Early morning horsey chores in winter

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crazycoloured

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I hate winter already! These frosty early mornings are hellish im at the horses at 6 in the mornings before work feeding, haying, watering..anyone in the same situation? Dosent help that i dont drive to have to cycle to field its a nightmare when it rains..roll on summer!
 
it's the shortest day in about 2 weeks... I find it all starts to get a bit easier when the days aren't getting darker and darker :)
 
In same boat. I don't see my horses in the daylight during the week at this time of year.

Have done horses on DIY ever since 1979 so you would think I would be used to it now. I'm not!

*looks glum*
 
Not now, but yes previously.

It's almost my favourite time of year, and I miss those wonderful early mornings with the horses.

Special times.
 
Im looking foreward to after xmas when the days start drawing out but battling against the elements is no fun! And yet again when i dont check them i worry about them...
 
There is something special about the sun rising over frosty fields - and you don't have to get up so early to see it! I would far rather this crisp dry cold than rain and wet I'm afraid!
 
We've had a pretty good start to the winter - when you think back to last year with all the floods and 2009 and 2010 with the horrendous snow. I would be happy if the current cold dry pattern continued, though not so cold that taps freeze.
There have been some beautiful early morning walking down to the field, lovely still weather and starry skies at 6am.
 
i'm very lucky i work for myself, but always do the horses 6 - 6.30 just to feed and skip out. The outside tap has been frozen the last few days so need to remember to leave a bucket of water in the tack room the night before and try and get all the feeds/haynets made up in the evening so it doesn't seem such hard work in the mornings.
A massive plus is the fields look fantastic, hardly churned up at all and all the animals are coming in very clean! Looking forward to spring though!
 
I'm horrible, I make my horses live out and they have plenty of grass so no need for hay! YO breaks the water on the trough first thing if there is any.

*feels smug*

Though, before anyone hates me, remember that I haven't been able to catch the gelding for three weeks as he's still too excited by all the grass in the winter field!
 
Agree with Shay with all these frosty morning I've seen some beautiful sun rises! Makes being up early a bit more bearable :)

But I can't wait for the clocks to change as they are back out 24/7 and I can have a lay in!
 
I agree with you OP. I hate doing horses early in the winter mornings before work and mine are kept at home!
Our ground is too wet for them to live out, so they are in by night and out by day with hay and a field shelter.
 
Beautiful frosty morning today, as the sun came up the beasts were out in their fields munching piles of hay. Deep straw beds, Christmas tunes on the radio. Lovely.
 
Much prefer frosty mornings to the wet, miserable ones - although I'm far behind with poo picking as it was frozen to the ground 3 mornings so far.
 
I woke up to 4" of snow that wasn't there yesterday, a quick glance out of the bedroom window told me the horses still had hay - so I went back to bed :D Fluffy soft snow and blue sky, very pretty, now the sky is grey, and full of snow, and everything is rather soggy and drippy which will be a bitch if it freezes tonight, but, it isn't raining, any day that it doesn't rain on me is a good day :D


I do not miss my days of DIY or stabled horses one little bit.

Winter hasn't really started for us of course, the snow comes and goes, I think this is the third lot we've had, but it's not cold yet so all is well, and we are yet another day closer to the Solstice and Spring. January through to late March are usually the months where I seriously think I should be living somewhere warm - like Bermuda, or Australia.
 
amymay said:
Not now, but yes previously.

It's almost my favourite time of year, and I miss those wonderful early mornings with the horses.

Special times.
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I think it might be one of those special times you can only ever fully appreciate when you no longer have to do them :D

I'm gritting my teeth and getting on with them, although we've had some breathtaking views these cold, frosty mornings, I grant you!
 
I'm loving this frosty weather, I have turned my two out until the weather gets wet again - why muck out stables if you dont need to!

They are getting plenty of hay, I am able to sleep in a bit - long may it last - I'm hoping not to have them in again before Christmas

Came as a bit of a shock to the show pony though lol
 
The weather has been dry and frosty which makes a change from all the rain and wind we usuallly get.im looking foreward to spring already!😃😃
 
scats said:
I'm loving this cold dry weather. It's ideal winter in my mind.

