Feeling seriously fed up with this weathernow!

My horse is as fed up with it as I am - I made the poor sod hack in Storm Dennis last weekend, tried to take him out today in the pissing rain and freezing wind and he wasn't having any of it. I ended up turning back 15 mins in due to the fact he would only walk with his bum to the rain and with his eyes closed...
 
The wind is the worst thing for us - ours live out predominately, and have a well draining field on the side of a hill. However we have had to keep them in to feed, as any hay put out just blows away, so they get hungry and grumpy.

So they are in, with full bellies, but still grumpy as would rather be out!

Roll on spring.....
 
Outside..my field is a total bog, the horsse stand in the worst bit just so they can glare at me through the windows of the house. My stable doors blew off in the last storm and OH has yet to mend them. sorry horses. glare at him, not me. Getting hay out into the field is like one of those extreme sport challenges, in fact I could set up a training camp here, it's perfect. Half the roof has blown off from the chicken house so my feathered darlings have set up alternative accommodation in the coal shed. subsequently all the light sussex are now dark sussex.

Indoors.. the wind plays havoc with the coal fired Rayburn. It went out last night and sulkily refused to light. I've spent all day trying to get it going using firelighters, cardboard, kindling wood, more firelighters and a years' worth of rude words. it's finally going now but the house was freezing all day. Junior dog managed to slip in through the back door and plaster the living room with gloopy mud.

Roll on spring..and summer..
 
I think everyone is in the same boat tbh ?‍♀️ I’m fortunate that mine are outside my door but currently the fields are so boggy and water logged that I have no turn out except for in the arena and roaming the yard so I’m having to turn them out in stages and rotate them between a sectioned off area of the yard with stables open and out in the school. I do have a small bark turnout paddock but it’s more mud than bark after this weather. I’m struggling on and riding whenever I can grab the chance with other commitments and the weather but the horses are spending a great deal of time in and having a complete diet of hay and hard feed. Roll on the spring. I did have two wintering out but had to bed one down in my feed room with this weather and being short of one stable..!
 
This winter has been awful, another one like this and I'll be giving serious thought to moving to a sunnier climate.
If I'd been on any of the DIY yards round here there would have been no turnout since October/November and I would have sold up by now! Thankfully she's on full livery and the fields, while wet, are holding up pretty well. Sadly we don't have a school and all our hacks are either v exposed or lined with trees so it's not safe to ride when windy. Roll on spring!
 
Not stopped here all day ? put them out at 8 and went to check on them at 1 - all went booloo to come in ? so I relented, brought them in took rugs off and they all rolled in their clean bedding ☺️ brushed them off and put nice dry stable rugs on them. Hung all the outdoors up to dry but doubt they will be by morning - was feeling pretty down about things then a bag of feed broke in back of my new car ? counting to ten a LOT today and have decided to stop looking at the forecast ?
 
I’ve lost my mojo with regards to riding. Usually my lot live out but they’ve been coming in each day since December. Mucking out four plus working to support them has been a hard slog. My winter fields are so wet. The gate has dropped to the paddocks so I have to try and lift and push it open through thick mud twice a day to bring them in and out.
 
Lost the inclination to ride dragging soaked hay about has done for me !I've got it all set up pulley system to get it out of soak and into a trolley to get it out to the pole barn twice a day is hard work.lost the will to ride it takes me so long to do morning and evening routines
Dont want to risk stopping soaking until they move out of the pole barn more although the fields with p!entry of foggage are open to the pole barn the weather is so wet, damp and windy they choose to stay in.
to add to my woes I was putting pig oil on my cob's feathers lost my balance put my hand down to save myself and he spooked and trod on my hand!!! Owch!!!!! fortunately on a thick bed over rubber mats so could have been worse
Gosh i hate winter!!!!!!!!
 
60mph wind here today plus rain.

Trying really hard not to feel depressed but beginning to fail on that front. Their is still no end in sight. We've even got snow forecast for next week.
 
Definitely had enough here in my part of the world - 13 acres just ankle deep water and or mud. They all live out and usually prefer it, they have plenty of natural shelter but I am guessing if I had a big huge walk in barn they would be using it right now. Cant remember when I last rode, too much rain, too much wind just too much everything really. Worse damn winter I can ever remember for trying to care for them, give me snow and cold anyday.
 
