The Joys of REAL Winter
By Ellie Woznica
As an equestrian who has lived in New England for most of her life and is now living on a mountain in northern Pennsylvania, I am all too familiar with the winter woes of caring for and riding horses through the very worst of the season.
I try not to think about having to somehow manage to function beneath several layers of clothing in order to stay moderately warm or trudging through three feet of snow to break frozen water troughs with a sledge hammer. But come the middle of the season, these thoughts are inevitable. Every equestrian that experiences real winter — with temperatures mostly below freezing — knows that there is a long and endless list of things to hate about winter, but let us not forget the little joys that all the WEF “snowbirds” never get to truly appreciate.
Despite not being able to feel my toes (no matter what kind or how many toe warmers I use), I love being a winter rider. There is something about the passing of holidays that makes riding less stressful. I’m out of shape because I ate too many Christmas cookies and definitely did not go to the gym like I said I would for my New Year’s resolution. My horse is out of shape too because I refuse to ride when it is below 20 degrees — which it has been for weeks. So no one expects anything from either of us. Post on the wrong diagonal for a little while? Need to take a walking break after cantering a couple laps? No problem. No judgement. We are all cold, have our holiday pounds and fuzzy, out-of-shape horses.
“Winter might be unbearable 98% of the time. But there are no flies buzzing around my head or biting at my horse on the trail.”
This low standard of expectation is one of my favorite things about winter. Since it is the off season for us, there is no shame in allowing your horses mane grow far too long, or to let him grow that beard you are always trying to tame during show season. I even let those fetlock feathers reach an almost Clydesdale level of hairiness. I tell myself that my horse likes being unkempt in the winter time because, like my own overgrown leg hair, they keep him slightly warmer beneath his layers of blankets.
No expectations and no need to worry about appearances makes riding just a little more like the fun thing I loved to do as a kid, and less like the stressful job it can sometimes feel like with the weight of show-season pressure. I can bobble around under all of my layers and laugh because honestly, who can actually ride effectively with three pairs of pants and God-knows-how-many jackets? I don’t have to worry about whether or not my horse looks picture perfect for the ‘gram because it’s a selfie and the cold is making my nose red and runny.
Winter might be unbearable 98% of the time. But there are no flies buzzing around my head or biting at my horse on the trail. I can ride bareback and not have to worry about my legs getting sweaty and sticking to his back. I can stick my hands between his butt cheeks to warm them up without receiving glares. And I can sift all the shaving out of a poop pile because frozen turds don’t fall apart. The cold isn’t all bad — my horse and I are grateful for the time to distress, get hairy, and share a romp through the snow.