Joys of Winter, Farm Style

EC Blog by: Megan Landis

Frigid. Frozen. Frustrated. I have more choice F words for this cold… Since I’m not the proud owner of a farm (who can afford to travel south for the winter), I’m still here freezing in the north. Barn owners, managers, committed competitors, and weekend riders are all in the same boat, or shall I say tundra.

Everything about winter makes me cringe. Frozen water buckets, footing as hard as concrete, layers of blankets, numb fingers, and runny noses. These are the realities of winter here in the north, especially with no indoor arena. My winter days involve breaking ice out of frozen water buckets, slipping and sliding on the walks that lead to and from the pasture, shoveling out barn doors and pasture gates, plowing the endless snow whilst rearranging my rock driveway, and picking snowballs out of horses’ hooves, several times a day. Notice, I didn’t say riding these creatures I spend hours taking care of. Nope, can’t really do that. Not with any consistency anyway. Footing is either too frozen, too slippery, or buried under a few inches snow. And, of course, in winter, not one horse wants to keep all their legs on the ground.

I’ve not always been bah humbug about winter. My younger, more limber days made all these farm chores an adventure. Those days were carefree, not filled with schedules, training goals, upcoming competitions, or even the dreaded word of every farm and horse owner… money. Winter just costs more of it and gives you a lot less chance to make more of it.

But, this is the joy of winter. (Insert my sarcasm.) Get past the cold, the bitter wind, and the inconvenience that is everything winter. Dig deep down and resurrect your motivation. You look at your training schedule… or lack thereof, where to go next? The OTTB that we had going quietly under saddle? Yeah… needs to be restarted. The green, young hunter that almost had its lead change? Yeah, back to square one. The pony I had up for sale? She’s consistently bucking in the pasture.

So this is where I’m supposed to offer great insight into how to make weathering winter here in the tundra a much more enjoyable experience. My great words of wisdom involve playing the lottery or moving south… But the odds of those things happening are slim. So, what do you do? You subdue yourself to the fact winter will come, it will be tough, and it will be frigid. Your 3-year-old OTTB will get some down time; the pony that’s for sale will stay around until spring; and the green hunter will practice his changes in the field, not the ring.

This is the joy of winter, farm style. I’m catching up on my Netflix, not playing horse show. I’m working hard out in the barn, just not getting to play hard. This time of year, this kind of winter, it tests your commitment, your love of the lifestyle. So, here we are, horse crazy, bundling up, braving it all. Showing that we’re truly in love with this sport, this type of life, farm style… even with the joys of winter.

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