Do you ride in the rain?

[aregard]

And I mean IN the rain, not “I have a covered arena, so I don’t care about weather.”

I went out to handwalk my horse today in advance of the predicted showers, and ran into a gal I’ve ridden out with before. She asked if I was going out, I said no, just hand walking, and she shrugged and said, “I ride in the rain. Doesn’t matter to me.” Which made me wonder when I’d turned into such a wuss.

I think it came from living in So Cal for so long, with the horses. Rain was so unusual, we were bedazzled and paralyzed. Certainly nobody could drive like a sane person in the rain, so it follows, right?

My saddle has a sheepskin seat saver, so it wouldn’t care. I don’t know if I own any clothing that’s truly waterproof, tho.

Yes, there is a very old thread asking the same question. We’re all 10 years older now, tho, so I ask again.

[HeartsDesireEventing]

All the time, LOL. There was a running joke between me and my best friend for a while that it always rained when I had time to ride. Since I don’t get to control what days/times I get to ride as much as I might wish (full-time job, sometimes requiring late days at work, etc.), sometimes riding in the rain is the only way I get to ride. Note that this has been helped the past several years by the horse being boarded in Aiken, where the footing is fine even if it’s raining. Not sure how that will work out when we eventually move the horses home since our property is in Georgia, and does not drain anywhere near as well as Aiken does, and seems to become pretty deep mud pretty quickly (lots of topsoil to sink through? But we have lots of grass, so, tradeoffs).

[Demerara_Stables]

Yup.

Came from FL where rain was really rain and usually included lightning, so I didn’t do it much there, but here in NorCal, quite often. The rain here in the winter is more of a heavy mist . I’m fortunate that I train FT now (as opposed to having an in office 9-5) so I usually schedule work days around the rain, but sometimes there’s just too much rain!

I have a waterproof quarter sheet and a Kerrits coaches coat that straps to my legs so I’m covered except for my boots. Horses usually hate it but you gotta do what you gotta do.

[FjordBCRF]

I do. Not in a downpour or anything like that, but if its a drizzle or a soft steady rain, it doesn’t bother either of us. I also have ample rain gear that makes a big difference!

[prunebey]

Only if I’m at a show where I have no choice .

My mare hates getting wet even more than I do, and she has no problem making her opinions known lol. Thankfully we have an indoor at home so it’s rarely an issue.

[LCDR]

Depends.

In my years of fox hunting nothing much stopped me from riding in a hunt - neither rain nor snow nor absurd temperatures. In my eventing life I’d also ride to compete as long as the show went on. In cross country clinics with Jimmy Wofford, Bruce Davidson and Lucinda Green I rode in pouring rain. If the instructor was willing to stand in the rain, I was riding. Rain with lightning, no way.

But schooling at home, not unless a sudden rainstorm catches me by surprise once I am mounted, No rain-riding for me.

[lenapesadie]

Nope.

[ParadoxFarm]

I’ll say I don’t start off riding if it’s raining, but if I’m riding and it starts raining, I’ll keep riding. I had a recent lesson in a downpour, but I was already riding, so sucked it up and continued.

[RooTheDay]

I ride in the rain in my own tack, and will preferentially choose to ride outside in the rain to avoid dealing with the crazy traffic in the indoor. Once had a jump lesson where it took my helmet three days to dry out after. That said, I don’t ride in other folks’ tack in the rain unless they’ve okayed it.

Wofford did once say that when he woke up the morning of an event and it was raining outside, he’d say to himself “Oh good, I’m gonna get a ribbon today, because everyone else will talk themselves out of it”; that said, I did scratch Area II champs last year because I wasn’t good enough to get around safely in that slop.

[RMJacobs]

When I was driving my ponies, I was still working, and therefore I was very limited in when I could drive them. So as long as the footing was OK, out I went. My Hackney pony didn’t care; he would have been standing out in the rain anyway. But my larger pony didn’t like it.

Due to the frequency of afternoon thunderstorms here, often we would be out when a thunderstorm would strike. Our roads were mostly lower than the surrounding land, but I still tried to get home as fast as was reasonable when we had lightning. I never had a close call when driving, but I did when I was riding a rental horse. That was scary–the lightning was striking all around us. The storm had come from nowhere–it was bright and sunny when we went out, no clouds at all.

