12/01/2025
Winter is upon us and for many people, it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to work their horses, especially if they don’t have access to an indoor arena. Between frozen footing, shorter days, and miserable temperatures, it can tempting to give your horses the winter off.
But I always encourage my clients to try their best to continue working with their horses over the winter - even just 10-15 minutes a day or a few times a week will add up and be FAR better than doing nothing! You may not be able to ride as much but there are still plenty of things you can do to keep your horse active and mentally engaged. Rather than sitting all winter, your horse will be ready to go come spring, and will hopefully have learned a few things over the winter!
So here are a few things I’ve thought of that you could work on with your horse when you have limited space, time, and desire to be freezing:
* Teach your horse to stand for the clippers
* Improve your horse’s bridling process (bending towards you and dropping his head for the bit)
* Lining up to the mounting block
* Yielding hindquarters and forequarters smoothly
* Teach your horse how to back up softly
* Once your horse knows how to back up well, work on backing him into his stall or around the barn
* Teaching your horse to stand tied and then ground tie
* Do some carrots stretches!
* If you have a more tense or anxious type horse, look into massage or bodywork such as Masterson Method (if that interests you) to help your horse release tension. This is perfect for winter months!
If you have other suggestions please drop them in the comments below! Would love for folks to share their favorite ideas so we can make the most out of this winter! ❄️
