Riding in winter with no indoor. Any suggestions?

[welshpony216]

We ride on grass, and don't have an indoor or anything fancy like that, so it can be slippery in winter. They are barefoot but I still put petroleum jelly in there hooves. We normally just take them for hacks/trail rides. Last year, I got into more serious competition mode, and so we did a few arena hires at farms with indoors, so we could jump and do more advanced stuff in the winter, but this year the people are not doing that because of covid-19, and the pony doesn't trailer well, which we are working on, and going super slow. Do you guys know of any suggestions for riding in the winter when there is a foot of snow and its really horrible. This is the kind of pony that needs a good amount of daily exercise.

 

[Griffin]

Personally, if I didn't have an arena and there was a lot of snow and ice about, I wouldn't be riding in it. I do have access to an outdoor school but I would only walk on it if it was frozen. I know that sounds really cautious but I wouldn't want to cause my horse and injury or unbalance her if she is having to carry me as well. I have an absolute terror of riding on an icy road and my horse slipping because I have experienced it in the past.

Do you have turnout where you are? I would turn your horse out as much as possible if so. Otherwise, maybe try long reining?

If you don't mind my asking, roughly where are you? I am in the East Midlands and if we get heavy snow, it only for a few days usually. I just give my horse the time off then.

 

[Equi]

She is USA.

You really can't school effectively in deep snow or on slippery surfaces. You just risk strain or injury. There is the option of getting snow studs on shoes, but i would not want to shoe just to get studs in if its not really necessary. With covid etc are any competitons even on? Can you maybe just let it be for now and come back to exercise in the better weather?

 

[mini_b]

Wouldn’t be riding in deep snow. You also can’t tell what ground is like underneath, if it’s been wet/muddy it could now be big frozen ruts which you can twist legs in.

either use this time to get horse used to loading and travelling (providing roads are safe) or time out for a few weeks.

 

[Widgeon]

either use this time to get horse used to loading and travelling (providing roads are safe) or time out for a few weeks.

I'd be inclined to do the same, take the pressure off yourself and use the enforced down time to work on loading.

 

[Annagain]

You're probably asking the wrong people, if we get an inch of snow here the whole country grinds to a halt. People don't go to work - let alone ride their horses. This is because we get snow so infrequently that we're not set up to deal with it, it would cost more to put the infrastructure in place than the lost days of work (things have probably changed a bit since COVID as many people are better set up to work from home now) cost the economy.

The UK's situation kind of applies to you and your horse too. Having the right infrastructure and deciding whether the cost is worth it is key to this. If riding in that sort of weather is important to you and you get enough of it to make it worthwhile, I'd consider moving to a yard (barn) where there are facilities on site that allow you to do that included in the price. Otherwise, as others have said, you just need to write off the snowy days for everyone's safety.