6 ways to make the remainder of winter fly by
It’s almost over, winter, that is! Winter is not exactly my favorite season, but every year I challenge myself to find a few more things to love about it. I must say that having a horse to play with in the winter does make the season go by a bit faster. And, now that the end is near, let’s finish strong. Here are some ideas for ways to enjoy the outdoors with your horse while the snow is still on the ground.
Go on a winter trail ride. You don’t need to go far just around your property or down the street. Walking through the snow is excellent conditioning to get your horse spring ready for work. The snow also presents some new challenges for desensitizing.
Go for a bareback ride in your outdoor arena. If you fall, you have some extra padding this time of year.
Take some photos of your horse. The all-white background makes a pretty backdrop for your horse or hire a photographer to take some pictures of you and your horse. I recommend Rebeca Paro Photography.
Play soccer! You know that huge ball you got for your horse because you’ve seen a bunch of videos on Facebook of horses playing with them, but your horse just looks at it and walks away uninterested, well now you can put that ball to use. Mounted and with or without a friend create a goal using poles and encourage your horse to push the ball or kick the ball yourself. This activity is not only fun but an excellent desensitization tool
Practice your side pass and hindquarter yields.” No matter what you do with your horse—show, trail ride, run barrels—hindquarters disengagement (or yielding) is essential for two reasons. First, when a horse rears, bolts, or won’t back up, it’s because he’s over-engaged. He has a wider stance with his hind legs, which gives him a lot of power to resist you. Disengaging his hindquarters takes that power away and keeps you safe. Second, when you can move your horse’s back end as you do in this movement, you can set him up for any maneuver or position.” Horse & Rider
Practice stretches with your horse. You probably have not ridden as much as you would have liked too over the winter. You will need to do something to help get your horse back into shape so that as soon as the weather is warmer, he is ready to ride. Here is a video showing some stretches you can do with your horse. Click Here
