Dark and cold, cold and dark. NO fun. Wintertime is a huge challenge for riders. The light fades by five in the evening and temperatures plummet. There are some days just not fit for man or beast! If you keep your horse at home, the challenge doubles. Busting ice buckets, picking frozen poo, and keeping snow out of your horse’s hooves all become daily chores. And they all need to happen before you ride. These 10 barn hacks will help you survive the icy winds of winter.
#1 Crockpots
Crockpots can be used for a lot of things in the winter and are perfect for folks without a hot water source in the barn. You can use it to warm water for washing bits, buckets, or soaking feet. If you need to soak feed for your horse you can throw it in the crockpot and set it to warm so you don’t end up with a beet pulp popsicle by morning. Only use the warm setting, the low and high settings will bring water to a boil!
#2 Chaps
Chaps are essential winter gear no matter if you ride english or western. The heavy leather will cut the wind and keep your legs warm.
#3 Ride Bareback
You already tackled no-stirrup-November, now it’s time for a bigger (and warmer!) challenge. Riding bareback keeps your butt right next to all your horse’s nice warm body heat. It also forces you to rely on your balance rather than your saddle to keep you on the horse. Ride bareback all winter and you will keep warm and be ready to win come spring show season.
#4 Leggings
Layers are a horseman’s best friend in the winter. Leggings can make a good base layer under your jeans or breeches. If the temps stay consistently cold, invest in flannel lined jeans or fleece breeches.
#5 Cooking Spray
Spray the bottom of your horse’s hooves with cooking spray to keep snow from balling up. The dollar store cooking spray works just as good as the name brand stuff, no need to worry about the flavor, so go with the cheapest you can find.
#6 Heated Water Buckets
Perhaps my favorite invention ever, heated water buckets mean no busting ice in the winter time. Each bucket will run you somewhere between $30 and $50 but *knock on wood* mine have lasted me 5 years so far.
#7 Old Socks
You know those socks whose pair has gone mysteriously missing? (I suspect dryer gnomes!) They make the perfect cover for a mud knot. Mud knots in your horses tail will keep ice and mud from building up in your horses tail. Covering the knot with an old sock will keep even the most determined horse from getting snow and mud in their tails.
#8 Hunters Mittens
The challenge for equestrians in the winter is trying to keep your hands warm and still be able to operate buckles, latches, and nozzles. Hunters, who need the dexterity to pull their triggers, have the same issue. Lucky for them, manufacturers of hunting gear came up with a mitten – glove combo. The top mitten part will flip off to reveal your fingertips while you operate what you need to operate, then you flip the mitten top back on to keep your hands from getting frostbite. These won’t work for riding, but they are very handy when working around the barn.
#9 Wear Your Bridle
Not around your head, more like around your neck. Hang the bridle around your neck and tuck it into your coat to warm the bit and soften stiff leather. You wouldn’t want your horse to end up like the kid who stuck his tongue to the flagpole in the movie “A Christmas Story” now would you?
#10 The Pool Noodle
You probably won’t be doing much swimming during the winter, but that doesn’t mean you have to hide away your pool noodles. Foam pool noodles make great insulators for pipes. Cut a slit down one side to create an opening and slide it over your pipes. The foam insulation will help keep pipes from freezing.
Bonus Tip! Bag Your Water.
Have you ever sloshed water onto yourself as you carried water buckets from the spigot to the stall? I hate that! And it freezes your legs, boots, and the worst, socks. To keep it from happening put a small trash bag in the bucket, fill the bag inside the bucket with water, and tie the bag closed before you try and carry it. No sloshing! You stay dry and all of the water makes it to your horse. Just untie the bag after you hang it and tuck the bag edges over the side.
