With the holidays and winter weather right around the corner (if not here right now) its time to bust out the winter riding clothing...the boots, the gloves, the jackets, the list goes on and on.
What is so nice about being an equestrian is you can ride all year long, we just need to be better prepared for the winter. Warm boots are a priority for me. I have Mountain Horse paddock boots, which I love! Three tips for buying winter riding boots:
One thing to keep in mind is it's hard to find half chaps that fit around your thick winter paddock boots so I suggest tall boots.
Buy from SmartPak they have free shipping on returns for all sized items.
Look for thick soles, that's what will keep cold air from creeping into your boot.
If you plan on riding in temperatures 20 degrees or lower, consider purchasing a size bigger then your normal would so that you have room to move your toes with thick socks.
Tuff Rider Tundra Fleece Tall Boots: Thinking about trying these, they are such a good price! Only $89.95. For reviews there was 50/50 split between liking them and not liking them. Most everyone said they were very warm and looked nice. The con was the zippers were stiff and unzipping themselves.
Mountain Horse Tall Ice Boots: Did not receive very good reviews. Most riders complained about them being too stiff and for those super cold days (think single digits) most toes were cold in these boots. Price is okay at $134.95. Still leaning towards Tuff Rider Boots above.
Solstice Waterproof Leather Boots: They are so pretty, you could wear them around town if you wanted! $199.00. They received great reviews, especially for comfort. The boots are advertised as fall boots/winter boots so I am not 100% sure they are great for those super cold days, but probably are fine for fall riding and chilly days.
Dubarry Longford Boots: $520, rather expensive, but they get good reviews and most people say they are worth the money. Not a single person complained about these boots and all said don't hesitate on the price. I personally think you pay for what you get, however, $500+ is extreme. But if you can afford it, then go ahead and make the purchase.
Living in Colorado there is some hard ground around here and that hard ground may lead to horse injury. My barn does not have an arena, so riding in the fields is mainly what I do. Here are some tips to keep your horse's legs going strong.
Check if your riding surface is really as hard as you think. Can you hear hoof beats? Maybe sometimes you are able to hear them and then other days you hear nothing. That should be a good indication on the ground surface condition at the time of your ride.
If you have field options, choose a field that has irrigation. The ground may be more soft and easier on the horse's legs. I have 5 pastures and I only ride in the 2 pastures that were at one point used for haying.
Tall grass isn't always a bad thing. May be hard to see hazards, so check it out first on foot. Once you go around a few times, the grass lays down, adding a little extra cushion.
Change pace and terrain as much as you can. On the hard ground it's important to shift weight to avoid overworking muscles, ligaments, tendons, or bones. This may be achieved by changing pace frequently or changing terrain. For example, two trot circles followed by a trot up a hill and then a trot down the hill.
Try Magic Cushion, it's a hoof pack that is easy to apply. Acts as an anti-inflammatory to help prevent hoof pain and heat.
If the ground is frozen consider just walking with short bursts of trot or consider riding down a quiet dirt road. The traffic of cars keeps the road somewhat warm and the ground will likely be less frozen.
Condition your horse to hard ground by slowly introducing the horse to the terrain, adding a little more time or a little more intensity each ride.
Shoe the front feet to get the soles off the ground and add more comfort. If you already have shoes, consider asking your farrier to review the shoeing.
Consider pads or rim pads if you horse appears foot sore after a ride.
Warm up properly, with lots of walking on a free rein, collected, extended walk, before going right into trotting. In the arena we do a lot of trot warmup, but on hard ground you should do more walk warmup.
Listen to your horse. If they move lame or sore after your ride try something different. If you have tried everything, it is likely that the horse just is not built for hard ground riding or needs a few down days.
Turn your horse out on that pasture. This naturally conditions horses to the ground at their own pace, which is typically the best way.
Add water. Perhaps there is a small 20 meter circle flat area in your field you ride often, hose this area before your ride.
Stick to small jumps and ground poles. Instead of raising the jumps, consider making the exercise more complicated. Save your horses legs by not overdoing it, once he performs the jump as desired tell him good job and move on to something different.
Consider wearing sport medicine boots. Honestly, I think these boots are more important for arena riding because they provide tendon and soft tissue support which may be needed when the horse sinks into soft ground. However, I see how these boots could benefit field riding because of this support, especially if the horse trips. Professional Choice boots claim is that it absorbs 26% of the impact from the hoof and as much as 45%. The testing was performed at Oklahoma University. I have successfully used sport medicine boots after my horse's torn suspensory (an injury result from sinking in deep sand footing when landing from a jump), it seemed to help with recovery.
Consider cold hosing or wrapping after a really hard workout. This may help in recovery. Just like people who train for triathlons or running whom religiously do hot/cold treatments and compression socks. There is actually compression socks for horses!
Another human athlete practice is stretching and application of pain relief ointments for example using icy hot on humans (don't use on horses). A similar practice may be performed before/after on your equine athlete. Vetrolin is similar to the human version of icy hot. Post workout stretching is the key to any athlete and I am surprised not more horse owners stretch their equine friends. Here is an extensive list of stretching techniques.
Ask your horse to move round. Don't let him invert and load his front legs with shock. Again, just like human runners, you want to practice good form to prevent injury.
Horses are different, my older gelding likes the stability of the hard ground. He has arthritis, a coffin bone chip, and an old deep flexor tear all that happened in his earlier life of being an arena horse. Since he has been out on hard ground he has not had one lameness issue and goes great. He doesn't have any major structural abnormalities though, where my other horse does. The younger horse has a club foot and sometimes working him on the hard ground intensifies the short stride of the club foot. The intensity of riding on the hard ground really depends on the horse's body and it's condition overall. Young horses should be especially careful as their bone structures are still developing.
I think arenas are great, but I do think they may be overrated at times. The best asset of an arena is not having rocks or uneven terrain. Many people create an arena that is too deep, which may cause lameness due to stress on ligaments and tendons. The horses that need to be most careful on hard terrain would be those that are use to living and being worked on soft ground. Horses that are conditioned for the hard ground usually do okay. I believe to some level horse's were built for riding in a grassy field, it is their natural environment. We have conditioned them to ride in arenas, but we are also doing more then what they are built to do, like jumping. Bottom line is listen to your horse, support him the best you can, and be reasonable about the workload on hard ground.
I love my barn because there are some serious riders, jumping some serious height and that is always exciting to have around! The weekend we have a new rider from Wellington, she has a project horse (1.45m!) and 2 horses at 1.60m! And of course we can't forget our 2 prix horses! It's pretty fun here in the world of jumpers...
