At 10:01:21 on 04.06.11, Em28 wrote:
Well I know here in East Anglia the ground is like rock. This seems to be affecting everything to do with horses. I have heard people cancelling competitions due to the worry of hard ground, where it hasn't been watered/managed prior. Also, the grass is turning to dust for many. Plus the added concern that hay fields are not growing. I know there was rain last week for Wales and the North, but here there was hardly anything, perhaps a few drops. Oh there is also the fact that Im sure some horses will go lame due to damaged tendons and joints, although thankfully I haven't heard of any yet. I just wondered how everyone was coping and if it had affected them and their horses? With us now being into June, it doesnt seem to be getting any better.

At 21:13:21 on 04.06.11, zoelovesanimals wrote:
Alot of the horses themselves are suffering up at our yard, Pollys really stiff in her stifle from her old injury, another mare has been lame and another mare has hurt her stifle, and a couple of gelding who have problems in there legs anyway are suffering! Its so easy for them to pull something on this hard ground its terrible! Wishing for lots of rain aswell (only during the night preferably!) , as we don't have that much grass!

At 23:09:06 on 04.06.11, Angelalain wrote:
We've got a six year old, a 20 yr old and a 21yr old. They only get ridden2 or 3 times a week and I haven't cantered since last summer on the 20 yr old, she only hacks and is barefoot, I tend to walk most of the time, and do most of my trotting on the road cos its smooth. The bridle paths are set in hard ruts. I did have a couple of canters on the 21yr old back in Feb when we went on a pleasure ride, but since it stopped raining we've not got out of trot. He can't trot on the hard rutty tracks because of his joints, he really finds it nasty, so I don't do it. I'm also using as much hay now as I was in the winter, I've not been able to reduce it at all and the field which should have been July/August grazing has already been stripped. We have virtually no grass at all!

At 00:32:14 on 05.06.11, JessAndGrenville123 wrote:
See i canter on hard ground and although you may say this is really bad because grenville has arthritis but he goes NUTS in the field and this ground is rutted and steep up and down hill! So he probably does less dammage when i canter him on the tracks because i only canter slowly on flat even ground and never down hill and i gel wrap his legs after with cool gel things, if i was too worried about the ground i would have maybe 2 month in the year where it is 'safe' to canter because winter and autumn is too boggy and spring and summer its too hard? Grenville would be sooooo bored. And not to mention when the crops are cut and you can gallop across the fields, the ground is hard then but i still go for it cos grenville loves it i just make sure i walk him off propperly and wrap his legs.

At 09:32:26 on 05.06.11, Em28 wrote:
Just read that East Anglia have had the driest spring for 101 years. Strange things going on with the weather, first the coldest winter in 100 years and now the driest Spring. Lets hope for a normal/wet Summer. Have to say the horses I ride, we don't even really trot on the roads, less it's up hill. Lots of road walking helps to strengthen their legs more, but then I am lucky living in the countryside. I would not risk cantering on too hard a ground, but would plan the route to include some canter work on softer areas where possible. With regards to the crops, it is reported 85% of the UK crops have been affected, seems worrying the effect it will have for the Winter.

At 12:11:31 on 05.06.11, Angelalain wrote:
There aren't any softer areas! The only place actually fit to do any work is a surface, and we don't have one. I do think you need a balance, I know people who never get out of walk on the road, only ever school on a surface, and have horses who break down at the drop of a hat. Road work, and a bit of steady trotting (not hammering, thats what I don't like about hunting!!)on the hard does strengthen the legs. But schooling is just not possible on the ruts. It went from wet to dry so quick that it never flattened out even though it was harrowed.

At 23:28:29 on 05.06.11, JessAndGrenville123 wrote:
Our crops are the best they have been in a few years and you say you wouldn't canter on hard ground but i bet your horse goes out galloping in the turnout field, what's the difference? Just as i don't give grenville rest off grass before i ride, i bring him in tack up and go (and groom) cos' he will only eat if i put him in his stable and he eats and gallops about in the field on a full stomach anyway (i give him rest after hard feed though!) but not grass and people go nuts at me but grenville has no problems cause by me all his problems were there when i bought him caused by racing and as for trotting on roads i have trotted a good few mile along uphill road in the winter to keep fitness up when canter work is impossible other than schooling

At 13:09:44 on 06.06.11, Flicka wrote:
We've just had rain in Essex-at last!! Our fields are like a crazy paving of deep cracks and I'm surprised how well all our horses look despite the fact the grass isn't brilliant now. Luckily we managed to cut and bale our haylage before the rain came in. Our yield was down on last year and I'm worried that we're all going to be facing problems with availability and cost of hay/haylage this winter :( This is the first year I've had a horse whose feet have suffered with bruising, and poor Willow went very lame. Because of the chances of bruising and shock laminitis, no I won't be doing a lot of trotting and cantering where the ground is very hard, and especially where it is uneven. Long walks in the sunshine are lovely though and there's lots I can do schooling wise on a hack :D

At 23:30:58 on 06.06.11, Angelalain wrote:
The six yr old canters off when he's turned out, the two old ones have more sense. Ches is arthritic and the hard ground jars his knees, so he trots, and Foxy has no shoes and finds the ruts uncomfortable, so she walks, she's only got a small patch to keep laminitus away, so she doesn't have space for a gallop.The farrier told me three weeks ago that she's seen more bruised horses already this year than she's ever seen before.

At 23:50:27 on 06.06.11, JessAndGrenville123 wrote:
Grenville has arthritis in a front leg and both his back ones and he gallops off bucking, leaping and whinnying lol and suprisingly grenville hasn't had a single bruise - he wears shoes but has really flat feet and usually gets bruised even with shoes on hard ground but he is totally sound and he loves the fast ground, luckily our tracks were rolled in the spring so they are flat and also they are quite grassy at the minute and our turnout field is full of long bright green grass (but we have 5 large ones joined together so the horses move around to give the fields time to recover) and our crops are just starting to get cut and we went for a blast across one of the fields today! LOVE IT can't wait for more of them to be cut, our crops looked pretty good compared to recent years and we have some left from last year so hopefully we should be ok