Like every horse owner (and
possibly every other person in the UK!) I am now rather fed up with the
weather. With the ice and snow comes
many a worry about our four legged friends.
Although we are constantly moaning (or is that just me!) the horses seem
comparatively unbothered by all the snow and ice. My boy seems quite happy with his lack of
exercise, high volumes of hay and a stretch of the legs every day…an easy life
for them, but not so much for us!
This got me thinking about
whether or not there were any plus points to all this freezing weather. Well it’s a lot of mucking out in the cold
which means I can shiver off a few extra calories. But the lack of riding means I am losing out
on building up those core muscles which are really needed for re-schooling my
youngster. However as a bit of a surprise
my other half bought me one of these horse riding exercise machines. Now I can strengthen my core whilst inside in
the warm, watching Corrie (much to his amusement). Now they are not a cheap exercise option but
they are a damn site cheaper than keeping a real horse at the moment.
My horse if shod so riding in the
ice and snow isn’t an option, or a risk I am willing to take. I have tried lining the souls of his hooves
with no end of Vaseline or hoof oil but the ice still packs in and I’d rather
he had a few days off and felt a bit fresh on soft ground, than run the risk of
injury on slippery surfaces- this could leave me with a much worse
problem. However he happily goes out in
the field every day and appears to only move from the hay pile to the water,
with perhaps a roll in the snow for good measure. The lack of riding has given me time to do
other jobs, my tack has never looked so clean and in fact neither has my house! Just because you can’t ride it doesn’t mean
that you can’t spend time bonding with your horse, grooming him in the warmth
of the stable and doing all those jobs such as pulling manes and neatening up
feathers. Then he will be looking lovely
once you can get back on board. Just make sure you have a hot drink to keep
you warm, or warm you hand under your horses rug every few minutes as this
always feels like a lovely hot water bottle to me.
I don’t know about you but when
the sun is out I can spend all day and evening at my yard so this period of
cold weather has given me a chance to spend time with the other important
people (and animals) in my life. As you
can see from the photo below, my lovely dog Lexi loves nothing more than a walk
in the snow, swiftly followed by a sleep on hot water bottle I might add. It’s nice to still get out in the fresh air
and if you wrap up with layers and keep walking then you do stay warm- just don’t
forget your gloves!
The weather has also given me a
chance to read a few horsey books that I have had about the house for a
while. This includes two books from the
Kelly Marks series- Perfect Confidence and Perfect Partners, as well as Ride with your Mind by Mary Wanless. I would highly recommend these books to help
build strong foundations for your riding and relationship with your horse.
Despite all this of course I am
longing for the sunshine… I think we would all feel a little happier if we were
a little warmer and we were actually able to turn the heating off in our
houses, put the washing out the dry and actually sponge down our horses after
riding them! So I am keeping my fingers
crossed that it won’t be too long before we are spending no end of money on fly
spray, sweating during boiling hot during schooling sessions and gasping for a
drink after a long hot hack.
Keep thinking warm thoughts and
soon it will be summer!
The sand school has turned into the snow school...
A freezing day of snow and cold winds at the weekend...
Another cold and frosty morning...
