[ezduzit]

Do you ride outside when it's windy? Winds today are gusting to 30+ with lesser gusts of 20+. Would you ride in that? We tend not to but I'm not sure why?

[Lilykoi]

I hate riding in wind! Some horses mind it less than others, but I tend to find a sheltered spot and graze them for exercise on those days.

[Bluey]

We would never get to ride outside if we didn't ride when the wind blows.

It has to get about 40+ mph before we get out of the wind and by then the dust storms make it hard to see and miserable to try to stand up to that, much less ride.
Horses don't seem to mind the wind much, they stand out there and graze thru dust storms.
Yesterday we had a "nice" day with 30 mph, got much done anyway.
Today, less wind, wonderful!

Then, there is a reason we are part of a wind farm.

[ezduzit]

LOL, Bluey. Having horses on a wind farm!

Daughter's farm is wide open and it's always much windier there than here...only 5 miles away. But it's 38 and sunny...we're headed for teens and low 20s next week. Hate to waste a *decent* day. Thurs we got blown at by a sustained gust that I thought would never end. He didn't seem to mind it but it scared me a little.

[Bluey]

LOL, Bluey. Having horses on a wind farm!

Daughter's farm is wide open and it's always much windier there than here...only 5 miles away. But it's 38 and sunny...we're headed for teens and low 20s next week. Hate to waste a *decent* day. Thurs we got blown at by a sustained gust that I thought would never end. He didn't seem to mind it but it scared me a little.

That is what fence posts are good for, to hang onto when the gusts get fierce.

No, with those 60 mph winds we get, we don't want to be on a horse.

[ako]

A lot of this will depend on the horse. My girl tends to very much dislike wind! She is much more spooky and distracted. If I've worked her well the day before and it's not too bad, we'll probably ride. But if little tree branches are snapping and she's already "up", not so much.

[Zu Zu]

My favorite is a ride in the wind ``` unless extremely bitter temps.

I Love windy spring rides !

I Love windy summer rides !

I love windy fall rides !

I love windy winter rides !!!

I JUST LOVE TO RIDE !!!!!

[jetsmom]

We get a lot of wind, and most days in the spring are 25-35 mph with gusts to about 45. We ride in it all of the time. Horses learn to become blase' about it. I get off when the gusts start blowing Jet sideways. Seriously. They do. You'll be trotting a straight line and a gust will blow, and he'll be blown off the track for a couple of steps.

[Superminion]

I've always noticed that Herself is 100x's more 'looky' when it's windy, but I jump too when the doors start banging or things start blowing around.

I just ride through it, unless it gets dangerous.

[ddashaq]

I will ride my arab in all kinds of crazy wind-- back in 2008 I rode him in the remnants of a hurricane that made it all the way up here. Jumps were blowing over, all kinds of crap flew through the arena, and Mr Spookball himself never gave anything so much as a second glance.

[enjoytheride]

I would rather ride a horse outside in the wind then inside in the wind.

[horsepoor]

Living at the west end of the Columbia Gorge (windsurfers flock there for a reason!), I have to ride in the wind. Just put in an outdoor arena and if the other weather factors are good, wind won't stop me. One horse in particular is a little more up about it, and when the leaves were coming down and blowing across the arena, that got interesting...especially when a whole carpet of them blows up from BEHIND you -- wahoo! When the winds got so bad that trees broke off, I did not ride. Those gusts were 60-75 mph and not something we get that often. More likely to be 20ish mph sustained, and 40ish gusts...those are okay. I think I prefer the wind over the freezing fog we had here this week. I kept hoping the wind would come back and blow that stuff out of here!

[ezduzit]

Well, I pulled up my cowgirl panties and RODE. He was great and I hardly even noticed the wind. It was nearly 50 degrees. He wasn't any different than normal...never has been a spooky-looky horse. And he was very calm and submissive. Must be the B1 kicking in. ;-) Either that or he's been swayed with my no nonsense attitude.

I'm going to try for another ride on Monday. A little less windy with temps in the upper teens. I have insulated breeches, face mask and windproof coat. I'm going for it!

[snbess]

Well, I pulled up my cowgirl panties and RODE. He was great and I hardly even noticed the wind.

Good for you!

There are weeks here when we get a lot of wind. I *have* ridden in conditions like you talk about, but I prefer not to. On those windy weeks, it is rare that the entire day is that windy. I can often ride early in the morning and miss most of the wind. By afternoon, it's up in the 30mph range again. I'm willing to be flexible to have a better ride. I don't enjoy it when I feel like I'm being blown out of the saddle.

[caballero]

Absolutely ride when it's windy. I want every horse I ride to learn to deal with the real world.

Today it was sunny and in the mid 40s but with winds in the mid 20s gusting to the mid 30s. No big deal, the wind did not change my plans to hack Bacon out. We headed down the side of the road for about 1/2 mile to the nearby bike/walk/equestrian rail trail. We hacked for just over an hour in the gusty winds. He was more worried about the dark holes in the roadside culverts than he was about the whistling and weaving trees, bicyclists, and rabbit hunters with their dogs. In fact, just as we passed the hunters a second time one of them shot at a rabbit and Bacon handled it just fine. He did startle for a second but a quick half halt and a "good boy" settled him right quick.

[ex-racer owner]

The great thing about the wind is that it helps dry out the mud!

My sister and I rode out on trail today and it was much gustier than normal. Unless there are large pieces of debris being blown about, we'll ride. There was one spot that it was really bad, at the top of a hill which is all open fields that both of our horses were unhappy about, but once we got out of that area, they were fine. I was probably more "traumatized" by the ride than the horses, as my jacket collar came up a couple of times and slapped me on the jaw pretty good, lol!

[caballero]

My favorite is a ride in the wind ``` unless extremely bitter temps.

I Love windy spring rides !

I Love windy summer rides !

I love windy fall rides !

I love windy winter rides !!!

I JUST LOVE TO RIDE !!!!!

Amen sister

[SmartAlex]

I ride in it. But I've found my horse is much steadier hacking down the road in a straight line in the wind than working in the outdoor arena under the same conditions. I attribute it to the fact that when we circle in the arena, the wind shifts and comes from every direction and mimics worse weather conditions. I've considered trying earplugs on him and braiding up his tail to see if it would help.

What I don't like about hacking out in it is that I cannot hear traffic coming. I try to stay off the roads on windy days. Today it was hack on the road or stay home so I went to the cross road where we were working perpendicular to the wind which improved my hearing a lot and we were only caught off guard once.

Today was 41* and 30 mph winds and I was quite toastie in my usual Kerrits winter riding ensemble. This past Thursday it was 31* and the wind was bitter. I had to hold the neck of my vest closed at my chin. Today I remembered my neck cozy!

[caballero]

What I don't like about hacking out in it is that I cannot hear traffic coming.

Are you riding on the road itself or on the shoulder? I have room to ride on the shoulder so I usually ride so that traffic is oncoming on my side.

I like to be able to see what's coming without turning my head.

[saddleup]

Yay for drying out mud! That's why I also love it when it's windy. My horses are used to it so don't bat an eye.