3 Things to Do When it's Too Cold to Ride

In case you've been living under a rock lately, I'll inform you that it's been super cold all over the country.  And when I say super cold, I'm talking single digit high's and negative double digit lows as far south as the sleepy town of Blacksburg, VA.  This is cold folks and weather this cold is quite honestly dangerous for you and your horse to ride in.

The ground is frozen, and makes for bad footing, and should they get sweaty and wet, you can increase their chances of getting too cold.  In addition, if you go out and ride in these conditions you have a chance for a case of frost bite.  I love my horse and all, but I prefer to keep all my fingers and toes.

So, what does one do when it's too cold to ride?  Here are my suggestions.

1.  Clean Tack
You are bored, take your tack inside and clean the stuff.  And as long as it is as cold as it is for as long as it is, clean ALL of your tack.  Yes, all those extra pieces of tack that you don't even use, those need to be oiled too!  I like Neatsfoot oil.  If you need to buy some, try here:  http://www.horse.com/item/lexol-nf-neatsfoot-leather-dressing/BPL07/.   But what's great about Neatsfoot oil, is that it hydrates the leather and prolongs the life of the leather.  You just poor some on a cloth and rub in.  If you have stiff leather, use this oil, and work the leather (as much as you can handle) and it will loosen up.  If it's really bad, feel free to soak your leather in oil overnight, that will also help.  If you don't like the oil, Lexol makes all kinds of great products to clean and protect your saddle, bridle, and various other pieces of tack.

2. Do some research
We all like to ride and we can all benefit from learning more about riding.  No one knows everything about horses, and there isn't one magical solution for creating the perfect horse.  One of my favorite publications is Equus  (http://www.equisearch.com/magazines/equus/).  They have good all around information about horse health and riding tips.  I also like Horse & Rider which is a little more Western geared (http://www.equisearch.com/magazines/horse-and-rider/).  Check out this website for all kinds of great information on horses:  http://www.discoverhorses.com/.

4. Go to a clinic
Since you can't ride, go watch someone else do the riding and training.  One of my favorite trainers is Clinton Anderson.  He is very pragmatic and easy to follow (http://www.downunderhorsemanship.com/).  If he is coming to your area soon, you can even submit your horse to be a demo horse.  Great way to get a day or two of training!

There are also often smaller named trainers all over the country, seek them out and see what winter clinics they may be offering and go watch.  It is always great to see another perspective on problem areas that we all experience.  Chase Dodd used to be in my area, but there are others out there like him.  If you happen to be in TN/GA/AL, check him out:  http://www.chasedodd.com/

3. Plan a horsey trip
I often get the winter time blues, so I have found that if I have something to look forward to, my current condition doesn't seem so bad.  Since Chief and I mostly do trail riding, check out http://www.equitrekkingtravel.com/deals.  They have all kinds of suggestions of where you can take your own horse, or travel to other places and ride their horses.

So, best of luck to you in the frigid temperatures.  Take care of yourself and your horse and make the best out of this cold season.  Remember there are just 49 days until spring!

Chief and I snuck a little trail ride in the other day... the ground was a mess... but this was one of the better spots!


 

Runaway Horse Part II

So our last ride was another run away ride.  We went out again with T., double trouble A. and A. and with Chase Dodd our resident trainer and ferrier.  Chief was following again and well he was rather bad... But I kept to my guns keeping him back which led to lots of bucking but I held on and we made it through the ride.  I got to take a few pointers by observation from Chase.  He was on a two year old (who behaved better than Chief) that wanted to run up behind the horse in front of her too.  Chase kept side passing her whenever she wanted to take off.  What a great idea!  He kept her feet moving and kept her mind off of the horse in front of her. It worked really well for him.  Now, if only Chief and I could side pass... Something to work on right?  So every time Chief saw the horses take off in front of him, I would hold him back and he would buck.  And he was a bit more ripe than usual.  But the good news was that you knew what to expect and when to expect it making it easier to hang on.  By the end of the ride he had calmed down pretty well.  Thankfully as I've mentioned before Chief lacks stamina.  But it shouldn't have to be that in order to get a well behaved horse, you have to wear them out.  So, next time I decide to do some training, we'll work on side passing.  I can get him to cross over nicely in front, but not the back.  I'll have to get Chase to show me how to teach Chief how to do that.

Chase Dodd is the mastermind behind SOS Horsemanship, check out his website:  http://www.Soshorsemanship.com.  So for those that have a trouble horse, young horse, or are interested in clinics, you'll have to check him out.  He is also a great ferrier!

So sorry there are no pictures from this ride, my hands were rather busy the whole time.  I plan to go out tomorrow though and I'll take some pictures for you then.  It should be good weather!