I was planning on hacking my horse around just at a walk for no longer than 20-30 minutes around noon today. At 11 am the temperature is 86 degrees and the humidity is 72% and at 12 pm the temperature is 88 degrees and the humidity is 64%. Is that too hot to ride?
If your horse is healthy, and youāre just walking, personally, I think you will be fine. Hose down afterward if you can. 
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Is your horse fit?
I can w/t/c my horse in that weather with walk breaks with no issues, but heās fit and used to the temperatures/humidity.
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Judging by the way my 3 handled 90s with high humidity, your horse s/b fine.
Personally, Iād rather not be sitting on a 101F horse in those conditions.
Rather than hose, try sponging you both with a mix of your liniment of choice in a bucket of water. Wintergreen alcohol works.
Thank you for the replies! Heās in good health and shape at 10 years old and used to the Florida heat. I also give him electrolytes right after every ride. If I do ride I think it wonāt go past 20 minutes. Sometimes we get afternoon storms, so Iām hoping we might get a little overcast.
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If thatās too hot to ride, Floridians wouldnāt be able to ride for about 6+ months of the year.
I generally follow this, although 180 is pretty extreme.
Over 150 I wonāt do more than 20-30 minutes total, and what I do in that time depends on the horseās fitness. When my one mare was going six days a week and schooling 3rd, in that 30 minutes Iād walk, trot, and briefly canter. That mare now, whoās sat largely untouched for 3-4 years? Iād just walk.
Over 165 I wonāt ride or lunge or anything, just give them a hose and let them find shade.
Some people use the same idea, but subtract wind speed.
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odd that chart at the bottom has ā(convert C to F = multiply C by1.8 and add 32)ā as the chart is in already in Fahrenheit not Celsius
to convert the Fahrenheit to Celsius is just F ā 32 Ć 5/9 = C
Probably meant for people living in areas that measure temp in Celsius, so they can convert their number to see where it lands in the chart.
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The US is the only major country in the world that primarily uses the Fahrenheit scale. There are five smaller countries that join the USA in this - Liberia, Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, and the Cayman Islands.
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OP is fine, I might even do a little schooling or pop a low fence or two but no pounding and lots of walking. Always start out by seeing what the horse seems to want to do when it is either hot or really cold and let that guide my choices.
But do be sure not only to hose or sponge him off (might add a little brace to the water if sponging) but make sure he dries off before putting him back, I like parking them in front of a fan after hosing or sponging. By the time I cleaned the tack at sat down for a few minutes horse was dry.
To be honest, with that helmet and boots I always wore out in the heat before the horses did and sure wanted to quit before the horse did in the cold
Why? I have never done nor heard of this in the summer.
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Helps with scratches, fungi crap and assorted other heat and humidity complicated skin issues if you dry before stalling.
Not being argumentative but Iāve been told this before but my point of view is- how is air drying in the groom stalls/ wash rack/ wherever any different than air drying in the stall? Provides the stall isnāt a hotbox with no airflow, itās not different air in one space vs another?? Iāve put my horses in their stalls or out wet day after day year after year and never had an issue with skin crud due to it.
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Mine are bathed and then put back in their stall under a fan. They are dry in minutes.
We all have different experiences and are dependent on local conditions and facilities. I just shared mine because it worked better for me where I was and what my vets suggested for that environment and my horses. I had much less of an issue with the crud, YMMV.
Will say eons ago out in So Cal they were dry before they went back in, in the midwest summer, not so much, they dried faster in the groom stalls in front of the big fans. I never knew what the crud was before moving back there as well. On the road in show stalls in midsummer was a challenge as well-they did much better dry before stalling, even with a box fan in the stall.
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I think it depends on humidity and also horse behavior. Iāve also been taught never to put a horse away wet for the risk of skin funk. My horses have fans in their stall, but I can get more air moving over them in front of the big drum fans. My horses are also prone to rolling, trapping dirt or shavings on their wet skin and hair, which I imagine would contribute to the skin funk. If they roll when theyāre dry, itās no big deal, dusts right off. But thatās just a guess.
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Interesting. If mine dry in the washrack under a fan before Iām ready to turn out Iāll actually hose them again before turning out or putting a fly sheet on. Iāll also hose outside in a fly sheet until the flysheet is dripping wet. Deep South with a skin drama horse and itās never been an issue. A reminder that every horse and every situation is different.
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During our monsoon season out here (which is now), we shower our horses in the crossties and they dry in front of a huge swamp cooler. They also have big fans in their stalls, which also helps with drying and cooling them off when they sweat just standing there.
I do use a clean barn towel to wipe dry the lower legs, though, especially if the horse has white stockings. Itās very easy to get scratches going in hot, humid weather.
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