Snowy Training

The training sessions have to be different when you ride in weather. You don't want the horse to twist an ankle or fall down. Each horse will react differently to different weather, so you have to be ready to customize the training to suit each one. Here is what we have noticed about each of our equines now that we have several inches of snow on the ground and more coming this week:

Soot: He is standing calmly in his stall and let's the snow fall down on him. He loves it! He also loves to eat a snowball out of our hand, which is fun. We weren't sure what he would do with the snow on the ground, but when we walked him to the round pen, he didn't mind walking through the snow. He put his head down and wanted to eat it and then when we asked him to trot, he picked that up no problem. He even does some cantering. Soot is part Gypsy Vanner, so he already picks up his knees when he walks or trots. He loves it! 

Shine: He has been in training with us for almost 4 1/2 years now. He is pretty trusting as long as I am involved when he is learning something new. The same is true with the learning and accepting the new ground content, including snow. I have found Shine, more often than not, is standing out from under his cover, letting the snow fall down on his head. He's a goof for sure! When I walked him out of his stall he walked tentative to begin with, but didn't seem to mind the different ground. He loves trotting next to me and stays right with me like we have worked in the round pen. Yesterday, I also rode him in the field here. The snow came up to almost his knees. Again, he didn't seem to mind and we walked and trotted all over the field. It was super fun! He also loves to eat the snowball out of my hand. I think he enjoys trying to eat it and not knock it off my gloved hand.

 

Serita: Since she is so young, the training is especially different for her since she is still learning so many new things. She is pretty comfortable in her stall even with the snow coming down, but when we take her out she gets excited easily. We are working her more in her stall during this snowy season because we know she will feel safe and she listens better since she knows her stall is a safe place. She, like the boys, stands out from under her cover in the snow, and is warm and toasty so we knows she's not getting too cold. We look forward to the coming drier seasons when we can get her out and around the property more to get used to all the new sights and sounds around our property.