So ... You Think You're Horses Have It Bad?

[Tia]

Spare a thought for mine then

. And this is only the beginning of winter,

... oh and it's -20

.

I have just zipped outside to make sure everyone is doing fine and all is well in the world. Here's a little snippet of my life and the lives of my horses.

This was taken from standing at my front door. You can't even see the path or the driveway anymore;

To the left of the path, some die hards;

Anyone for a swim? The pool doesn't look tempting today, Lol! Silly horses all standing outside instead of going in their barn.

Some smart guys in their shelter, in the field right opposite my door.

And back to the front door. And they're still standing there munching!

 

[nicolaread]

i dont think my horses have it bad, THEY think they have it bad!! lol looks beautiful though!! dont mind a bit of snow every now + then!

 

[clipclop]

They look more than happy to me

One of them is looking at you as if to say "What snow?,,,gah, you humans are such wimps"!!

Lucky horses

 

[cobden99]

It looks fantastic, all that space !
Im sure mine would prefer snow to the mud I have

 

[hadfos]

If i was flying over for a holiday my little lad would love it

Does it look pretty??Hell yes

Do i want it here......ABSOLUTELY not,lol

(doubt my passat would cope,lol

I have always tried to tell people that twitter about a horse desperately needing a field shelter that most dont use it

...just wish i had those pics to show at that time,lol....my lad never used it,even when we had a foot of snow he slept in it...they used the shelter for pissing in

 

[Tia]

Nic - neither do I, now and then ... just not every year for months on end, Lol! Nah it's okay, you get used to it.

Bonza - you're right. They don't really care. They all have big thick coats and a bit of snow doesn't put them off their food.

Cobden - no chance of mud here; -20 does not allow mud to survive, Lol!

 

[spookypony]

Yeah, as a Canadian, I found it awfully odd coming over here and seeing horses with rugs on when it's 10 degrees!

 

[Tia]

You know it's absolutely true. I went round all the fields and the only ones who were in the shelters were the yearlings and the foals. None of them are rugged so that's probably why. But all the other fields had horses all stood out in it.

It is VERY cold though. I ran out, checked on them all, took those photos, fingers started to freeze, ran back inside!

 

[Tia]

I know it is a different life isn't it? Mine don't get their rugs put on until it gets to around -10.

 

[YorksG]

There are many times when I could envy you your life Tia, but not tonight

The rain and wind here is vile tonight, but those pictures trump it by a large bit! Plus it staying around would get me down. You are a brave and hardy soul

 

[hadfos]

Woman i used to know moved to sasquatch a something??ooops maybe not that is what bigfoot is called isnt it

lmao..sure you know were i mean...her horses had ice on their backs but their coats are soooo thick,not sure what breed she had!!It looks bloody cold

but shows horses are happy out..as long as they are filling their bellies they dont care

,i so wish i had a printer that worked to show the muppets that own a pony at our place,that think when it is drafty he needs shelter,lol

 

[Tia]

Not brave, totally crazy to follow through some daft idea of my husbands, Lol! I always thought the, "I'll go back to England and leave you here for 3 and a half years ..." was a good one! Must be off my blooming head to listen to him,

.

Oh I don't know - wind and rain versus snow and cold ... hmm ... think the cold and snow wins

.

It's not bad right now, but you know what it gets like in February - that's the worst month of all.

 

[hadfos]

[ QUOTE ]
I know it is a different life isn't it? Mine don't get their rugs put on until it gets to around -10.

[/ QUOTE ]
I rug mine to prevent decent winter coat,can work without clipping then..but have to say if we had weather like that i would sooo want him to be as hairy as possible,christ if that happened here on a freak day they would have 12 rugs on,lol

 

[Tia]

Saskachewan? Oh I have waaaay worse photos - ones taken in the real depths of winter

. You just let me know when you have a printer and I'll email them to you

.

 

[hadfos]

[ QUOTE ]
Not brave, totally crazy to follow through some daft idea of my husbands, Lol! I always thought the, "I'll go back to England and leave you here for 3 and a half years ..." was a good one! Must be off my blooming head to listen to him,

.

Oh I don't know - wind and rain versus snow and cold ... hmm ... think the cold and snow wins

.

It's not bad right now, but you know what it gets like in February - that's the worst month of all.

