Menu

Stay in Touch
Sign up for ENews
Subscribe Now

Unlimited access >

Menu

Horseback riding and gel nails

Off Course
#21

[QUOTE=AliCat;7388110]
I haven’t seen my real nails since 2001 or so.

I get a form of acrylic, then airbrushed french, then gel (the stuff that is cooked on by UV light) over the top. I keep them very short, get compliments constantly, and rarely break. But OMG when they do break its agony. My nail guy could always tell when the horse I leased was going through one of those phases where he stopped at the jumps a lot. It destroyed my thumb nails. He would always have to repair them and would mutter something about “that horse”. God only knows what he said about him in Vietnamese. LOL[/QUOTE]

HAHA! I had my nails done for a spell (guilty-as-charged chronic nail biter here) for my work, and they looked SUPER professional. I went in often enough that my manicurist knew me, but she was Vietnamese and one day asked me why my nails were suddenly wearing down so hard - and I explained I had just gotten a horse. Everyone within ear shot that worked there gave an audible gasp and the woman doing my nails said “honey, that’s good news for us!”.

I felt a little mortified!

Boy, I hated the sitting down and waiting though… I would go to bite my nails and get smacked… :winkgrin: For a long time I didn’t bite my nails at all after having them. I’m tempted to get them again because I’ve started to bite my nails again, but I remember how much it HURT when I broke a nail! bi$#ching pain!!!

#22

I used to have them and loved my gel nails, a friend convinced me to get my first set, and I fell in love with them when I was in Florida showing.

Now that I’m back home I don’t have them anymore, I found the cost to get them done well here was much higher than it was where I went in Florida and my future career is one where fake nails are not generally allowed, but I really miss them.

I never broke one, but was really careful not to let them get to overgrown, and had them done quite short. My friend rarely breaks hers unless she is has gone far to long between visits.

#23

I had acrylics for the longest time-- I think I only ever broke one at the barn! I’d love to re-do them, but I have a job that destroys nails (even moreso than the barn :frowning: ) and I fear they’d be broken FAST. You’re all making me want to get another set though! They messed with my natural nails pretty bad though, and the cost adds up after a while…

#24

I’ve had tips/overlays for 40+ yrs. I always keep my nails done. I do have them cut as short as possible and French tips. Folks often ask how I keep them nice working at the barn. I do wear gloves for riding and for working. Occasionally I may take them off for a week or so. But my “other job” is bartending for weddings and events at night so another reason I keep them done. I’ve kept my nails done since I turned 18.

#25

Talking about cost of the nails, the little Vietnamese nail shop inside my Wal-Mart is $25 for a full set and $15 for refills and they can actually do your refill in 13 minutes-----yes, I timed him once.

#26

I just got my nails done with shellac (or gel) polish as a birthday gift two days ago I am really paranoid about them chipping I have horse back riding today and I currently don’t have gloves. what can I do?

#27

SNS is the way, the truth and the life. Harder than gel polish, doesn’t peel. Mine routinely last 3+ weeks and most of the time when I have them redone it’s because they are growing out. And I’m an equine chiropractor/acupuncturist by profession, in addition to having two horses of my own, so I am super hard on my nails.

#28

Love the gels!!!:slight_smile:

#29

LOL Seriously? Don’t ride. Or, risk it. Live on the edge.

1 Like
#30

I get a gel manicure every 2 weeks; I need my hands to look something other than barn-awful for my profession. I keep them short since they break when they get further than my fingertips. Mine have improved immensely since starting regular manicures. I was a nail-picker, but I leave them alone now that they have polish on them.

#31

After a serious warp in all my nails (? Diet supplement) I discovered that not trimming my cuticles ever created perfect, strong nails.
Pushing back/trimming cuticles created warped, bent nails.
Who knew.
I sometimes spread Vaseline on the cuticles to keep them soft.

#32

Reviving a 5 year old topic by a newbie poster??

Gloves, gloves, gloves. As a re-rider, I rode with acrylics and did all my horse-related activities with gloves. Played in the garden with gloves (IMO, gardening was much harder on my nails than horses).

