Is riding on grass okay?

[HunterGreen]

Is riding on grass okay? I always hear mixed opinions. I’ve also heard that riding on varied surfaces, like grass and sand, is really good for your horse.

I have a sand arena (90x200) on my property, and our neighborhood has a grass arena (185x160) that is a little bigger and would be nice to ride in every now and then, maybe a couple times a week - mostly just flatwork. I might be wrong, but I think our HOA said there was a professional base or something put in underneath. It’s also built up higher so it drains very well. It was definitely constructed with the intention and purpose of being ridden on, but I’m still wary of riding on grass.

I know that if it’s too wet, your horse can slip, and if it’s too dry, it’ll be too hard and can hurt your horse’s joints. My horse is also barefoot and I don’t know if that makes a difference.

[poltroon]

Yes, it’s okay. If it was engineered to ride on, it should be lovely.

You’ll be able to tell if your horse isn’t comfortable on the surface.

[luvmyhackney]

I ride in a grassy field, my horses are still sound and alive. They will be fine.

[trubandloki]

I guess I wonder what you are so worried about? Just the slippery and hard thing?

Lots of people only ride on grass.
Frequently cross country jumping courses are on grass.

I can say that I limit how much I ride on my grass at home, not because I am worried about my horse but because I don’t want to ruin the grass.

[Jackie_Cochran]

For a decade or two I rode in pastures a lot. Basically I avoided the riding rings because very few riding rings down here in south central NC have CORNERS and are nowhere near long enough lengthwise to get good long extensions.

Yes, grass can get slippery when wet, but my horse lived in a 30+ acre pasture 24/7 for years and he could usually deal with it.

I would not be as good rider as I am if I had not had those many years of riding in pastures, walking, trotting, cantering, galloping, sometimes jumping if the pasture had some jumps in it, both with a saddle and bareback. Generally my horse and I had FUN riding on the grass.

[ParadoxFarm]

You may want to double check on if this ring was “manufactured”. If so, you’re likely good to go! I rode and jumped predominantly on grass when I lived in MI. They had nice soil and it was nice to jump on. Here in TN, I can rarely jump on grass as we have mostly clay, which gets really hard in the summertime and slippery as heck in the rainy season. So, my answer is, it depends!

[PaddockWood]

You DO want to cross train on different surfaces. Just like us though, take it easy and slowly build depending on the surface change. And no slipping.

I attended a lecture years ago with Hilary and it really drove home the importance of cross training:
https://thehorse.com/1122411/conditioning-horses-on-different-surfaces/#:~:text=“One%20major%20goal%20in%20conditioning,damage%20while%20developing%20overall%20strength.

I also hauled a horse up to Michigan State years ago and the vet I worked with spent time educating me about the importance of a sand arena not being too dry and slippery. You want push off and a bit of traction. So I’m careful now that I have my own indoor arena to keep it moist enough with mag chloride that we have push off. That vet also said how it feels for you to run across an arena is how it feels for your horse. And how often do people have sand too deep and it tires the horse’s muscles quickly. Not too deep. I’ve found 2.5" is right for us. No deeper.

https://practicalhorsemanmag.com/training/5-benefits-to-riding-outside-the-ring/

Developing the Sport Horse: Part 1 - the Importance of Cross Training for...

https://christinakeim.com/tag/hilary-clayton/

[tabula_rashah]

I’d hate for you to see the surfaces that us endurance folk ride on lol

Yes, of course you can ride on grass.

[PaddockWood]

Interesting too. I recently had a foot consult for myself and not only did she suggest I go barefoot (small amounts of time to start) but also that I stop using my orthotics meant to keep my foot from moving.

She said our feet are loaded with muscles that get weak if we don’t use them. And that doing daily exercises to stretch your toes and separate them and even wearing toe stretchers, is important to foot health. And exercises to strengthen the muscles in our feet. It would be the same for our horses - in general limb strengthening of the lower limb and hoof capsule.

And I’m finding my feet are feeling so much better

[pony_grandma]

Ask a polo pony.

[mmeqcenter]

Tons of people ride on grass all around the world, and most of them are without an engineered base.
Tons of barns in Florida even jump big jumps on grass. Just good old-fashioned normal-@$$ ground.

I’m trying not to be facetious but I’m really, really confused on why this is even a question?

Personally, I prefer natural ground for majority of work, because the horse then naturally learns to be more sure-footed.

[ParadoxFarm]

@mmeqcenter

Tons of barns in Florida even jump big jumps on grass. Just good old-fashioned normal-@$$ ground.

I agree. But they do have a nice sandy soil!

[mmeqcenter]

For sure, but IDK where OP is located so I just gave one example. I do know one or two barns that jump around on grass in Ohio too, but they’re in the 3’-4’ max hunter world, not the big jumper tracks. In central Ohio, it’s hard to not have a sand/footed ring not because there’s anything wrong with the natural ground, but because it won’t be usable for half the year due to weather. It’ll be covered in snow, then the snow will melt and it’ll rain all spring and it’ll be wetlands for 4+ months. Which is, really, the main reason for a footed ring just about anywhere.

Florida wins with the sand natural ground, to be sure. That water just drains right off and you can ride an hour after a downpour.

[cayuse]

Yup, it’s ok to ride on grass.

[albytb]

You definitely have to be mindful of any hidden pitfalls, but I enjoy riding on grass quite a lot!!

[HunterGreen]

Thanks for your responses I figured it would be fine, but feel better hearing other’s opinions too. Does it matter if my horse is barefoot? Is the traction more or less or the same? Also, is riding 2-3 times a week okay enough not to mess up the grass too much? It’s about 185x160 ft and I’ll mostly be doing flatting, I don’t think our HOA would let me jump in there for insurance reasons, but that’s fine because I have my sand arena.

[mmeqcenter]

My understanding is that barefoot always has more traction, because the foot is able to naturally expand and contract. Shoes are considered more “slippery,” and eventers usually put studs in to help with traction in wet condition cross country.

Can’t really say how heavy of use it can handle without knowing what’s under the grass, but 2-3 times a week light riding, when it isn’t wet, shouldn’t cause any issues with a grass field. If you’re digging up holes, perhaps stick to the walk and trot.

[Jackie_Cochran]

My horses that I rode on grass were all barefoot.

I think that a horse with no shoes would tear up the ground less.

[clanter]

@mmeqcenter

Shoes are considered more “slippery,” and eventers usually put studs in to help with traction in wet condition cross country.

I would add in drought/dry conditions also, we had one horse who had steel plates side down on drought condition grass when she was turned sharply

All of our horses are worked on grass, this has not affected their competitiveness as they had racked up many championships

[sascha]

Grass is my horse’s absolute favourite footing.

Do watch if you get drought though - slipping can happen for barefoot or shod horses. If the grass is dead and the ground has hardened under it, you risk slipping at more than a walk/slow jog.

Too wet is absolutely a thing and all but the most aggressively caulked horses are at risk of slipping, but dampish is usually fine. It will be totally fine if it’s kept well trimmed and the base is good.