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 Expert
Posts: 1304
 
| I'm sure this has been posted before/lately but what do you all do to keep your horses in shape during the winter when you don't have an indoor arena, have an outdoor arena with frozen ground, and get a good bit of snow? |
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 Keep those crap slapping tails away!
Posts: 8871
   
Location: Around here somewhere... | I try to trail ride them a few times a week if the snow isn't so crusty it'll cut their legs, but other than that, zilch. One of these days I seriously AM going to at the very least build an indoor roundpen. It is impossible to keep horses in shape in ice, deep snow, frozen chunky mud, and sloppy nasty clay mud!!! |
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 Chasin my Dream
Posts: 13651
Location: Alberta | I know people who put a salt mixture in their outdoor so they can ride in it in winter....
I ride in the fields.... |
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Expert
Posts: 1304
| Thanks for the suggestions! And I thought I'd add that the outdoor arena isn't actually mine, it's my neighbor's rodeo arena that I can use. But I should probably just ride in the fields or trail ride. I'm interested in the salt though, that's interesting! |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 989
| My horses get a bit rolly polly in the winter as I pet them and feed them. I have too much ice up here to do anything so they get from the end of November to about March off. Their pen has trees, hills, and some obstacles in it, so they still have to pay attention and walk up and down the hills for excersise so they never get 'really' out of shape and bounce back really quick in the spring. |
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 Regular
Posts: 78
| Mine walk through shoulder deep snow  |
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 Best of the Badlands
Location: You never know where I will show up...... | Before I had my indoor, I always just rode mine up and down the shoulder of the road or out in an open field as long as there was snow. The snow gave them a pretty good work out. The biggest problem I always faced was ice in the wintertime but I used to keep my competition horses shod and with snowball pads so I could at least ride up and down the gravel if it was too icy to go anywhere else. My other option was to haul to an indoor once or twice a week to do some pattern work or tuning in addition to just riding them out. |
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Expert
Posts: 1304
| Thanks guys!! I need to suck it up and face the cold! I would love to haul somewhere indoors but I haven't really been able to find anywhere that's not 30 min away! But they're turned out right now and on a hilly slope although they're lazy and stay up near the barn where there's hay and stalls to go into. Can't say I wouldn't either  |
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
| I've been giving him some time off right now. Between cold weather, holiday travel and waiting on my new saddle, he probably won't see much of me until the end of January. I board, but try to put my hands on him once a week at least.
We have the luxury of an indoor here, but back in Michigan it was a lot of roads and field riding in the early spring months. Or hauling to an indoor. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1482
Location: on my horse | I don't keep mine in shape in the winter lol they get the coldest months off to stand around and be horses, I kick them out in the pasture, love on them every day, watch them get chubby and it always seems like I have a better, more sound, happier horse come spring. If I was in a position to be a more serious competitor I'm not sure what I would do to ride in the winter because we live in the land of ice |
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 Certified Snake Wrangler
Posts: 1672
Location: North MS | I am looking at mine right now saying "Get FAT". Of course I don't have snow and ice at the moment. Just frost and wind. But I did haul to the covered arena yesterday and rode my moms horse to make a sale video and my project horse to at least get her ridden once this month. She remembered all of course but no improvements- as to be expected. I've got to work on her hooves some more since I repo'd her with feet that hadn't been touched in a year. Just trying to get back where we were weekend warrior style.
They have winter series shows going on about 1 3/4 hours from me, but this year I said too far, too cold and not worth a buckle. Stay warm, practice when we can and try to improve for next season.
But good luck in your endeavor! |
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 OMG! I'm a Redneck!
Posts: 1376
Location: IOWA, still waiting on the short bus!! lol | I like to give my horse time off, to just be a horse, and start back up in spring,
I dont have a covered arena, and I dont go in the winter months,
I dont like taking the truck or trailer out on the salted roads,
plus I live in IOWA, welcome to winter,
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Hungarian Midget Woman
Location: Midwest | I ride in the fields. The indoor where I board has pretty bad footing from horses being turned out in it 24/7, so if I do ride in there, it is walking and some slow trot. It has been super duper cold this winter, so I have not ridden much but tooling around bareback with a halter. |
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Veteran
Posts: 294
| I don't ride in the winter. Too cold for me and we have ice. My horse is out on alot of land with 18 other geldings so they run and play all day and keep eachother moving. My horse is the head horse out there so he is always working the others to make sure they are where he wants them. I guess thats good enough exercise until March when I start legging up. |
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Expert
Posts: 4766
Location: Bandera, TX | My hat is off to you gals that ride in the winter-in all conditions. Keeping a 'top notch horse" top notch is not easy! Stay safe. |
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 Born not Made
Posts: 2931
Location: North Dakota | If it is too icy or if the snow is TOO deep, then they just don't get ridden. If the riding conditions aren't safe, it isn't worth it to me. Weight loss can always happen in the spring; dealing with a strain, tear, or break from a fall on the ice .... not so much.
Once in a while in the winter, I'll haul to an indoor. But usually I just try to ride a couple times a month on the weekends in the daylight. Again, as long as there's not too much ice. Temperature and wind doesn't really bother me, but ice does. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 617
| Mine don't get much riding in the Winter. I don't have an indoor and am a total wuss!!!! If I do ride though Ill haul somewhere with a few of them. They tend to have a lot of p**s and vinegar so I let them run around the arena or lunge a bunch. Maybe theres somewhere by you where you could haul in?
I don't mind giving them the time off, I complete, but am not super competitive. Maybe if I had a horse I was going to big races on I would try to get out and ride more...but I truly do not enjoy riding in the Winter. Plus, I think its good for them to have time off mentally and physically.  |
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 Am I really the Weirdo?
Posts: 11181
Location: Kansas | I ride a couple times a week in the pastures and hay fields. I don't ride on ice, and usually I just walk or trot. I did take Clifford down the gravel road last winter when we had 8 inches of snow and I wanted to see if the road had been plowed open yet. He loped a quarter mile and got an amazing workout plus I found out that we were still trapped by the snow. lol. Last winter I kept two horses legged up and hauled one pretty regularly to season him. This year I'm thinking I'll keep the old man legged up until new year's for one more Barrel Bash and then give him a couple months off. Not sure when exactly but I plan on giving my rodeo horse a few weeks off from competing and I might just take half of January off completely since Clifford hasn't really had a break all year. |
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Expert
Posts: 1304
| Thanks everyone!! Mine are fuzzy and fat and I probably won't get to ride as much as I want, and I'm sure you all feel that way too! Mine are definitely biotches (they're mares) when they haven't been out. One year I got on my TWH and she decided that when we got to the end of the pasture, in about 1 foot of snow, that she wanted to run back and be a buckin bronco. Lol. I usually love the snow, but I just wanna ride so bad. Am I the only one that sits in their saddle when they can't ride? |
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 I hate cooking and cleaning
Posts: 3310
Location: Jersey Girl | Honestly I don't. Once the time changes I lose my drive. Cold and dark do not motivate me to do anything! |
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 Expert
Posts: 2276
Location: ohio-in my own little world with pretty ponies :) | My mare that I ride pretty much everyday in the summer and run quite often...she gets from November to about January off and then I will slowly bring her back. My gelding that hasn't been ridden hardly at all the past year is about to start getting ridden a few days a week but I have an indoor about 15 minutes away. |
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Keeping your horse in shape during the winter months!