WINTER CLOTHES LESSONS

Join me this week in my Halloween decorated barn, to figure out the best way to not freeze this winter!

*will regular winter boots keep your feet warm, but still fit safely into your stirrups?
*what kind of hat fits under a riding helmet?  Or over it?
*are snow pants ok?

*probably not, let's try them on to find out, and depends how slippery they are.



I've got a couple lessons set up specifically to learn about what to wear for winter riding.

DAYS AND TIMES - Wednesday October 23  at   4:00 pm

                                   - Thursday October 24  at  6:00 pm

COST - special price of $20 each.  Parents are free!!!

FOR WHO - all ages, boys and girls.

Bring your warm outdoor clothing, everything you've got - gloves, boots, undershirts and long johns, hats.  If you've got actual riding clothes bring them.  If you've got something that isn't meant for riding, bring it and let's see if it's suitable.  Maybe you've got hockey gear that might work.  We'll take a look at what I have and recommend.  We'll see what works and what doesn't, and be ready for the cold when it hits!


Please contact me so I know I can find a place for everybody to sit.  Hope to see you there!

It's Fall now - new things going on at the farm

So what's happening at the farm this fall? Two things: tack cleaning and getting ready for the weather. I like this time of year.  There aren't as many flies, we're not sweating as much as we did all summer, and the horses, just starting to get thicker coats, are soft and velvety.  Most mornings, when I let them into the pasture, there's a soft pink light from the sunrise and mist across the distance.  It's really beautiful.

TACK CLEANING DAY - alright kids, come on out to my place and let's roll up our sleeves and get to work.  I am pretty sure there will be a lot of giggling and talking, hopefully within all those girly noise we'll get some stuff cleaned nicely.  If you haven't had the tack cleaning lesson, we'll catch you up.  

DAY AND TIME - Saturday October 19 from 2:00pm to 4:00pm

COST - Nothing, zip, zero, no money changes hands.  We're all helping each other out, so we have clean safe tack to use for our rides and have a good little visit together while we're at it.

Give me a call or an email so I know how many buckets and sponges we'll need.  

SPECIAL FALL LESSONS

This seasons brings changes. Sometimes for the 5:00 lesson I'm wearing a Tshirt, but at my 7:00 lesson I'm in a hoodie and windbreaker.  And now we're riding under the floodlights.

It feels too early to start talking about winter clothes but some of us (me) will be needing something warm soon.  This year, rather than taking a few minutes here and there to discuss winter riding, I'd like to designate a few lessons specifically for that topic.  

Bring your warm outdoor clothing, everything you've got - gloves, boots, undershirts and long johns, hats.  If you've got actual riding clothes bring them.  If you've got something that isn't meant for riding, bring it and let's see if it's suitable.  Maybe you've got hockey gear that might work.  We'll take a look at what I have and recommend.  We'll see what works and what doesn't, and be ready for the cold when it hits!

WINTER CLOTHES LESSONS 

DAYS AND TIMES - Wednesday October 23  at   4:00 pm

                                   - Thursday October 24  at  6:00 pm

COST - special price of $20 each.  I expect to get enough riders to make it worth my time and yours.  

FOR WHO - all ages, boys and girls.  (Parents can squeeze in for free!)

Please contact me to let me know if you can join me.  (If you can't do either of those times we might arrange another one.)

FARM DAYS - as long as the weather is reasonably pleasant, I'm open to holding a few more Farm Days.  This could be a fun way to spend a PA day.  

Looking forward to seeing you! 

More Farm Day Fun

Three kids and two horses???  

It can work!  It takes a lot of stirrup adjusting and keeping track, but everybody got to ride each horse a couple times.  This little group of outlaws consists of brother, sister and cousin.  Maybe all good outlaws are family, eh?  

Getting ready to ride off into the sunshine. (Check out the cowgirl with one hand on the reins!)

Hey, it was very dusty that day.  The bandannas are functional!

Aw yeah, nailed the ol' stick-in-the-barrel!

Second ride for the this young fella, first time over the poles!

Butch, Rawhide, and Roadrash, all gussied up!!

They're each wearing a few of my own clothes, which makes me realize... wow, I really do get to play cowboy dress up everyday!  

My little ranch dog is in on it too.  Don't they all look ready to hit the trail?

But since it was hot, and the horses had already put in a couple hours work (these two have no idea how hard some other horses work!) we hit the trail by taking a walk around the pasture, to check the fence, see how the ducks and turkeys and chickens are doing, and of course, stop by for a quick visit.  

Dang fun way to spend a day.

Looking forward to Spring, the good and the bad.

Although the calendar says it's Spring, it very much looks and feels like Winter!  I can tell the season is changing though, because there's more daylight and the horses have been shedding for a few weeks. Apparently it's the lengthening of daylight that signals the winter coats to shed.  This would explain why they're losing hair despite the cold temperatures hanging on.  I've also noticed that they're not consuming quite as much hay as they were in the coldest months this winter, so there's proof that it has been a couple degrees warmer, despite me whining and complaining about being cold!

So here are a few things to keep in mind when you come out to ride with me:

- warm means thaw and that means MUD.  Only it's not just mud.  I strive to keep the corral clear of manure all summer, but over winter when the horses are confined to the corral, the manure does build up.  Until I can get in there with a tractor to do a big clean out, we'll have to step carefully and just accept that, well... manure happens.

- I've got a "boot brush" nailed to the fence post just beside the gate.  Give your boots a little scrub on your way out.

- Continue to wear layers - it's still cold, but you can always take off the outer layer if it gets warmer.

- HORSE HAIR.  This is going to be a thing for the next month at least!  Wear fabrics that hair slides off of, such as windbreaker jackets.  Anything made of polar fleece will be coated with hair in seconds and it does not come off easily!

- I'm encouraging young riders to learn how to use a washing machine.  Being a horse person means doing laundry.  This time of year really proves that!

- Hanging around in the barnyard can be hard on your car -- consider some newspapers on the floor mats and old sheets on the seats to keep your car from getting too dirty.

- Remember that rain doesn't have to mean cancelled lessons; you always have the option of indoor unmounted topics.  If you figure you've covered most of that and really want to get riding, we can reschedule.  My calendar still allows for plenty of flexibility.

I'm really proud of you hardy little souls who've stuck with it all winter!  This has been a harsh winter and honestly, I haven't ridden much.  By the time I've spent a few hours cleaning the barn, putting out hay and taking care of the horses, I don't feel like braving the cold wind to go ride. You guys are good stuff.  Thanks for not laughing at me in my layers of thermal coveralls and barn coats and hats and hoods!

I'm also looking forward to seeing all of you who've taken the winter off!  I can't wait to show off all the work we've done in the barn to make it a nicer place to work.

Here's hoping Spring 2013 is pleasant and until then, stay warm!