[JohnDeere]

In an unheated drafty indoor arena how cold does that air outside have to be before its too cold for lessons for you?

Opinions welcome.

[BuddyRoo]

10-15 degrees.

Much below that and it's not fun anymore. And that's with me RIDING and WORKING! I can't imagine asking someone to stand in the arena teaching me when it's much colder than that!

[Samantha37]

You are better than I am I haven't been riding because it has been in the low 20s and my indoor is FREEZING. I go to the barn after work, and it is already dark and bitterly cold.

[Rienzi]

I wouldn't get much riding in if I waited for it to be in the 20s!
For riding indoors, I am fine down to about 0 F. My instructor, though is freezing! Maybe I should get her one of those ice-fishing suits?

[DressageGeek "Ribbon Ho"]

Depends. Because our barn is open, and the temp can drop suddenly, the footing in the indoor can get funky before we can do anything about it. For me, it's below 30 for riding and below 22-25 for in hand/ground work, depending on the footing.

[JohnDeere]

The people that have answered: does it depend on where you are? To some people -15 is normal. To some people 32 is freezing.

[ReSomething]

I won't ride if it is under 20 degrees. That is my self imposed limit. We only get about two weeks of those temps over the winter. The footing at one place used to freeze so we had to avoid certain spots, and the horses were mostly pastured so sweating became a real issue. This new place the footing clumps up in the horses' feet so we have to stop and pick out.

[Samantha37]

I live in central VA- it is uncommon for it to get below freezing here... usually we will have a couple of weeks of cold- meaning hovering around freezing, sometimes dipping below. This is the coldest winter I can remember... it has been in the teens and twenties for the last week, and I feel like I could walk around in a short sleeve T when it is 40 degrees, haha
I actually think that the indoor that is not insulated is colder than outside- unless it is really windy.
I also have no winter riding boots and my paddocks that I have right now are like 10 years old and have holes in the front... I have ordered new boots, but not in time for this frost!

[BuddyRoo]

My family is from Wyoming, I grew up in Iowa, and now I live in MI. LOL So I own warm clothes and don't let the cold stop me too much. Footing yes. Cold not so much.

But like this winter, the footing is awful so I'm not riding at all. But if I had the opportunity to haul for a lesson, I would likely cancel if it was 10-15 degrees or less.

When I lived in N TX, I LOVED it because I could ride year 'round no problem. But some of my fellow boarders had cutoff of 40 degrees. LOL We'd have a little cold snap and they'd just hide in their houses.

So yeah...maybe it's also what you're used to.

[joiedevie99]

Well, ours are all body clipped, but the indoor is not attached to the barn or insulated, so it gets pretty darn cold in there. We have one of those outdoor heaters that a trainer can stand next to, but it doesn't help you or the horse. It was in the single digits last week during the cold spell and we skipped 3 days of riding. It was 20 today, and my lesson went on as scheduled.

[Tiffany01]

under 10 %

[KnKShowmom]

We ride mostly at night and our indoor is pretty warm (not heated but not drafty) and once DD gets going she is usually shedding layers. She rode last week during the ice age we had come through except for the day it was in the low teens all day. We had already been outside all day and I just couldn't wrap my head around the concept of pulling that nice warm blanket off a partially clipped horse!

I would say for a lesson, she will ride in temps down to upper teens, colder than that is probably not going to end well on some level!

[lorilu]

Well, last night it was about 45 here at 4pm, and the barn is 1/2 hour away, the wind was blowing (covered arena, but not indoor), and I know the temp would drop when the sun set.... I didn't go. My trainer agreed. She just got off a horse and said it was frigid.

We are spoiled, I know. That's why we live in Florida.

Besides, I do this for fun, not because I have to!!

Loretta

To give myself some credibility, I went to college at Univ of Colorado Boulder, and we rode ALL winter out at the C-U Ranch. 'Course, I was 30 years younger then......

[fargonefarm]

I am the teacher/trainer and if it's 15-18 degrees or below, I don't teach. It's not fair to my lesson horses and it's not fun for the students to say nothing about the misery it causes me!

[JohnDeere]

Fargone is closest to our answer.

You win a free snowball. Some assembly required.

[MGLad]

When I was growing up, my instructor said "no riding if it gets below 10". I have followed that rule for 30 years and it works for me

[ddashaq]

When I taught, I only cancelled lessons if it got much below 15 degrees. I really hated teaching in the winter. One of the many reasons that I am SO happy to have moved away from that career!

[joharavhf]

I had a lesson on my own horse at the trainer's facility today. It was 15 degrees Fahrenheit when I was completed. Horse AND myself were sweaty afterwards....and the trainer has a heat lamp and heated foot thing plus blankets. I actually felt okay riding today, but we were mindful of not walkng too long, but not pushing so far that it stressed the horse out too much. Plus we finished after 45 minutes because we were done....

The arena I ride in is state of the art but not heated I think I'd call out if it were below 10 AND windy.

[nightsong]

If you're talking about YOU FEELING cold; that depends on: the humidity (damper=MUCH more uncomfortable; you can dress for dry cold, but not really for DAMP cold), your wardrobe, how active you are, and other things. If you're talking about THE HORSE feeling cold, remember that they're outdoors all the time (being in a stall usually results in the horse feeling colder, as they can't move around to warm up). If you're talking about footing, that depends on what you've got and, usually, how much moisture there is in it to freeze.

[tikihorse2]

It depends on what temperature the indoor ring is. The outdoor temperature has been 10-15F and the indoor ring has been quite comfortable--32F or even warmer.

I HAVE, however, ridden when the temperature is in the teens and even the single digits. I don't like to do the single digit bit too often, though, because I have asthma and even with Singular and Advair, I find it a bit too hard on the lungs.

Kim