Hard Ground and Horses

Chances are, anyone who is eventing at the time expected to be worrying about the same - a hard surface - it is the bain of our lives in the equestrian world. It happens every year, and probably always will so let's look at what organizers and riders can do to reduce the impact on horses.
Organisers of events include:

    * Use of grass cutters or agrivators Basically all a slitter grass does (you may have heard them called lawn spiker and aerators) are literally cracks or holes in the ground. The agrivator (sometimes equivator) not only spiked the ground and it vibrates - it's exceptionally good at de-compaction of soil. All in all a agrivator is preferable to a slitter grass, but it's amazing how much difference the two methods allow. Besides, if it rains even a little bit, the holes should water get into the ground instead of just sitting on the surface and take off.
    * Watering the ground - Another technique is literally ground water (like a giant water jug on a tractor). The problem here is that a huge amount of water needed to make a difference - imagine how much water coming down when it rains.
    * Changing the consistency of the earth - on a larger scale and with more time, it is also possible to change the soil texture. It was reasonably successful at Badminton done after it was decided that the problems of soil in the previous year really needs to be treated. In short - soils with high clay content will actually crack in dry weather and go really hard, and harsh land. Sandy soils usually crumble not too bad. Adding sand to the course and arenas increases the "crumbling" of the earth and also promotes the growth of grass (gardeners add sand for lawns). For better grass, more water trapped in the soil, so soil is less hard and grass also provides extra cushioning. Regular 'topping' and 'bad spread ", the growth of grass - all good things for the horse.
    * Focus on landing and takeoff areas - off and landing areas should be sanded to go - it helps tremendously because the impact on horses legs landing after a jump is much more than just galloping.
What can we do as riders to help?
Short of hanging a watering your horses nose to his way of mitigating the other (stupid) proposal springs horses feet - let's stop while the going is good!
Do not forget to warm up properly, so all the tendons and ligaments in horses legs are ready to enjoy the shock as best she can. Think of the buds that you use as studs that are too large, will jar the horses legs because they are not quite in the soil. (On the other hand, because a horse weighs about 550 pounds, do not use studs that are too small -. Imagine how much force is behind these two buds on a galloping horse feet)
Please make your horse - when you remember it better lines for the time you have focused on, as opposed to flat out gallop to reach driving.
After the event you can perform 'hard surface treatment. Your best bet is to keep your horses legs cool by hosing them down cold, then hot tendons are much more likely to get hurt than colder. Top tip - aim for the top of the inside of the hind legs as if you cool the main roads. This way you can kill two birds with one stone - the water will run down the legs to cool and will cool arterial blood flows back into the body.
When the horse is cooled, recovered and had a drink there is more you can do. A traditional technique is to 'Clay' legs and brace - the idea is that the clay contracts and helps reduce any swelling. However, some people started to move away from clay for the benefit of ice packs - we all know the wonderful effect of ice to reduce swelling. You can now "rechargeable" ice packs that stay cold for a surprisingly long time.
Another alternative is the use of animal cooled Lintex. This has a cooling effect and is very easy to use and with different drugs to reduce swelling and to treat any small wounds. This technique is actually more popular because it can be used on abrasions while clay should not be used for cuts.
More preventive alternative is to ask your farrier to shoe horses for a pads to make some horses with them and some hate them. Veterinarians and farriers have a tendency to be very strong opinions about using the - some good, some bad, so do your own research on this - to talk with a trusted veterinarian and / or farrier.
Recently I encountered a new idea - shoes made of plastic, shaped to the horses feet - they've even graduated holes! The advantage is that plastic shoes are lighter and more shock absorbing. There are new developments happening all the time, read high-quality riding magazines and spend equiShopping.com in touch with what new products are developed.