Who isn't going to ride over the winter?

[Supertrooper]

At the end of this month we are having the shoes taken off the horses and they won't be ridden till march or april. One we don't have enough time to ride once it gets darker and also this year we're going to leave them out as much as possible so to save the field shoes will be coming off.

What will you do?

 

[TarantuLove]

In an ideal world I would let my horse have the winter off, but he gets bored and stiff so Im going to have to subject myself to freezing cold temperatures and ride!

 

[Fools Motto]

I am the same as you OP, my horses shoes will come off about the time of the clock changes. Been doing it that way for the last few winters and it works for me and the horse.

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

Possibly me! big horse is pretty much retired and pony has lami (despite no hard feed and a bare looking field ) :-((( so will probably only do a bit of noodling around if/when pony is sound. Neither are shod - pony never has been (thank goodness, meant we picked up on the lami immediately so no pedal bone rotation/sinking) and big chaps shoes came off after 15 years of being shod earlier in the year.

We have really deep snow as well, so there can be 2 months or so when you really really cant ride (in fact you cant get out at all some weeks), but then we are on top of a hill on the edge of the Cairngorms...

 

[indiat]

I've no choice, once my baby come shome from being backed he gets turned away for the winter. Although to be honest, as I get older I really like the idea of not riding through the winter. The kids pony will haul my backside out on very gentle hacks and amuse the children at the weekend but if we get the same winter we got last year I think they will be grounded for a while.

 

[nikCscott]

Nope- winter is MY TIME!

All summer I spend weekend polishing the grey pony and showing with the girls on Sundays. The pony gets the winter off weekly baths, but I have a teenager coming in to school him once a week as the girls aren't quite so interested when it's cold and dark (they are only 4 & 6 so I don't mind).

Winter is spent show jumping- i spent yesterday sorting through all the local BS competitions and qualifiers and adding them to the diary- can't wait.

They are coming back in next week so clip out- bring up the fitness levels and we're off!

 

[JFTDWS]

I'd go stark raving bonkers if I didn't ride all winter

Mine aren't shod anyway and will stay out as much as possible, one is un-ridden (yearling), my veteran cob will be left unclipped for the first time in forever and will only be lightly hacked on weekends when the weather suits so he'll get a holiday. My 5 y/old will however be clipped out and stay in work. No school and can't trash the field so will be hacking at weekends, mornings before work (unless icy) and plan to hire an arena and box out once a week. Hopefully will get out to compete every few weeks too

 

[ThePony]

Nope, carry on as usual - when the weather permits! Will invariably get iced/snowed off for a bit, but I carry on otherwise. Usually pick competing up over autumn winter as we get going off to weekend dressage and evening sj! Prefer competing in cooler weather as I forget to breath and generally get a stress on so instead of going like a beetroot I manage to stay a slightly more normal colour!

 

[MerrySherryRider]

I carry on riding through the winter, only thing that stops us is ice and fog. We have no indoor school, so just wrap up and get on with it.

 

[Alphamare]

none of ours are shod anyway atm (and wont be unless they absolutely need too)

I plan on bringing one back into work very slowly over the winter (ground work so i can ride in the spring)

My youngster has just been backed so i dont mind not doing much with him over the winter just a little ride if the weather is nice

The cob will probably get the most work as i want him to stay slim and keep getting fit.

I dont plan on clipping anything unless i have too. Most likely if anything needs clipping it will be the cob but ill play it by ear.

 

[bumblelion]

I doubt very much I will be! Got a 1 yo baby in tow so once I'v mucked out etc the last thing she'd want to do is sit in her buggy watching me for another hour at least, without a screaming match and to be honest I don't want it lol! My boys get 8/9 hrs turnout everyday no matter what day it is or what the weather's like. If they had to be stabled, I would have to do something with them though as they'd be nutters!

 

[DragonSlayer]

1 is bare-foot already and the rest will just have fronts on...they all live out 24/7 and are very adaptable to whatever clock we have to work by!

I'm lucky in the fact that all my horses are the same from one month to the next, even the TB, so if no riding for a week or so.....it's fine to just hop on and go for a gentle amble up the BP and back....

 

[catembi]

I shall be carrying on as usual as if it were summer...except with a LOT more clothes on!

