Winter Rider Support Group 2014-15?

[541hunter]

I’m on the hunt for gloves that are warm but not bulky for riding. I love my Roeckl Chester gloves for pretty much all weather except when its -10 or lower. I have some SSG ones but they are too bulky for riding. Open to options.

I wear a pair of silk liners under my normal gloves when it gets below freezing. They're nice and thin but they hold in all the warmth, and it wicks away any sweat which is nice. SSG makes a pair ($12.99 on Dover) but I just have a no-name pair my mom gave me.

[rhinestone_cowgirl]

I’m on the hunt for gloves that are warm but not bulky for riding. I love my Roeckl Chester gloves for pretty much all weather except when its -10 or lower. I have some SSG ones but they are too bulky for riding. Open to options.

http://www.ssgridinggloves.com/style...winter-leather

Love these! I even bought a pair for non-barn use as they look really nice too!

[mortgagemyhorse]

I rode last night. I didn't want to do it. First night in the low 40's. Pitch black when I left work. Wasn't in the winter frame of mind and poorly packed so I knew I was going to freeze. Pissy the entire drive out there. Worried I would be out there all alone (this happens a lot).

But, as soon as I walked into the barn my horse's head was popped out of the stall, just so excited to see me and get ridden. Total cuddle monster while tacking up and a dream to ride even with it being freezing, windy and doing some kind of rain/sleet thing outside (rode in the indoor obviously). LUCKILY there were people out there. Glad I went.

My winter plan is to try and ride when I know there are others free riding at night (there are a couple of us who ride after work) OR I know there are evening lessons going on. The cold bothers me, the darkness scares me but it's the being alone that I loathe.

Pre work rides are impossible for me, otherwise I would be all up on that.

I am possibly changing jobs here shortly which is going to add a whole other element to the Support Group for me-my potential job will be closer to home (yay) but farther from the barn+traffic.

My gear:
-UA longsleeve shirt with the mock turtleneck thing, then a sweater or fleece or some other kind of overwear thing+my winter riding/ski coat. I usually take the coat off after trotting.
-same/usual gloves. My hands don't get super cold
-if it's below 40 I will wear long johns under
-still working on freezing feet. My biggest issue is walking in the barn in my warm lined Bean Boots and having to take my feet out and put on the cold paddock boots, so I am going to keep paddock boots in my car. I have to wear my same thin socks or my feet get no circulation (similar to skiing)

[Meany]

I could use some help! It was mid 30s today and flurries when I went to ride.

Last week I had a couple of adult beverages and braved WalMart in search of the stretch fleece leggings and undershirt from Cuddlduds -- < $10 and I really, really love them. Warmer than my UA Coldgear tights and a fraction of the cost, although not as slim under breeches.

Also, SmartPak has real sheepskin seat covers on sale for about $45. My a$$ very much enjoyed sinking into that today.

I'm in the market for a nice quarter sheet. I'm very torn between the less expensive, utilitarian fleece option and something from, say, Integrity Linens that I'll love for the rest of my life and pay a small fortune for... Anyone else made this difficult decision?

[SmartAlex]

I spent an hour hauling (half of my) jumps indoors to store. They were soaked and frozen and twice as heavy as normal. But I just jumped on Tuesday!
I decided it was completely possible that this first foot of snow may never melt. We may be snow covered until March.
Then I collected up all of my freezable grooming supplies and dragged my weary carcass home stopping by the car wash to power wash my boots and floor mats and my mud and salt covered car.... and so it begins.

[Firebug]

I have to ask how is everyone ridding when it's below freezing? Aren't your arenas frozen? Mine certainly is. :/

[Meany]

I have to ask how is everyone ridding when it's below freezing? Aren't your arenas frozen? Mine certainly is. :/

We're still good... So far every day has gotten above freezing at some point and the footing is good, maybe a touch deep from being dry.

We have only an outdoor, but management treats it with salt/de-icer and keeps it very well dragged. Last winter was pretty terrible, but there were only a handful of days that I just wouldn't take a horse out there.

I hate the weather, but I do kind of enjoy the winter solitude.

[SmartAlex]

I have to ask how is everyone ridding when it's below freezing? Aren't your arenas frozen? Mine certainly is. :/

Mine is muddy under the snow and will remain muddy until sometime in January by which time its almost a given that we will get rain on the melting snow and it will be covered with 4 or 5 inches of solid ice.

[vanessajean]

Our indoor is not frozen. It was -5 C here today. Snow was sliding off the roof too so that wasn't fun. I was warm though in my Kerrits, UA Coldgear shirt and Columbia Fleece. I had a jacket too but took that off to ride.

[billiebob]

I have to ask how is everyone ridding when it's below freezing? Aren't your arenas frozen? Mine certainly is. :/

These are from my last two rides in my "arena."
https://fbcdn-photos-e-a.akamaihd.ne...28a92863ce0931
https://fbcdn-photos-d-a.akamaihd.ne...1b754c7dd2d82f (6 or so more inches of snow today, yippee )

Obviously my rides are not hardcore......mostly walk with some trotting and cantering where I know it's not all ripped up underneath. Horses are barefoot with good feet and I trim as little sole as possible for extra protection.

