Windy days - how to cope?

[Karenpd]

Please let me into the secret - my (new) horse HATES the wind and rain - I had just got on board yesterday when the rain started and a gust of wind blew up, so in a nano-second Bob took off across the school to 'hide' behind the hedge. Once there he wasn't moving. I got off and lead him (sideways) back into his stable.

I can believe that he genuinely hates bad weather, but how on earth should I deal with it? My ride yesterday lasted about 3 minutes and I was lucky to stay on. Is he taking the p*** with me as I'm 'green', or are we meant to let them stand out of the rain in the corner??? Previously Bob had been doing his own thing in a field for 2 years.

[AJB]

you need to ride in all weathers and I think he was taking the P**s!...my friends horse is like this and gets away with it-remember if you were at a competition it would be held regardless of the weather!!!--especially in the UK!. I would have suggested sticking him on the lunge with a rain sheet on for 20 minutes to settle him down if the wind was hyping him up and maybe leave it at that depending on how he behaved-is he very green or very young...maybe he picked up that you kinda didnt want to ride in the wind and rain and took advantage of it...I have had lessons in near vertical sheet rain, not pleasant and the horses tuck or lean against it but its a test of your riding and you have to just get on with it...mind you im moving to my own small yard on Friday so going from an indoor school to outdoor one and then I may be less keen ....ask me in a few weeks when weve been soaked a few times!!!

[DITZ]

i think he was taking the p**s too. Especially if he's been in a field for 2 years - he must know what rain and wind is by now!

I have a tb who doesnt like rain either but tough, neither do I but were both out in it so stop complaining (my conversation with my horse - not you Karenpd!). As for wind, I find sometimes he spooks at everything, sometimes nothing at all. For him thats largely to do with the amount of exercise he's had at the time and how fresh he's feeling.

[Karenpd]

That's really helpful. I'm just getting back into riding after 25 years off, and so am having confidence problems. Bob hasn't been ridden for 2 years and so we're not a great combination.

Lunging is a great idea. I just couldn't believe his reaction to the wind yesterday - he would have squeezed through the fence and into the hedge if he could! I didn't have the guts to push him around - hopefully that'll come in time when I know him better and my own riding improves. Don't think he trusts me or has confidence in me at all yet.

[cvb]

My general rule is that if its weather I don't want to be in, then the horse won't either. We also have a rule that if we wouldn't take out a high sided trailer/box in wind, then we don't ride. Its a question of taking sensible and acceptable risks, rather than "fair weather" riding. In some weather its just too high risk and downright unpleasant !

Remember that horses instincts are to turn their bum into the wind and protect themselves. This is a survival instinct that we then need to retrain.

My mare has just come "home" from Sweden - where snow is no novelty - to Scotland where we have horizontal rain. She's not impressed !

But she'll learn. Starting with simple things like leading her up from the field in the rain.

I don't think he is JUST taking the p***. But it is down to you to show him that it is appropriate for him not to head for shelter at high speed and to keep going.

Start gently - lunging is a good idea but don't force the point. If he settles and starts working, do a short amount of work then stop and "reward" the behaviour. Gradually build it up with time.

As I said above - I might not plan to ride in the rain, but if I'm already on a hack and the heavens open, I want to be safe.

[Tor&Warrior]

Since having Fly I have also discovered that rain & wind is definetley not his thing!! The first hack we were on (taking into account he never usually puts a hoof wrong) we did Arab impressions at a canter all the way home and when we had to turn down a road which ment the rain was in our face we reared and reared and spun round and refushed to move!! And the second time, it was literally an Aprial Shower which couldn't of lasted 5minutes, its was the kind of rain you don't even get wet in!! And we cantered sideways and grunted and acted like a right pratt down the road!!! I don't think he's using as an excuse to take this p*** just to annoy me, I do think he genuinely doesn't like it, but I don't mind if I am not liking being in it I don't expect him to. I never ride when the weather is horrid or its windy. Not just because its unpleasant but its when his instincts are most likely to take over and he can't help that! Its not like being naughty its something he can't control!! And as I only have road hacking you also cannot hear and see traffic aswell in wind & rain. But before I got him he'd been left in a field for 6months and he came over from Ireland so he can't tell me he's not used to a bit of rain!!!!!!

