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| look at all that dry foot. be still my heart. |
Winter. Riding.
Do you do it? What does it look like? I know some people like to just turn their horses out for the winter and wait for better weather, and there is certainly merit to that. Courage took about 10 weeks off last winter and it did wonders for letting go of those racing muscles.
On the other hand, the very idea of doing that again made me insane this winter, so I up and moved my horse to a barn with an indoor. I'm lucky that I have the option to do that. I know not everyone can.
So what does winter look like in the blogosphere? Are you tough enough to ride outside? Rich enough to get to an indoor? Smart enough to board at one?
I live in New England where we may or may not be "snowed in" anytime from October-April therefore most boarding facilities either have indoors or trailer in to barns with indoors. I've always kept Mollie at a barn with an indoor and while I certainly ride less in the winter, I can't imagine giving it up entirely.
ReplyDeleteI am lucky enough to have an indoor. However I don't like riding when it is too far below freezing - low 20's or lower. I just feel like it is too hard on the horse. Plus I get so stiff from being so cold! That being said, I do try and maintain my 3-4 days a week riding schedule, though I tend to concentrate more on dressage basics during the winter than anything else. I would never be able to go all winter without riding!
ReplyDeleteI ride outside - I'll ride if it's 25+ degrees, but my riding buddies don't share my love for Winter, so I end up not riding as much. I'll still lunge often though and squeeze at least one ride a week with trot or hill work as long as it isn't snowing or icy or muddy. No dangerous footing, lol!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I do not have access to an indoor and I refuse to trailer out on the highways during the Winter season, so mostly Suzie is "off" for the season. It stinks, but we get such wet and slick snow that risking a slip/trip/fall isn't worth it to me.
ReplyDeleteI opt out of real winter by living in Texas. Problem solved.
ReplyDeleteWhat she said.
Deleteme three!!
DeleteI am not rich enough to have an indoor, so I tough it out all winter. Pony gets snow pads on, and we ride whenever the footing isn't hazardous. Sometimes this means endless hours of walk work, but it keeps us relatively fit!
ReplyDeleteI have an indoor arena but it's not very heated and all my horses are on a pasture. I ride outside here and there. I ride in my quited barn worker overalls a fair bit too!
ReplyDeleteI ride indoors all winter long! Here's my general rule of thumb:
ReplyDelete25 degrees and above: Regular ride
20-25 degrees: Shortened ride, no jumping
15-20 degrees: Even shorter, and I don't canter much
Under 15: No riding
Of course, if it's a particularly harsh winter I'll break these rules. I typically "slow down" in the winter and work a lot more at the walk and trot. I also don't ride as frequently... more like 3-4 days/week rather than 4-5 days/week.
I don't have an arena at all and my horses are outside 24/7. I try to ride as often as possible as long as its not below freezing+wind or raining. We don't get icy ground, just super hard ground, so we're usually okay to ride if the weather is decent. I don't stop riding though just because it gets cold....
ReplyDeleteI am still figuring this one out now that we are keeping the horses at home. This is my first winter without an indoor. So far we have had non-stop snow and some ice. If it isn't icy or windy (has been windy a lot), and above 20 I will go for a trail ride - walk, and trot if conditions are good. Otherwise no riding.
ReplyDeleteI am used to having an indoor and riding all winter, but riding less or entirely taking a break between Thanksgiving and New Years. When we moved to Montana, I also started giving my horse a break during January because of super cold temps. That has always been my routine in the past. When Junior is a bit older, I have more time to ride, and I have a competition horse again I may board at an indoor for the winter. We shall see. I miss my indoor for sure, but right now I still don't have the time to ride that much anyway.
Living in FL I can ride all year round which is why I moved here. Up north I had an indoor. We still get our spurts of cold but it's not bad. I'd like an indoor due to the rain but that is not going to happen
ReplyDeleteLast year, the horses were off for about three months (November-January) while I found them somewhere to live that wasn't a cow pasture. Through the tail end of winter, I rode outside as long as the wind chill wasn't too terrible.
ReplyDeleteThis winter, I am very excited to have a indoor arena to ride in, even if it's very small!
I am truly blessed with access to three indoor arenas and a separate lunging ring + walker. I try to trail ride at the weekends if not icy or too wet. Horses go out every afternoon if i can put them out & I try to ride in the evenings and weekends. Short spins in the evenings depending on what time i finish work & longer at the weekend as i have more time.
ReplyDeletePs so long as i can put them out for the afternoons i feel less guilty about not riding as at least they can move and aren't cooped up in their stables - that gives me the uber-guilts when I can't turn them out much more so than of K can't ride them
DeleteWe don't have much winter, but I ride through almost all of it. December is usually a slack month for us, but other than that it's full steam ahead.
ReplyDeleteI have always boarded at a facility with an indoor. Born and raised New Englander means a little cold don't stop me! However, it does sort of limit what you can do and decrease motivation to go out to the barn when it is freezing.. so generally progress is not as productive as in other seasons.
ReplyDeleteI am boarding at a barn with an indoor, primarily to ride inside during the evening. My plan for this winter is to ride on Saturday and possibly Sunday, regardless of the weather, unless it is in single digits. As long as I am bundled up and Ashke has his BOT extended blanket, we are going to explore our world. I am very lucky to live in an area where, even though we get snow, it doesn't stick around for long and there are plenty of days to get out and ride in moderate weather.
