When is it too hot?

First, I don't know the answer BUT I wouldn't "work" them much in that heat. Unless you have a covered arena.  Still, a nice trail ride in the shade of the woods....  take them to a pond and swim them...  Ride early or in the cool of the evening (if you're like us it's not THAT cool but the sun is closer to being down...)  We've decided here that you have to ride in whatever weather God gives ya cuz, it never seems to be perfect!  I do prefer cold - I can dress for that!
 
Always remember: hydrate, hydrate, hydrate

I have been told that people have more issues with the heat than the horses do. They live in it day after day. However, common sense should kick in. We pretty much ride regardless, Columbia, SC region. We try for early mornings or late evenings and don't push the horses hard when it is really bad. We have ridden when real temperature was 106 and a couple weeks ago we were at a show and the heat index was around 105. (We also declared we will NEVER AGAIN do a summer show! It was brutal for the humans though the horses didn't seem to care.

It depends.  If the heat index is over 100 I will not work my horses.  However, you can get around that by riding in the early morning or late evening.  Also different breeds will handle the heat better than others.  For example, Arabians originate in desert heat while many of your draft breeds originate from colder regions.  The Arabians will be able to cool down faster while the large muscle mass of the draft can take significantly longer to cool down.

I have one horse here that I will not ride if its above 90 degrees out at all during the day.  He is a previous EPMer and doesn't handle the heat well at all.

I personally will not "work" my horse when it is very hot. I can't stand the humidity so I don't think I should have my horse work just so I can have "fun". After all, owning a horse isn't all about riding.
If it's really hot I'll do some undemanding time in some shade or will set up a hose and play with it and get all wet.

My rule is: if it's too hot for me, it's too hot for my horse. I put myself in my horses hooves.

First of all, i wouldn't work horses in hot weather, it is too hard on them, that's just my opinion. I work my horses either in the early morning or in the late evening. But of course if you are going to be working in an indoor arena that wouldn't be a problem since it would be indoors and out of the sun. Also if you are going to be riding or working with your horse in the shade i think it would be fine. This is just my opinion, hope this helped.

I've worked horses in very hot weather...but hot, dry weather. If I have a choice, I don't ride hard when it's really hot. But sometimes if you have a show and the weather is hot, or you have to do something with cattle, you have no choice.
 
If you're going to work them in hot weather you need to learn how to monitor their hydration and eloctrolytes.
 
Make sure they're hydrated, make sure their feed isn't hot feed (no corn) and give them opportunities to cool down and relax. Horses who are overworked (and each horse is different) can and do die.

Thanks for the opinions! I haven't been riding him in this heat at all, even though our ride is always just a walk for now. We don't have any covered arenas or solid shade, it's pasture riding (well, walking) and around the house kind of stuff.
 
He just turned 4, and I don't ride him often at all because I need a trainer to come out and help me.  That will happen this fall, when it's hopefully a little cooler!
 
Anyway, I'll quit rambling... thanks again!

I've always been told that if the temp & humidity added together equal 150 or above it it extremely dangerous for the horse. At some point someone on a horse forum contridcted that but it is still sound advice.
 
Today the temp here is forecast to be 103F , with heat index about 110. That will put the humidty somewhere in the 40% range.
 
I'm in S E Oklahoma, not to far from the Tx, Ar. & La borders.
 
This morning I started a 3 yr old filly under saddle. It went very smooth. We were done in about 45 minutes. The filly barely had a sweat on her. Other times on other horses that same amount of progress would have taken 3 hours and both horse & rider would be drenched in sweat. When I cam in the temp was 95 with heat index of 103.
 
The measure about riding in the heat may include the type of riding, such as a shady trail, the length of the ride, the horse & riders condition.
 
One can easily keep the horse tuned up in short 30 minute rides that can include warm up &  moderate work outs. The better solution would be to use that time for non intensive pleasure rides.
 
 

my horse doesnt seem to mind if he's too hot or not but i cant breathe when it gets to hot to i ride in the early morning or right before the sun goes down

When is it to hot?
 
 
 
hummmm     when it is 6am  you step outside with your
morning coffee and you start sweating.
 
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We haven't seen any hot days yet this year here (it's 50 right now at 7:30am with a forecasted high of 64).  But I remember it being hot in the past...
I would say, if it's too hot for you to be outside it's probably too hot to ride just for the fact that you could seriously compromise yourself by getting heat exhaustion and what not...
I remember nearly passing out after a brief roundpenning session on a hot hot day.  Not fun.
 
the ideas people suggested about going for a swim or trying to do work in the shade are good ones unless the humidity is so high it's hotter than Hades no matter where you are. 

South Central Texas here...  triple digits every day.  I belong to a horse club and we just recently had an entire meeting devoted to this subject.  One of our members is a vet.  He suggested no work after 10 a.m. and then you can begin after 7 p.m.  I am hosing the horses down every evening (early evening).  This heat isn't good for any of us.  Very limiting.  Argh!

houston texas here yeppers it get in the double digits i hose my mare off every night.....and i ride 3 times a week and i ride around 8pm and the past week it has felt realy good its still hot but not as bad......but its to hot to ride durung the day......and if you want to ride in the morning ride before 10am