# Is breathing in all that sand while riding safe?



## Knave (Dec 16, 2015)

I have mixed feelings on this subject. Do I think an arena will hurt you? No, likely not. Yet, the dust we see working behind cows, I think maybe. It is a different kind of dust than I imagine is in an arena though. At least, it’s different than what I’ve come up against in arenas. I’ve never found them particularly dusty.

Yet, I know two people who are terminal due to breathing in the dust at work and hay dust feeding. Of course, that level of exposure I cannot imagine people who don’t work in ag likely experience.

I guess the doctors told both those men that they were either miners or ag workers. I was told it creates an organic type of lung cancer.

So, I would say that yes, I believe what we breathe in effects us. I think that it probably requires more exposure than arena dust would give though. I’m sure someone else knows a lot more on the subject than I do.


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## RoadRider / Rios Dad (Jul 2, 2009)

When I can see the dust in the area I get out
No dust in the lungs can be good for you
I wear a mask every day while feeding in the morning and the mouth area is just dirt after one day


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

HorseLover<3 said:


> I was riding today and I noticed how so much sand is just everywhere and then I was worried that it wasn't safe to be breathing in because my chest was hurting a little bit? The may have just been a random thing though because I'm not used to it fully yet.


I think you have to make that decision for yourself. Obviously, breathing in dust is not good. But, will it hurt you? Depends. You have have COPD? Asthma? Allergies? Other respiratory issues?
What about your horse?

My pet peeve is when INDOOR arenas do not properly control dust. There is no reason for that.
Or if you have your horse in an indoor stall. There's things you can do to control dust.

Outdoors..... well, that could be a different story. My own "outdoor arena" I have at home is just a dug up piece of the pasture. If we have a dry year, yeah, it gets dusty. If I get in there after it has rained somewhat recently, then it's not so bad. However, if there's a good breeze for the dust, then it's not as bad. If it's a calm day, then the dust hangs around a bit more. 

I also live about 1/4 mile off a gravel road. We've had a dry year. When the breeze is from the east, then it blows the gravel dust onto our property, pasture, and horses. Can't stop it. 

So dust is all around us. It's there in the outdoors. But my horses also live outside 24/7. I feel it is healthiest for them to be able to move freely and graze all day like their bodies were intended.

My bigger concern would be for indoor environments and what the place is doing to control dust.


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## pasomountain (Dec 19, 2018)

Where I board the indoor arena has sand but is also extremely dusty and full of pigeon poo! Pretty sure that's not good to breathe either. We have to clean out the poo and then wet down the arena to control dust before using it. That works really well.


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## Morgan.taylor (Sep 1, 2020)

I live in the desert, we get wind storms on the regular. Dust sucks and breathing it in is not preferred but it is completely unavoidable where i live. It’s not as common for a no wind day where it stays stagnant around us but it’s always in the air.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

Any dust breathed in is bad for your lungs. A really dry arena needs to be sprinkled down to control the dust.


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

If it's really dry (like it has been lately) I might wear a mask, one of those cloth ones. If I'm working hard in there, I can only wear it for so long before I have to take it off because I need more air, but I think it helps. I think the less junk you breathe in, the better. Kind of a change of topic, but it seems to help with allergies also.

I feel really sorry for the horses.


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

I've known several horses that developed COPD from living in dusty environments.


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