In the last article, much space was
devoted to helping horse
and rider get accustomed to using
an indoor ring in a public facility,
especially in the winter months when these rings may become fairly crowded
due to lack of space. Also discussed was the type of shoeing you may want
your horse to have if he is to be kept outside and you will be riding him
outside. Now we will examine ways in which the horse and rider can still
maintain a level of progress and fitness throughout the winter months.
Fitness is a key word here. Although
this inclement season is an excellent time to catch up on all of your
reading, including all those horse books you bought with the intention of
devouring immediately, it is a known fact that many of us tend to lose a bit
of our fitness level from November until March, whether from holiday feasts
or just general inactivity. Besides the extra weight, may of us, especially
if we are no longer on the light side of forty, may well lose some of the
flexibility and general body control that we should be careful to cultivate
if we wish to become (or stay) the riders that we want to be.
Our horses may also lose some of their
general fitness, especially some of the muscling that is important if they
are to be able to perform for us in whatever discipline we have chosen.
Granted, especially is they have pasture friends, there will be winter
chasing and galloping about as they are Arctic animals and tend to adapt far
more easily to the change in weather than we do. But even they have a
tendency to move much less when turned out in the winter than the rest of
the year, especially if the footing is icy or the snow deep. Also in the
grass months the horses are constantly moving about as they graze, which is
what nature intended their waking hours to be. In the winter after horses
have consumed their hay piles, or eaten their fill at a round bale, they
have a tendency to just “hang out”.
The more you can keep your horse in a
reasonable condition throughout the winter, the less time it will take in
the spring. Some riders do not realize this, and when the weather conditions
improve they decide to take full advantage of the first warm day and ride
their horses as they did four months ago during the last warm day! This is
not fair to the horse, and may lead to lameness or health problems. If no
conditioning work was done during the winter months it must be gradually
built up in the spring.
If your horse is to be ridden outside
and also turned out at least half of the day, it is probably best not to
clip him and just deal with the disadvantages of that. Not clipped, your
chief problem will be that if you do ride or work him and he sweats, you
have to be very careful to not turn him out again if he is wet or very damp.
It is20not enough to just blanket him and turn him back out. You will have
to wait for his coat to dry out. Towels can be used, and coolers that absorb
moisture are also useful. I noticed that at some of the gorgeous stables in
Holland where I taught they had very effective (and expensive) drying racks
next to wash stalls that could be used after you bathed your horse during
warmer weather, or to dry him if he sweated in colder weather. Huge quartz
heaters surrounded the stalls, with a gently blowing fan installed. These
were controlled by a coin-fed meter.
If you do decide to clip your horse,
you have you be very careful of him. Winters can get extremely cold and damp
in the Northeast, and his natural protection has been removed. It is much
easier to cool him out, but he must be kept blanketed much of the time, with
a New Zealand-type rug that does not slip, and it is not healthy for a
horse’s coat to be continually covered. Clipping is usually only done with
horses in environments with indoor rings who are going to be ridden fairly
regularly.
Only being able to ride outside, the
best advice is to take advantage of every day that is warm enough for your
safety and comfort. Be aware of the wind
chill factor. It is especially meaningful t o you…YOU and your
horse are definitely outside in the wind! If the footing is safe, riding
your horse in the snow is very enjoyable. Be aware of the added risks,
however. If the snow is deep enough t hat your horse has to break through it
to make a path, this can be stressful to his joints and ligaments. Also, be
aware of the temperature when riding him enough to increase his respiration.
I know that when it is below 20 degrees I am more careful of this. When it
is very fairly cold and my horses decide to gallop about and chase each
other in the field until they are breathing heavily, I choose not to worry
too much if it is free will (no one low in the pecking order is being
chased). However, I do not want to take the responsibility and ride or drive
them hard enough to dramatically increase their respiratory rate.
If the snow is a bit deep also be
aware of ground hazards that may be covered by the snow that you do not see.
I have heard of accidents caused by something as seemingly innocuous as a
bucket left lying in the snow. The horse/rider did not see it, the horse
stepped on it, and it resulted in a fall for both. Be aware of the general
footing underneath the snow. The Northeast has had a lot of ice this winter.
In many places it seems safe, but right underneath the snow is a dangerous
layer of ice.
Winter weather is a good opportunity
to improve your ground techniques with your horses. Whether you use regular
lunging and ground driving, Ttouch ground exercises, or Natural
Horsemanship games, this will improve your communication with your
horse and also help in your fitness. Indeed, if you are doing most of these
techniques correct ly, you will probably be a bit tired after the session.
Be careful of doing any round penning that is more than a walk or slow trot.
This is not the time to think of chasing the horse about. It would be easy
for the horse to slip in icy or snowy footing. Bare and frozen hard ground
can also be injurious. If your horse drives and you own a sled, winter can
become one of your favorite times of the year. Remember that even though
your vehicle may be moving easily, he is working fairly hard making his way
through the snow.
Winter months are also the time that
you can pursue fitness and balance training on yourself. Yoga,
tai chi, and many of the martial arts are examples of routines to follow
that will increase your balance, strength, and awareness of the energy
necessary to emanate from your body’s core, or center. Sally Swift’s
second CENTERED RIDING book demonstrates excellent exercises throughout
it’s content that give the reader exercises to work on that correlate
directly with skills needed while riding.
Work done on a trampoline can also be
extremely helpful. The small trampolines are available at Sporting Goods
sections of stores for under $30. They have a rebound to them, which is
reminiscent of the movement of a horse. By putting weight on first one foot
and then the other, you can duplicate a bit the feeling of a horse’s trot.
By keeping your body tall, and absorbing the spring through your hip joints,
knees, and ankles, you=2 0can keep these joints flexible and also become
aware of any stiffness you may have developed. You can also duplicate the
canter and practice your flying
changes!
One thing I find useful is to tie a
pair of reins to two hooks that I have placed on the wall opposite the
trampoline, about the width and breadth of what my hands would be if I were
riding. This way I can practice maintaining a soft contact with my
“horse’s “ mouth while I walk, trot, and canter. By having my students
practice these sorts of exercises in between lessons, we both find much more
improvement than we would have had otherwise.
So if you suffer a bit from Seasonal
Disorder (just not enough sunny days), focus on the lovely weather just
around the corner and make your resolution to do as much as is possible on
these not so lovely days. However, when it is zero and the snow is 4 feet
high, also give yourself permission to have a bit of “vegging” time,
knowing that your resolve to ride and train your horse better than ever this
year is just getting stronger.
Mitzi Summers