That ride is what lead me to buy my Appy cross gelding–he kept his head and walked back calmly in spite of being pelted by large hail and having so much lightning. Too bad he didn’t keep his head when conditions were good.

Rebecca

[Scribbler]

Yes. I have several long purpose-built equestrian Goretex dupe raincoats that cover the saddle and I have a quarter sheet. I do try to avoid really torrential downpours but I am good for an hour at least. Maresy will get cranky about wet ears but I don’t feel the rain. I don’t school intensely in the rain.

Important to have excellent rain gear and a change of jacket after. Take home your wet gear if it won’t dry in the barn. Put a wool cooler on the horse if she’s damp.

In a rainy climate you don’t have a choice.

[Training_Cupid]

Haha I just decided to not ride today, even though I originally was planning to, because it’s raining. Once it’s full on rainy season I suck it up and ride regardless, but if it’s just an isolated day I punk out (and I have a covered arena so no real excuse, except having to bring s wet horse in from the pasture and a short walk from the barn to arena)

[Jarpur]

There’s places where I’ve traveled that are rainy climates compared to my own, and if I didn’t ride in the rain, then I wouldn’t have gotten to ride. But at home, where rain is not unlikely to arrive in the form of a thunderstorm, accompanied by lightning and possibly hail, I would only consider riding in a drizzle that won’t turn severe. Getting rather damp (not sopping wet) wouldn’t bother me, nor any of my horses (they’d all have been perfectly fine wet to the skin).

I’ve been caught in a sudden thunderstorm on a group trail ride, when we had to dismount to protect ourselves and our horses as best we could. Very scary situation not to be repeated. My family lost a good broodmare out in a pasture to a storm when I was a teen, and my childhood riding instruction lost a wonderful TB gelding to one.

[Scribbler]

I would not ride in thunderstorms or in line squalls. Our rain is persistent but generally calm!

[luvmyhackney]

It depends, in the winter no riding in the rain. Hard to dry horse off enough for a blanket.

In the summer I’ll ride in the rain as long as it’s not downpouring and footing is ok.

I ride in a grassy area of the turnout so footing is more of an issue than getting wet.

[beowulf]

I live in the NE - if I didn’t ride in the rain I’d never ride at all. I think of all my shows in the last ten years, only one wasn’t during the rain.

There is nothing wrong with not riding in the rain, though. If it’s not fun, why do it.

[sparkygrace]

No, no, and no. I am an official wimp.

[Heinz_57]

Mostly no, but that’s primarily due to the sloppy footing and the random thunderstorm factor. I don’t have a proper arena with footing, just ride on the grass. I have no problem taking my older saddles out in the rain, but the brand new one is still in the babying phase. If it starts raining while I’m on, I don’t quit, but I generally plan to do other things on predicted rain days.

Back when I was eventing, it was nearly impossible not to compete in the rain in my region. Lots of sloppy, soaked rides.

[kaya842]

@prunebey

Only if I’m at a show where I have no choice .

My mare hates getting wet even more than I do, and she has no problem making her opinions known

I’ve scratched because of rain because my horse HATES it. She’ll do what’s she asked 100% but she is miserable and angry and lucky for her I’m an ammy with no one to answer to except my wallet if I scratch due to rain.

I do ride in a light rain (misting/ sprinkling) but actively avoid real rain when possible. That’s mostly due to the fact that I have very limited ground to ride on and it’s all grass so gets torn up quickly when wet. My other option is to ride on the (paved) roads, which I will do in a light rain but not if is slick wet or dark as people drive like idiots.

I did get caught in the rain on the other mare who cares not this summer and woo boy I was unhappy. We were out with a friend X-country schooling and ended up dunked-in-a-pool wet, including my new helmet and new to me saddle. I hate being wet like that, hate hate hate! Everything took days to dry too.

[atlatl]

I have at shows but usually outdoor arenas are “sealed” and closed when it rains here in So Cal.