Let’s face it—winter can be a slow time of year when you’re an equestrian. And while it can be nice to relax and do less for a few months out of the year, it can also be difficult for those who like to stay busy. I know I was once this way (pre-children!); I disliked winter because it meant less time with my horses. But if you’re looking for some fun winter activities to do with your horse, I thought I’d share a few.
Teach Your Horse to Pull a Sled
This is something we did often when I was a kid. A few tips though: start slow, pulling an empty sled at first. Then, if your horse is accepting of that, add a rider on the sled. Just make sure to dally the rope on your saddle horn and not tie it to avoid an accident.
Trick Train Your Horse
Winter is the perfect time to teach your horse a trick or two. Training your horse to do simple tricks is fun and can also help to strengthen your bond. Clicker training may work best, but if you don’t have a clicker, you can also try treats or other types of rewards. A word to the wise: be patient and work in short time periods to avoid frustration for both you and your horse.
But with that in mind, some simple tricks to teach include:
- Stand and wait
- Come
- Head down
- Lift a leg
If you want to try something a little more complex, you might try teaching your horse to bow, which consists of several simple tricks combined together.
Work on Ground Manners
Many of our horses could use a brush-up on their ground manners and this is easy to do inside the barn on a cold day. Some ground manners you might want to practice include leading, backing, allowing different body parts to be touched (such as ears), and standing quietly while tied.
Give Your Horse a Massage
Who doesn’t love a good massage? I know it’s definitely one of my favorite things. Not only can massage help relieve sore or stiff muscles, but it also increases blood flow, which can be especially helpful in winter. Watch a tutorial video and learn some basic massage techniques such as effleurage, compressions, and vertical strokes.
What winter activities do you plan to do with your horse this year?
Love this blog post? We think you will like The Definition of a Heart Horse by Emily Fought.
