Winter Riding

The past few weeks have been great riding weather 50s, with little wind, and a lot of sunshine . . . I course I knew it wouldn't last.  This weekend has been cold and cloudy with some spattering of snow.  I can only hope that we have a repeat of last year with a mild winter, but the Farmer's Almanac is predicting cold and snowy. 

Winter riding in Michigan can be a challenge if you don't have an indoor arena.  I've managed to be able to ride most winters by keeping a good sand base in my round pen, and not rooting it up too much when we first get snow.  I wait until the temperatures get consistent and then use the pen - that way when the temps dip you don't get a a lot of uneven frozen footing.

The last of our pasture . . .

This time of year is always hard to see . . . .   The past few mornings have been in the mid-20s hear southwest Michigan, and I know it's only a matter of time before the last of the pasture dies off from the overnight frosts.

Because of the draught, and then the heavy rains in September our pastures came back heavy for the fall.  This year will be one of the firsts where more horses probably won't have it grazed down before I pull them off of the field in a couple of weeks . .

It's hard to see the grass get wasted - when hay is still so high.  I'm trying to tell myself it's better then seeing my pastures overgrazed when winter sets in; and I know it is, so I'm hoping for really good pastures next year.