Brightening up your winter

D

Doodlesmum

Member
Joined
17 October 2020
Messages
12
Visit site
So I’m looking for ideas (preferably cheap ones after a recent humungous vets bill), for horse related activities/book/films/anything really to brighten up the drudgery that is winter.

Anyone got any tips/ideas/recommendations for jollying up these dark days?
 
Hot bath with mug of Epsom salts.
Luxury hot chocolate
Coming back into heated horse / car
Enjoying days it doesn’t rain
Noticing the daily increase in daylight
 
I am really enjoying a few of horsey vlogs on YouTube who usually have a video (or sometimes two) out each week: Simon Grieve Eventing, ELS Eventing, and (HHOs own!) The Eventing Journey. They help me get my horsey fix between my weekly lessons and I like snuggling up under a blanket to watch them on these dark winter evenings. I'm learning to crochet too and getting good enough that I can now do both at the same time 😂
 
The Silver Brumby books by Elyne Mitchell. I've not read them for donkeys years, but love them.

Anything to reconnect us to the world we live in which reminds us that we should breathe with the planet in the way that it lives, adapting to its natural challenges, rather than feeling miffed it's not providing us with our ideals of weather each day. As a species we're not so good at that I think!
 
PurpleSpots said:
The Silver Brumby books by Elyne Mitchell. I've not read them for donkeys years, but love them.

Anything to reconnect us to the world we live in which reminds us that we should breathe with the planet in the way that it lives, adapting to its natural challenges, rather than feeling miffed it's not providing us with our ideals of weather each day. As a species we're not so good at that I think!
Click to expand...
Mary O’Hara’s classic My Friend Flicka, Thunderhead and Green Grass of Wyoming saga, with her fantastic illustrations;
Or very recent: ‘John Whittaker the Legend’, by Sarah Peacocke, 2024.
 
I recommend Fiona Walkers books. She must own horses as she writes about them so well. Her Compton Magna series is the newest series set in a horse stud but the old ones with Tash the eventer are great fun too.
 
Plant some bulbs, or get some bulbs in flower from the garden centre to plant. Do you like baking? Bake (and share!) a cake. Decorate a room with painted walls, and raid the bargain stores for accessories. Do you have a local library or tourist information centre where you can pick up leaflets detailing days out etc.? I hesitate to use the internet for this, as you end up down so many rabbit holes. Have fun!
 
PurpleSpots said:
The Silver Brumby books by Elyne Mitchell. I've not read them for donkeys years, but love them.
Click to expand...
Childhood favourites!

I've been watching a few you tube things (Steve Youngs has become a little repetitive but still very good at what he does) but Michael Peace has been interesting (old, but new to me) and then those videos usually lead down a rabbit hole of other people too.
 
As well as above trainers Sean Coleman is good.
Ive raided the ancient toy cupboard & done 2 jigsaws - forgotten how therapeutic they are & have now ordered 3 more off Vinted.
Ive just ordered a horsemanship telescopic flag to kick start my groundwork.
The other thing Ive begun is Swedish Death Cleaning - its so much more than decluttering but highly recommend having a read about it - makes life so much calmer & a nicer place to be plus brings in the pennies if you have items to sell.
Spring is just around the corner not long now!!
 
I love the books the Dressage Chronicles I get them on kindle. The author Karen clearly knows horses. There is a few in tje series.

Also on Kindle is Natalie Kellers books the eventing series, ocala horse farms and I think it's briar hill farm they cover eventing and thoroughbred scene in florida.

Both write Really enjoyable light hearted but with actual horse themes running through that make sense and are based on facts
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top