Wind and Riding

[imissvixen]

Again, the wind is blowing outside, at least 25 mph. It has been like this for days and is just driving me nuts. It doesn't affect my horse when I ride him, he seems to care less, but it drives me crazy, and gives me headaches. Does anyone else have this problem or am I just being a pussy?

[Thomas_1]

Get a fleece balaclava hood of the sort specifically made to go with riding hats to cover your ears.

25mph a strong wind mwhahahahaha. I'd consider that a calm day!

Whatever you do don't come here! It's possibly one of the windiest places in the UK. The fact that all the trees grow at a 45 degree angle is a bit of a give away and testament to the prevailing wind which blows straight down the valley!

[Bluey]

That is just a breeze here.
We live on a windfarm, so we are glad to see the wind blow.
We have several days a week here with winds easily over 30 m/h and we just keep on going, at times hanging on fence posts to stand up in the heftier gusts.
You have to learn to park where you can open a door.;)
We also have attack monster tumbleweeds.:eek:

Horses don't seem to care if the wind is blowing, as you have noticed, but there are people that have to move somewhere else, the wind is really hard on their disposition.:yes:

[Lieslot]

Horses don't seem to care if the wind is blowing
I envy you all. I wished my horse couldn't care less about the wind :sadsmile:.

Actually, I do have one gelding that's okay about it, but my other guy is absolutely not. Every evening I check the wind forecast for the next morning and if it's going to be averaging 20mph and above I can scrap that day as a riding day. Even though he has improved a lot, it's still not much fun dealing with the spooks.

I have to wear a hat at all times when outside (protect sinuses) and if I do ride in the wind will put on some earwarmers. I can't have wind on my forehead or in my ears, else I'll end up with a cold for sure.

Is it just me, but do we seem to be having more windy days this winter then usual? Or am I just imagening it?

[jengersnap]

Lieslot, have you tried cotton in your horse's ears? Or even an ear bonnet? Might help.

Seconding the helmet wrap or an ear band if the wind is bothering you as a rider. I live on a Great Lake, and wind is a constant! Of course, it's also a blessing in the summer :)

[LD1129]

I usually just put on a fleece winter head band thing and I am fine. The wind spooks my guy, but does not bother me.

[Ridinwyoming]

The wind blew here all weekend too. My mare is alright with the wind doesn't spook but acts on edge. I also get terrible headaches when the wind blows so I don't ride.

[Queen Latisha]

I'm OK with the wind, my horse on the other hand can be a little spooky.
I always make sure I do a little lunging, prior to riding. It gives him a chance to see that the "Boogie Man" isn't hiding in the bushes.:D

[mkevent]

I agree with keeping your ears covered-both on and off the horse. I also have to moisturize my face like crazy or I get windburn,too!! Lieslot-I'm in the southern part of the state and it's been bad the last week and today but I think it's that old saying "March comes in like a lion..."

[circusponydreams]

I've found it to be much windier than usual this winter, too - especially last week and this weekend! A warm fleece helmet cover (http://www.doversaddlery.com/product.asp?pn=X1-3671&ids=161994112&bhcd2=1235401885) helps me a lot, and I just make sure to get my feet a little more home in the irons and stay alert :winkgrin:

[Lieslot]

Mkevent, yeah, today is another one of those awfully windy days. Luckily enough he does turn out in wind. When I first had him he wouldn't leave the barn on a windy day at least now he copes with going out provided he's bundled up to his ears.

Jengersnap, no I've never tried earprops, great idea actually. I might give that a go, would be great if it works.

Another thing that personally bothers me about riding in cold strong winds, is my painful cheeks. The wind seems to cut into my skin and I noticed that I'm starting to get tiny red lines on my cheeks from broken mini-veins. :cry: I'm sure it's this damn cutting wind that's done this to me this winter. I'm no vain beauty queen whatsoever, but nevertheless disappointed over this.

[BuddyRoo]

It gives me a headache too if I don't have my ears covered. But with the ears covered, I'm all good.

[Ambrey]

About 1/2 the horses at my (huge) barn seem to go bat&^%$ in the wind. My big guy goes moderately bat&^$%, but he will flip out if he sees other horses flipping out.

When I first started riding after my accident I got a "get out of riding free card" on windy days, but no longer, LOL!. Last really windy day I whined to my trainer about the wind and he gave me that look trainers give you that contains a stern talking to and a kick in the ass together, and I sighed and went and got on my horse.

But, if it's windy AND muddy AND overcast, I won't ride. Even if he gives me that look ;). Yes, I'm that chicken.

[EqTrainer]

Something about the wind + cold sends my fibromyalgia into overdrive. I have one time of the day that I can ride when the wind is like it has been - right about 5:30 when it settles down. That is, of course, also feeding time ;) I sincerely think I will have to somehow build an indoor or at least partially covered arena to deal with this and keep riding. Right now my neck is doing a complete freak out just from AM chores, jogging one horse and going to get hay and unloading it. It's not the work.. it's the wind :( The only good news is I have plenty of time for COTH when the weather is like this.

[thatmoody]

It's not the wind - it's the crap blowing around IN the wind that makes my guys freaky. Those stupid plastic bags are the worst - I had one blow up against my guy one time and we just scooted right across the pasture away from it at 90mph!

I don't live in a particularly windy place (EC of Florida) but if I did, I'd have to move, because I'm one of those people who is really bothered by the wind blowing. I can handle a gentle breeze, but it just rubs my nerves raw when it really blows. It's not that it blows in my ears/face - it's just the noise/commotion from it. I came from a fairly blowy place (Maine) and like it much better down here.