[/ QUOTE ]
At least ya know were you are with seasons

crap here this yr..everything just a bog..had so much freezing rain

depressing...if i was confident snow driving and our vehicles were designed for it,pmsl(as you well no we get a foot of snow and our cars are knackered,lol)i would much rather get up to those pics than slop,fog,smog and all the rest of the shite gorgeous britain has to offer,apmsl

 

[hadfos]

[ QUOTE ]
Saskachewan? Oh I have waaaay worse photos - ones taken in the real depths of winter

. You just let me know when you have a printer and I'll email them to you

.

[/ QUOTE ]
Thats the 1,lol....feel free to email them..i will find a printer as i think the adams family need to see it,lmao...they are a bloody pain!!Can i pm ya email address??

 

[clipclop]

Tia, do you have to get well prepared for all the snow?
I mean, can you get out to the local town or can you be snowed in for days/weeks?
Do you have heated water troughs?

 

[Tia]

Yep PM it to me. I will dig them out at some point in the next day or two.

 

[spookypony]

Yes, it's been really miserable. One sunny day in two weeks, otherwise just rain, rain, rain! It was so windy and gross today when I went out. All the horses with rugs (and one without) were hiding under the trees, but the spooky pony was standing on the windy side of the hayrack, just chomping away.

Maybe if I show those pics to the liveries that keep asking when I'm going to put a rug on him, they'll stop!

 

[hadfos]

[ QUOTE ]
Yep PM it to me. I will dig them out at some point in the next day or two.

[/ QUOTE ]
Excellent thankyou...i will so get em printed off and show the whingers,lol..our horses would so appreciate all that snow atm

,we would have to deal with snow fever

lol!!!

 

[Tia]

Oh yes we have to prepare for the winter here. It generally takes us a couple of months to get everything ready. Don't forget the ground completely freezes here down to around 3ft, so you cannot put anything in the ground once frozen. You have to have all your water lines in, all fence posts in, all shelters built etc. because once the Freeze comes, you cannot do anything below ground.

Oh yes, we can always get out. We never get snowed in. We have a snow plough for lesser snow falls like this one today, and for the big stuff we have the tractor and have to sometimes dig ourselves out. I spent 12 hours in the tractor last February digging our VERY long driveway out. Pics below

. I'm only a mile from the centre of a decent sized town, and the main roads are always kept clear, so never really any problems with getting around.

Yes, heated water drinkers in every field. Again the water lines have to be in a trench below the frost line. All of our water lines are 8ft down so absolutely no chance of them ever freezing.

Yes these are fence posts poking out the snow - that is a field!

From the end of my driveway.

The field right opposite the front of my house.

 

[Enfys]

You had a fair old wind blowing today by the looks of your flag.

This morning we had very little snow, then the edge of the storm hit us and I had to dig my way out of the back door every time I went out.

I was supposed to be going into Cambridge to the Dentists but sadly had to postpone it because of the white out. I laughed when Farmzone quoted 'light snow' they have such a lovely way of putting things!

 

[H's mum]

Omg Tia

That's a proper snow scene!

Your horses look happy munching away though - Don't envy you going and sorting them out in that!

Kate x

 

[laceyhiggs]

holy cow!!!!

 

[M_G]

Tia That looks lovely real snow, cant say I would be chuffed having it for months but wow

 

[frb]

Blimey! Where are you, lap land?

 

[Enfys]

Give me snow over rain and mud ANY day!

At least with snow you can move it around and out of your way, your fields don't get poached, it doesn't cause mud rash or make them dirty either.

Mine all looked like yetis yesterday, but not one of them went near a shelter when I saw them!

 

[longtalltilly]

I want to come and play!!!!!! looks very very pretty though!

 

[Donkeymad]

I really do not envy you Tia - at all! Horses can cope with snow much better than constant wet, so I suspect yours are perfectly happy, they have plenty to eat and warm coats.

I have a friend in Saskachewan, her hubby runs a cattle ranch and she owns three beautiful black horses - can't remember breed

. Some of her stories and photos make you realise how difficult real snow can be, not just the 1/2" we may get here in the Uk bringing everything to a stand still.

 

[rara007]

Bless the Yeti's!!! thats so sweet. I want snow

.