# Riding on concrete???



## Saskia

I wouldn't do it. Concrete is very hard, and I think it would be hard on his joints. 

Although that's just what I think.


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## waresbear

You see horses in parades & city cops riding horses on pavement. While it's not ideal, keep it to a walk. When I was a kid, we used to gallop our horses down the street and watch the sparks fly off the pavement, yes I was young & irresponsible, but it was fun.


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## themacpack

Moving freely on his own and moving while carrying weight on his back is different - so being comfortable with the former may not translate to comfort with the latter. Is your horse shod or bare? If bare, what sorts of footing is he being kept on, moving on on a routine basis (not just when he makes a break for it ;-) )?
As waresbear said, keep it at a walk - the concussive force of impacting on pavement at higher speeds is amplified on their structures - often with negative results.
Are you avoiding working him in the other areas due to your own concerns about the muddiness or is it that the BO has put restrictions on use of areas because of the wetness? I only ask because it is not necessarily automatically not possible to work in a wet area, as with working on concrete you would have to make appropriate adjustments to what you do to fit the conditions.


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## Tianimalz

Ive heard that riding too hard on pavement is not only horrible for the joints...but can also cause bruising in the hoof. When pavement comes in play i keep it at an easy walk. Sounds like a preventable vet bill.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## shaggy

I guess i should have said shaggy's barefoot and he's got great feet a side from the thrush i can't seem to get rid of lol and he's mostly walking on dirt and grass and some gravel when he's actually aloud in the field and no the owners aren't keeping me from riding in certain places. the ring is just so muddy it looks like a pond instead of a ring.


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## Country Woman

if you ride on the pavement be careful


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## bubba13

It's a) extremely hard on the joints, b) can cause road founder, c) tears up a barefoot hoof, and d) does not give safe purchase for a shod hoof.


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## gypsygirl

riding on the road can be very beneficial to your horse if you do it right. start only at a walk for short periods of time, starting at only a few minutes. road work can help strengthen their tendons and ligaments, which will make them less likely to tear. i personally will w/t/c and gallop on the road, but thats because i fox hunt.


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## waresbear

Sorry to go off topic, however....Is foxhunting done on pavement?


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## bubba13

gypsygirl said:


> riding on the road can be very beneficial to your horse if you do it right. start only at a walk for short periods of time, starting at only a few minutes. road work can help strengthen their tendons and ligaments, which will make them less likely to tear. i personally will w/t/c and gallop on the road, but thats because i fox hunt.


Where are you getting your information?


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## Kayty

Bubba, working horses on hard surfaces is actually quite a common practice to help strengthen the tendons and ligaments. A lot of dressage and event horses are brought lightly back into work doing road work for this reason. Mainly walking, and gradually building to gentle, short bursts of trot. Never faster. 
I was advised by my vet when Hugo tore his suspensory, that 'when' he was sound enough to start light work, to do most of it on hard surfaces, preferably on roads at walk and eventually light trot, to strengthen the ligament.


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## mom2pride

I think if you were to keep him at a walk going up and down once or twice wouldn't hurt him, especially since this wouldn't be a 'permanent situation'; if you have any leg protection, put it on him.


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## bubba13

Kayty said:


> Bubba, working horses on hard surfaces is actually quite a common practice to help strengthen the tendons and ligaments. A lot of dressage and event horses are brought lightly back into work doing road work for this reason. Mainly walking, and gradually building to gentle, short bursts of trot. Never faster.
> I was advised by my vet when Hugo tore his suspensory, that 'when' he was sound enough to start light work, to do most of it on hard surfaces, preferably on roads at walk and eventually light trot, to strengthen the ligament.


Even under saddle, and when shod? I have always heard--both from local veterinarians and from articles in print and online--that doing any work on hard surfaces is extremly detrimental to the joints. When evaluating ground to ride on, the guideline has always been that if you can hear your horse's footfalls, it's too hard and thus not safe. Hard ground will support soft tissue more that soft ground, but at the expense of joint damage, common sense would say. Do you have any evidence to support this belief?