#33

I too have thin nails that need bolstering and I hate the look of my hands without polish. I don’t keep them really long, just enough to have a nice tip. I did at one time have acrylics, and then did a gel for a while. However, I do my own nails and it was too much work to work with the wet stuff and so I went without polish for a while until I discovered nail strips.

I currently do my own nails with Incoco/Coconut nail strips. They are nail polish appliques made in strips, so you get a lovely manicure easily without paint on the cuticles (my biggest issue with liquid polish). Because there is a layer of thin adhesive along with the polish it stays on better than regular polish and most importantly for me, the strips support my weak nails and keep them from breaking most of the time. (They might break If I go too long between manicures, that’s usually what happens to me.) I do put clear top coats on them daily or every other day and a manicure lasts a week. By the end of the week, I’m ready to change colors anyway. Sally Hansen used to carry nail strips but stopped. Not enough people liked them, unfortunately. You can get many manicures from a bottle and only 2 from a package of strips…however, you get two perfect manicures with minimal work and no cleanup of cuticles.

Big tip: in order to keep your nails from chipping too much (getting too dry) you MUST put cuticle oil or at least baby oil on them nightly. (This is for anyone who keeps polish on regularly.)

Tricks to getting the most out of them: Make sure you have no splintering at the tips of the nails. If you do, file them down gently with the soft side of an emery board. (Those will make chips in no time if you don’t.) Prep the nails with alcohol to make sure there is no oil on them before application. The strips come so you can first apply on your least dominant hand, cut off the excess with small scissors and apply the other side to your dominant hand. File the edges, put on a couple of coats of clear topcoat on top and underneath the nail and you will have a manicure that lasts a week and looks very professional. They have a lot of fun colors and designs too, floral designs and glitter gradients, looks that take a regular manicurist hours to do if she’s doing it by hand. If you have leftover strips in a package make sure you seal with packing tape because the leftovers will dry out within hours and become unusable. Depending on how much oil you have in your skin, you should put a clear top coat on every day or every other day to make the manicure last too.

PS - I have no stock in the company. I have been using them for the past at least 6 or 7 years though and I will never go to any other type of nail covering. Strips do not ruin the surface of your nail like acrylics can. I like having patterns and gradients on my nails. I get a lot of complements on my nails (that is always nice). I sit in front of the TV and do them. They take about 40-60 minutes to apply, including take off… actually take off takes longer than putting them on. Right now I have Christmas nails with little Santas, candy cane and reindeer on them.:slight_smile:

#34

No topic is ever too old if someone has a question or new info.

I agree with the gloves comment too. Always wear gloves when working with horses. Protects and keeps the hands steadier on the reins and lunge line. Rope burns from lunge lines slipping through naked hands are no fun, worse than broken fingernails in my book.

1 Like
#35

Well, she didn’t. She said “I don’t have gloves, what to do?” LOL. Like what other options would be out there? “Wrap your fingers in peanut butter and duct tape…” or “dip each finger in paraffin….”

1 Like
#36

Well, you can add top coat applied on top and underneath the tip of the nail… and of course gloves. Honestly, people come to this forum for advice. Criticism and sarcasm is overkill on a mellow topic like this unless you are Miss Manners. Are you Miss Manners? I mean, I thought Miss Manners was always big on gloves for formal occasions, why not riding too? (joke)

#37

I love Shellac/uv gel polish. It holds up and keeps my naturally papery/peeling nails looking pretty. I can actually grow my nails out a little this way and not destroy them. My natural nail is not strong enough alone, regular polish is a joke, and acrylics are not worth the health risks to me.

I am currently rocking a french mani on my natural nails with festive red and green bows as nail art.

but gloves are important. Gloves when at the barn, gloves when washing dishes, gloves gloves gloves.

1 Like

Get your Digital Subscription here - only $21.95 / year

Subscribe here
See gift options

Sign up to our monthly newsletter!

By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.

Copyright © 2023 The Chronicle of the Horse