Riding in the Winter

[luv2show]

I saw a post that made me stop and wonder, who doesn't ride in the Winter?
and may I ask... How the heck do you do that!?!?! Lol, I havn't been on Tanner for 5 days and I'm going insane!!!

So I know this is kind of a random post, hahaha, but I thought I'd make a survey. :)

Survey: Winter & Horses
How often do you ride in the Winter?
How long do you usually ride for?
What time of year to you do most of your training?
Where do you ride?
What do you wear?
What does your horse "wear"?
What disipline do you ride the most of in the winter?
Do you clip your horse?
Do you blanket?
Is your barn heated? Insulated?

[Arrow]

Survey: Winter & Horses
How often do you ride in the Winter? 4-5 times a week
How long do you usually ride for? 30-45 minutes
What time of year to you do most of your training? Daily:D
Where do you ride? trails
What do you wear? jeans, a coat, gloves, a helmet cover
What does your horse "wear"? the usual, or bareback
What disipline do you ride the most of in the winter? just riding
Do you clip your horse? no
Do you blanket? no
Is your barn heated? Insulated? no, no [/FONT]


ETA: Hmmmm...thought my answers would be in black...oh well.

[Cat]

Survey: Winter & Horses
How often do you ride in the Winter? Depends, but usually a couple times a week
How long do you usually ride for? 15-60 minutes dependong on how cold it is.
What time of year to you do most of your training? Spring/Fall.
Where do you ride? Usually in the arena - winter is usually when I do bareback riding
What do you wear? Jacket, gloves, jeans, boots, helmet
What does your horse "wear"? Usually we are bareback in the winter w/ just a headstall - if that. :)
What disipline do you ride the most of in the winter? Bareback
Do you clip your horse? No
Do you blanket? No
Is your barn heated? Insulated? Nope!

[AppyLady]

I ride in the winter! But I'm too lazy to answer all those questions. :p

[Gypsy Rose]

Survey: Winter & Horses
How often do you ride in the Winter? 1-4 times a month- depends on the weather and footing
How long do you usually ride for? 10-20 minutes
What time of year to you do most of your training? summer
Where do you ride? in the ditch or arena
What do you wear? warm boots, gloves, winter jacket scarf, hatband under helmet and long johns (so I'm a wimp!:cowboy:)
What does your horse "wear"? I'm usually bareback- english or western bridle, depending on my mood
What disipline do you ride the most of in the winter? Western (bareback)
Do you clip your horse? no
Do you blanket? no
Is your barn heated? Insulated? Run in shelter, so not heated

[rocknK]

As I mentioned in the trail riding post, whisky....no snakes in the winter, but it'll warm you up!! Oh, & bring a coat & slicker.:cowboy:

[HeartofSteel]

Survey: Winter & Horses
How often do you ride in the Winter? It really depends on the weather, I would like to ride 3 days a week or so but the weather doesn't always cooperate. I do lunge alot in the winter and do ground work though.
How long do you usually ride for? 30 min to and hour
What time of year to you do most of your training? Spring
Where do you ride? At my house, the fairgrounds, the ranch and my best friends house
What do you wear? Layers lol. I have under armer that I wear under my shirt and them long johns under my breeches, coat, ear muffs and gloves usally.
What does your horse "wear"? He wears his normal tack and what not but I'm probably going to be ordering a quarter sheet for him.
What disipline do you ride the most of in the winter? Dressage
Do you clip your horse? I did a Trace clip on Mia last year and I'm either going to do a trace or a full body clip on Niko.
Do you blanket? Yup he has a heavyweight with a hood and a turnout sheet.
Is your barn heated? Insulated? Don't have a barn lol. He lives outside with a run in shelter.