I agree, I can't remember another December as dry as this one, haven't got the welly boots out yet, all the fields are dry as are the gateways. Clean rugs and horses. What more could we ask for in December.

But, remember nature always rights herself and I do wonder what is coming our way !
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My horses are at my parents, my Dad is now retired and very bored, I have trained him up really well. He poo picks and even attempts mucking out. However, best of all he feeds them and turns them out in the morning :) that saves me a lot as it's a twenty minute drive each way.
 
I used to do my horses at 5.30 am last winter as so wet they had to come in every night (4 of them) and turn out 10 minute walk by head torch. Then did 2 horses up the road 6.45-7.30 fly home and then off to work at 8!

This year I have a baby to bring with me! So don't manage to get up that early- although I've been awake up for hours! So glad it has so far mostly been dry so they can live out with hay. They are quite happy.

I can cope with morning dark but I hate how it is dark at 4pm :(
 
Bring on the lighter days is all I can say, not long now until the shortest day :) Although I do love the sunny frosty mornings, I am really missing seeing the horses in the daylight hours and actually being able to spend some time with them instead of rush rush rush for the light, little bit bored of head torches and pooh picking also.
 
OH was trying to poo pick using a head torch the other week. He saw a pile of poo, walked towards it and it flew away!! It was actually a Little Owl.
 
4.45am I leave the house to do the horses..... 4.45 and not a word of thanks from them. Just kicking the stable doors to make sure I have a headache by 5am! I'm sick of pushing wheelbarrows up Frozen muckheaps by torchlight every morning!! Bring on summer
 
skewbaldmillie said:
4.45am I leave the house to do the horses..... 4.45 and not a word of thanks from them. Just kicking the stable doors to make sure I have a headache by 5am! I'm sick of pushing wheelbarrows up Frozen muckheaps by torchlight every morning!! Bring on summer
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Hats off to you, I thought leaving the house at 5.15 was bad..
 
This is my first year at home and I've just taken delivery of a second horse. So far I'm loving it. The ground is dry, the fields still have grass (although rapidly disappearing now with two) so I've not long started feeding hard feed, not touched hay yet. They will stay out 24/7

A nice walk down to the fields with the dog about 0700 to check them over, break water ect. I pop home for the dog at lunch so we take another walk to the fields where I do plan to bring them both onto yard, flick brush over them, feet and back out ... just so i can say I've seen the whole horse in the daylight! ... and then in the evening I just have to go down and feed which I can do in the field. I have been bringing the boy in around 1730 when its pitch dark but the yard has lights but its not particularly fun on my own even with music on, dog and horse for company but now with two I'm going to try the whole lunchtime thing instead.

I keep thinking about applying mud barrier because at this time of the year I should ... but I havent because I still dont have any mud, lol!

All in all if its stays like this I will be more than happy :)
 
Due to my own injury my boys have been turfed out 24/7 which is very weird. I had 6 big horses on DIY last year, getting up at 4:30am, mucking out at both ends of the day and trying to exercise them as we had no turnout.

I thought that I might miss their lovely faces and delighted whinnies to me on a dark morning but I don't. Not one bit!!

I pop in to see Timothy Donkey and the sheep on the way to work to check they have hay and that's enough for me.
 
As much as I love the cold, frosty mornings due to the lack of mud they are causing me problems. I do all my chores and ride in the morning before work but when it's icy we have no water so I can't refill my horse's water or wet his hay so I need to ask someone to do it for me in the afternoon. It also makes it difficult to keep my horse fit for hunting as the ground is too hard to do anything other than walk and the menage is frozen!

Is it's getting warm again though so the mud will be back with a vengeance bringing another set of challenges - muddy horse, pulled shoes, cracked heals/mud fever etc.

Roll on spring!
 
Ladyinred said:
OH was trying to poo pick using a head torch the other week. He saw a pile of poo, walked towards it and it flew away!! It was actually a Little Owl.
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Ha-ha! :D

I've marched up to a mole hill (more than once!) in the pitch dark recently!

OP, I'm at my yard by 6am on all work mornings right through the year & back at 5.30pm ish.
Non work days I have a lovely lie-in for another hour & arrive at yard by 7.15.
 
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