I’m doing first hunter classes on grass. Mare will have studs in. Can I wear a stud girth? She has a strong front end and I feel it’s a safety thing. Any thoughts welcomed!
If it’s a safety thing for the horse, who cares what fashion says?
Horse will be studded without boots for the round? That seems risky, too.
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Hunters can’t wear boots.
I’ve personally never seen a hunter with a stud girth and would argue that an ideal hunter’s front end wouldn’t warrant one.
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While I agree with this in theory, if I were worried about the horse getting hurt, that would outweigh other concerns for me.
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I get that, but that’s your more immediate risk in jumping with studs, not the girth.
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A stud girth would be unconventional, may be penalized, but it’s up to the judge. Its shape is very similar to a lot of ergonomic girths, depending on which brand you have, and from the side, it’s hard to tell which it is in some cases.
I agree with Tha_Ridge that good hunter form doesn’t put the feet anywhere near the girth. But since the girth shouldn’t be penalized just for being there, if it makes you feel more comfortable, go ahead
What will be penalized is actually needing it, since good Hunter feet don’t end up in that territory 
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OK, but plenty of hunters show on grass with studs, sans-boots. So the option is to go without studs or go with studs, but either way, your horse ain’t doing the hunters in boots. 
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Personally, that’s a risk I would not be willing to take. If studs are in, boots are on.
I would be far less concerned about what the girth area might end up looking like.
Again, personally.
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Then you just wouldn’t show in Hunters on a lot of grass courses. Your choice, of course, but for those who ARE going to show, and where studs ARE a safety need for the footing, it’s studs, and no boots. That’s just how it is.
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Exactly. I just wouldn’t show. Horse safety > ribbon.
I’ve pulled when footing gets too muddy for the same reason, even with boots. It’s just not worth it.
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Yep, so no Hampton Classic, no Lake Placid, no WEF derbies on the grass, no Oaks, and so on. I’m sure top hunter trainers are putting $500k+ horses at risk every time by not booting their precious little leggies to protect them from teeny road studs.
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Use a rim shoe instead. Inner rims, or outer rims.
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Hunters show on the grass in road studs all the time, and in 25 years I’ve never heard of one getting an injury from a stud, nor have mine ever had so much as a scratch from them. They lope around at a hunter crawl and should not get their feet anywhere near the girth area (and if they do, they shouldn’t go in the hunter ring to start with). I’m honestly not sure how boots would even help here since the studs are small and there is no speed, sharp turns, terrain, etc.
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I’ll never have that money, and have to pay my vet out of pocket for the injuries my el-cheapo horses get. I also can not easily afford to replace one that does get injured. So yeah… I’ll pass!
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I showed hunters on grass for over 30 yrs and have never seen or heard of such an incident. We used either studs or snow nails.
The only incidents (stops) occurred when an over-zealous groundskeeper over watered the ring the night before.
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I mean frankly - if everything is hunky dory, no tight turns, no risks… why do they put studs in? Just because?
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Mostly give the horses extra traction on takeoff and landing, since grass can be slippery.
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Tiny road studs on grass make that much of a difference?
That has not been my experience with studding on grass. You need something reasonably substantial to punch the ground and give the grip.
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Yes, it gives them just enough grip on a nicely groomed grass field to not slip on takeoff. We don’t want them to punch through, just want to give them a little traction and confidence without impacting the quality of the jump.
I’m not sure why you want to argue about this. I’m not lying to you or making this up. All hunter people do this, with small studs and sometimes snow nails, on nice turf, with no boots or stud girths, with zero problems. If it’s not for you, it’s fine, just move on.
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I’m not arguing. I’m asking questions because I’m ignorant to the tippy top hunter world.
I believe you and many other do this.
I just would not ever do it myself.
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