Sometimes I really cba riding in the dark, rain, high wind etc, having to drag out my floodlight & tie it to the fence with baler twine if windy...but if I *don't* ride, I get really restless & cross. Far easier to get on with it because I drive myself distracted if I don't. I only don't ride if the weather's so bad that 1) my school is frozen or 2) it would be completely insane to try. Last winter I had a couple of rides where I was trying soooo hard to stay out,and I simply couldn't last longer than 10 mins cos it was absolutely freezing. Even then, I was grumpy & thinking that I was feeble for not sticking at it.

 

[debsflo]

i am planning on taking off my 19 yr old mares hind shoes and giving her the worst of the winter off. She did a tendon last summer ,had 8 months off and came back into light work in April , so wont do her any harm to have time off.

 

[FairyLights]

me. my horses are too young.

 

[Always_A_Moody_Mare]

Totally depends, I hope I can ride if I can help it!
Hopefully I will find a horse to loan/share for the winter!

 

[Luci07]

Depends. Intention is to ride all through winter. However, for the last 2 winters, we have pretty much lost December with snow last year and torrential rain and ice the previous one. Put it this way, the new YO has redone all the drainage in the school to defeat the rain (is working well with these current flood conditions) and is seriously contemplating a tarpaulin to keep the school free in the snow. I wouldn't mind but we are hardly in the back of beyond - we are in Surrey!

 

[RunToEarth]

I spend my summer waiting for winter to arrive, hunting hunting and more hunting, I wouldn't have horses if I couldn't have them fit and going in the winter.

 

[MyBoyChe]

My TBs shoes will come off when the field gets so muddy round the gate that he pulls them off waiting to come in. I then dont ride until March so he gets about 2 months off. I will still lunge or long rein when the fields are OK to do so and he gets handled a lot cos he comes in at night. I tried this for the first time last year and it worked really well for us, I dont have a school and the roads are so slippy near us it just isnt safe for most of the winter. I only ride for pleasure and when its freezing old, wet, foggy or icy it isnt very pleasurable so we dont bother, simple!

 

[Mince Pie]

The TB will have the winter off, the cob will be allowed to grow his coat and will just hack out gently. That is assuming I am back in the saddle any time soon

 

[babymare]

given lasses eyes nope wont be riding much and know many who take shoes off and turn away over winter going for a slow hack at weekend - and why not most horses if turned out everyday would go phew lol - jesus i done all riding in rain snow an ice when younger(32yrs ago) now its pleasure lol

 

[DougalJ]

I will give riding a break over Xmas time. I'll take my boys shoes off second week in December, then put them back on end of January. I find its time more than anything as well as the weather trying to get to ride. If the shoes are off, the pressure is not there to ride when trying to fit in mad work and family over that period. Its does my chap's hooves the world of good too. I too lunge him a bit over that time and I'm lucky he is ok to ride after that 6 week break.

 

[Silmarillion]

Me - no lights, no school, no time after work so no reason or way to keep her fit. I do have regular lessons on my instructor's horses, and ride one every so often for one of her liveries. To keep me sane

 

[berry]

No riding for me either . Expecting my baby end of Nov time and will be having a c section so no point weaning foal and bringing mare back into work until march/ April time. Both will live out baby will prob be naked unless she actually starts to feel cold but dont think she will!!!

 

[ChestnutConvert]

I have all the facilities but no horse to ride just lost my 'loan' horse and now face time being horseless trying to ride other peoples, so might be a very quiet winter for me.

 

[Jerokee]

Well I'd like to be doing SOME riding this winter but only the odd hack owing to arrival of little legs in spproximately 3 weeks... But will be only hacking will get going with the schooling properly next spring x

 

[Baluga]

Mine will get time off when riding becomes impossible due to the snow/ice(we all know it's going to happen!) By that time those that have shoes on they would have been taken off. Pampered girlies instead

 

[welshcobabe]

You never know maybe this winter will be a mild one !

Business as usual for us same summer and winter.

 

[Fourlegsgood]

NOT RIDE OVER THE WINTER? WHAT WOULD BE THE POINT OF GETTING UP IN THE MORNING?

The winter is one of the best times of the year to be riding. We wait all summer so that we can go Bloodhounding over the winter. Also, its a really good time to polish up the SJ and Dressage ready for the eventing next spring.

I've just had 6 weeks off riding because of an operation and that was long enough. I couldn't bear months away from riding.

 

[Laura1234]

We will carry on as usual - we have an outdoor school with lights and will school in the evenings and hack at weekends unless a) snow and ice or b) rain. I just won't ride in the pelting rain, I admit it. I hate it and horse hates it, so what is the point? I don't mind a bit of drizzle though .