ReplyDeleteWinter Suuuuucks! I am also a New Englander. I'm currently boarding at a barn whose indoor is under construction, but is not yet complete. Trying to find the motivation to ride at night after work, in the dark and the cold is no fun.
ReplyDeleteOn the plus side, my horse is a saint, and I no longer spend every ride simply hoping I don't die.
~Daily Reader
no indoor so last winter we went 3months no riding. going to trailer to an indoor on weekends this year, but not really sure how that'll work out re: keeping the horse fit enough for actual work :(
ReplyDeleteI'm in Southern California, so "winter" is an inch of rain when they close down all the arenas. I don't have a covered arena at my facility. So on those nights I groom, clean tack, organize my cubby, etc. Generally the longest I go without riding is 1 consecutive week.
ReplyDeleteI am in NY... so definitely not an option to ride outside through the winter. I am lucky enough to board at a barn with an indoor, but eventually by the end of the winter my horse and I get so burned out from only being inside that I CANNOT WAIT to be able to ride outside again. Because of that, I try as much as possible to ride outside on weekends when footing allows, even if it is just a walk on the trails.
ReplyDeleteLuckily the weather isn't too severe in California, but we do get a lot of rain. The barn where I ride doesn't have an indoor, so as long the arena isn't flooded, I ride as usual. Fortunately it hasn't rained on a lesson day yet, but if it does I will wear my rain jacket and still ride as suing my trainer is still willing to give lessons in the rain.
ReplyDeleteYeah winter barely happens in California. But my arena does flood when it rains and my sprinkler system freezes so when it doesn't rain, I can't water. Two years ago I rode sparingly. Last year when I was moving up the levels, I moved to a barn with a covered arena. This year he's semi-retired so he's just going to hang out on the days where we can't ride.
ReplyDeleteFor me in south Texas it's not as much the cold as it is the dark. Once the sun sets, I just want to curl up in front of the fireplace and go to sleep, instead of riding. But this year we have a (very small) arena at home with lights, so my excuses for not riding are getting pretty thin!
ReplyDeleteWinter in Australia is ideal conditions for riding- just cold enough so you won't sweat, but still T-shit weather!
ReplyDeleteSummer is the hard part. It gets SO hot that it's either early morning or late afternoon rides. I definitely don't ride enough in Summer!
Used to ride outside all winter long, even in the snow. Age and aching joints have discouraged me.
ReplyDeletei live in the uk so our winters typically just involve lots of cold weather and rain but not much snow, I rid every week like normally (unless we have bad storms, or snow (not very often)) i only have a week off at christmas, i ride in the rain (We have no indoor… yet!) but the rain and cold don't tend to bother me just snow.
ReplyDeleteDown here in good ol' Texas, our nasty summers take the place of nasty winters - show season slackens off, horses get mini vacations or worked at the buttcrack of dawn, or after 10pm. Winter is prime time riding for us - even our chilly days like today (in the low 40's) are few and far between.
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived up north, I was lucky enough to always have an indoor. I made sure I had one, or else I wasn't going to be riding much! I have no idea how I lived through all of those miserable freezing cold years but we just kind of sucked it up, stuffed our feet into our frigid boots, broke out the coolers and quarter sheets, and got it done.
I will never forget this Denny-ism: "Shows aren't won in June, they are won in January." Winter was - is - the time to hone in on flatwork, get problems sorted out, advance your schooling and training, take lessons, and be generally prepped and ready for the coming show season. Once you get to show season, you have what you have - so you gotta make it count when you have the time to experiment and tweak things around.
Oh my, these responses make me cold just thinking of 20F, or less. In good old Cali, indoor arenas are mostly good for shelter from rain, wind, and lighting. We do get nasty wind being on the side of a hill. At our barn, there's pretty much no lighting except the barn isles and the indoor arena, so from 4pm on, that's where you ride.
ReplyDeleteLike someone commented earlier - winters in Australia are a bit easier than in the States. Where I live it does get cold and can rain a lot and as I don't have an indoor that's a problem.
ReplyDeleteBut I usually find it harder to ride regularly during summer. I have to get up at like 5:30am or earlier if I want to ride at all! Yuck. I'm not a morning person at all. So that's my struggle.
bonita of A Riding Habit
I live in California. Winter riding is the same as summer riding but with less flies! :0)
ReplyDeleteUgh! I hate winter. I normally just don't ride in the winter, but this year I'm going to try too. Wish me luck!! I'll get back to you hehe.
ReplyDeleteIndoors! Wooo! I am posting out of moral support since you already know this.
ReplyDeleteI live in north central Alberta, Canada and we can have some pretty gross weather and temps in the winter! My lease is horse is boarded at a barn with an indoor arena so I get to ride all year, occasionally he gets a week or even two off when the roads/weather are too bad or too cold to ride/make it safely out of the barn!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you see this on my FB - but we ride outside. When the ring freezes, I trailer out or road hack. I dont ride when its colder than -15 c. I like to give at least one month off per winter. This is the first winter in many years I am keeping them home with no arena - so its an experiment!
ReplyDelete