[iloveponcho]

Survey: Winter & Horses
How often do you ride in the Winter? at least once a week
How long do you usually ride for? it depeneds what time i get to the barn but generally 45 min. - 1hr (including some ground work)
What time of year to you do most of your training? fall and spring
Where do you ride? around the fields where i board and on some trails
What do you wear? jeans, boots, a jacket, and a helmet
What does your horse "wear"? either his normal tack or i bareback
What disipline do you ride the most of in the winter? i mainly do bare back because where i board is about 30. min away and by the time i get there i gotta hurry up and ride before its dark
Do you clip your horse? nope
Do you blanket? yeah
Is your barn heated? Insulated? nope but there are doors we can close to make it warmish

[Stellaluna]

Survey: Winter & Horses
How often do you ride in the Winter? probably twice a week
How long do you usually ride for? 20 min. to an hour
What time of year to you do most of your training? spring/fall
Where do you ride? roads, if they're not too slippery; otherwise there's nothing like riding across a field of freshly fallen snow.
What do you wear? Earband, stocking cap or hood, heavy coat, gloves, sometimes long underwear, boots.
What does your horse "wear"? her usual saddle, bridle and polo wraps
What disipline do you ride the most of in the winter? just get on and go!
Do you clip your horse? no
Do you blanket? no
Is your barn heated? Insulated? no and no

[WashingtonBay]

I don't ride much in winter anymore... except as a lark, bareback (or rather, blanketback) on a fresh snow day. :)

[vicklynn]

I ride in the winter! But I'm too lazy to answer all those questions. :p
Im with you Appy....lol

[Aina]

We don't get winter here. :P It rarely gets below 50 during the day, maybe 25 at night, lowest. And generally these cold spells only last a few weeks. I generally just ride like normal except maybe add a jacket.

[walkinthewalk]

My answers apply to when I lived on the OH/PA border. I am semi-retired to southern Middle Tennessee, where I can ride all year long without my fingers and toes turning black from frostbite - lol lol We do dip below freezing for a handful of days, so I still pay attention to the ice factor.

Survey: Winter & Horses
How often do you ride in the Winter? As long as there wasn't a lot of ice covering, I used to ride several days a week. When I was in my very early 20's I would sometimes ride after I got off afternoon turn (12:30PM) and ride to the lake if there was a full moon. Just ask my lightly frost-bitten fingers because I wouldn't wear gloves:eek:

How long do you usually ride for? Again "Used to" ride 20 mintues to a few hours.
What time of year to you do most of your training? "Used to" train mostly spring because of more daylight hours. I've never had an arena. I say used to because my horses are all older and don't need disciplined training anymore; but they do get handled every day for 2-4 hours.
Where do you ride?Generally road-riding because the woods was too cold, plus hunting season is always in for some thing.
What do you wear? Ear muffs, 19 layers of shirts, pantyhose under a loose pair of jeans, thick socks, ankle high tennis shoes and no gloves until later years.
What does your horse "wear"? A bridle and a smile:cowboy:
What disipline do you ride the most of in the winter? I'm about as un-disciplined as one can get - lol lol. I've rarely used a saddle for trail riding, so I guess the only discipline I adhere to is just staying on:)
Do you clip your horse?I don't show, so no, unless it's whiskers, extending ear hair, and fetlock hair in the spring.
Do you blanket? Never have, but I would if it was the only way to keep my Senior Fellas from shivering.
Is your barn heated? Insulated? Say WHAAAT?!?!? No ma'am. The only insulation is in the ceiling to prevent summer humidity from gathering on the metal:cowboy:

"That's my story and I'm stickin' to it" :cheers::cowboy:

[Gret<3sBub]

Survey: Winter & Horses
How often do you ride in the Winter? i try for 3 times a week but it usually ends up being 2 with one day of groundwork
How long do you usually ride for? about 40 minutes
What time of year to you do most of your training? spring and summer since i dont have school then
Where do you ride? in the tiny indoor arena-cantering really isn't even an option in it b/c my horse has very large canter strides
What do you wear? besides normal riding clothes a sweatshirt, carhart, gloves, stocking cap, and sometimes my insulated breeches
What does your horse "wear"? just the saddle
What disipline do you ride the most of in the winter? english or natural horsemanship groundwork
Do you blanket? no
Is your barn heated? Insulated? no,no

[gaited07]

Living in the Las Vegas, NV allows you to ride 12 months a year. I will say (or should I say my hubby will say) I have NO BLOOD! So you will see pictures of me with 3-4 or more jackets on with ear muffs, beenie cap, scarf, gloves, two pairs of socks, long underwear, 2+ shirts (sweaters) with long underwear under. (check out my 2005 Valley of Fire picture with my daughter on the back of my horse, I was bundled like the little kid on a "Christmas Story" movie. LOL.....

