Winter Woes........
Coming in to winter, without even thinking of unpredictable bad weather, you have darkness to deal with too. As a horse owner this can be troublesome without the added woe of rain/snow/wind/etc.
Like a lot of people with their own horses at home, I have no arena to ride in. So how do you go about exercising your horse in winter? Do you get up early and hack out or do you travel to yards to use their facilities? Or are you lucky enough that you can ride during the day?
If I want to ride in the evenings I have to travel. I am very lucky that I have a great relationship with the local equestrian centre and can squeeze in there most evenings I want to. They have a lovely big indoor arena. This morning I managed to get up early to hack out Fred. It was a beautiful frosty morning. But some mornings I've woken up early and it's been absolutely lashing rain. Getting drenched isn't a great way to start the day and it can be quite dark when it's that bad.
Last night I went for my weekly jumping lesson with Cu Chulainn, but brought Fred for a quick spin too. He's only on fittening work, so it's fairly easy. Cu Chulainn did well and I'm hoping to bring him to a local training show on Saturday. When I got home, we did our usual routine. I let them out loose in the yard and get their dinner ready, then while they are eating, I get the stable ready. They're currently in temporary dwelling, while I try and get something more permanent ready. So I got they're hay ready and filled buckets with water - automatic water drinkers will be first on my list!! They drink a ridiculous amount. I have solar lights in the yard and they are the business. But I had to use my phone as a torch in darker parts - being pretty lazy, it was cold and I wanted to get inside and eat my dinner. So as you can imagine, my phone fell straight into the bucket of water. It seems to be working ok, bar the camera, and I cannot live without my camera. So it is currently hibernating in some rice..........myth or not, I'm willing to try it!!
Cu Chulainn is going on holidays come next Monday, but Fred is going to be kept going over the winter as he's had too many unplanned holidays this year. It'll be great to kick start next year with him fit and see what we are capable of in Dressage Ireland and the dressage league in Riding Club. But as I'm going to keep riding him, and he's a hairy bear, I'll need to clip him. He does sweat up on his neck when he gets a bit of work. So what clip to do? I'm thinking that I'll give him a half neck and belly clip. It won't look great, but it's only temporary. He can get a full clip then when the 2017 season starts. So this means getting the blades sharpened and figuring out when I can clean him because the weather is soo cold out. Still, give me cold over rain any day!!
Do you turn your horse out over the winter or do you just turn out to an arena? Personally, I turn them out every day, all day. They come in when I come home from work. For Fred, he definitely needs to get out. He gets narky and he needs a good roll. Even if there's nothing much to eat, it's good to have them walking around and stretching their legs. Also saves on bedding and time and hardship. My boys would walk the walls being in. Now, they don't mind if the weather is horrific, Fred is quite spoilt and loves his rug, his dinner and his night time comforts. He pretends he's hardy, but he's all about the cuddles!!
I let them in the field that gets quite wet and mucky, because it's fairly dry at the moment. It also has access to the orchard, which they literally ran into with excitement! I followed to take this snap.
Another winter woe is wet rugs. I brought them in last weekend to find that Fred's rug that was 'profesionally' waterproofed was wet on both sides. Whereas Cu Chulainns one, with the patches, that I waterproofed myself was perfect bar some light dampness. So that meant finding a different rug for him (unfortunately or fortunately my friend passed on her rug addiction, so I have many extras, mostly horseware). I dried out his rug in the kitchen (luckily mam was away) and then painted on Fabsil water proofing. I have to say, it's been great so far. It hasn't had too much testing, but so far so good. I even did an old jacket that I hadn't worn in a while!
What other winter woes are there? Mud rash/fever.............colds........please comment your pet hates of winter
Like a lot of people with their own horses at home, I have no arena to ride in. So how do you go about exercising your horse in winter? Do you get up early and hack out or do you travel to yards to use their facilities? Or are you lucky enough that you can ride during the day?
If I want to ride in the evenings I have to travel. I am very lucky that I have a great relationship with the local equestrian centre and can squeeze in there most evenings I want to. They have a lovely big indoor arena. This morning I managed to get up early to hack out Fred. It was a beautiful frosty morning. But some mornings I've woken up early and it's been absolutely lashing rain. Getting drenched isn't a great way to start the day and it can be quite dark when it's that bad.
Last night I went for my weekly jumping lesson with Cu Chulainn, but brought Fred for a quick spin too. He's only on fittening work, so it's fairly easy. Cu Chulainn did well and I'm hoping to bring him to a local training show on Saturday. When I got home, we did our usual routine. I let them out loose in the yard and get their dinner ready, then while they are eating, I get the stable ready. They're currently in temporary dwelling, while I try and get something more permanent ready. So I got they're hay ready and filled buckets with water - automatic water drinkers will be first on my list!! They drink a ridiculous amount. I have solar lights in the yard and they are the business. But I had to use my phone as a torch in darker parts - being pretty lazy, it was cold and I wanted to get inside and eat my dinner. So as you can imagine, my phone fell straight into the bucket of water. It seems to be working ok, bar the camera, and I cannot live without my camera. So it is currently hibernating in some rice..........myth or not, I'm willing to try it!!
 | |
| Frosty morning!! |
Cu Chulainn is going on holidays come next Monday, but Fred is going to be kept going over the winter as he's had too many unplanned holidays this year. It'll be great to kick start next year with him fit and see what we are capable of in Dressage Ireland and the dressage league in Riding Club. But as I'm going to keep riding him, and he's a hairy bear, I'll need to clip him. He does sweat up on his neck when he gets a bit of work. So what clip to do? I'm thinking that I'll give him a half neck and belly clip. It won't look great, but it's only temporary. He can get a full clip then when the 2017 season starts. So this means getting the blades sharpened and figuring out when I can clean him because the weather is soo cold out. Still, give me cold over rain any day!!
Do you turn your horse out over the winter or do you just turn out to an arena? Personally, I turn them out every day, all day. They come in when I come home from work. For Fred, he definitely needs to get out. He gets narky and he needs a good roll. Even if there's nothing much to eat, it's good to have them walking around and stretching their legs. Also saves on bedding and time and hardship. My boys would walk the walls being in. Now, they don't mind if the weather is horrific, Fred is quite spoilt and loves his rug, his dinner and his night time comforts. He pretends he's hardy, but he's all about the cuddles!!
 |
| Christmas came early!! |
I let them in the field that gets quite wet and mucky, because it's fairly dry at the moment. It also has access to the orchard, which they literally ran into with excitement! I followed to take this snap.
Another winter woe is wet rugs. I brought them in last weekend to find that Fred's rug that was 'profesionally' waterproofed was wet on both sides. Whereas Cu Chulainns one, with the patches, that I waterproofed myself was perfect bar some light dampness. So that meant finding a different rug for him (unfortunately or fortunately my friend passed on her rug addiction, so I have many extras, mostly horseware). I dried out his rug in the kitchen (luckily mam was away) and then painted on Fabsil water proofing. I have to say, it's been great so far. It hasn't had too much testing, but so far so good. I even did an old jacket that I hadn't worn in a while!
What other winter woes are there? Mud rash/fever.............colds........please comment your pet hates of winter
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