Diamond Rings and Horses

[Equitational]

For those of you with engagement and wedding rings. Do you wear your rings to the barn? Do you wear gloves over your rings? Have you had any problems with wearing your ring to the barn and/or riding?

A post from the recently engaged. I have two diamond rings my fiance has bought me (one is a horse shoe diamond ring he purchased a couple years ago as a ‘promise ring’). I insured my engagement ring through my homeowners policy. Since I’ve had the promise ring, I’ve alway worn gloves handling, grooming and tacking up the horses (I’ve always worn gloves while lunging and riding). I don’t want to take off either ring so I just make a point of putting on gloves when I get to the barn (it also helps protect my gel manicure I’m now a fan of). I know the safety concerns with rings getting caught and the dangers of taking a finger off… But do other horse people leave their rings on while at the barn or riding?

[IronwoodFarm]

I don’t wear any expensive jewelry at the barn ever. I’ve never been a fan of rings because they are dangerous when working with horses and farm equipment.

[candyappy]

I did wear it at first but I was worried about damage to it. 23 years later and I never remember to even put it on at all!

[Alagirl]

A friend had a close encounter with an industrial drill. (not the story) He shared pictures of the injury on FB (still not the story)

A friend of his then share a picture of his own (THIS is it!)
a degloved finger…:dead:

Gloves do eliminate some of the danger, but not all of it.
I never wore gemmed rings, but I even took my wedding band off once I worked in a green house, because I didn’t like the dirt between the ring and skin.

[ElisLove]

I wear 2 rings every single day for all activities (including my job as a dog groomer and riding my horses and working out). They never come off. However they are virtually flat and the diamonds/stones are set into the ring, they don’t stick out.
I only wear gloves while riding if I am using double reins (as I always get blisters using double reins if I don’t)

[toady123]

I always take mind off when I go to the barn. I find they give me blisters if I wear them riding (aside from the general dangers).

[charismaryllis]

Cracked the band on a silver ring lugging buckets once; no more rings (or any kind of jewelry except a cheap swatch) at the barn.

[findeight]

If they are plain and flat or pave’ diamonds, the kind that are just flat like paving stones, there’s no problem. But if the stone(s) sit up they can get pretty uncomfortable, you bang them into stuff, they snag inside the glove trying to get them on or off. I had trouble with turning on hot days when I sweated a lot and the raised stone rubbed against the next finger and had to stop and take the glove off to fix that.

Lady I rode with did not wear gloves, had a rough ride on a ding bat one afternoon, untacked, washed horse off then realized the 1.5c solitaire was gone.

I also found it was difficult to pick up feet, wrap legs, apply topical treatments and poulticing was impossible wearing a ring with raised stones, gloves or not. Likewise handling heavier barn tools was uncomfortable.

I’d honestly leave them home, wear a plain band if hubby objects. Of course, if you pay for tack up and cool down services or its included in your training package and just get on and ride a well behaved horse for 40 minutes? Probably not a problem but I would wear gloves.

[Shorehorse]

Heard a horror story once of someone who lost a ring in a large arena and didn’t notice until the end of the ride. Ring was never found.

Since then my rings come off and stay in my car as soon as I get to the barn.

[Equitational]

@findeight;8000582

If they are plain and flat or pave’ diamonds, the kind that are just flat like paving stones, there’s no problem. But if the stone(s) sit up they can get pretty uncomfortable, you bang them into stuff, they snag inside the glove trying to get them on or off. I had trouble with turning on hot days when I sweated a lot and the raised stone rubbed against the next finger and had to stop and take the glove off to fix that.

All the diamonds on my ring are pave setting except my center stone. I just feel taking it on/off I have better chance of loosing it. Plus they are fitted pretty snuggly on my hand.

[findeight]

If they don’t bother you and you don’t have to do heavy barn work or break colts that can drag you around, it should be ok. But wear gloves so you don’t knock a stone loose or, worst case, contain one that does get knocked loose.

I lost a 3/4c diamond stud earring, I fell off at a show, in the rain, when horse slid taking off, ended up in the mud on the landing side. Didn’t really think to check it with everything else I was worried about like the ruined show jacket. Would never have found it in the slop anyway.

[Abbie.S]

Some find this to be a no-no as well, but I am sappy and sentimental and wear the promise ring my BF gave me all the time: I have a medium-duty silver chain that I slip my ring onto when I am at the barn. It stays around my neck, tucked into my shirt. Never had a problem.

[canadianbacon]

If you make it a routine then you will actually less of a chance of it getting lost and much less of a chance of injury. I have a little plastic tupperware in a super bright colour so it’s hard to forget where I put my rings and that is the only place they go when I’m not wearing them. If you go to the barn from home, leave them home, if you come from work then get a tupperware and put them in the glove box or the console.

Congrats on having this problem! :yes:

[Somantu]

Not anymore.

The last time I wore them in the barn one of the horses thought it was a piece of rock sugar and tried to eat it. :eek:
Also, I dislike the feel of ringed fingers against reins.

I wear two rings daily, both of which protrude quite a bit above my hand. When I ride, groom or longe I leave them either at home or in a velvet pouch in my handbag.

But I do keep my watch on. It’s a stainless steel diving watch, so withstands a lot of horsey tomfoolery.

[findeight]

Don’t forget if you sweat enough, you dehydrate, it will tighten up your finger and that ring will be loser. Mine fit great until I started sweating, by the end of the ride on a hot day, they’d be slipping to the side.

[BrokenArrow]

These are my rings

http://tinypic.com/r/tz2g8/8

Very impracticable for horses. But I wear them ALL the time and I’ve never had a problem with mine. I wear gloves when I ride but other than that I just forget I have them on.

[Equitational]

[QUOTE=findeight;8000641]
Don’t forget if you sweat enough, you dehydrate, it will tighten up your finger and that ring will be loser. Mine fit great until I started sweating, by the end of the ride on a hot day, they’d be slipping to the side.[/QUOTE]

Yes I’ve had this problem, but not a huge deal for me. I just adjust them under my glove when the slip to the side. And I do work with young, unbroke horses doing lots of lunging (right now I lunge 2-3 young horses and ride 1 or 2 a day). But I always wear gloves even when tacking and grooming.

I’m not a big jewelry person but love my rings (I get a lot of compliments from the horse show ring even from non-horsey people).

Does anyone else insure their rings or jewelry?

[furlong47]

I don’t wear rings to the barn or anywhere else that they could get caught up on something. (Or any other jewelry, for that matter, except stud earrings.) Far more worried about the safety aspect than the risk of losing/damaging jewelry. I like all my fingers firmly attached to my hand.

[Indy]

My wedding & engagement rings both come off before I go to the barn. I’m petrified that either they will fall off or something will happen and I’ll get hurt from wearing them. I wear gloves most of the time when handling the horses and always when I ride but I still don’t want to take the chance.

The only piece of jewelry I wear at the barn is my watch, if you could even consider that jewelry. Everything else comes off. I once lost a very sentimental necklace when it got caught on my crop over a jump and the chain popped. After that, no jewelry ever.

[Plainandtall]

You know in the movies when some goofy broad tosses the ring off a dock “so she will always know where it is” ???

Well- we sort of have that story here at our farm. My husband was helping me stack hay and tossed a bale and the string pulled his wedding band off. we never found it. Eventually that old barn came down- and then we built our new house on the site of the old barn. Needless to say, I don’t wear Jewelry unless we are going out.