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## Kayty

Kayty said:


> Bubba, working horses on hard surfaces is actually quite a common practice to help strengthen the tendons and ligaments. A lot of dressage and event horses are brought lightly back into work doing road work for this reason. Mainly walking, and gradually building to gentle, short bursts of trot. Never faster.
> I was advised by my vet when Hugo tore his suspensory, that 'when' he was sound enough to start light work, to do most of it on hard surfaces, preferably on roads at walk and eventually light trot, to strengthen the ligament.


Oh and just to add - no I don't think that riding on concrete every ride is a good idea. Ligaments will do well on it, if introduced very slowly, but joints will not fair well and it is very easy for them to slip.

I would limit any work you do on pavement/concrete, to walk and a slow trot in short bursts if the horse is conditioned enough. Otherwise, just sit on your hands and wait for the normal riding area to dry out.


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## waresbear

Well, if it was so horrible, I am pretty sure they would not ride police horses on pavement, or carriage horses on the street. Although someone is alway protesting that the carriage horses are abused, so I dunno. I can state for a fact, I rode all sorts of horses & ponies (as well as many of my childhood friends) on pavement 1/2 the time & dirt trails the other 1/2. We rode probably 20 to 30 hours a week, rarely did we have a lame mount. So, maybe we conditioned them without knowing.


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## waresbear

And off topic again, is foxhunting done on pavement streets?


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## Kayty

bubba13 said:


> Even under saddle, and when shod? I have always heard--both from local veterinarians and from articles in print and online--that doing any work on hard surfaces is extremly detrimental to the joints. When evaluating ground to ride on, the guideline has always been that if you can hear your horse's footfalls, it's too hard and thus not safe. Hard ground will support soft tissue more that soft ground, but at the expense of joint damage, common sense would say. Do you have any evidence to support this belief?


Apparently so. I'll have to look into it, only telling you what I've heard re ligament injury and working dressage horses back in. 
I wouldn't have been able to work Hugo on a hard surface like that anyway, due to his hock injury. Was caught between a rock and a hard place on that one. But the treatment for ligament and tendon injuries has always been to work them on a solid surface, they should be able to reach the base of whatever surface you're riding in. Any drag from a soft surface will increase damage.


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## crimson88

Don't do it. I know of a horse who lived in a concrete paddock and he slipped and fell, did the splits and it ruptured an artery in the pelvis area (I don't know the name of the artery) and basicly bled himself to death.


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## bubba13

Kayty said:


> Apparently so. I'll have to look into it, only telling you what I've heard re ligament injury and working dressage horses back in.
> I wouldn't have been able to work Hugo on a hard surface like that anyway, due to his hock injury. Was caught between a rock and a hard place on that one. But the treatment for ligament and tendon injuries has always been to work them on a solid surface, they should be able to reach the base of whatever surface you're riding in. Any drag from a soft surface will increase damage.


I haven't really researched this, but seems to me there would be some sort of happy medium. I just know I got chewed out by a vet one time when she saw me trotting my gelding down the road, and that she thinks that riding on hard surfaces was a contributing factor to his navicular syndrome (which we suspect is primarily soft tissue). Which makes sense, if you think about it. Concussive force causes chronic inflammation, which irritates the bone, causing deterioration. The rough edges can form spurs or can abrade the soft tissue (tendons and ligaments)--causing more pain and inflammation in an vicious cycle.

I don't know. I wouldn't do it. If feasible, I would think rubber mat footing would be ideal. It has plenty of shock absorption but no give to stretch healing tendons.


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## shaggy

mom2pride said:


> I think if you were to keep him at a walk going up and down once or twice wouldn't hurt him, especially since this wouldn't be a 'permanent situation'; if you have any leg protection, put it on him.


 like splint boots?


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## CessBee

Walking most of the time, but short steady trots are fine, a bit of concussion to the joints isn't always a bad thing, but it can easily be over done, so if you are not sure on how much is too much trot don't do it.


Also, boots will only prevent knock injuries, they do not support.


