Getting Out in the Mud

As the weather stays cold here in Idaho, we are looking for ways to keep the horses warm, but it is important to observe first. You might be surprised how little needs to be done to help the horses in the winter weather.

We live by the motto that it might be nice to upgrade something, but is it really necessary? It's the same with the training aspect of keeping horses. Each horse takes the cold weather differently, but that just keeps things interesting. Here is what we have found from watching our horses' behaviors and working to better each of them from where they are:

Soot: Our resident draft x (cross) is now about 17 hands and continuing to grow. His coat is coming in long and he loves to stand out in the rain, snow, and wind. Even though he's big, he can canter around in his 20'x20' stall and loves it! When we get him out, we have found that in this weather, we are working with him being better at giving to pressure on the lead rope. He leads wonderfully, but sometimes gets a bit ahead of us (his stride is longer than ours for sure!). We are working with him staying beside us rather than pulling ahead. For exercise, we brought him into the barnyard and kept him on the lead, working to having him yield to the halter/lead to keep his head toward the center. He is listening and even crosses over in the back, which shows he is trusting us. We would love to get a chance to have him pull the tire again.

Shine: Our almost 5 year old quarter horse is continuing to learn more as well. He has recently been my transportation out to the front of the house to pick up the mail from the mailbox out by the street. He is still getting used to the gravel on the driveway and it is a reminder to me to check his hooves each time I am done out there so I can get any gravel that has stuck to his hooves. Since he is still barefoot (all our horses are) it is especially important to check the sole of the hooves to make sure they are walking on clean hooves so they don't get bruised. I have yet to bring out the American flag again since our move, but hope to get a chance soon to use that as well. Shine also loves to canter in the field area beyond the horse stalls. We have plans to upgrade that area to have a wagon trail and a smoother place to ride, but Shine doesn't seem to mind cantering over the uneven ground, especially when it's moist and gives under his weight. 

Serita: This girl is now almost 1 year old and learning a lot! We would love for her to give to the pressure on the halter quicker, but that will come with time. She still picks her hooves up easily to have them checked for stones and stands for a long time to be brushed. Our recent accomplishments include, walking her around the field area where she mostly stays beside us, moving away from us when we ask while cleaning up her stall, and moving forward to get some of her pent-up energy out when we do freedom lunging in the round pen. She loves to kick up her heels!

 In the mud it has been better to work the horses more in the barnyard that has nice sandy footing. We do work them in the round pens too, but mostly from the ground.