|
|
Discussion on Riding in the cold...
|
| Author |
Message |
New Member:
Husgurl
|
Posted on Sunday, Jan 19, 2003 - 10:01 am:
i live in northern NH and if i wanna ride during the winter, i have to brave the cold most of the time. show season starts in april so if i wanna be ready i have no choice.
it can get as cold as -20* F to -30* F...
i do dress appropriately (sp?) and i dress my horse the same way. she does not get wet so no problem for that. i do work at the walk, trot and canter but i take my time to warm her up and cool her down correctly. the footing well, the ground is frozen of course but there's at least a foot of loose snow on top of that. she is barefoot. she seems to enjoy it as much as i do (i have to admit that last week with the moon out and the reflexion on the snow, it was quite late and COLD but oh so beautiful out in the field)
my concern is with her lungs and that cold air that she is breathing... what is your opinion ?
thank you very much !
p.s. i can't wait for the month of march... ;)
|
Moderator:
DrO
|
Posted on Tuesday, Jan 21, 2003 - 8:22 am:
Hello Lucie,
While I can find examples of horses living in far colder environments than yours, I cannot find any examples of health related problems of horses exercised when that cold. That makes you the expert here. Would you tell us about your coldest adventures so far?
DrO
|
Member:
Husgurl
|
Posted on Tuesday, Jan 21, 2003 - 8:15 pm:
Hello Dr. Oglesby,
my coldest adventure so far was last friday. it was about -15*F out. i rode around 7:00 p.m. and the sky was clear and the moon close to full if not full... it was beautiful ! keep in mind there's a good foot of snow and with the moon, it was bright !  really pretty but cold ! i do wear enough clothes to keep myself warm and i "dress" my mare as well (quarter sheet)
after only 5-10 minutes out in the cold, my eyelashes were all frozed together ! i know now that i have to add an item to my riding outfit...goggles ! i do take my time to warm us up correctly and to cool us down too...
she doesn't seem to have a problem with the cold at all.
i think that i'll go with the "if it's too cold for me, it's too cold for her" !
|
Member:
Tangoh
|
Posted on Thursday, Jan 23, 2003 - 11:45 am:
When is it too cold to ride? When it's too cold for the rider, I guess.
Western Canada, Saskatchewan to be more exact - a beautiful sunny Sunday morning in January, no wind but a 'not so balmy' -40 (Celcius or Fahrenheit, at this temp. -40 is all the same, regardless of which scale you use). It's just plain COLD! However, if you're dressed warm, in layers, it's not that bad. Horses in our area generally run the 'back 40' all winter and hair up really good. My horses actually tolerate extreme cold weather much better than the heat of summer. Horses can adapt amazingly well to their environment. A warmed up bit is a must, however, we prefer to ride bitless in the winter. Bareback is wonderful as the heat from the horse feels great, but if we're going to exercise them a little more rigorously than a walk, then we throw on a blanket and a pad under the sadddle, nothing more than we would in summer. The key is not to excercise them into a sweat, if we do that, they must be blanketed and put in the barn until they're dry, but I'll tell you, they can hardly wait to get back outside. They're much more comfortable outside than in the barn with their winter coats.
It is extemely cold here right now and the horses are usually covered in frost, but they are happy as long as they have shelter from the wind, but most times, they're standing out in the open, heads down, backs to the wind, even though they could go inside.
Footing is important, our horses are barefoot all year long so their feet are hard and strong. They maneuver the snow very well, but we stay off them if it's icy. Anything more than a trot is usually done in the confines of an outdoor arena or large corral, unless the snow is soft and even then you have to be extremely careful about footing.
We don't ride a lot in the winter, but not because it's too cold for the horses, mostly because it's too cold for us.
|
Member:
Norto
|
Posted on Thursday, Jan 23, 2003 - 12:04 pm:
We are doing an endurance race this Saturday and it will be 14 degrees when we start. It should take us about 3 hours to run 25 miles. I've never run all out in this kind of cold and am a little worried about it. I know she will get sweaty as we go really hard so I guess I should throw her blanket on her at the vet checks and really warm her up as it starts out pretty much at a dead run the first couple of miles. I'm planning on asking the vet at the race for his advice.
|
Member:
Husgurl
|
Posted on Friday, Jan 24, 2003 - 7:17 am:
thanx sherri !
linda, please let us know what the vet has to say...
have fun this week-end !
|
Member:
Norto
|
Posted on Monday, Jan 27, 2003 - 11:42 am:
I talked to both vets before we raced and they both told me to quit worrying and that it was less stressful on my horse running in the cold than in the heat. It was about 15 degrees when we started and probably 25 when we finished. Three times we ran thru deep water but lucky for us the 50 milers, who left l hour before us, had broken the ice up. One hour after the race when I took her blanket off she was shivering some but the vets didn't think it was a problem. She was fine the next day and acts ready to go again.
|
Member:
Husgurl
|
Posted on Monday, Jan 27, 2003 - 9:13 pm:
thank you so much linda for the infos ! i really appreciate it !
hope you had a good time !
|
Moderator:
DrO
|
Posted on Tuesday, Jan 28, 2003 - 11:36 am:
Great reports guys, keep it up.
DrO
|
|
|
