# The highest temperature you'd ride your horse



## Angel_Leaguer (Jun 13, 2008)

it really depends on the humidity, Ive ridden in the low 90s before but the humidity wasnt bad at all... I just dont push my horse much and afterwards I make sure of proper cool down and she gets a rinsing off. But like this week it has been in the low 80s with 70%+ humidity and I have only lightly rode once. It gets hard to breath in that heavy of air...


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## barefoothooves (Sep 6, 2007)

I just take it easy in the heat, and try to ride when the sun isn't high overhead..95 heat in the evening is still not as bad as 95 in direct sunlight.

that's when I work more on "schooling" , nice, quiet leg yields or shady trail rides if I can find one..then I hose my horse off afterwards as a thank you.


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Yeah, if it's really humid I don't ride for a long time, or at all.  If it's too hot for ME to be outside, I don't ride. I'll either groom or give my horse a bath. 
If it's like 90 degrees but low humidity then I ride, but nothing major.


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## GeminiJumper (Jun 12, 2008)

If the humidity is high, I wait till late evening to ride. Like around 7 or 8 pm. And with the heat, probably around mid 90's, but even then, I don't ride in mid day with the sun directly on top. To avoid the most harmful sun rays, wait till your shadow is taller than you are. Don't be in the sun when your shadow is shorter than your height.


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## firemom1 (Jul 17, 2008)

We have high humidity here so I dont' ride if I can helpit if it is 75 or more. I hose him off before we ride and after if we ride when it is hot. Mostly we just do some light lunging after I hose him down, he usually gets pretty excited cause it feel ssoooo goood! :roll:


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## mlkarel2010 (Jan 27, 2008)

Yeah, I always ride in the evenings or the mornings... Normally if I know that day is going to be REALLY hot and humid I will try for the morning because it had all night to cool off, instead of in the evening when it had all day to heat up and is now just starting to cool off. That's just my opinion.


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

^^Agreed!! I usually ride in the evening if it's too hot during the day.  At nighttime it's usually much cooler.


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

Evenings are pretty bad too now. I'm all wet after 10 mins doing something outside....


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## xoILoveMyHorsexo (Jul 19, 2008)

It all depends on the humidity. I will ride in most weather since it doesn't really get real hot around here (no more than 90 degrees) But I make sure my horse gets walked then hosed down and walked again.


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

Went to the horse camp on Sat (just for food and meet some people, no riding on my side!  ). Mid of 90th with HIGH humidity, and people riding horses late morning - mid of the day for several hours. And then when they are back those poor horses are on picket line for hours, some under the direct sun (no shade). The worst thing was those "kids" (almost as big as me) riding small pony (best suited for 8-10 years old to ride ALONE) AFTER the ride. It was just killing me...


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## Brandon (Jan 17, 2008)

Yea, We had to start our lessons an hour early because of the heat. We ride about 8:30 in the mornin, because its not as hot. On tuesdays class though, we make sure the horses have enough water and we dont work them as hard because its so hot.


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## mlkarel2010 (Jan 27, 2008)

kitten_Val said:


> Went to the horse camp on Sat (just for food and meet some people, no riding on my side!  ). Mid of 90th with HIGH humidity, and people riding horses late morning - mid of the day for several hours. And then when they are back those poor horses are on picket line for hours, some under the direct sun (no shade). The worst thing was those "kids" (almost as big as me) riding small pony (best suited for 8-10 years old to ride ALONE) AFTER the ride. It was just killing me...


omg, i know! i was at a camp last year... (i pretty much paid 300 bucks to do horse chores for two weeks :roll: )

and they had hour long ring classes at 1 pm! and the horses are ridden nonstop in 90-100 degree weather from 9am-5pm... poor guys... and they only get water when the campers doing the chores remember to water them... and then they don't go in order and some horses don't get watered :shock: 

I feel so bad for the poor guys... they don't ride in the morning or evening, just the hottest parts of the day, and it's HUMID too....

different point now... I only ride in the morning and evening, and at the hottest points there i only do walking and trotting and try to find the breeziest spot I can... It's probably like 85-90 out and pretty humid... but I'm not killing Duke, I promise... I don't canter him for over 60 seconds, so he's perfectly fine... 

He does have to get used to the heat because the show is in the middle of the day and it is going to be HOTTT, like 110 with 95% humidity!!! This is why i'm dropping a lot of our events so I don't over work the poor guy


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## Parker Horse Ranch (Jul 18, 2008)

I try to wake up at 5:29 or 6:00 in the morining where is so cool and mist for trail riding but during the day I dont ride in the hot heat and I wait late in the afternoon like around 5 to 7 to ride on the trail but for barrel racing I ride around 7:00 oclock where it cool and almost dark and I have a barn were I can turn on the light at night where I groom them and feed them and it so cool.


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

What's really killing me is that it's not that type of camp (kiddie one). Those are adult people (with some kids) with OWN horses. :shock:


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## Arrow (Jul 21, 2008)

I live in Ohio, and I've stopped riding if the humidity is over 80%. If I have trouble breathing and the air is like molasses, I know he can't work in it. I read something interesting on another forum recently--add temp and humidity together, and if it's 120 or under, you can do what you want. If it's between 120 and 180, be careful, find shade, hydrate, etc. If it's over 180, don't ride.

So 70 degrees and 70% humidity--140, just be careful.

100 degrees and 10% humidity--110, if your horse is used to it, go for it!

90 degrees and 80% humidity--170, not recommended!


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## mlkarel2010 (Jan 27, 2008)

Arrow said:


> I live in Ohio, and I've stopped riding if the humidity is over 80%. If I have trouble breathing and the air is like molasses, I know he can't work in it. I read something interesting on another forum recently--add temp and humidity together, and if it's 120 or under, you can do what you want. If it's between 120 and 180, be careful, find shade, hydrate, etc. If it's over 180, don't ride.
> 
> So 70 degrees and 70% humidity--140, just be careful.
> 
> ...


that's interesting....


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## my2geldings (Feb 18, 2008)

I don't know that I actually go by temperature. I know I am very sensitive to temps outside and will actually start feeling very faint if it gets to warm regardless of how hydrated I am.

I usually go by how I feel. If it's to warm for me to be bouncing around on a horse, I know my horse won't be happy either so I don't ride.

Where I am located those warm days don't happen to often. We get very few days where the heat really prevents us from riding. We also have indoor arenas which many of you folks don't have since you really don't need them like we do. That gives us the option and a place to ride year round.


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## mayfieldk (Mar 5, 2008)

Wow, you guys are a lot more careful then me!
I ride my horse in 95, 96, 97, 98 degree weather as long as it's not too humid--and it has to be REALLY humid for me not to ride. I hose them off BEFORE I ride if it's really hot (the water evaporates and takes the heat with it, giving the horse a head start so he doesn't have to start sweating before it happens), work them, and then immediately hose them down--studies show that cooling them down right away in warm weather is fine.
I make sure they have plenty of water, and they seem to do just fine. I don't want my horse to be extremely lazy at an important show thats really hot because I've never ridden him in bad weather before! They were made for this kind of stuff; I just take precautions to make sure we are a-ok. They're hydrated, I don't KILL them during their workout, and they're cooled off and then cooled down.


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## Vegashorselady (Jul 21, 2008)

It's really dry here in the desert so I'll ride in pretty hot weather. As long as it's not the middle of the day when the sun is at its fullest the heat isn't so bad. You just have to be wiling to ride at 5am or wait until after 7pm.


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