Most of my rides are 2+ hours long with an average of 3 1/2. I ride with my usual western gear or bareback.

I do not body clip my horse. I will blanket if the weather dips into freezing and that is usually only a week or two here.
As for the barn being insulated, no. It's all open corrals with shade over the top. You feel all the eliments of the area.


Now from my Eastern roots;

I would ride pretty much everyday. Our barn had 44 box stalls with indoor arena(130X180). The whole barn was well insulated with sky lights. So all my riding was done in an arena. (old show life) Each horse would have an average ride of 1 hr. (depends who I was working, sometimes more time)
My horses was all blanketed, with hoodies, legs and tails wrapped.
Outside of the our farm (:cry:) I do not miss the bitter cold of that area.

[Diane of Buck's Hollow]

Survey: Winter & Horses ( I can only answer for last winter..since it was my first winter with a horse)

Georgia Winter

How often do you ride in the Winter? 1 to 3 times a week
How long do you usually ride for? 30min to 1 hour - Trails and arena work
What time of year to you do most of your training? All year
Where do you ride? Trails and Arena...
What do you wear? Long Johns, Turtle neck Shirt, Sweater, Vest, gloves, helmet.
What does your horse "wear"? Saddle pad, saddle and ME
[COLOR="purple"]What disipline do you ride the most of in the winter? Western
Do you clip your horse? No
Do you blanket? No
Is your barn heated? Insulated? No

[cloedoll]

Survey: Winter & Horses
How often do you ride in the Winter? Whenever the ground is good enough of footing. Often it's too icy, snows too deep, or it's too muddy out.
How long do you usually ride for? Roughly an hour, as usual.
What time of year to you do most of your training? Summertime.
Where do you ride? Anywhere in mah yard.
What do you wear? Depends if I am feeling insane that day, I have ridden in t-shirts before. :rolleyes:
What does your horse "wear"? A bridle. :D
What disipline do you ride the most of in the winter? I always ride English/bareback.
Do you clip your horse? Nope.
Do you blanket? Nope.
Is your barn heated? Insulated? Nope.

[mandisue]

Good idea luv! How are you feeling???



Survey: Winter & Horses
How often do you ride in the Winter? once or twice a week if I'm lucky ( keep in mind we have two kids...and no arena for when there's snow)
How long do you usually ride for?30-45 min
What time of year to you do most of your training? SPRING!!!
Where do you ride? Trails and fields.
What do you wear? Hoodie, long sleeves, long undies, some kind of hat, gloves. I layer a lot.
What does your horse "wear"? Nothing out of the ordinary, blanket saddle etc. I go bareback a lot more in winter, keeps both of us warmer plus you dont have to worry about that cold saddle!!
What disipline do you ride the most of in the winter?Western, bareback.
Do you clip your horse? Nope.
Do you blanket? Nope.
Is your barn heated? Insulated? No and No, we have a three sided stall with a gate on the fourth side. No heat, just three sides and sawdust, and mostly the horses will sleep in the roundbale instead of in the barn.. I have weird horses.

[GrungeEquestrian]

Survey: Winter & Horses
How often do you ride in the Winter? I ride the same amount thanks to the indoor arena, 5-6 times a week
How long do you usually ride for? Usually a hour
What time of year to you do most of your training? I do a lot of my training in the spring
Where do you ride? in the indoor arena, and a few trail rides
What do you wear? I am layered to the max, usually two pairs of pants as well
What does your horse "wear"? My mare has a SUPER thick winter coat, I have a blanket in case but in the past year she never needed it
What disipline do you ride the most of in the winter? I ride western primary but I am getting my english gear and doing a lot of english over the winter
Do you clip your horse? no
Do you blanket? no, but I have a spare in case it gets in the negative 30s
Is your barn heated? Insulated? The barn is not heated, but it is insulated nicely.

