As much as I hate the bugs and humidity of NJ summers, I am really not looking forward to the wild weather of winter. I’ve always been sensitive to cold weather but it’s certainly seems to have increased as I’ve aged. I have had fingers on each hand suffer frost past many years ago but they continue to be super sensitive in the cold weather. Trying to ride or care for my horse even when the outside temp is in the 20’s is unbearable. Last winter, my hands got so frozen I needed to run cold water on them but couldn’t grip the faucet to turn it on! Thank goodness a fellow boarder stopped in to help me!
I’m using some really nice and warm riding breeches and I got a fantastic pair of Ariat Bromont boots to keep my feet warm but oh my poor hands and fingers. I’ve tried silk liners and latex gloves under my regular gloves but to no avail My skiing friends are all raving about the heated glove liners that they are using now on the slope so here’s my question: Has anyone come across any heated glove liners that are thin enough to fit under regular riding gloves like Nuemanns?? Any help or ideas will definitely be appreciated
I ski, but I’m not quite sure what your friends are referring to by heated liners (I am jealous if your friends have a hand-warming trick I haven’t tried yet), I am wondering if they are talking about chemical hand warmers? Big box stores and amazon often have them for pretty cheap, and I love them for skiing and being at the barn.
For glove liners, I swear by these: https://www.seirus.com/thermalux-heat-pocket-glove-liner-6143.html
They supposedly transmit heat from a hand warmer or just your palm out to the fingers and I think they work better than other liners.
I would also wonder if you’ve tried going up a glove size for your outer gloves? If your regular gloves fit well, a liner may be making them too tight for your fingers to sustain good circulation.
If you want to consider an alternative to regular riding gloves for winter, I use a powerstretch-type glove (fleecy interior, softshell exterior) with sticky dots on the palm and fingers. They aren’t as warm as a proper glove, but they do a surprising amount of good considering how thin they are.
Also if your hands are freezing during grooming and chores, I actually wear mittens on top of liner gloves/riding gloves with a handwarmer in them, and I usually only have to take off the mitts for stuff like doing up bridle buckles and clipping leads. Everything does take me longer than when I am using my fingers, but I can still move my fingers inside the mittens, which is sometimes more than I can say when I am using gloves!
Hopefully some of this is helpful! freezing hands at the barn are my least favorite part of winter
I wear lined cutter’s gloves. They’re available in deerskin or goat from the company I prefer, and they keep your hands quite toasty. They don’t feel bulky either.
You could also try using Back On Track gloves as a liner. The material is pretty thin and they do get warm.
I wear riding mittens. I bought them online several years ago. Your thumb and pinkie have their own slot but three fingers are together and much warmer.
I put those handwarmer pack inside my gloves. I only clean stalls doing this not riding. When I come inside I put the packs in foil and I can get another day out of them. Maybe try for riding?
In winter we have to be more care in racing, I dont like to carry something heavy but in that situation I do use gloves and hand warmer mostly. Thanks
I developed severe raynauds last year (secondary to lupus) and can tell you that while most of the suggestions above are fine for “normal” cold hands, they probably won’t work for you based on your description. I tried everything I could think of - I went through tons and tons of hand warmers, bought all kinds of riding mittens, BOT glove liners, etc. but ended up giving up riding below 50*. My office mates at work did a collection and bought me a pair of heated motorcycle gloves, but they are a bit too big/bulky and have wires that run up your sleeves which make them hard for riding. I was able to at least start doing barn work again towards the end of winter/early spring with a combination of Gordini Aquabloc mittens and hand warmers, but dexterity and grip were still an issue.
I recently rode with a clinician who also has raynauds and she recommended battery heated glove liners, with the battery in the wrist (vs all the wires). Specifically, she uses AlphaHeat liners under her normal riding gloves, but I am not sure they are made anymore as I had a hard time finding them online. So I just bought a pair of Venture Heat Avert glove liners from The Warming Store. They have several other brands and options, but these seemed the most promising based on research and reviews. If you sign up for their newsletter, you get a 10% off code and the shipping was a flat $5. Mine haven’t arrived yet, but I’ll be sure to post an update with a review when they do!
https://www.thewarmingstore.com/venture-heat-battery-heated-glove-liners.html
I agree with the heated gloves, even if you can’t ride in them, you can use them right before and right after riding, while keeping your riding gloves somewhere warm until you are ready to put them on (like under your shirt).
Depending on your condition, Alpha Lipoic Acid (supplement) can help with improving circulation to the fingers in the winter. Erectile dysfunction medications can also help if you have true/severe Raynauds.
Finally, different reins can help. Thinner reins make you hold a tighter fist, which can compromise circulation, and if the horse pulls down, they can cut sharp enough that your body may just decide to cut off the blood to the affected finger. Reins that are made of lead rope type material can help if this is a possible issue for you.
I hadn’t thought about the rein thickness, CHT, but you are right - the gripping makes it worse! I might dig out my old cotton reins from my western days to use for the colder months.
I am already on several blood thinners to help with my raynauds (including sildenafil - talk about a nightmare to get covered by insurance when you’re a woman), as well as a few supplements. Did not know about Alpha Lipoic Acid - will research that and discuss with my doctor to make sure it doesn’t interfere with any of my meds.
I also have terrible reynauds that has gotten progressively worse over the past 5 winters. If I have access to running warm water, I can usually ‘re-set’ my circulation once I feel it starting to cut off, which will buy me more time before the freezing sets in. I just have to be diligent about it.
For barn chores and even riding, I found these gloves to be quite amazing: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004ALGGJO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
They are waterproof so are fantastic for handling cold/icy gates, hoses, wheelbarrows etc. so I can at least get chores done fairly comfortably. I DO ride in them, they are bulky but not like a ski glove bulky. My only struggle is if I am having a really active ride and my hands get too warm and sweat a little, then I have to switch gloves ASAP because the damp will set off a reynauds attack. So I have at least 2 or 3 pairs hanging around.
One thing I’ve found both with fingers and feet - dont ‘double layer’ socks and gloves etc. With my poor circulation, the ‘tighter’ my extremities are bundled up, the less circulation I get, therefore they freeze faster. So my winter stuff is a size bigger. I do use hand warmers a lot.
There is no magic answer. When I ride in the winter i KEEP MOVING because the instant you stop and slow down you get cold. I can get multiple horses ridden if I hustle and switch tack quickly, keep my helmet ON and dont give my core body temperature a chance to cool off until I’m finished and inside, at which point I promptly change clothes so that anything damp or warm doesnt start feeling cold as it cools.
Basically - WINTER SUCKS.
