WINTER TIME

It seems like every Fall people start lamenting the fact that Winter is coming and they can’t, or won’t, ride. They start asking me for advice on what to do with their horses. While Winter for us in the northern part of the United States certainly slows our recreational riding down a bit, our horse related activities by no means have to end.
I try to encourage horse owners to keep working and playing with their horses. From past experiences I see a repeating pattern of mediocrity among the average horse owner during the months December - April. Some people will just quit riding and playing with their horses during the Winter months. Come April, they begin to do groundwork and preparing their horses for trail riding, competing etc. But after 5 months of being off, both human and horse are a little rusty, so they struggle through and finally get to a certain level of relationship. But by then, it is almost Winter once again, and again they stop working and playing When April of the following year comes around they begin all over again. And the cycle never ends…nor does it ever progress.

What I always recommend is ……DON’T QUIT !!!

I know that some people will tell you that a lay off is always a good thing…and it is. I have no arguments about that. Mentally, emotionally and physically it is always refreshing to take a break. But since Winter causes a fairly dramatic decrease in horse/human activities, it serves the purpose of a long needed break. Late November through December is usually the break due to the holiday seasons, but after that there is no reason why you have to sit around moping about winter and wishing you could be out playing with your horse or doing something horse related. After all, all we ever seem to do January through April is complain about how much weight we gained eating all that food during the holidays. Not to mention all the brats and beer during the Superbowl, right? (wink wink)

What I always suggest is this…

First, use the down time to catch up some really great reading. If you click on the link to my Recommended Reading List, you will find more than enough books to keep you mentally engaged during those cold winter months. Always keep yourself learning and expanding your horse knowledge. Sometimes it isn’t about learning a new method but more about reading a different philosophy than your own. By the way, there are some other really great books out there that may not deal with natural horsemanship but are great reading none the less.

Second, buy, rent or borrow videos and DVDs…..or watch RFD-TV on satellite. Watch clinicians that you wouldn’t normally watch. Take notes. Get immersed in their programming. Don’t just watch one episode. Watch several episodes before forming any opinions. I know of a group of horse friends and they have RFD-TV at their barn. They all meet around the wood burning stove with hot chocolate, coffee and hot tea and sit around and watch a couple of hours of clinicians on RFD-TV once a week. They show up early and all pull their horses into the barn and give them a nice grooming while the water is being heated on top of the wood burning stove. When they all finish, they sit down for some light finger snacks and some hot beverage and watch their favorite popular clinician. They will sometimes even go back out into the indoor arena and do some playing with their horses. They have found a way to still have fun, encourage each other, and beat the winter doldrums.

Third, don’t stop playing with your horse!
When winter comes my horse activities slow down as well, however, I use the time to improve my partnership with my horse. This is what I do…

I make a list of all the things that I think may be lacking in our training together. Perhaps it is something like our side-passing isn’t up to par. So I will use the down time during the winter months to perfect our side-passing. See, during the show season we are too preoccupied to really put forth some concentrated effort into refining these things. Oh sure, most of us will work on our objectives but only to the point of getting them good enough to pass in the arena. Same thing goes for trail riding. When Spring finally does come, no one really wants to put forth some good effort in ground work or work on those things that really need some attention. We all just want to get out there on the trail and ride, don’t we?

Well, winter time has a way of slowing us down and forcing us to take the time to get those little things right. AND THAT’S A GOOD THING. It keeps us continually working on our own level of horsemanship, refining our horse and refining our partnership with our horses in a not-so-stressful atmosphere. We have 5 months to get things right so we can follow the first training principle AND tool of natural horsemanship - TIME.

So once I get my side-passing refined, I check that off the list and pick something else. Perhaps it is something that YOU need to learn or refine. Let me give you a personal example. A few years ago I could not for the life of me figure out how and why people posted the trot. I used to think that all that “bouncing around and going up and down” was a waste of some really relaxing riding time. I even used to think to myself that it was for English riders only and mainly for the dressage show ring. (Okay, so I wasn’t too bright at that point in my horsemanship) Then one day during the winter months I was reading a really good article on posting the trot. Now I had read articles on the trot before, but this one sort of clicked a light bulb on in my head. So I added that to my winter-time ‘to-do’ list. Know what, when Spring rolled around, I was posting the trot like I had been doing it all my life. My horsemanship is better because of it. Oh now it probably wont pass as a world class trot in a Dressage arena, but it is functional and correct.

See, these are the things that I want you to think about when winter time comes. What is it in your horse’s training, or your own training that may need to be addressed. Maybe it’s learning a new skill entirely. Perhaps it is refining an old one. If you are an English rider, take Western lessons during the winter. If you are a Western rider, take English lessons. Etc., etc., etc.

See if there is a horse fair or symposium that you could go to. North Dakota puts on a horse fest in March. Can you imagine?! A horse fair in March!!! In North Dakota!!!! When I asked some friends about it do you know what their response was? “What else have we got to do? We sit around all winter wishing we could ride and by March we all have cabin fever and want to do anything related to horses!”

Go take in a clinic. I know that spring, summer and fall bring all sorts of family activities and getting away from all the chaos is hard to do. But what about January, February or March? See if there is a clinic that you can trailer to…or at least drive down and spend a weekend auditing the clinic and taking notes.

HOST A CLINIC! Now there’s an idea….host a clinic at your barn or a friend’s barn. Try to find 6 - 8 people who would bring their horses and ride in a clinic during the winter. I once held a 2 day hackamore clinic in early February. (Bosal not mechanical hackamore) We were indoors but it was still rather chilly. But we had a good time. Have the host make a big pot of chili or stew with coffee and hot chocolate to warm your tummy during the clinic. I love winter time and the cold doesn’t bother me at all so I always look forward to winter.

And the last thing that you can do during winter……
RIDE!!!

We will ride during the winter even with snow on the ground as long as there is no ice. There is nothing like the winter quietness in the woods. Snow is a foot deep and the fields are just a perfect unbroken blanket of shining white snow….then all at once you find sets of deer tracks and you turn your horse in the direction and follow those tracks following and just soaking it all in.

Whatever exercises and tasks you decide to under take with your horse this winter, please be sure to warm them up SLOWLY AND SUFFICIENTLY before exercising, and slow bring them back down as well. Have some respect for your partner and don’t turn them back loose in an over-heated wet state.

Don’t forget to check the water tanks and make sure that the water isn’t frozen solid and be sure to adjust your horse’s feed accordingly during heavier and colder winter months.

Pay particular attention to your horse's feet! Make sure that ice hasn't accumulated into a hard ice ball and packed itself on the underside of your horse's hoof.

So winter time does not mean the end to all of your horse fun. There is still plenty to do with your partners during that time. Even if it is only for an hour or so on the weekends….just make good use of that time.