[jeezitsjacki]

Survey: Winter & Horses
How often do you ride in the Winter? Well I am away at school during the week.. so I ride when I come home on the weekends.. so 3 days-friday, saturday and sunday. but when I come home for a month during winter break I usually ride 5-6 days a week
How long do you usually ride for? Usually we ride fridays in the arena for about 30-40 mintues, and then saturday and sunday my friend and I go on a trail usually for between 1 to 2 hours
What time of year to you do most of your training? umm all year haha.. but usually spring I suppose
Where do you ride? In the arena or on trails
What do you wear? I have awesome fleece breeches, usually a long sleeve shirt, a sweatshirt, and a jacket.. and some warm socks
What does your horse "wear"? his usual gear.. saddle pad, saddle.. nothing special for winter.. but I do have a cooler for after the ride
What disipline do you ride the most of in the winter? well ben is always ridden english.. so ya english and trails
Do you clip your horse? nope . I dont show so its not that big of a deal
Do you blanket? yes
Is your barn heated? Insulated? its not heated but we close the barn doors at night which keeps it warmer

[Jump The Moon]

How often do you ride in the Winter? 5 days a week (same as summer!)
How long do you usually ride for? an hour, 45mins - depends what we're doing.
What time of year to you do most of your training? Winter, so we're ready for summer shows!Where do you ride? Menage (arena), trail-rides, roads
What do you wear? Clothes! lol, jodphurs, boots, half-chaps, jumpers, coat, helmet (body protector if going on roads)
What does your horse "wear"? Tack! lol, saddle, bridle, open fronted tendon boots if jumping Big or cross-country. Numnah.What disipline do you ride the most of in the winter? Dressage and jumping.
Do you clip your horse? This year's his first clip (comming this week, there will be pictures!)Do you blanket? Yes, even in summer he sometimes needs 'em, he's generally thin coated but this year his winter coats come through FLUFFY!
Is your barn heated? Insulated? Nope, but they have 2ft deep beds of straw, rugs and plenty of hay to go through the night.

[Dakota Sunrise]

Survey: Winter & Horses

How often do you ride in the Winter? Depends, maybe like 3 days a week. Last year I couldn't ride Beauty, but this year I'll have two to ride, so maybe more

How long do you usually ride for? anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours, just depends on how cold it is and how long I can hold out, lol.

What time of year to you do most of your training? summer/fall

Where do you ride? on my own property (we have about 80 acres), my arena, dirt roads, my neighbors' land.. all over.

What do you wear? Jeans--sometimes with long johns underneith-- stocking cap and thin gloves, t shirt, flannel shirt or hoodie, coat or vest, and since I usually go bareback in the winter I'll wear wool socks and snow boots.

What does your horse "wear"? When we're riding? Dakota just has his bridle and his Sport Legacy boot on the fronts, and SMB boots on his backs- we go bareback. Beauty will probably be tacked up like normal- saddle, bridle, breast collar, splint or sport boots, and her easyboots if we're trail riding.

What disipline do you ride the most of in the winter? bareback for Kota, western for Beauty

Do you clip your horse? nope.

Do you blanket? yes.

Is your barn heated? Insulated? No, it's a 3-sided run in shelter (and partly closed off in the front too, like 1/3 of the way). I put sawdust in it in the winter time, and they have their warm, waterproof blankets.

[Palogal]

See ya'll and your winter...we don't have those here so we ride all year. Unless it's raining, then we pitch them in the trailer and go find an arena to ride in.