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## its lbs not miles

shaggy said:


> So I've finally got sick of not riding my horse cause of rain. So i had an idea today( while walking down the driveway back to field cause I decided to turn shaggy out and see if he would stay in well he didn't and met us almost in the road needless to say he's not going out again for awhile!) the owners have this huge long concrete driveway so i thought since its the only place dry on the farm why not ride him down it a couple times! but I was wondering is it ok on his legs to ride on the concrete? I mean he runs up and down when ever he breaks out of the field anyways.


First and foremost. Make sure the feet are sound. There are conditions that can be a potential problem for riding on pavement until they're fixed.

His footing will be better if he's unshod. Shoes can cause slipping, because shoes don't get the traction and can result in sliding. 
If he's over 4 (and he should be) his legs have already matured. I woudn't race on pavement, but just for light riding should be fine and you can go on and off the paved area if you like. 
I have ridden on pavement for 40 years without any problems (my mare prefers the road if the shoulder is muddy). I've found it to be great for keeping the outter edge of the hoof slightly rounded and cuts down on the amount of trimming I needed to do. 
Hoofs will toughen up pretty hard (and if you hear about color, no, the color doesn't matter :lol. I've had white and black horses (with like colored hoof) and they were all equally as hard.


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## gypsygirl

waresbear said:


> And off topic again, is foxhunting done on pavement streets?


where i hunt it is very close to town, so we have to ride on and across a lot of roads. we sometimes gallop through subdivisions. im sure not all hunts spend a lot of time on the road, but where i hunt we do. but if there is a shoulder we do try to ride on that if we can.

road work is very important for event horses, because lots of jumping, up and down hills, and muddy/deep footing, can cause ligament tears [such as suspensory which is not uncommon] this doesnt mean you have to be galloping down the road, but walking for 10-15minutes with a little trot. you should work up to it.


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## Corporal

It's a better choice than ice or mud. Riding this winter, even every day, if you keep it slow will not harm your horses joints. *Do NOT ride on cement if your horse is shod without borium* *bc he could slip and break a kneecap.* If he is barefoot, I suggest perfecting things only at the walk, like turn out the forehand/haunches, half-halting, etc. 
I base this on the Amish who are accused of destroying their horse's legs--not that some don't work their animals to ruin, mind you--but it's bc _their roads have now been paved._ When they travelled on dirt roads their horses lasted longer. They "pound the pavement" with them 3-5 days/week, most weeks out of the year. (We live one hour from an Amish community and do business with them.)


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## DuffyDuck

gypsygirl said:


> where i hunt it is very close to town, so we have to ride on and across a lot of roads. we sometimes gallop through subdivisions. im sure not all hunts spend a lot of time on the road, but where i hunt we do. but if there is a shoulder we do try to ride on that if we can.
> 
> road work is very important for event horses, because lots of jumping, up and down hills, and muddy/deep footing, can cause ligament tears [such as suspensory which is not uncommon] this doesnt mean you have to be galloping down the road, but walking for 10-15minutes with a little trot. you should work up to it.


 
No eventer I know gallops down a concrete road with any amount of training :shock::shock::shock:

I can understand walk/ some trot work but I'm way too fond of my horse's legs.


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## netty83

i have never had an arena to ride in and have never had a paddock to ride in either. I have always ridden on the roads everytime i have rode and also with my mare barefoot. I think it's down to how the individual horse copes. By doing road work my mare trims her own feet down and as long as i don't ride as much as what her hoofs grow they are kept trimmed nicely and she is checked regularly with the trimmer just for him to check her feet. I can ride for half hour or even for an hour mainly in walk and short bursts of trot on roads and she is fine. I have never had any problems with any horses legs by doing road work although i don't ride every day mainly 2-3 times a week. Although i would start off with very short walks on concrete just to get the feet used to it and then increase the length. I also believed to be true that road work conditions a horse i'm sure i have read it in quite a few magazines from experts that have written articles but that is not the reason i do it. Let us know how you get on if you do try it x


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## ~*~anebel~*~

Consider FEI regulations call for a hard, flat surface for the jog and even list freshly laid asphalt as an acceptable surface... I'm going to go with it not being that bad.
There its a show facility around here which is nearly 100% concrete and we walk our horses on that all weekend, and those who do not have portable stall mats - their horses live on concrete all weekend. When I go for a hack, its through a subdivision and we do end up walking along the road as well.