My friends little mare though would have to be the strangest I have ever known. This mare is 19 done EVERYTHING you could ever imagine in her life time and you could not wish for a more perfect school mistress BUT she has a total water, including rain phobia. She would never buck, rear or do anything and you could trust her with a baby BUT if she is out in the rain she will turn herself inside out. I've seen herself throw herself on the floor in such a blind panick because its raining. She acts the same if you tried to bath her, and a water jump you wouldn't have a hope in hell!!!! If there is any possiblity that there would be any rain she is not taken to shows and only ridden in the school and she has a huge field shelter in the field. I know this isn't the same but I thought I'd just tell you about this strange little mare:D

[Miss MoneyPenny]

Penny is a pain in heavy rain and wind - and I just hate it.

Tor&Warrior - she is just the same as how you describe. An absolute star in 'normal' conditions, but heavy rain and gusty wind, she is one her toes, and wants to canter everywhere! And like you said, it is their instincts that take over, and not just naughtyness!

I went out last night when the wind was gusty, and I think the fact that spring is here too, made Penny a jumpy hack.

I also wonder if her long mane and forelock have something to do with the spooks, as last night her mane was blowing around an awful lot, and as it is about 25 inches long, she might have her vision impaired? What do ya reckon????

[Tor&Warrior]

She sounds just like Flyte!! Although I know you have to be able to ride in this type of weather I don't look at it as him being naughty, just a horse!!

My first pony was a little welsh with a HUGE long mane and forlock, down to his nose and past his neck!! He could get very spooky when it was very windy and it blew all over the place. If it was bad I would plait it into big plaits just to keep it out of the way while we rode. People thought I was nuts and that it wasn't that but I think it made a difference so you could maybe try it!

[Miss MoneyPenny]

I know what you mean Tor - I make myself go out in wet and windy weather, as I want to know that I CAN ride Penny in it, and that there is nothing strange about it!

I think I might start plaiting her forlock and mane, especially around her head as it blows everywhere, and I am nearly 100% sure that it MUST have an effect, as the light will be changing at the back of her vision - worth a try!

[Lovecat]

Murph is exactly like that too, lovely normally but in the wind (rain is not so bad!) he's constantly alert to 'scariness' and just about everything seems to spook him. I've read that it's because they can't hear properly and so things tend to take them by surprise more...?

If your school is anything like mine, heavy rain causes a problem because it drums upon the roof of the nearby barn/parked cars/tarpaulins over hay etc and makes a loud noise - this totally freaks him out although he's getting better with repetition (doesn't have much choice in this climate!;) ).

[Showjumper]

At the moment, as Dolly is only a baby, I'm humouring her and not working her when the weather's bad. Mostly because I don't have an enclosed area to work in and the road is dangerously slippery in the wet.

But also because I think fighting with her is detrimental.

Horses do tend to be very flighty in windy weather as they can't hear predators approaching and so are convinced they're about to be eaten :rolleyes:

[wildwomen]

Originally posted by Karenpd
That's really helpful. I'm just getting back into riding after 25 years off, and so am having confidence problems. Bob hasn't been ridden for 2 years and so we're not a great combination.

Lunging is a great idea. I just couldn't believe his reaction to the wind yesterday - he would have squeezed through the fence and into the hedge if he could! I didn't have the guts to push him around - hopefully that'll come in time when I know him better and my own riding improves. Don't think he trusts me or has confidence in me at all yet.
it sounds to me as if you are both nervous, i hate the wind it is so dangerous i have also been out of riding for a few years and am coming back into things you must remember you never forget it its all obout confidence i can assure you that in 6 months you will be a new person with your horse, same as me i'm helping a lady ride hers he is a little s++ but i'm not going to give up around this time of year wind is a problem but it won't always be windy you must bond and make a relasonship with your horse he has been left to his own devices so be patent hope you get on alright keep us posted

[Karenpd]

I had a lesson on a school horse - I was shaking with nerves when I got on the quiet school mare - I've never been in this state before! But by the end I was beginning to relax and things were falling into place for me.