[ImaBronsonBear]

Survey: Winter & Horses
How often do you ride in the Winter? Each horse, or overall?:cowboy: I have two horses to ride, and my goal is to ride Bronson 5 days a week, and Brig 4 days a week. But basically i ride 6 days a week, with one of those days being given to giving lessons.
How long do you usually ride for? Anywhere from an hour to 4 hours. Very rarely less than that.
What time of year to you do most of your training? Spring/summer because of longer daylight hours and NO SCHOOL!!!!!!!!
Where do you ride? Depends on how wet it is.;) We don't get snow, we get rain. If it's just rained the day before, i'll stick to the pavement roads because it's so muddy. When it dries out, i'll ride trails and arena (which is not indoor).
What do you wear? Jeans, sometimes long johns, boots, thick socks, t-shirt, sweatshirt (usually 2), jacket, helmet, and gloves.
What does your horse "wear"? Whatever i feel like putting on.:rolleyes: But winter is when i do a lot of bareback rides.
What disipline do you ride the most of in the winter? trails and bareback.
Do you clip your horse? No.
Do you blanket? I blanket my 21 y/o old man when the weather predicts rain, because although he can handle the occasionally freezing temperatures, combine cold and wet and wind, and he's shivering like a leaf.
Is your barn heated? Insulated? I don't even have a barn!

[Blue]

How often do you ride in the Winter? Just as much as I do any time of the year, 4-5x a week.
How long do you usually ride for? 45 minutes if it's getting dark, an hour or hour and a half if I can.
What time of year to you do most of your training? Winter, getting ready for the next show season!
Where do you ride? Ring or on trails.
What do you wear? Thermal riding pants, waterproof boots, half chaps, gloves, ear muffs, short sleeve shirt, zip up jacket, helmet.
What does your horse "wear"? Same as he does anytime of the year.
What disipline do you ride the most of in the winter? I only ride English, unless I'm feeling like riding western for a day or something.
Do you clip your horse? No.
Do you blanket? Yes.
Is your barn heated? Insulated? No, the doors all close and it's really comfy in there! No wind can get in.

[wyleeluver]

Survey: Winter & Horses
How often do you ride in the Winter? about 4 days a week
How long do you usually ride for? about 30 minutes
What time of year to you do most of your training? my horse is already trained
Where do you ride? indoor arena
What do you wear? long underwear, jeans, long sleef shirt, big winter jacket, and a hat
What does your horse "wear"? when im not riding she has a blanket on, she doesn't wear anything while im riding
What disipline do you ride the most of in the winter? western
Do you clip your horse? no
Do you blanket? yes
Is your barn heated? Insulated? no, and no

[Remali]

I live in the nation's icebox.....so I seldom ride in winter.....altho we have had some mild winters lately and therefor riding is a lot easier. As long as there is no ice, and the temps aren't too cold (above 25) and it isn't windy (windchill gets bad here), I get out there, altho I have to admit I haven't ridden in winter for quite a long time now......the place I board Koko is going to be putting up an indoor arena, so I will be able to get out and work with Koko over the winter, but I'll have to be careful that she doesn't get sweaty so we will just do real slow and quiet work for now. But, our winters can get pretty nasty here....with temps below zero....and lots of snow....so, it just all depends on our weather. :(

[Turn and Burn]

Survey: Winter & Horses
How often do you ride in the Winter? As much as possible, usually 3 to 4 times a week
How long do you usually ride for? for one horse 1 to 2 hours or until my toes freeze and fall off LOL=D
What time of year to you do most of your training? Depends what for
Where do you ride? When there is snow and ice, a covered arena in the area
What do you wear? LAYERS!!:)
What does your horse "wear"? Normal tack
What disipline do you ride the most of in the winter? Western, I do quite a bit of barrel racing in the winter, there is a covered arena racing series.
Do you clip your horse? No
Do you blanket? Yes
Is your barn heated? Insulated?No, No barn

[MyHorseBiggs]

Survey: Winter & Horses
How often do you ride in the Winter? 4 days a week or less it doesn't get that bad but this is my first winter with Biggs so I'll have to see...
How long do you usually ride for? 30 min to 2 hours but it really deppends on the exact temperature and footing
What time of year to you do most of your training? spring/summer
Where do you ride? In the field don't have an arena... yet :p
What do you wear? A coat, Jeans, gloves, boots, and sometimes i like to wear a beanie hat under my helmet
What does your horse "wear"? Normal tack or i ride bareback nothing special
What disipline do you ride the most of in the winter? Western or bareback
Do you clip your horse? No
Do you blanket? No
Is your barn heated? Insulated? Nope don't have a barn