Source
r/Equestrian•
RonRonner

Riders in rainy climates--how do you groom/tack up when your horse is wet?

Equipment & Tack

Hi all!

The saintly little Arab I've been riding just moved to 24 hour turnout and he's lucky to have a beautiful, very large paddock. However I'm new to working with horses that live outside and today is a fairly cool, very rainy day. He's not blanketed and does have an ample shed but I'm sure he'll be at least damp if not quite wet. Do you still tack up and ride if your horse is wet? If so, is there anything you do differently? Any considerations I should take into account?

Posted May 4, 2022, 1:56 PM UTC

26
fluffykitteDressage•

I’ll towel dry before tacking up if they’re soaking wet, but otherwise I’ve never really had an issue with the rain. They get wet with sweat under the saddle pad during the summer anyway, so I don’t really see how rain water would be an issue.

We have hot water in the barn, so I’ll use a warm towel on them after a ride too just to make sure I’m not leaving any sweat on them. It can be harder to tell if they’ve sweated when they’re already wet, so it’s good to just be sure. Then I hang the saddle pad somewhere it can dry out.

7
RonRonnerOP•

That's really helpful, thank you! Makes a lot of sense--especially the point about them getting wet under the saddle pad when they sweat anyhow.

1
CDN_Bookmouse•

My old barn used to have hair dryers for the winter so the horses weren't turned out wet, but I imagine you could also use it before a ride to dry out the saddle and girth areas. Toweling first can save time on that.

4
Apuesto•

I'll run a towel or scrape off the water so they aren't too wet, maybe throw a cooler on while I get ready, then just tack up. Often on days like that, I'll lunge first as their backs can feel a little weird under tack when wet. Also, if they've been standing in the rain there's a chance they've been cold and tight, so lunging is good for that too. I'll give them a chance to move and get themselves sorted, then get on.

4
neuroticmare•

If we didn't ride them wet here, we'd not ride half of the year. I make sure there isn't mud or dirt stuck to the wet and that they're fairly smooth and tack up like normal. I like using the flat side of the shedding blade (not the teeth side) to get the sand, etc off them when they're wet.

2
throwaway224ask me about my arabs•

I also use shedding blade to scrape off caked mud (even if wet) from tack areas before doing my best to brush off what remains. My horse lives outside 24/7 and he rolls a lot and lies down to sleep. Frequently, in the springtime, when I get him out of the field, he looks like this:

https://i.imgur.com/TK2WCPIh.jpg

(That day it was approximately 50F out, in March, horse still in winter coat, kind of a raw day. "Just Bathe Him" was not an option, is what I'm saying.)

In my horse life, "clean enough to ride" is real. I pay a LOT of attention to grooming areas where tack touches him, before and after rides. However, temporary mud on non-tack areas is not of consequence -- if it's hopeless from the outset, I ignore it anywhere the tack doesn't go.

Because I do "clean enough to ride," I wind up washing saddle pads pretty frequently. Once I've used a pad for a mud day... it definitely needs to be washed. (I use the cheapie Tuffrider pads in fun colors. I pressure-wash mine outside first and then wash them in the washing machine. I have like six pads, so there's always a clean one around.)

The "wet & muddy" thing is mostly a problem from the end of February through about the end of April. If my horse is JUST wet and not filthy, I groom as usual, tack up, and ride. No special prep required. My guy does not have any particular issue with being ridden "wet." I do a solid fifteen-minute marching walk (timed) every day as part of our warm up, so there's no issue with him being tight or weird. It's just like any other day.

2