear on a breezy summer evening. Yes she was very sensitive and no I didn't trim her ears.
Would echo the others, try to match it to the horse I had a black one for my bay (also had a reflective yellow one but certainly wouldn't grace the inside of whiteboards wearing it ;) )
 
milo'n'molly said:
I took to using one after my mare had a paddy when a big chunk of rosebay willow herb seed fluff flew into her ear on a breezy summer evening. Yes she was very sensitive and no I didn't trim her ears.
Would echo the others, try to match it to the horse I had a black one for my bay (also had a reflective yellow one but certainly wouldn't grace the inside of whiteboards wearing it ;) )
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Reflective yellow one would be great for finding your horse in the paddock in the dark!
 
I use a white one on my grey. He's a Connemara so I don't trim his ears, but I find he focuses better with it on as he doesn't spend his time fussing about midges and flies.
 
Tnavas said:
Those of you with horses that are affected by wind/rain/flies have you trimmed the inside of your horses ears?

I can't understand this - having worked with 100's of competition horses over the years have never found any that are that sensitive to the elements and flies. Ones I have seen have problems are those who've had their ears trimmed.

Even my TB couldn't care about the rain once his neck had been fixed. And he was terribly precious about things.
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Mine has a horrendous time with the flies - ears are not trimmed, but he does have aural plaques, so he gets dermatitis when the flies start biting. He becomes awfully head shy during the summer months because elf it - and being in Scotland, our flies are far, far worse than down south too.

Jumping, we probably don't strictly need one. Dressage, if outside, I end up with a head shaker and marks are abysmal. Wouldn't do outdoor DR without one in the summer now.

He has a black Eskadron one (he's a bright bay), with a few sparkles on it, for dressage... :D but has a purple one for jumping which matches out boots and saddle cloth.
 
Some great suggestions, and you cant go wrong with a bit of sparkle for dressage in my eyes - but remember you can only use them for outdoor competitions, not allowed indoors if the show is running BD rules.....
 
kc100 said:
Some great suggestions, and you cant go wrong with a bit of sparkle for dressage in my eyes - but remember you can only use them for outdoor competitions, not allowed indoors if the show is running BD rules.....
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But, correct me if I'm wrong, if the warmup is outside you may use one during your warm up, but will need removal prior to an indoor test?

For flies, shouldn't be a problem indoors anyway.
 
khalswitz said:
But, correct me if I'm wrong, if the warmup is outside you may use one during your warm up, but will need removal prior to an indoor test?

For flies, shouldn't be a problem indoors anyway.
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Correct. But you may warm up indoors in one if the test is then held outside.

So for BD you cannot use them during a test held inside.
 
Tnavas said:
Those of you with horses that are affected by wind/rain/flies have you trimmed the inside of your horses ears?

I can't understand this - having worked with 100's of competition horses over the years have never found any that are that sensitive to the elements and flies. Ones I have seen have problems are those who've had their ears trimmed.

Even my TB couldn't care about the rain once his neck had been fixed. And he was terribly precious about things.
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My horse has full fluffy ears, but still goes wild if the flies buzz around her. Perhaps you've just been lucky? Others clearly have a problem and if an ear bonnet solves it then why criticise?
 
khalswitz said:
But, correct me if I'm wrong, if the warmup is outside you may use one during your warm up, but will need removal prior to an indoor test?

For flies, shouldn't be a problem indoors anyway.
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Yep, spot on - warm up (outdoors) is fine but needs to come off before entering the arena (indoors)
 
Saf also has ear plaques in one ear. In the summer she wears her fly mask with ears which makes a huge difference to her comfort compared to the one without ears. We do dressage outdoors, and she gets very upset if it's hot and the flies get around her ears. Nothing to do with sound deadening. When the weather is cooler and there are no flies around, we don't use one.

I've just managed to get her a black one (to match her tack), that actually fits her dainty ears!

10606103_634868773294606_4992080959641861271_n.jpg
 
Tnavas said:
Those of you with horses that are affected by wind/rain/flies have you trimmed the inside of your horses ears?

I can't understand this - having worked with 100's of competition horses over the years have never found any that are that sensitive to the elements and flies. Ones I have seen have problems are those who've had their ears trimmed.

Even my TB couldn't care about the rain once his neck had been fixed. And he was terribly precious about things.
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I never trim the insides of Kali's ears, but he headshakes if he gets water (rain) or flies in his ears . . . yours may not mind, but others patently do.

P
 
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