Frozen toes and fingers

[GoodTimes]

Lots of good suggestions.
I’ll emphasize that feet must stay dry though! For me that means I don’t turn the floor heat on in my car on the way to the barn. I’d rather get there with dry chilly feet that will warm up once I start walking around, vs warm wet feet that will be frozen eventually.

I can usually tough it out in my regular tall boots until -10C (15f), colder than that I pull out my winter paddock boots and full chaps. I don’t ride much below -15C (5f) though since it’s hard on the lungs.

I find that my hands usually stay warm as long as my core is warm. I wear bigger mittens, then switch into winter riding gloves with a thinsulate lining. I like the gloves since I can keep them on for doing up the girth, and noseband, etc. I have some of the winter riding mittens (where the pinky is separate), but I find I have to take them off so many times when I’m tacking up that my hands just end up colder.

[Spudsmyguy]

@Scribbler

Airiat barnyard jods. Waterproof.

I love these boots. What part of the PNW do you live Scribbler?

I generally wear my Muck Boots for all barn work and when I’m going to fetch my horse from his muddy paddock and they generally stay pretty warm with regular socks. The warmest socks I’ve found are Alpaca wool; they don’t have as much bulk as regular sheep wool and don’t lose their shape. I also have Reynauds syndrome in fingers and toes so having warm gloves is imperative. I ordered a pair of the SSG Pro Show winter gloves and still waiting for them to arrive.

[Scribbler]

@Spudsmyguy I’m up in Canada, I know PNW is technically the US but it’s good shorthand for the climate belt on a mostly American forum. I am looking a 6 inches of fresh crusty snow and getting ready to test the scope of my 4x4 F250 today!

[Spudsmyguy]

Not to derail but my brother lives in Canada but on the other side of the country in Toronto. I would love to live up there. Cold doesn’t really bother me that much having grown up in the northeast.

[PaddockWood]

Yep, I was just going to say shearling insoles too.

[Faye]

I have the Pro Show winter gloves, and unfortunately i have allergic reaction to it, the webs of my fingers are red/itchy crusty, and now migrated to my face!! Also still had frozen pinkies with this glove

[signmypapyrus]

I have Hestra mittens. They’re expensive (I paid $150 for my pair), but today it was around -50F (with the windchill) and my hands didn’t get cold. My sister has Raynaud’s and she loves her pair.

They come in different styles, but because they’re calfskin leather (with a wool lining), they adjust to your hands. I’m not riding right now, but I haven’t had issues adjusting halters and such.

I wear a TON of goose down and animal products such as wool, yak, and alpaca hair. Wearing animal products (and layering) prevents sweating. For boots, I wear wool socks in leather boots.

[walktrot]

I’m in southern Maine. I just bought one of these Zippo hand warmers and i love it. I thought it was expensive until i thought about those one-time packs you toss. I got it at Lowe’s. It was $30. It has three levels of heat and charges with the USB cable which is included. I keep it in the pocket of my jacket and it seems to work with my gloves.

Zippo hand warmer

These Mountain Horse mittens are great. I can put them on my frozen fingers and even my pinkie warms up. They are a bit stiff and bulky but they soften up after you break them in.

Mountain Horse Mittens.

I’m 5’2". If I get a regular jacket, not petite, sleeves are usually long enough that I can pull them down to cover my fingers. Like a mitten.

[horseshorseshorseshorses]

When it’s below 40f layers go:

• Legs: Stockings, leggings, wool socks that go over the leggings, pants, if there is wind and/or rain water proof pants and appropriate boots (winter, muck, minimally ventilated boots).

• Hands: thin work gloves, insulated work gloves and sometimes I will add medical gloves under it all if it’s really cold

[SmlHpy1]

@FjordBCRF how high do the heated socks go? I’m concerned about the batter pack fitting in my boots/ under half chaps. I have their vest and I gave 2 vests as gifts for Christmas. I also have found their customer service to be fantastic.

[FjordBCRF]

On me they go up about mid calf but I could pull a little higher up. I think it would be tough fit with half chaps, I know they wouldn’t work under mine. If you had boots that were looser around the tops maybe, but Ive not tried with mine and I don’t know that it would be very comfortable for long. They need an equestrian on their design team!

Their customer service is great. My hand warmer pouch was outside the 30 days for return because it was purchased at the end of November, but they are letting me return for a refund.

[Ruth0552]

I think space in the boot to wiggle your toes is critical. I bought the Mountain Horse Snowy River lace paddock and unfortunately they are a bit too tight to ride in. They are fine just walking around, but they hurt to ride in if I’m wearing thick socks. The best winter ones I had were actually the Mountain Horse Rimfrost paddocks but that was ages ago. The soles on both these boots are pretty thick- I actually need to lengthen my stirrups a hole when I’m wearing them.

So if you buy a pair of winter boots, size up a 1/2 or whole size so you can fit your thick socks in them and have room to wiggle.

[eightpondfarm]

maybe there is something wrong with me…dunno. I use muckboots, (the “Hoser” style) and wear double socks. Neither one anything special, just usually a synthetic sort of cheap sock on the inside and anything, incl just cotton, but often just another cheap synthetic, over. For gloves i have some alpaca fingerless that i actually take off to feed alfalfa because all the little flakes and stemms that get imbedded into them. I work outside about 4 or 5 hours straight and it is 15degrees today. But i’m moving around a lot. When i ride i might be wearing my fingerless if it’s under 20, but usually i ride barehanded.

[Spudsmyguy]

They sent the wrong size so haven’t had a chance to try them on. Now waiting to hear how to go about returning them. I’ve never been allergic to anything so hopefully I won’t be. Sorry to hear this happened to you.

[wildlifer]

I get cold easily, especially extremities, low blood pressure, so probably not the greatest circulation. I really love the SSG tenbelow gloves, they are super warm & waterproof. I can do farm work & ride in them with no issues. They have a little bulk, I mean, I wouldn’t try to build a toothpick replica of Notre Dame while wearing them, but I can tighten a girth & feel a nice contact.

[Faye]

OMG barehanded ???

[eightpondfarm]

yeah. My engine runs hot.
i often have to take off my hat, neckgator and unzip my carhardts.

[cutter99]

It was 10* this morning while I was out feeding, plus we has 6”+ of snow yesterday, which is highly unusual for Middle TN.

I wear the Muck Boot Company Chore boot, with 2 pairs of socks. I am a native of the Northeast, and it worked well up there, but works great down here.

For gloves, I use SSG 10 Below, especially when dealing with water. I had a pair of SSG Ranchers on yesterday while out feeding hay during the snow storm, and while I like the way they keep my hands warm, once they are wet my fingers get cold very quickly.

[ParadoxFarm]

@wildlifer

I really love the SSG tenbelow gloves, they are super warm & waterproof.

I have these as well. For some reason, they don’t keep my hands as warm as I would have thought. If it’s below freezing, my fingers are numb. But I do like the fact that they’re waterproof.

[Jealoushe]

I find a normal pair of socks then wool socks over top is the best bet. I take the wool ones off when I ride. I wear sweats over my winter breeches and same thing.

Thin fleece and Sherpa are the best for the cold. Often you can find great warm barn clothes at thrift shops.