Do You Ride Horses? V.4

[Rye_]

Does anyone here keep horses where it gets into the 0°F in the winter? Or around that?
I’m in a very warm area (rarely gets to 30°F) and looking into the New England area and I’m wondering what it’s like keeping horses in a climate like that? Can you only ride in an indoor during winters or can you and your horse rough it out?
Any knowledge you have would be greatly appreciated!
Note- I absolutely love the cold, but single digits seems a bit challenging when you have horses haha

[Hime]

Does anyone here keep horses where it gets into the 0°F in the winter? Or around that?
I’m in a very warm area (rarely gets to 30°F) and looking into the New England area and I’m wondering what it’s like keeping horses in a climate like that? Can you only ride in an indoor during winters or can you and your horse rough it out?
Any knowledge you have would be greatly appreciated!
Note- I absolutely love the cold, but single digits seems a bit challenging when you have horses haha

No idea of New England specifically, but we do get cold winters. Coldest it can get is usually -22F during nights, but it's not that common. Horses generally do fine in cold weather, better than in very hot weather dare I say. You can totally ride outside during winter (for example we don't have indoor) but you will of course have to be more cautious of the ground and footing and might not be able to do everything on some days. Sometimes if the stable has the machinery and the winter is not that snowy it's possible to keep outdoor arena's in near summer condition, but when it gets snowy it's usually better if the snow is allowed to pack on the arena which is actually then really nice footing (though then if warmer weather hits the top melts and then freezes again usually over night into solid ice, which is not good XP ). If it gets really icy we usually skip riding or stick to walk. Same if it gets below -4 or -13 F, since usually at that point fingers tend to start getting very cold (at least for me) and heavy breathing in very cold weather is not the most healthiest thing for the horses. If you are looking to jump year round, do western things like reining or do otherwise serious training where your schedule is not flexible to accommodate the outside conditions then indoor arena is something you might need to have access to.
Shoeing is really the key for riding outside in winter on cold areas. We usually get decent amount of snow so horses usually get shod during winter months with 4 studs per shoe and snow pads, which prevent the snow sticking to their hooves too much which then would cause them trouble walking. On areas that are 100% likely to have good amount of snow all winter and horses are mostly in trail use, I know some people keep their horses barefoot over the winter, which also solves the issues of snow sticking to the hooves. But I live south enough that snow is not guaranteed and we can have times when the yard turns into a skating ring so it's safer for horses to have shoes with studs to keep them from slipping.

I wouldn't say it's that challenging to keep horses during cold months, but it also really depends on the conditions. Two things I would say get extra attention during the winter: water and rugging/clipping. Water because everything outside will freeze at least twice during the day when it gets bellow freezing. So having heated no-freezing water source for horses that are outside 24/7 is really worth the investment imo. Rugging and clipping needs are tricky and will depend on multiple things. I know most people who actively train indoors and keep their horses in stables during nights tend to clip, which then leads to pretty much mandatory rugging at least when the horses are turned out. I have horses that resemble woolly mammoths during winter and since they all live outside 24/7 and I also ride outside I don't usually clip. But that usually means sweaty horses after riding, which then means some sort of cooling down rugging to get most of the sweat off before turning them out. But when we get super mild winter the one with thickest coat (and is technically in active training) I have clipped slightly since he gets sweaty just by fooling around in the paddock and then super out of breath when ridden (compare yourself running in full winter gear when it's autumn temperature).

[Rye_]

@hime thank you for all of that!! I hadn’t though of shoeing in the winter and I’ll definitely keep that in mind. Where I’m at we’ve never had to clip, so it sounds like there is quite a bit I have to figure out haha
Thanks again

[Licorice.]

I do belive it has been a while since I have posted on here -

Towards the end of March of this year I started leasing my own horse. After leaving the place that I had been riding for 9 years I, through a friend I found a new place to ride (and that is when I started leasing this guy). His name is Hercules and he is a Haflinger. While we have not been working together for a while we certainly have become fast friends. I mainly do flatwork with him (walk, trot, canter, serpentines, figure eights, 20m circles) but he is a little jumper too. Before transferring to this new stable I had never trail rode before in my life so I have been taking full advantage of that (and Hercules loves it too). We have also been doing some basic showmanship stuff and when I am feeling lazy we go bareback and bridle-less - I just ride him in a halter with reins attached. Overall I am excited to see where we go together over the coming months.

Screenshot_20200921-085040_Video Player.jpg (112.08 KiB) Viewed 74 times

(sorry I could not figure out how to upload more than one photo so you are stuck with just this one from when we were doing showmanship practice after our ride yesterday)

[sunny*days*ahead]

^Congratulations!! He's very beautiful - and set up nicely too! c: You two will go far together!

[Huggles]

I haven’t posted on her in a minute uhh hi

Curious saddle fitting question... ive got a mule of a horse. Tiny shoulders, downhill, no withers, FLAT back. Ive tried I dont even know how many saddles for 2+ years trying to find a good fit for a western. I am riding english now cause i feel more comfortable using pads to help the fit but i dont want to do that with a heavy western saddle. Has anyone heard of using a mule saddle on a horse like this? I tried one and it didnt fit me unfortunately but it did fit her..

[Verdana]

You know how, sometimes, one thing just sort of leads to another?

Anyway I might be going into co-ownership on two friesians as a rescue, retrain and resell project. One's okay, one's basically unhandled, both need a lot of work but both are fundamentally friendly, healthy horses. I have so many feelings and I understand none of them, but I'll keep you folks updated if you'd like?

I'm a long stretch from where I was when I first posted here, that's for sure.

[buckskin.]

I haven’t posted on her in a minute uhh hi

Curious saddle fitting question... ive got a mule of a horse. Tiny shoulders, downhill, no withers, FLAT back. Ive tried I dont even know how many saddles for 2+ years trying to find a good fit for a western. I am riding english now cause i feel more comfortable using pads to help the fit but i dont want to do that with a heavy western saddle. Has anyone heard of using a mule saddle on a horse like this? I tried one and it didnt fit me unfortunately but it did fit her..

I don't see an issue in that at all, if it fits your horse then i'd 100% go for it! It was a struggle to find the right saddle for my mare and the one that we did find that fits doesn't really fit what i'd like in a saddle, but hey, at least my girl is comfy lol

[Emerald Isle]

You know how, sometimes, one thing just sort of leads to another?

Anyway I might be going into co-ownership on two friesians as a rescue, retrain and resell project. One's okay, one's basically unhandled, both need a lot of work but both are fundamentally friendly, healthy horses. I have so many feelings and I understand none of them, but I'll keep you folks updated if you'd like?

I'm a long stretch from where I was when I first posted here, that's for sure.

I know I would like updates! I hope to get to the point where I can train someday in the future (for my own purposes mainly) and would love to see updates on other people's progress to get an idea of what timelines and hard work can look like!

[Verdana]

Ah, unfortunately we decided to withdraw our offer. It was the right move but I'm sad about it.

On the positive, it means I can continue to learn with the horses I've already been developing a relationship with, so not terrible.