I'd be very interested to know how often you ride - at the moment riding Bob is a bit like going to the dentist - I know it has to be done but really don't want to do it. I've also learned that the supplement I've been giving him for his cracked hoof might be making him 'fizzy', so it's not all me!

So what would you recommend as a weekly routine to get us both into the groove again? (I'm going to post a separate thread on this)

[wildwomen]

Originally posted by Karenpd
I had a lesson on a school horse - I was shaking with nerves when I got on the quiet school mare - I've never been in this state before! But by the end I was beginning to relax and things were falling into place for me.

I'd be very interested to know how often you ride - at the moment riding Bob is a bit like going to the dentist - I know it has to be done but really don't want to do it. I've also learned that the supplement I've been giving him for his cracked hoof might be making him 'fizzy', so it's not all me!

So what would you recommend as a weekly routine to get us both into the groove again? (I'm going to post a separate thread on this)

Hi its nice to hear from you, the lesson will do you really good i'v been at my last tether with this horse i'm riding and i thought i was getting no where, so my friend invited me to ride her 14.2 he is very frisky but he was an absolute star it was so nice to ride a pony that diden't buck or play up he was great which made me feel better and i new it was not all me as well .
The day after i went back to ride the horse which i will call h i was feeling a bit nervous but i was not going to give up i saddled him up and the lady who owned him walked with me to the ladys house i was riding with,,,, well what can i say, he was fantastic he nearly made me cry he was that good, we passed every car tractor moterbike caravan lorrys dogs horses and he never bated an eyelid thats when i new all the hard work iv put in was not in vain it is working, we still have a long way to go but with help from other people we will do it it is important that you have people to help you , have you ? At the moment i'm riding him 3 times a week and that is road work schooling and lunging which did not go down well, if i could go in a field and walk trot and canter without a buck, head tossing ,jumping to the side, i will no i have done it i must say though that the lady who owns him is fantastic she helps me so much and is so kind to give me the chance to do this work i hope she herself will soon get the confidence to ride h what make and model is your horse? and what are you feeding him? is he kept out or in ? it is now the time to cut feed down to nothing but not much wrong with carrots and apples and hay keep me posted by the way a great magazine to get which is out this week which will help you loads is your horse try it .

[Karenpd]

Thanks for that - other people's success stories give me the will to keep going.....

I do get Your Horse and mostly find it very useful (couldn't find much in this latest one which was appropriate to me though). I worked on getting Bob (9yo Chestnut Gelding, 16hh plus, ex-showjumper) into the trailer yesterday and it went pretty well - 2 false starts then he was in. Walked him through 5-6 times again, then put him out with his pals.

He was turned away for 2 years. We moved him into livery - he is in at night and out on all but the worst of days. We put him on a cool mix, haylage and Farriers Formula (not sure as to the wisdom of that now). Now cutting back the cool mix and increasing chaff. Although he's been in full livery I see him every day - checking out his cracked hoof and slapping on the sticky gooey stuff which is supposed to help (Cornucrescine?)

I'm off to hack him out this morning - no wind, no rain, just me in a cold sweat. I'll lunge him first then potter round the sand school for a while while the others are getting ready. WISH ME LUCK!

[Sooty]

hi Karen- how did the hack go?

[Karenpd]

Well, I spent a little longer with him brushing him down, etc, whilst I calmed myself. Tacked him up - not bad. Lunged him for 20 mins - he was great - walk a circle, trot a circle, canter a circle. Stood like an angel whilst I got on board - brilliant - then we went out with 3 others and my Bob was fantastic - very nosy, a little spooky, but he had plenty of excuses to be very silly (we were charged by dogs, that sort of thing) but he was just great - couldn't fault him.

I talked to him all the way round - saying things like 'You're going to listen to me' (a useful reminder to myself!) and a running commentary on where we were, kept my mind off "other things". And meanwhile, though my buttocks were clenched tight for most of the ride, I actually felt like I was riding him for the first time - We had a lovely morning. I decided to take today off and relish the sheer joy of a successful day.

I really think the turning point was getting him into the trailer the other day. I think the penny has dropped with me now, and I have the confidence in the knowledge that he can stand still, not spook etc, when beforehand I just didn't know what he was going to do next.

[DITZ]

Excellent, well done:)