Hooves and the weather?

[Helen...]

It is really dry at the moment as i'm sure we all know. So what can we do for our horses to help them out and in particular... their hooves?

What are your thoughts on riding on the currently dry and in some areas hard ground? and have your horses had problems in the past few years with the ground being hard?

I ask these questions as I jump two of my horses. Both 1m+, it is really hard so I have limited their jump work and have been doing more flat work with them (which has benefited them alot). Still doing the gymnastic work with them, the jumps are like 70cm but, I just don't know if it is good for them to jump over the higher fences with the ground the way it is.

Opinions most welcome :)

[mig]

Hey Helen

I come across this problem quite often- you get to an event and the XC ground is hard (Maryborough comes to mind), I just travel slow (even slower than usual!) and ice ice ice afterwards. I don't see the height as the most damaging thing- its the speed! As an aside, most jumpers don't train 'high' , they practise tricky lines, grids, etc. So keep doing what you're doing :)

[Helen...]

OK, thanks for that Mig. It is just the impact on landing when going over a jump thats over 1m. Like, more than ever there is a bigger 'thud'. I always use boots and stuff. Keep the oil up, but now im getting concerned as the ground in some areas is nearly as bad as concrete.

Yeah, thats a good point... Its not just about the height. But when it comes to being competitive-I don't feel 100% confident doing a 1m course with the ground the way it is. Glad I decided not to enter for this weekends local SJ comp.