with PolyJumps and Equestrian Direct Surfaces

When the clocks roll back in October, it feels like we shoot forward straight into winter with little warning. Suddenly the temperature drops, winds pick up, and it starts getting dark at lunchtime. Throw horses into the mix, and winter feels like a battle we’re all struggling to win!

Keeping horses fit and supple over winter can be one of the hardest tasks to overcome. With reduced turnout, dark mornings and evenings making exercising harder, and frozen arenas putting pay to schooling sessions.

It can be a daunting thought and many of us are already feeling a loss of motivation and struggling to get excited about our horses in these conditions. Whilst we’re still in positive digits temperature wise, now is the time to get yourself organised and up to scratch to make sure winter is as seamless as possible.

None of us can change the weather (as much as we’d love to) and we can’t control the clocks, but there are a few things we can do to keep our horses feeling fit and healthy both physically and mentally, whilst also making life as easy as possible for ourselves.

Jumping exercises for the body and the mind

When it comes to winter exercise routines, keeping your horse engaged both physically and mentally is the motive. Horses are generally stabled more over winter and jumping exercises are a great tool to keep them feeling fit and avoid stiffness from standing in. It’s also a fantastic way to keep their brains engaged and give them some work to think about, particularly if they’re prone to coming out a little fresh and spooky when it’s cold and windy.

Exercises that focus on your horse’s core strength, even muscle development, and joint flexibility are ideal for winter work outs and will help to keep their bodies in tip top condition ready for the better weather.

Here’s a few of our sponsored riders’ favourite winter jumping exercises:

• Raised Cavalettis on a circle: this is a great exercise to work on balance and hind end engagement as well as being a great core workout. You don’t have to jump big fences to work your horse hard, and these will get their bodies working and their brains thinking about what their legs are doing! Make sure you do this exercise on both reins for even development. We love to use our PolyJumps cavaletti blocks for this exercise, as their light and easy to move around as well as being completely weatherproof.

• Trot pole grids: Any grids in a straight line are amazing for building balance and straightness, as well as ensuring your horse is working evenly on both sides. When you incorporate a trot fence to begin your grid, it makes it even more effective at getting them to engage their hind end and core, which they will then carry through the grid. There are so many grid variations to choose from, whether you’re a beginner or advanced rider. Here’s a helpful guide to gridwork for all abilities and horses.

Get your hands on some stable balls

Whilst we all like to have our horses turned out as much as possible, even during winter, sometimes it simply isn’t feasible. When fields freeze turnout can become a dangerous option, and horses risk injuring themselves by slipping over or tripping in frozen ruts in the ground. Short story, during winter our horses are going to be stabled a little more than usual. Investing in a few enrichment toys to keep their brains engaged is a great way to preserve their mental wellbeing when they can’t be out in the paddock.

Hay balls are a great tool to distribute their daily hay, making it more challenging to get to and slowing them down if they’re prone to eating quickly. Treat balls also provide loads of mental stimulation, passing the time with a fun game to get their treats out of the ball. Stable balls help to keep their minds occupied and gives them something to focus on, so they don’t get to bored stood in their stables.

Start deep littering

The jury is out on deep littering, some people swear by it and others don’t like it. But it’s hard to argue with when it comes to winter and you’re fighting through endless soggy bedding and battling a heavy wheelbarrow in the dark.

If you’ve been thinking of ways to make winter yard chores a little easier on you this year, deep littering is a great bedding idea to consider. Whether you’re working a 9 to 5 job are up morning and night mucking out in the pitch black, or mucking out a yard of 10 plus horses, deep littering will speed up the mucking process tenfold and takes very little maintenance.

Not only is it a whole lot easier on you, but it’s softer and warmer for horses to lie on. When horses are stabled for longer durations in winter, it’s nice for them to feel comfortable and warm when the temperature drops. Bedding them down and deep littering will keep the warmth in, and you’ll probably find them lying down for a snooze more frequently!

It takes a little while to build the base up, so getting ahead and starting the process now means you’ll have toasty warm, pillow soft, and easy to maintain beds by the time you really need them!

Consider an arena makeover

There has been a lot of chatter over the recent years about the best arena surfaces on the market. The main topics of conversation centre around the impact of different surfaces on horse’s legs, and whether they really are all-weather.

Having a surface that holds up in all climates can make a big difference going into winter. You don’t have to worry about your arena freezing, or blowing away in stiff winds, and you know you can crack on with your winter training routine whatever the elements may hold. So what surface is that you ask…

We’ve done our research and reached out to Equestrian Direct Surfaces to feature them in this article. Their Flexiride surface came up trumps when it comes to all weather surfaces and maintenance. Flexiride can be laid as a complete surface or used on top of an existing surface, and extensive research means it is suitably cushioning and kind on horse’s legs. If you’ve been struggling with a frozen arena, topping up with Flexiride creates an insulating layer preventing your base layer from freezing as easily. We know you’re all super busy, so we love this surface for its low maintenance and even more for its environmentally friendly production.

Want to see for yourself? Check out all the testimonials and case studies on their website and see how it’s been a game changer for so many other private and professional yards!

We hope this has given you a few ideas to make winter feel more manageable. Whether it’s a few small adjustments to make life easier, a revised exercise routine to keep your horse’s head in the game (and off any naughty tricks), or a brand-new Equestrian Direct Surfaces arena surface to ensure you can stay up to scratch with your training ready for winter shows. Whatever you decide to do, know that we’re all in it together and spring is right around the corner. You’ve got this!