Island Life Magazine Ltd February/March 2013 | Page 85

EQUESTRIAN

Surviving winter
This is the hardest time of the year to keep

controlled area and seeing them loose

enthusiasm for keeping horses. Getting up on

gives you an idea of how they are

dark, wet, cold mornings and facing a yard

feeling.

full of clipped and fit young horses can be a
bit of a challenge.

Putting in a jump can engage their
brain and lets you see how they are

With short days, bad weather and wet or

using themselves without a rider.

frozen sand schools it is hard to get enough

You can make it more difficult by

work into them. Regardless of the weather

introducing more exercises. Some

conditions I do like to give them some sort of

horses might find this too exciting so

exercise every day.

lunging is another way of exercising

With these fantastically designed rugs

whether you do it with tack and side

that nearly cover the whole of their bodies

reins or loose so they can have a bit of

nowadays I like to see them removed to let

a buck and play. Again putting poles or

the air get to their coats, and moving to keep

a jump while lunging can make it more

warm and get the circulation and lungs going.

fun. Let’s hope we all make it through

It is very tempting to say it is too wet or cold,
but if you don’t check for health or lameness

to the summer with sane, sound
horses ready for summer shows.

you could cause a bigger problem later on.
Hacking is the obvious way to get them
exercised and out in the open spaces but
going out on a clipped, bouncing young
horse up the road with drivers rushing past
and splashing through puddles can be a bit
daunting.
There is safety in numbers so we try to go
in at least a pair or a group and grit our teeth
and start with a brisk trot to get the freshness
out of them and get them warm. Nine times
out of 10 we come back soaked to the skin,
so we like to bring them back warm so we
can get a breathable rug on them to dry off
quickly.
Having a sand school is a big asset where
you can school or turn out in but it’s very
easy to get into a rut and find you are just
drilling the horse every day. Varying the work
from day to day is important. Think up some
exercises that will keep their minds active and
are fun for both you and the horse.
Pole work is very good and can take the
boredom out of going round in circles, and
even if you don’t like jumping it can give you
something else to work on.
Loose schooling or loose jumping can be
helpful in letting the hors