What's your winter routine/ survival tips?

[Dollbird]

Eat alot and sleep alot..😁Oh sorry you meant re horses. Warm coat, seal skinz gloves, head torches charged. Stock up on bedding, hay, and feed, when forecast is bad. That is a guarantee weather will be good, but you cant do anything because all your money is tied up in bedding, hay and feed 🤣. Keep your sense of humour, it will be spring soon. Omg, just realised this is my 40th horsey winter.... Laughs hysterically....🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

 

[hopscotch bandit]

KWaterproof gloves (plus nitrile large size to go over fleecy gloves for when more feel is required). Wash and waterproof coats before bad weather hits. Waterproof trousers live on insulated wellies from now, to keep work clothes clean during morning visits.

You see I'm weird can't wear waterproof clothes other than to go down the field to bring in or turnout. It's not often you see me with a coat on at the yard, this last week I've been wearing two t-shirts under a jumper and coat to start off with and then after five minutes of mucking out I'm down to just my t-shirts. Everyone on the yard thinks I'm mad but I get so hot, I hate it, I kind of panic as it feels really claustraphobic to me. Maybe its because I'm fat

Even wearing gloves feels restrictive to me although my hands at work the next day look a lot cleaner lol.

 

[hopscotch bandit]

. Keep your sense of humour, it will be spring soon.

Yes lets keep optimistic .... only a few more months (or so I keep telling myself)

 

[hopscotch bandit]

I'm DIY this year with chance coming in over night, i have to say i am lucky as chance isn't fussy!

so the morning goes like this
6.15 am alarm goes of, slam and snooze for 15 mins
6.30 alarm goes of, drag self from bed put on fleece leggings
6.35am go down stairs put on coat and water proof pants over above leggings, then boots
6.40am get in car and begin driving

EEK! I can't go out anywhere without a face of make up on. I would feel totally naked!

 

[Sussexbythesea]

EEK! I can't go out anywhere without a face of make up on. I would feel totally naked!

This reminds me that since I’ve had two to do I’ve basically stopped putting any make-up on, never put my earrings in and don’t even brush my hair before going to the yard. I do brush my teeth. I work from home most days unless travelling so it doesn’t matter. I’m past caring these days, despite adding an extra horse and a dog into my life last year I’ve managed to keep piling on the pounds. Peri menopause I suspect. Hoorah!

 

[CJoe]

I have mine at home but no elec mains soo rechargeable solar lights everywhere which is fine, they live out and have access to their stables if wanted. Simply feed them in their stables each evening, feed minions, top hay feeders up to the top, check them over, and late night check....muck picking with head torch or leave until weekend. If weather is foul then they get forced to come in!

 

[palominoponeh]

You sound like me! Are you on your own space? Do you manage to ride, or like me is it weekends only?


I hate gloves too. With a passion, I do more damage and am clumsier with gloves on cos I can't bl***y feel anything!!
Also, feel ya' on the darkness thing - our yard is RIGHT next door to a cemetery. The graves start at our main gates... EEEEEEEKKK!


I have some second hand muckboot wellies donated to me by a friend with a v flat foot who couldn't get on with them... Perhaps now's the time to get wearing them...
I love dubarrys too - had one pair in my life but spoilt them by using them to muck out weewee's when I had a v wet gelding. Money down the drain. Now I don't bother.
Not seen the HH insulated ones, link?


Like the out in the night, in during day routine. One I'll need to adopt as of the weekend due to local fireworks anyway (would rather they be out)!! How do you know you'll save on bedding?


Oooo you must have some lovely big fields? I have under 3acres for 2horses and it already looks a bit mushy in the top paddock wish I could let them live out... It's a steep learning curve for me as only just got the place to myself (rented) in Sept, so trying to figure out what will recover, what areas will need what etc for the first time is tough!!

yes i’m on my own little stable and turnout at home! i only get to ride twice a week

 

[JFTDWS]

Take up a nice indoor hobby?!

