Here’s the deal Mr. Winter, you’re either cold, dark, p*ssing with rain or blowing a bloody gale or all of those things on a really great day! But … if there were no seasons how would you appreciate the few flakes of snow that might appear on Christmas morning? Or the first snowdrops that pop up on my front lawn giving us a glimmer of our saviour, Lady Spring? Or long balmy hacks after work in late August…. we’ll be moaning about the excess sweating, hard ground and rising hay prices then I can tell you!
Essentially, the only way to fully embrace winter is to LOVE it. And I do… I love dark nights, bonfire and Christmas parties, mulled wine, pumpkin spiced lattes, big cosy jumpers, fluffy horses, heck… I don’t even mind mud if I’m honest! I love lighting the fire every night, chasing daylight hours on my ride home and layering up ready for overheating on a Saturday hack to the pub.
Now, here’s the deal… the more you loath winter, the worse it will appear. Embrace it for what it is; colder, darker and more filthy!
I’m very fortunate to not work full time in an office anymore but for ten years I managed just fine. Realistically, unless you’re heading to the olympics, it doesn’t matter if you only ride Dobbin at weekends, if he is covered in mud and crap until April …. who cares! Don’t stress about these things. Poo picking can wait, deep littering stables is also acceptable and not clipping saves you a fortune on rugging. Stop conforming and you’ll love Mr.Winter so much more.
Ask yourself, do you really need to clip just because old Fanny in the stable next door is bald as a coot? I’m not clipping this year… unless by some miracle I pull my finger out and start hunting (unlikely). Do they really need to come in? If you have the option of 24/7 turnout… utilise it, they won’t thank you for being “snuggled up” indoors I can tell you. My two THOROUGHBREDS live out all winter and remarkably, do not die. Don’t make life difficult just to have something to moan about, enjoy the time you spend with your horses and grab yourself a large Malbec.
Cheers for now
Vic xxx
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