February Blues

I just looked at the forecast and it told me that going outside the next 10 days is either going to mean I get wet or I get cold.  February is literally my least favorite month of the year.  Oh sure, at the end of January, I welcome it. Yes! The days are getting longer and cold January is over.  Spring is so close.  Then in walks February and reminds me I live in the Pacific Northwest and February is the meanest month on the calendar.  

It’s hard for me to get motivated to do anything when the weather is like this and working with my horse out in this weather just doesn’t appeal to me.  Luckily there are lots of great things my horse and yours can learn or improve on from the ground.  These are usually little things we let slip when the weather is better and we want to go ride.  So if you are like me and you just can’t get around to riding right now, think about some of the things your horse could do better. I like to play the “can I”  game with my horses until I find a sticky question.  Then I work on that question until the answer is, “Why yes I can!”

Here are a few to try.

• Can I pick up all 4 feet and pick them out from one side of my horse?
• Will my horse wait for my signal before chowing down on his food?
• Can I pick up my horse’s back feet and hold them for more than 60 seconds without her fussing?  (Your farrier will love you for working on this one.)
• Will my horse move away from light pressure?  Shoulder?  Hip? Chest?
• Can I lead my horse by the ear? 
• Does my horse let me rub a plastic bag all over her?  This is a great one to do if you use bags of pellets in your stall.  After emptying the bag, use it as a tool and rub it all over your horse.