Most things I've read about conditioning are all about variety and moderation. The horse should be conditioned for hills, deeper footing, uneven (but not dangerous) footing and yes, hard surfaces. Each of these surfaces provides strengthening to different structures and when conditioning is done moderately the horse will become stronger. My horse is walked on almost any surface that is safe, including asphalt on the road, and he is very sound!

I don't think 10 minutes of walking up and down a driveway will do any harm to the horse.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Corporal

Netty I agree with pounding to produce bone density. Consider what I learned from gardening--wherever there is a lot of traffic (auto, car, horse, human) the soil becomes compacted. Gardeners will tell you how difficult it is to transform a plot that has been machine mowed, or used for livestock for decades into aerable soil. Some of it is as hard a cement! THAT is the best place to produce bone density bc it really isn't _that_ hard, just hard to shovel and till. Still, slow, controlled work in the winter on cement is safer than slipping on the ice. We had sleet, then snow, than rain and the ground in my backyard today is as slick as snot--no riding ANYWHERE outside, so..._my_ horses are camped out in the stalls for the time being. =/


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## its lbs not miles

netty83 said:


> i have never had an arena to ride in and have never had a paddock to ride in either. I have always ridden on the roads everytime i have rode and also with my mare barefoot. I think it's down to how the individual horse copes. By doing road work my mare trims her own feet down and as long as i don't ride as much as what her hoofs grow they are kept trimmed nicely and she is checked regularly with the trimmer just for him to check her feet. I can ride for half hour or even for an hour mainly in walk and short bursts of trot on roads and she is fine. I have never had any problems with any horses legs by doing road work although i don't ride every day mainly 2-3 times a week. Although i would start off with very short walks on concrete just to get the feet used to it and then increase the length. I also believed to be true that road work conditions a horse i'm sure i have read it in quite a few magazines from experts that have written articles but that is not the reason i do it. Let us know how you get on if you do try it x


Use to ride almost every day for over 4 years and it still didn't do any more then keep them from needing a lot of extra trimming.  Certainly had horses with tough and sound feet.
I find that I have to do more work with their feet now that I don't put in as many hours riding them. Will be glad to retire and go back to riding longer distances regularly again.


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## DuffyDuck

~*~anebel~*~ said:


> Consider FEI regulations call for a hard, flat surface for the jog and even list freshly laid asphalt as an acceptable surface... I'm going to go with it not being that bad.
> There its a show facility around here which is nearly 100% concrete and we walk our horses on that all weekend, and those who do not have portable stall mats - their horses live on concrete all weekend. When I go for a hack, its through a subdivision and we do end up walking along the road as well.
> 
> Most things I've read about conditioning are all about variety and moderation. The horse should be conditioned for hills, deeper footing, uneven (but not dangerous) footing and yes, hard surfaces. Each of these surfaces provides strengthening to different structures and when conditioning is done moderately the horse will become stronger. My horse is walked on almost any surface that is safe, including asphalt on the road, and he is very sound!
> 
> I don't think 10 minutes of walking up and down a driveway will do any harm to the horse.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


 
Walking, with some trotting I have no issues with. Heck, if you're on a hunt through a village in the UK you may even canter some of it. HOWEVER- I would never ask my horse to gallop on concrete!


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## Golden Horse

:shock: I'm between shocked and :rofl:

Everyone's experience and background is different, but this question is just so odd to me.

Once again I go back to living in the UK, and thinking about the riding I did there, many many years of riding, and riding on concrete and tarmac is just par for the course, no one ever asks if it's OK, it is just part of life. 

It's also why I never had a bare foot horse in the UK, and yes when we hunted if there was hard top we ran on it. As a general rule, though we walked and did a gentle trot on the roads, no fast trotting. 

I've just remembered one of the many sayings from my youth..