40 mile an hour winds here today, and for the rest of the weekend so no fun trips out for me unless it clears up early next week.
 
I reached breaking point last Sunday and pony is now in the other side of field with grass that hasn’t been touched for a year.

His legs are now clean, he’s got plenty to pick at and he’s moving around more. And if he gets fat I’ll deal with that in the summer (hopefully).

More importantly I’m not in tears every day and I’m in less pain (I’ve got fibromyalgia and spinal arthritis).

I’m feeling for everyone, this winter has just been horrendous.
 
Yep weve had enough too here in Blackpool.
It is still raging as hard as it was 2 weeks ago.
My mare wont go out...she will lead a small way then spin back towards her stable, i tried to ride her in the indoor wednesday, a combination of no turnout, my tenseness, the wind and rain led to non stop spooking, scooting sideways, jogging, pulling. I lasted 5 minutes before i got off and lunged.
Longest crappest winter i have ever experienced and i swear..no more horses after this.
Im done.
 
I’m starting to dread turning out and bringing in when it’s windy. It’s so windy sometimes I can barely see. We have to lead out the farm, across a road and a bridge which has massive trees over hanging it then across an exposed field track for about 100m. It’s really not fun in the wind and probably not that safe but they can’t stay in every day.
 
And still it rains!! Heavy rain over night the last 3 nights better in the day though .Have moved the horses onto a 4 acre field of foggage starting with 4 hours only and opened up the outdoor school for the rest of the time as they can nibble grass around the edge of it building up to all day out on the foggage.Can't split it as it catches the wind on that side of the land and even with extra fence posts it flattens the fence down.and the risk of entanglement too high.
surely it must stop soon!!
 
I am on clay, so no turnout after November pretty much any year, get back out on the fields around April. Happily, we have a 30m X 30m all weather, sand and rubber, arena which also has a shelter for putting hay in, so they can be out of the worst of the wind and rain and the hay stays clean. That means daily turnout, 7am to 3pm pretty much whatever the weather, and in bed after that.

I would not try to keep one through winter now without winter-proofing the surroundings. Too soul destroying.

I have (relatively) safe hacking in the village, but it is just a 45 minute ride if we are staying on the roads and I don't want to meet traffic. having said that, it is a godsend to be able to ride out (relatively) safely. There are more bridleways when the weather improves.

Just this week I will have been to 3 indoor venues. One a £55 lesson. One a £15 clinic and one a £30 school hire. That is £100 to ride 3 times in the dry, plus diesel to get there (although that is not so bad now I have a 3.5 tonne box).

I find I am more motivated as, for the last 2 years, I have turned away in September or October and not ridden until Xmas. So, saving money in the first part of the winter while they have a break means not minding spending the £ in the 2nd part of winter to get going again. Even when they are off, I still walk out in-hand round the village a few times a week, and give a light lunge to make sure they are not bat sh crazy from the limited turnout. They have been barefoot too for that time, so no farrier bills, no feed bills.

I know it is not an ideal but, for me, it has meant some stress free winters. As far as the horse is concerned anyway, the rest of life has been crazy!
 
There are only 2 days in the next 9 where rain isn't forecast here. It's boring now. Mine are out 24/7 and currently there's no mud in their field, but it is a bit damp out there and after another week of rain it won't be better :rolleyes: I mean, I'm doing much better than some folk - no flooding and not too much mud even in my winter "trash" field, and I do hack in the rain / wind so at least they're getting work, but it's still bloody miserable really.
 
I gave up horses in the last wet winter - literally couldn't cope anymore, nothing was fun and it was costing so much money for no enjoyment whatsoever. I think the UK weather and lack of land is making horse ownership impossible in some areas, no hacking, sopping wet fields, I can see horses going back to being kept by the privaledged few. I have a feeling we may have a wet and miserable summer ahead too.
 
After about 8 years of pretty much only winter riding due to my horses pollen allergy & winters now being like this, I'm seriously struggling & thinking of packing it all in. I bought a youngster nearly 2 years ago & he'll be going for starting next spring but I'm wondering why bother? I can't ride what I have at the moment over winter & he's a pick up put down type, I won't cope with him & another when I've struggled even getting to the yards with the flooding. I know we all get like this to an extent over winter but after 16yrs I really am reaching the end of my tether with it.
 
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