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!


 

Welcome Back!

So, you may have noticed I've been on hiatus.  I know, I'm a bad blogger... But, my excuse is that I moved to Virginia.  So I moved 8 months ago, who's counting?  What can I say, I got out of the habit of blogging and sure enough, it took me awhile to pick it back up.  

So, we moved to Blacksburg, VA which is in southwest Virginia for those of you who are unfamiliar.  It also happens to be home of the Virginia Tech Hokies, my alma mater.  So it is kind of like moving home, just not back in with the parents.  Chief of course came with me.  Luckily for me, I paid my rent in college by working at a horse barn.  Therefore, it was really easy to find a place to keep Chief.  He is now at Paris Mountain Stables which has a nice big arena, indoor arena, and of course plenty of trails.  

So while I have not been blogging, I have been riding as much as possible with all the rain we've had this summer.  So, without going on about all of the details, I figure I'll fill you in with pictures.  I've also discovered Instagram in this time, so you can search my pictures there with #happytrails.  American Paint Horse Association has also started a hashtag if you will and I've also been using their's, #aphaview.

Check it out!