Tackling The Winter Doldrums
Most of the country (myself included) is currently plunged in polar air and in some cases snow and ice. Below and way below freezing temps make motivation scarce and going outside just downright awful and this is coming from someone who likes cold weather (just not this cold). With the wind too icy and the arena too frozen it makes riding and working horses near impossible and each day seems a bit like Groundhog Day (same thing over and over). Tiger is home for a mid-winter break and show season seems so far away that the winter doldrums have set in.
The above picture of Shooter with his torn hood pretty much sums up the winter blues. It’s so cold the horses need hoods for turnout but the boredom of no work and longer time stuck in the barn has led to destructive, hyper behavior and my poor hoods and blankets are the most recent victims.
So one frigid, blue day I began thinking of things to do that are horse related that can keep me moving and motivated and inside the warm barn to help stave off the blahs. Here is my list of “inside” activities that can help freshen up this slow time of year.
Get Cleaning: Take this slow time of year to really clean and organize all your horse stuff, whether it be your tack truck, tack locker, horse trailer, or tack room. Take everything out and sort into piles to be cleaned, fixed, donated, sold or thrown away. Give all your tack a really thorough cleaning and conditioning. Scrub and disinfect leg wraps, boots, girths and saddle pads.
Items that you no longer need can be sold via many horse groups on Facebook. I just sold a fake tail extension and girth that I no longer needed. Finally throw away those broken (unfixable) things you keep hanging on to. Tackle that giant stack of blankets, sheets and hoods. Donate or sell those you no longer need and send torn items off to be repaired.
Scrub and disinfect all your grooming tools. I like to soak all my grooming tools in a giant bucket of hot, soapy chlorhexidine scrub. Reorganize by putting like items together and grouping most-used items together and setting least-used items off to the side. Refill and replace empty bottles and products.
Once you have done all that, it’s time to clean and re-organize. Wipe down all shelves and surfaces, sweep and vacuum floors. Buy containers and bins to help keep things better organized. Pack away in plastic totes items you want to hang onto but don’t use on a regular basis. Add a few mice and bug repelling sachets to your totes, trunks and cabinets. Make a list of items that you are missing and actually create a plan to buy them.
Tackle Your Show Clothes: Don’t wait until right before a horse show to fix any issues you have with your show clothes. Examine and try on all your show clothes and send off items that need alterations. Sell items that you no longer wear (again Facebook has lots of show clothes for sale groups). You can also consign higher-end items with Show Me Again and Show Girls Apparel. Give your chaps a good cleaning (Hobby Horse has a great article on cleaning chaps) and polish the silver buckle and conchos. Polish and condition your boots. Give your cowboy hat a good cleaning (I use a brush similar to this one) and take it to be re-shaped if needed. Upgrade your undergarments to make sure they are providing the proper support and shape under your shirts and jackets. Research new sports bras and smoothing tanks to find your perfect fit. My favorite sports bras here, here and here. This article has a great compilation of smoothing shape wear.
Clean and organize your show saddle pads. Sell ones you no longer need and make a list of saddle pad colors you do need to match your current show clothes. Launder your english show pad and replace it, if it still looks grungy.
Take A Close Look At Your Horse’s Feed and Supplements: There is no doubt that we are probably over supplementing our horses. It comes from a good place, wanting to do best for our horses which means we will try anything that can make them happy, healthier, stronger athletes. But take this time to really examine what you are feeding, research the ingredients, make sure there are no overlaps and that those ingredients are truly serving and addressing your horse’s needs. Spend some time on your feed company’s website researching the grain you feed as well as other offerings to make sure the feed you use best fits your needs. Search and compare the supplements you to feed to others like it. Does it make a difference, does your horse really need it?
Take it a step farther a start education yourself on equine nutrition. There are some great resources out there such as The Feed Room Chemist Podcast, Mad Barn Blog and Podcast and Kentucky Equine Research Library. Many feed companies offer free nutritional consults, contact them to discuss your horses. Sign up for an Equine Nutrition Course. What better way to spend cold nights than curled up by the fire learning something new. Many universities offer online courses such as Oklahoma State University, University of Minnesota, Michigan State University and UC Davis. Legacy Equine Nutrition also has extensive online courses.
Work On Ground Manners: Horses by nature are pushy and over time ground manners can deteriorate if not freshened up. Take this extra time to work on making sure they are being respectful of your space, standing tied nicely and behaving for grooming sessions. I like to work on showmanship moves with all my horses, even those that don’t do showmanship. Showmanship maneuvers are great at teaching respect for personal space, while also teaching your horse to watch you for cues. This can easily be achieved in small indoor arenas, walking out during turnout and in the alleyway of the barn. I do lots of walk, stop, back until they do it with no pressure on the lead, just listening to my body language. I also like to teach them to set up and stand still after setting up. I make my horses walk, stop and set up before going out the barn door, into their pen gate and into their stall. Try this for a few weeks if your horse gets bossy going in or out. This is also a good time to teach them a new trick, such as ground tying.
Get In Shape: This is a great time to get serious about getting in shape before show season. There are million workout videos online if you don’t want to join a gym or take a public class. You can also work with fitness experts that are also equestrians that can help you devise a plan tailored for meeting riders unique fitness needs. Ride Fit Life and Haybales & Barbells are two great ones to connect with. Om & The Equestrian is also a good resource for building strength thru yoga.
Slow Down: We live in a culture of go, go, go which can be hard to maintain. So, we should take a cue from Mother Nature and use this slower time to rest and re-set. Instead of getting upset that you can’t spend as much time at the barn riding, embrace the slow down by catching up on books, tv shows, movies and friends. Give yourself the grace to not be upset if it is too cold/rainy/snowy to achieve goals. Go to sleep earlier and enjoy to hibernate a bit.
If only we could bring our horses inside
