I’m trying to stay upbeat. There are wars and hurricanes and terrible diseases. Typhoons and earthquakes and poverty and illiteracy, all of which are dreadful. We don’t have it so bad.
But seriously? It’s freaking cold, and it sucks.
It’s hard to find the motivation to ride when it feels like it’s 16*. Here in northern Virginia, fortunately, the cold and the wind (40, 50 MPH, at least) are the worst we have to contend with, but even in the absence of snow and ice it’s still hard to stay inspired.
My threshold for riding is 20*, partially because I’m a wuss, but also because colder than that is tough on the horses. They can’t breathe as easily, and their muscles never get as loose as I want. Sometimes that just means that I delay getting on my first horse for a few hours, but sometimes it means that riding at all seems like a bad idea.
So what do we do when it’s cold? We blanket heavily and turn out, but we keep a close eye in case anyone looks uncomfortable. I stick some horses in our exerciser, which is outdoors but covered and with tall walls to block the worst of the wind. And we wait for the weather to improve.
As for me, I try and keep my own fitness up, even though NOTHING sounds more appealing than curling up on the couch in the warmth with popcorn and reruns of “Grey’s Anatomy” (don’t you judge me!). I’m a yellow belt in karate now, which means more rapid-fire drills and less uncoordinated bumbling around trying to memorize the forms; it means I’m getting way more exercise and loving it. I’m far too big a wimp to run outside, but I’m hitting up the treadmill and doing some core training stuff.
ADVERTISEMENT
But I gotta tell you, it’s really hard to find the inspiration. Even with Florida lurking around the corner (YES! I’m outta here 12/31; horses leave 1/2!) I’m just feeling a little of the winter doldrums.
Fortunately my students are keeping themselves inspired. I made a big book of all the new dressage tests, which we’re starting to play with. I’ve got a few students starting on big training leaps—one starting piaffe, one starting changes, and several starting the REAL canter half-halt that will allow them to make real simple changes.
And I was in southwest Virginia this weekend giving a clinic at the most beautiful facility I’ve ever seen in my LIFE, with a great group of riders, including several great kids on great horses who give me great hope about the next generation. One of them came in on a chestnut with four high white socks and a blaze; turns out she’s half Dutch Harness and most certainly a close Midgey relative, since the breeding pool just isn’t that big. Fun! I LOVE giving clinics, and I hope that I get to do more in 2011.
The weather outside is frightful, though it shows promise for improving. Until then, it feels like it’s 7*, and I feel like a big mug of hot chocolate and a good book.
But like the philosopher Jagger once said, you can’t always get what you want. So I’m going to start putting on the 22 layers it takes to keep circulation while braving the outside world (which means getting up 10 minutes earlier every morning, I swear), and remind myself that as bad as it feels, we’re not at risk for developing Ebola, or falling victim to a mudslide. It ain’t so bad. It ain’t. So. Bad.
