Growing up in Maine I expected snow and even looked forward to it. When the snow was almost belly deep to our pony my brother and I would lead her up to our house and climb on her bareback…and basically bridleless. She did have a halter on but we unsnapped the lead rope to let her run back to the barn…with us riding her!
She followed the same path we had lead her on which made a 90 degree turn following the corner of our house. Our goal was to jump off into the snow as she made that turn…then we would catch her back and the barn, lead her back, and do it again. Yep, I had a strange childhood:)
Do you live in an area that experiences winter? Do you enjoy it?
How does it change your routine with your horse?
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Love that story, Stacy!! Sounds like fun!!
[…] I have to laugh when I go out in the cold with my horses. Some of my best memories are with my horses in the winter. They tend to be fresh and full of energy and for the most part […]
iwould pull my friends on a plastic sled behind my pony. I remember getting a little scared when we started going down a slight hill and the sled would start going faster than we were going… And the sled would bump into his heels. He was a great little pony and never kicked! Lots of fun memories… I would ride bareback in the winter too… Much warmer than the cold saddle!
I grew up in FL, so no good winter memories for me. Yours sounds like a ton of fun though! The most fun I had as a kid riding horses, was riding them bareback to the Tampa bay and taking them swimming. So.Much.Fun.
Reminds me of my first pony adventures. He had no withers and 2 speeds, stop and go. I’d end up on his neck, fall over his head, he’d jump me stop and wait for me to climb back on, Oh, no saddle and bailing twine reins 🙂
I grew up in Kentucky and we never rode in the winter even when there was no snow. So horses for me were all work- feeding and keeping water from freezing. I still like temperatures 70+ degrees!
i loved skating and riding fast through the woods on cool mornings to warm up-
but i never felt as good as in spring, fall or summer. while i appreciate it and it’s pretty, winter is just not my thing..
I tried to line up my pony just past the edge of roof line of the barn so I could slide down the slippery roof and land on his back. I got up on the barn roof gathered engough courage to slide down, as i was coming down the roof he moved away and i landed in the snow. No more attempts where made. I was 13yrs old.
i live in montana so we get TONS of snow in the winter. when i was in high school we lived in the middle of national forest service land with 100’s of miles of trails available to us year round.
my friends and i love to ride bareback in the winter, to help us stay warm. the snow would pile up on the pine trees, making the branches droop from the weight. our normal trails would have these droopy tree branches hanging low so we would just keep riding and duck under, hoping the snow didn’t fall off and go down our jackets!
one day i was riding our paso fino, Corazone, and he was happily gaiting down the trail at a nice clip when a tree branch loomed in the distance. this time i decided to lay back along his back and allow the tree branch to sweep over me as we went under. that was what i pictured in my head anyway.
what actually happened was that tree branch hooked under my elbows and catapulted me off Corazone’s back and into a snow drift! i remember laughing and looking up at Corazone who had continued on under the branch then swung around to peer at me from under the heavy snowy branch as if to say “hey! what just happened!” i know he was laughing at me as much as my friend, who was riding beside me on the road, was 🙂 winter riding used to be my favorite!!
I live 30 minutes west of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Alberta is known for its snowy winters and once winter hits I stash my saddle and enjoy a nice bareback ride when it gets warmer then -15°. The horses go into their winter break (A.K.A. No riding time) from about January – February as its freezing cold and not a good idea to make them sweat in minus 30. Winter means no riding for my best friend and I.
lol Stacy. Love riding in the snow. We lived in the interior of BC on a ranch for a couple of years. Plenty of snow and it was such fun to ride in it. Remember one day I was riding a huge OTTB in the hundred acre hay field. He gave a Huge boisterous buck and my toque (warm hat) came off. I pondered it cause if I got off to get it I would never get back on (I am quite short), so left it there and retrieved it in the spring. We used to hook up a pony with binder twine and have him drag a sled. Loved riding at night in the moonlight in the snow. So Pretty.