What R U & UR Horse Doing this Winter?
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BellehavenfarmDawn
Posts: 248 Member
I am in Delaware where we are having a cold winter but I am able to layer enough to enjoy trail riding, which is what I did today. My OTTB is barefoot. Today I put Easy Care Glove Boots with tiny Quick Studs on all 4 feet so he wouldn't slip on the ice. They worked great! as soon as he crossed the first sheet of ice, he relaxed. I put the studs on from 3 to 6 to 9. In fact I just leave them in as they are great for wet spring grass too. I have trotted downhill on an asphalt road and they didn't bother him at all, so I figured why not just leave the studs in year round.
As for the ground, it was slippery in spots, so we walked mostly. Did have one nice trot around a hay field. We saw deer and a couple fox. No people! LOL No other riders either. That's pretty typical. My one winter riding companion is due in March with Baby,#2. She's no fun!
Temperature today was 37* F with wind on the top of hills. Thats 2.8 C. I don't know what the real feel was. I probably looked like I weighed 500 lbs in my huge orange jacket and Polertec pants!!!
Dawn
As for the ground, it was slippery in spots, so we walked mostly. Did have one nice trot around a hay field. We saw deer and a couple fox. No people! LOL No other riders either. That's pretty typical. My one winter riding companion is due in March with Baby,#2. She's no fun!
Temperature today was 37* F with wind on the top of hills. Thats 2.8 C. I don't know what the real feel was. I probably looked like I weighed 500 lbs in my huge orange jacket and Polertec pants!!!
Dawn
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Mostly, trying to keep warm! We've had an unusually cold and snowy winter where I live. I've been lugging a lot of hay to the horse's run in shed, cleaning up poop from the shed, and picking ice and snowballs out of the horse's hooves!
On Christmas Eve, a neighbor and I dressed up in Red and Green, and decorated our horses with jingle bells and ornaments, and we rode around the neighborhood spreading holiday cheer! It was fun, but cold, and slippery. We didn't have any major slips or falls, and our horses (both mustangs) were real champs. We're hoping to make it an annual tradition.
Right now as I type, it's snowing out here, and I'm working the swing shift, so no ride once again. I'm noticing I need a ride to clear some cobwebs out of my brain... :explode:0 -
Does thinking about riding count. Tomorrow for sure. Very slippery ground here but I think I will try for just riding in my outdoor arena. The snow is deep enough to provide good footing. Suppose to be 34 degrees, next week upper 40's. Yahoo a heat wave.
I have also been trailering to a friends indoor and doing some team sorting. Only problem is my husband plowed snow and half buried my trailer.0 -
The Holiday Ride sounds like a blast. I wear jingle bells on both sides of my saddles during our long deer hunting season. I don't want the crazy deer running into me! One year I tied a Santa hat on Sunny. This Xmas I made a mud knot with his tail and adorned it with garland!
so we are both kids!
getting off the farm, trailering just 10 minutes to the Woodlawn Preserve on one side of the Brandywine and private estates of 200 acres each, and they love horses passing thru, on the other really gives me a high. when Sunny gets away from the herd and back to his former riding country, he is great! Marches along. Hope I can get out today. Last big ride then off to New Zealand on Tuesday.0 -
what's Team sorting? cows?0
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Team sorting is this--imagine inside of an arena there are panels set up , 2 circles joined with a narrow chute. There are 8 or 9 cows with numbers on there necks. You have to go into the herd, keeping them as quiet as possible and separate them one at a time, in order and bring them from one circle to the other. It can be challenging separating them at first. It helps to have a cow savvy horse.
To much work at home today to go but I am going to ride-right now- talk later0 -
Oh that does sound fun. My horse is really afraid, but he just needs to hang out with cows for a day!
I was reading about Horse Agility Traing last might. What fun. An Exmore Pony Stallion won the whole deal this year.0 -
I live in the Arizona desert, so this IS our riding season :-) Our nightly lows get down to the 30's but in the day, we're still 60 or 70 degrees :-) No snow and not much rain here either. We do mounted shooting, trail riding, and gymkhana.0
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I live in the Arizona desert, so this IS our riding season :-) Our nightly lows get down to the 30's but in the day, we're still 60 or 70 degrees :-) No snow and not much rain here either. We do mounted shooting, trail riding, and gymkhana.
I have a friend wanting to try mounted shooting.
Too cold to ride here in Illinois. My horses are enjoying the time off.
We just trail ride - and it's a bummer that I don't have my own trailer...BOO.
So, have to have friends come pick us up.
Goal for this year is to get a trailer!0
