I’m a Novice-level eventer and a newbie to using studs. I’ve just started using studs for XC in the last month, after having a day where my horse slipped several times. I’ve been reading a lot about stud types and choosing studs, but it mostly seems aimed at jumping. I am looking at some upcoming horse trials where the dressage will be on grass and so I was wondering whether people also stud when doing dressage in a grass ring, and if so what do you use? Do you tend to use the same studs as for XC or something smaller?
Generally same as for jumping. Typically grass points and roads on normal summer firm turf. Sometimes just plain road studs in sandy loam like Ocala or Aiken.
Generally, I wouldn’t stud for novice dressage. I usually don’t start studs until training level, but often my horses aren’t shod all around until T or P.
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Peter, Helmut, and Fernando.
Hey, you ask a question that way, I am answering my way.
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Personally, I wouldn’t bother to do studs for dressage on grass, especially at novice. I’m in the Midwest where our ground can be hard as cement or a total muck-mess - for jumping, if it’s dry and slippery as snot, I’ll do road studs; supppppper muddy and I’ll do a road/ grass mix.
I’m with EventerAJ – I wouldn’t stud at all for novice in the dressage phase. I’ve never put studs on for dressage when I’ve been on grass, and I’ve mostly ridden in Area 1 where some of our (now retired :no: ) events were famous for really boggy/deep footing on grass in dressage.
I’d use smaller road studs if you have to; they don’t need much at all for that extra bit of traction. Although the cynic in me would investigate why there’s all that slipping. Do you school on grass often? This time of year I guess some areas have very slick grass footing - the ground is packed and hard, and the grass dry and brittle… Depends on your area, though. All that slipping, especially behind, might make me inclined to go over the horse’s hind end and stifle with a fine tooth comb.
The real reason I wouldn’t do studs in dressage isn’t because of customs or aesthetics; I dislike putting studs on a horse with bare legs, and you can’t compete with boots on in dressage. Even as a WS, I was always told to never pull the boots (even after an XC run) until you got the studs off. You don’t want the worst to happen – which, let’s face it, they’re horses – they’ll find a way to hurt themselves.
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I’m also in the MidWest & I do stud when dressage is on grass. Our grass rings in this area are often not quite flat - one in particular is on the crown of a hill so you fall into the corners - so even at BN I put small studs in behind - the only reason I had her drilled & tapped at the time was for that dressage ring (& we won that weekend on a 20-something dressage score so no regrets there) I didn’t want her slipping and losing confidence during the test. We actually didn’t use studs for xc then - I’d prefer to wait until Training or at least footing that needs it @ Novice before using them. @ T & P I always use studs all around for dressage on grass - usually hexes on the inside and small boxes with little tips on the outside.
It can be incredibly slick and hard here and I had a horse years ago completely lose its hind end and go down flat doing Novice dressage. I don’t generally put hind shoes on horses until they get to Training but if I do I use studs at least behind for all three phases on grass. Typically I use a medium road stud inside and a matching grass tip on the outside, same as for jumping.
If hard and dry footing, small road on outside hind to give the horse traction in the corners of the dressage ring; it’s minimal, but can be helpful!
Thanks, all. I was also hoping to hold off on studs until Training, and she was barefoot behind until a month ago when we added shoes for the studs. I find the ground here (MD/VA area) can be quite slippery in the summer when the ground is baked hard, especially if you then get a little rain that wets the grass but doesn’t have time to soak in and soften the ground. The particular XC schooling that she slipped multiple times, we had gone out early to beat the heat and the grass was actually still wet from morning dew, but I could imagine it would have been equally slippery if it had been wet from a brief rain. Multiple horses were slipping that morning.
I did wonder about the risks of studs during dressage since you can’t use boots. I guess putting a stud just in the outside hind as Dr Doolittle suggests would minimize that risk.
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I’m with you. Our grass dressage arenas are not level and we will slip in the corners. I use the same studs as I would for cross country.
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I’ve done the little grass point studs and also road studs for dressage on grass. Footing was slick and yes even for novice they were helpful and needed.
I’m not a huge fan of doing just an outside stud - again depends loads on the exact conditions. But if the ground is hard enough that the stud might not penetrate, you’re potentially putting the foot out of balance. For example, consider not just where you are competing but if you have to walk across roads or concrete.
I’d ask other people you trust at the venue that day what they are doing if possible. I think the answers may vary based on the exact day.
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