"It aint hunting that hurts the horses hooves
It's hammer hammer hammer on the hard highway"


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## ElaineLighten

If he's shod it's ok to trot but not canter apparently


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## mom2pride

My mare and I had to ride on concrete and pavement much of last year to get to the arenas and trails around here...some of the way we could walk on grass, but there were areas we had to ride on the hard stuff. I always walked her, and she wasn't lame a single day last year...she was barefoot as well.


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## goingnowhere1

I would avoid riding on concrete.
it can wear down horse shoes, has damage on joints, and if you fall...it SURE won't be comfy!


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## chrisnscully

Absolutely no problem walking and some trotting on pavement - in fact trotting up steep hills is better for them than walking.

On trail riding it is very common to trot single file on roads to get out of the way of motor traffic.


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## gypsygirl

DuffyDuck said:


> No eventer I know gallops down a concrete road with any amount of training :shock::shock::shock:
> 
> I can understand walk/ some trot work but I'm way too fond of my horse's legs.


never said eventers did, i said fox hunters do....my event horse only walks and trots on the road, but when i start hunting her shes gonna learn to canter on the road. you would be surprised how well horses hold up. i know a bunch of fox hunting horses in their 20s who have hunted since they were 4yos.


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## its lbs not miles

mom2pride said:


> My mare and I had to ride on concrete and pavement much of last year to get to the arenas and trails around here...some of the way we could walk on grass, but there were areas we had to ride on the hard stuff. I always walked her, and she wasn't lame a single day last year...she was barefoot as well.


Good for you. You were better off being unshod (you get better traction). Shoes cause more slipping. Mine ended up with very tough, hard feet after a couple of years, although they might have been pretty hard before the first year was over. They can go faster (and I have), but I always perfer to start them out with a walk until I feel the feet have gotten use to it.


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## ridergirl23

I highly doubt it would hurt your horse to do that for a while. Its probably not the best, just don't do anything crazy and it'll be fine. In my opinion it doesn't hurt them, i'm sure its not great for them, and might jar the joints a bit more than usual, but its not going to kill your horse.


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## RoosHuman

I ride my barefoot mare on the road SPARINGLY... We do a little bit between some trails at the house. However, we just do it at a walk. A neat idea would be to spread a little bedding in a path that you would like to walk, if you have any extra. It would reduce the hoof wear and be just a little bit of a cushion.


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## Endiku

Why not just load up and hit the trails, or go for a mud bath in the arena? If it were me, I'd be right in there, bareback with a halter- making the most of the natural horse pool! :lol:


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## Tianimalz

Endiku said:


> Why not just load up and hit the trails, or go for a mud bath in the arena? If it were me, I'd be right in there, bareback with a halter- making the most of the natural horse pool! :lol:


Sounds like a party to me!!:happydance: Everyone bring their own drinks!


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## shaggy

Endiku said:


> Why not just load up and hit the trails, or go for a mud bath in the arena? If it were me, I'd be right in there, bareback with a halter- making the most of the natural horse pool! :lol:


 if i had a trailer i would definatly load up and hit the trails and if it wasn't cold out i would love to run around in the mud with my horse lol


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## sammerson

crimson88 said:


> Don't do it. I know of a horse who lived in a concrete paddock and he slipped and fell, did the splits and it ruptured an artery in the pelvis area (I don't know the name of the artery) and basicly bled himself to death.



I saw this on that animal planet show "Dr. (Oh what is that Drs name?)" Anyways, I remember him saying it was a freak occurence.

I'm pretty sure crazy things can happen regardless of what kind of ground your horse is on. I ride my horses barefoot on roads pretty often but like many have said here, I would never go faster than a trot. Just for the fact that they could slip and I really don't feel like picking gravel out of mine or my horses flesh. Yes, they can fall on soft ground just as easy but I'd rather have grass stains than road rash!

It's just like everything else, you have to know your horse because I think it would be different for different horses. If you are confident with your horse and can tell when he is uncomfortable or the situation just doesn't seem right, then I see nothing wrong with it. Especially if you are just planning on doing it every now and then.


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