[Firebug]

billiebob your rides look like fun! I could take my horse out on a trail ride; however, he's quite the handful outside, he hasn't been ridden in a week+, and since the weather turned cold he's become even spookier. In other words I'm a wimp and don't want to deal with a fire breathing dragon.

[Secret Dove]

I use to use UA cold gear under my jeans and multi layers and a fleece and/or winter jacket when it was really cold out (20/30s). I usually just rode in a fleece because I found the winter jacket to binding to ride properly. I did have mountain horse paddock boots that were really nice for winter riding, them and foot warmers kept my feet pretty warm. If I rode in my regular paddock boots I rode in wool socks plus feet warmers. Glove wise I had winter gloves but preferred to ride in my summer gloves which were fine for the cold.

[fordtraktor]

Here is the view from my winter "arena." I do have a ring but when the ground is frozen my fields are better for riding. My TB spent the day learning how to trot round circles without bulging back toward the barn and his screaming buddies, who swore I'd kidnapped him.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=1&theater

Super cold and snowy today, so I rode in my Carhartts and Bogs. They are surprisingly pretty decent to ride in, and I was toasty!

[Firebug]

It was balmy 24 degrees out, but I did get on my horse today. I'm not sure I'd qualify what we did as ridding but we walked around in the arena for 18min. He was way to bright eyed to take outside!

[vanessajean]

Thanks for the glove recommendations ladies. I have a pair of SSG winter gloves that I bought last year but they are too big. They are a 7 and I should have bought a 6. They are in mint condition so I am hoping to sell them and get a different pair.

Winter officially ruined my first ride of the year. Sunday I showed up at the barn around noon to ride. This was pretty dumb since there was snow all over the indoor and noon is when the sun melts it the most causing massive sliding. I trucked through the field to find RB. Normally he comes to the gate but I guess he couldn’t hear me since the herd was really far away. I took him back to the gate and as I was opening it snow slid off the indoor (which is pretty close to the gate). Two other horses bolted towards us so I jumped out of the way and of course RB took off too. Back I trudge through the field to the same super far away spot. Get RB finally get him into the barn. The indoor is connected to the barn by a chute. Snow is sliding off almost constantly and it’s super loud. RB is terrified. I decide to lunge instead. My coach/BO comes down and asks me to hack. We go out to get her horse and snow starts sliding off all the trees along the field where we would hack. This is of course also terrifying. We decide against hacking. I also decide against lunging as RB is still super wide eyed and I don’t feel like getting my arms ripped off. I groom him and stuff him full of treats and turn him back out. Winter- 1 RB &me- 0.

[SmartAlex]

These are from my last two rides in my "arena."
https://fbcdn-photos-e-a.akamaihd.ne...28a92863ce0931
https://fbcdn-photos-d-a.akamaihd.ne...1b754c7dd2d82f (6 or so more inches of snow today, yippee )

Obviously my rides are not hardcore......mostly walk with some trotting and cantering where I know it's not all ripped up underneath. Horses are barefoot with good feet and I trim as little sole as possible for extra protection.

Our fields are still too wet and muddy underneath to ride. Funny story. My horse's biggest fear in life is falling into quicksand. He's very cautious of weird footing. Last spring our fields looked very much like your first photo. The top 2 to 3 inches were frozen, and there was windswept snow on the longish grass. I thought it was perfect footing. Firm. Non-slip. We rode about a quarter mile down the field until we had to come out and cross the road. I thought my horse felt a bit tense but he was being very careful and well behaved so I didn't think much of it. As soon as we reached the pavement he heaved this big sigh of relief and totally relaxed. I hadn't even realized it but the feel of the frozen crust over softer ground must have weirded him out big time. Apparently he was sure at some point he was going to break through the earth's crust and be stranded in quicksand.

[Tiger Horse]

Vj - ahh the joys of melting snow! Dodger is not a fan either - luckily I ride pretty early on the weekends, so we avoid that particular problem. And most week nights it's after 7:30pm by the time I mount, so again, mostly too cold or already done! Rode both Saturday and Sunday - it was a balmy 24 or so both days. Indoor was pretty quiet again.

Not sure if I will ride tonight - high of 19 today. I'll have to re-check what temps are too low for horses to work in. I know my old lesson barn used to cancel lessons if it was below freezing.

[vanessajean]

Tiger- I’m definitely riding early from now on if there is snow on the indoor. I got into that habit last winter and it worked out well. Like you by the time I ride on weeknights it is too cold or the snow already melted off. I’m not ready for winter yet so didn’t even think about it for Sunday even though it was obvious that there would be melting snow. I’m still in fall mode. At what temps do you guys not ride?

[Tiger Horse]

My trainer generally cancels when the temps will be/are in the low teens and single digits. Part of the issue is the footing in the indoor - when it gets that cold, it gets pretty hard.

[SmartAlex]

At what temps do you guys not ride?

Single digits. Around that temp it hurts me to breathe. I don't want to burn the horse's lungs. I might hop on bareback for some fun, but no serious work gets done. Of course I don't have an indoor