# Can I ride with these nails?



## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

What is more important to you? The nails or riding?


----------



## Kalraii (Jul 28, 2015)

Not being funny but at my yard there are women with even crazier nails (and makeup) than what you have and they do a mix of jumping/dressage AND muck/groom their horses. I imagine they break quicker ofc and I personally think long nails are rank from a hygienic point of view - but I work with exotics and long nails is begging to get salmonella even with a good routine. I really wouldn't worry about it.


----------



## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

I ride with longer nails. I have had some break off with refusals. But you should be fine.


----------



## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

AnitaAnne said:


> What is more important to you? The nails or riding?


This is indeed the question!


----------



## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

When I used to get may nails done (when I lived in an area where it wasn't a 40-minute drive to a salon), I rode regularly and my nails did fine. You may occasionally rip one off, but they held up better than my regular nails. I tended to keep mine shorter than yours, though. If you want a good chance of keeping decent nails AND riding, shorten yours up to just past the fingertips. If your new nails are for a special occasion, though, you may want to postpone your lesson if breaking one would be a catastrophe.


----------



## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

They look nice! It may be annoying depending on length (when you hold the reins in the proper position) but it's perfectly doable. I think the biggest problem would be getting them caught on something. But again depends on the length. If this is your normal length and you're used to it it's fine, if not it's more likely you'll be bumping stuff a lot and risking them ripping. It just depends on what you're used to more than the nails themselves. Are your natural nails the full length?

Do be prepared that they may not look as nice after.


----------



## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

i had fake nails for a short period of time. They looked really nice, but they interfered with my ability to feel things, to pick up things, to type, to tie knots, to do buckles.


they were , however, very good for giving horses good scritch/scratches! they were very sturdy, and never tore off under very hard treatement.


I got rid of them after two or three months. it was hard converting back, as the glue had damaged the nail surface of my real nail. I will never were false nails again. I have weak natural nails, that stay short and ragged. Who cares?


----------



## LoriF (Apr 3, 2015)

Those nails are great for scratching your horses neck when he does a good job


----------



## Babydoll99 (Jul 5, 2018)

LydiaAndJustice said:


> I ride with longer nails. I have had some break off with refusals. But you should be fine.


 thanks for the help! This makes me feel a lot calmer


----------



## Babydoll99 (Jul 5, 2018)

AnitaAnne said:


> What is more important to you? The nails or riding?


 hahaha! The riding ofcourse 😂


----------



## Babydoll99 (Jul 5, 2018)

Kalraii said:


> Not being funny but at my yard there are women with even crazier nails (and makeup) than what you have and they do a mix of jumping/dressage AND muck/groom their horses. I imagine they break quicker ofc and I personally think long nails are rank from a hygienic point of view - but I work with exotics and long nails is begging to get salmonella even with a good routine. I really wouldn't worry about it.


 thanks for the help! It makes me feel a lot better about having these nails at the barn 🤗


----------



## Babydoll99 (Jul 5, 2018)

SilverMaple said:


> When I used to get may nails done (when I lived in an area where it wasn't a 40-minute drive to a salon), I rode regularly and my nails did fine. You may occasionally rip one off, but they held up better than my regular nails. I tended to keep mine shorter than yours, though. If you want a good chance of keeping decent nails AND riding, shorten yours up to just past the fingertips. If your new nails are for a special occasion, though, you may want to postpone your lesson if breaking one would be a catastrophe.


 thanks! This really helped me!