The lack of daylight means I don't spend as much time riding late into the evening (no arena, I can hack off road but I can't face the aggro), so I get home earlier and need to fill my nights with pointless exercises. Thus far I've gone back to learning Latin and starting sewing all kinds of bits and pieces. I'm aspiring to a hi vis exercise sheet as I can't find one I like enough to buy.

In terms of horses, waterproofs, waterproofs and more waterproofs. Headtorch. Head down and pray for spring.

Winter is dull. But in just 3 months, we'll be looking into spring and there will be hope again...

 

[Chianti]

Winter is here... It always interests me to learn about other people's set-up's and how they survive the worst of the months?

I am on my own land with a couple of stables, so that helps hugely... Horses are in of an eve, out rugged (in the worst of it) in the day.
Water but no lights.

I keep a spare coat up the yard, I use some Diall rechargeable 'work lights' which are AMAZING, I do a weekly bulk hay-net fill and make sure my jobs are all done in the morn so that all I need to do of an eve after work is DRAG-IN if I don't get an early finish/ride. I'm saving up for some mud mats for the gateways...


Tell me about you...

Pony lives out 24/7 so has a fairly extensive rug wardrobe of varying weights- I don't like him over rugged. I keep two rug racks worth of rugs at the yard at any time. I try to keep these sorted by weight. Every rug has a plastic key fob tag attached to a fillet string ring. These are colour coded by weight and have his name and the rug weight on. Makes it easier for the yard - and me- if I need to find a different rug as in some makes I have three weights!

 

[Leo Walker]

I don't find the actual care of the horse that hard. Its the mud and weather I don't like! I chuck her out at 6.30am wearing overall over my clothes, then head to work. I go on the way home, check water which is filled with a hose and lasts 3 days usually, muck out, empty the wheelbarrow and refill with hay, chuck hay in the hay feeder, wash bucket and make feed up which soaks while I catch in, then its grab pony in and either work her or head home. Takes me 5 mins on a morning and 15mins on an evening.

I don't work weds, sat or sun and I pay some one to turn out and bring in on those days so I can go down whenever the weather is nicest!

I'm such a flake! Once it got really cold I decided that I no longer wanted to be outside in the mud at 6.30am, overalls or no overalls! The pony is now turned out and brought in for me everyday and its so much more civilised!

 

[oldie48]

I am totally spoiled as my set up is pretty ideal but the one thing that makes a huge difference is knowing your horses and each and every one has been different. Rose is great to turn out, polite and very sensible but she can be tricky to bring in if she thinks she's not being treated as top dog. Fatty is a bit rude and feral, and although mostly well behaved he can suddenly lose the plot, especially when coming in and this can set Rose off. So for me, Winter is all about time and weather, I totally avoid getting the horses in when it's dark and I always aim to get them in before they want to come in, that's the way to avoid a problem and I'm too old to have horses hooves dancing above my head! The rest, well that's just winter and nothing a good vest won't cure!

 

[scruffyponies]

Tie a rope around a brick and put the brick in your water trough, with the rope dangling over the side. When it freezes, you can remove the ice in one go by lifting it out with the rope. No more fishing out broken ice with wet, freezing hands.

 

[hopscotch bandit]

Tie a rope around a brick and put the brick in your water trough, with the rope dangling over the side. When it freezes, you can remove the ice in one go by lifting it out with the rope. No more fishing out broken ice with wet, freezing hands.

Yes, you can do the same with a tennis ball as the ice won't freeze. But I wouldn't trust my horse not to swallow the tennis ball, by accident she ate/swallowed a whole packet of Strong Mints on Saturday evening - in one go, I didn't even hear her crunch them, I just saw her lips moving and realised they had gone from her manger!! I didn't sleep a wink on Saturday night mind through worrying.

I am waiting for the wrapper/foil to show itself in due course (if you know what I mean!)