[shawneeAcres]

I simply cannot tolerate this wind! It gets me SO SO irritated! Everything I do seems to take twice as much energy and I jsut won't even to bother to ride in it! All of the hroses go nuts here too in the wind, I just came up from the barn where one of the horses has managed to go THRU a woven wire fence (still in the pasture) and push two of the posts part way over, and break the electric line on top! They literally ran thru it, the wire is destroyed and hoofprints on the otehr side of the fence, one horse has a little dried blood on the legs so have to bring him in and see how bad it is, doesn't look bad but will have to keep an eye on it in case there is a puncture from the broken wire, I cannot BELIEVE they did this, once again proves there is NO SUCH THING as safe fencing! After we did the front fields in this woven wire (which was a PAIN) we went to horseguard and no problems with that!

[copper1]

I too HATE the wind this time of year! Makes me tense so you know how the horses feel! With some it is so hard to get them focused so it isn't worth riding them! Our indoor is really noisy in the wind so I spend windy days lunging and longlining or giving them a day off! Only good thing about this wind is it dries the mud a lot!

[kellyb]

I hate it too. Where I ride, there are no trees to break the wind...it's awful. And hard to jump when the wind is busy taking away your standards :lol:

Definitely a good night for longjohns and ear warmers :D

[sneederstb]

ok so since we are talking about wind...how can I help my horse not spook from it? He is a nervous horse (which makes me have to act 10 times braver than I really am). Does cotton in the ears really help? And out of curiosity...why are some horses more spooked by the wind? Is it just bc its a different feel or bc they dont like how it feels on them, etc?

[kewpalace]

Get a fleece balaclava hood of the sort specifically made to go with riding hats to cover your ears.Ditto this - I, too, was a whimp in the wind (:yes:) until I started covering my ears, then Voila! No more whimp! :lol: You'd be surprised how much it helps!

[mkevent]

sneederstb-one of my boarders and I have this discussion, too. From my little six horse study, I think the only thing that horses really hate is wind. They'll stand out in the rain even if they have shelter, but they don't like the wind. I think maybe the wind muffles the sound of predators sneaking up on them coupled with things blowing in the wind-again making sudden movements like a predator and the horses find it totally disconcerting and are extra spooky. When the sustained winds are over 25 mph I don't even bother riding-just not worth it to me!

[pooh]

I agree with the headcovering - I got a very thin but warm one designed to fit under an ATV helmet - so thin it doesn't affect the fit of my helmet.
As for the noise - I ride in an indoor - so as lovely as that sounds to not have to deal with the wind - we have to deal with the noise. Banging roof, siding , eaves that flap in the wind and anything else that goes bump into the side of the barn.
I've seen a few articles that state that horses get used to the continual wind, its the gusts that gets them wound up - so you have to love our 40 MPH gusts today!

[Hopeful Hunter]

Wind is just no fun to ride in, IMO. My horse is pretty good about it - he may or may not spook for sport, but he's handled jump standards being blown over fairly well.

BUT...I cannot tolerate the way the wind dries my eyes out. And you know what? I do this for fun, and if it's windy and cold, I'm not riding. That's just not fun for me nor I suspect for my horse. Better to wait a day and be safe I figure...

[Kestrel]

We ride until the wind is strong enough to blow the big fir trees over. That's usually 45 mph+ around here. If the trees are far enough away from the ring, we ride anyway.

[Beverley]

I've foxhunted in Wyoming, where the wind festival lasts 300 days a year.:)

I can tell you that when a microburst at hurricane force winds comes down a little canyon, the horses as a group hear it coming and wheel around to take it with their backsides. Same gust blew a 10 yo girl off her horse, quite a sight to see. Her horse didn't move a muscle and she got right back on.

I don't go out of my way to experience that much wind, mind you. But riding in the wind doesn't bother me, in general. Unless it's a cold wind.

[Simbalism]

It has been so windy here in Va this winter. If I didn't suck it up and ride, I wouldn't have ridden for days and days. My TB mare is very good about it. I do use ear pompoms on her. I have a thin fleece head band that fits under my helmet. Last week one day it was gusting really hard. I rode, but it was so cold. I rode in my endurance saddle and had a wool cooler over horse and around my waist and tucked under my legs. I had the hood on my jacket over my riding helmet. When I got done riding, I had my horse tied to trailer( I pasture board so work out of dressing room). I was starting to untack her, putting her saddle in trailer and when I came back out her pile of blankets that was laying on the ground about 4 feet away had all blown towards her and were around her legs. She was standing there with multiple blankets all around her feet/legs munching on her bucket of alfalfa forage. Yesterday was cold and windy again. I went to get my mare from field and she was spooking at everything. I decided it was a day for lunging rather than getting on her. Good thing, she bucked and pitched like a fool on the lunge. This time of year she hasn't been doing much in the way of activities and she starts to get bored. Then her evil twin emerges briefly...hehe. We're doing a group trail ride on Saturday, so that ought to take some of the starch out of her. Lots of riding in the woods, so even if it is windy the trees will act as a barrier.

[Skeezix]

I HATE wind. Makes me a nervous wreck and then I would transmit to my horse . . . but I always say it is the wind blowing through my empty head :)

[strawberry roan]

If it is really blowing, I skip riding. I have heard trees fall in the woods so won't ride there. And the ring? When the jumps get blown over, I stay inside with a cup of coffee. :):)

[mkevent]

I was thinking about a comment made about skin damage from the wind and wanted to add my .02. I once (and only once) used a Retina-A type product and it was the worst thing ever! I think that if you are out in the elements often, it's not a good idea to do any type of "peels" that remove "excess" layers of skin- we probably need that extra protection due to our exposure. The wind dries my eyes out, too (I wear contacts) so I find I need to put drops in my eyes-especially before removing the contacts.
PS-the mental image of the 10 year old being blown off her horse is priceless!