----------



## Babydoll99 (Jul 5, 2018)

Yogiwick said:


> They look nice! It may be annoying depending on length (when you hold the reins in the proper position) but it's perfectly doable. I think the biggest problem would be getting them caught on something. But again depends on the length. If this is your normal length and you're used to it it's fine, if not it's more likely you'll be bumping stuff a lot and risking them ripping. It just depends on what you're used to more than the nails themselves. Are your natural nails the full length?
> 
> Do be prepared that they may not look as nice after.


 my natural nails ate pretty short, shorter than the finger tips...🤗


----------



## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

Babydoll99 said:


> my natural nails ate pretty short, shorter than the finger tips...🤗


That would be my biggest concern. They are definitely more likely to rip than if just paint over long nails (more leverage if they pull). BUT what does "definitely" mean? I would go for it and just try to avoid putting undue stress on them. Funny to say "try to avoid falling off" for example, but I think for "normal" use and not something where you would put sudden force that may end up on your nails (falling) which you avoid anyways of course, you'll be just fine. They can definitely be sturdier than regular nails.


----------



## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Babydoll99 said:


> This is a picture of what they look like. I
> View attachment 963613
> got gel nails and I have a lesson tomorrow, I want to know if I will be able to ride without breaking them or without having them get ripped off. I have a jumping lesson tomorrow, plz help!
> This is my first time with gel nails, so I don't know what to expect...


Yes you can. Just be a little careful when grabbing things. I had nails for years until I got tired of paying the price for them, now only do them before World Champs shows.


----------



## Woodhaven (Jan 21, 2014)

Of course you can ride, but what happens to the nails???? who knows.


----------



## GINGERAFFE (Jul 5, 2018)

Worse case scenerio grind em down lol! They'd look nice shorter too  Very cool, by the way.


----------



## Babydoll99 (Jul 5, 2018)

Woodhaven said:


> Of course you can ride, but what happens to the nails???? who knows.


 I guess we'll find out, 😂😂😂


----------



## Babydoll99 (Jul 5, 2018)

Dreamcatcher Arabians said:


> Babydoll99 said:
> 
> 
> > This is a picture of what they look like. I
> ...


 thanks so much!


----------



## Babydoll99 (Jul 5, 2018)

Yogiwick said:


> Babydoll99 said:
> 
> 
> > my natural nails ate pretty short, shorter than the finger tips...🤗
> ...


 thanks for the help!🤗


----------



## zoemary (Jul 6, 2018)

I mean, If you want to ride and love it.. you ride no matter what. But always be prepared for the consequences!


----------



## Boo Walker (Jul 25, 2012)

I'm going to let my inner grandma out for a moment:
Make sure you have and use a nail brush to scrub under those nails every time you wash your hands. Cleaning hooves, grooming your horse, you'll pick up lots of fecal bacteria. You don't want to miss out on any riding because you rubbed your eyes and got a painful eye infection, or got a nasty stomach bug after eating something with your hands.
Grandma is gone now, I like your nails, they look really pretty!


----------



## my2geldings (Feb 18, 2008)

Of course you can ride with them. I have nails longer than those year round and I ride and train horses. No issues. If you have a good nail tech who does a good job with them, you shouldnt have any problems.


----------



## Blue (Sep 4, 2011)

I had my nails done recently. Gels. I like to do it periodically just for me. But, I keep them fairly short and do fine. I cashier, type, clean and ride with no problems. I keep a firm nail brush at the sink and scrub them thoroughly for cleanliness. Occasionally I break one, but it’s a simple fix. When I get tired of them, I let them grow out and do it again in a year or two. The key that I’ve found is shorter and clean.


----------



## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

Boo Walker said:


> Cleaning hooves, grooming your horse, you'll pick up lots of fecal bacteria. You don't want to miss out on any riding because you rubbed your eyes and got a painful eye infection, or got a nasty stomach bug after eating something with your hands.


 I do all that normal grooming stuff, go out on a trail ride and eat snacks with my dirty hands. Maybe I'm immune by now, lol! If I'm lucky I wasn't cleaning sheath goobers or handling the fly spray mitt before my ride. :eek_color: 

Somehow horse dirt seems cleaner than all the rest. I wouldn't dream of going to a restaurant without using hand sanitizer before eating. But horse dirt, a quick wipe on my jeans will do. :wink:


----------

