getting a horse ready to show in 3ft of snow

[Mr.T]

I saw the thread, What do you do to your Halter horse to get it ready to show, and it was helpful but I was just wondering what you can do to get your halter horse ready to show when there is 3 feet of snow outside. I live in new england so I was wondering what you other snowy people have to say!

 

[ruffian]

Mostly on snowy days I feed, come back in, and watch TV (I wish)! We don't do much with the show horses in winter months. March 1st we start their show diet additions, and hopefully begin working them after that. Our shows don't start around here til end of May/June.

 

[targetsmom]

What - you ONLY have 3 feet of snow in New England (LOL!!!)? I live in Northern Connecticut where we broke the all time record for snow - over 6 feet - in January, and more expected next week. I have packed down a few paths on snowshoes for the minis, but if they step off the paths they get bogged down in snow up to their bellies. Our exercise ring is shaded and I expect it will be icy well into March or even April. I would LIKE to start working the show horses in February, but it does not look promising this year. At least you can monitor their diets and sweat necks with snow on the ground.

A few things to remember - as long as your are doing LOCAL shows, you can expect some people (those without indoor arenas) will be in the same boat as you are.

Find and use ANY ice-free area you can, even if you end up trotting up and down the driveway. Garages are fair game (don't tell my husband) for setting up obstacle courses and practicing halter and showmanship.

Plow, snow-blow or shovel an area where you can work them.

 

[Knighthawke]

I too have set up trail courses a an even one jump in the aisle of my barn to get started conditioning. It is so hard even if you clear the snow out the ground is so hard out side.

 

[Minimor]

3 feet of snow is about what we have on the level here too. I don't even think of starting to work/condition horses this time of year. It depends on when your first show is of course; ours isn't until early June. So, I'm hoping that our snow will go off by mid-March, our flood waters will go down by early April, the mud will--if we're lucky--dry up by the first week of May and then I'll have 5 weeks to get the horses reasonably fit. Of course, if it's like last year and we get rain, rain and more rain, then we'll have mud right up until show time, and that is when it gets disheartening.

Of the 6 ponies I want to show this summer, I figure that two will be easy--Tim stays nice & trim, he doesn't get fat and he doesn't get a belly, so some longe line and driving work this spring will muscle him up enough that he'll look great. Cody is keeping himself fit this winter--he runs and runs and runs with his little buddy Casper, so he won't need actual conditioning work from me, I will mostly have to teach him to set up and show & he'll be ready. The others....will need a bit more conditioning.

 

[Sandee]

We're in Wisconsin and we have snow into late Feb (if we're lucky) or even March and sometimes April. If the snow melts then we have sloppy gooy ground for a few weeks. My round pen is the last place that the snow melts. It's not shaded so I don't really understand that. Somehow it's trapped in there and when it melts the water is trapped and it becomes an ice rink! So when I think that we've had most of the big snow falls, I take the snow blower into the round pen and blow out as much as possible. That helps it dry out faster. We really can't expect good weather until May and the first show, depending on which way we go, could be May or June.

Hubby snow blows a path in the pasture for the horses everytime we get a deep snow. He feels sorry for them. They will at least then run around it like a race track. Our driveway is blacktop so it's too slippery as I've had a couple of horses fall on it.

So I can watch their feed, use sweats, and practice setting up. Thoughtful, but not horsey, hubby put concrete in our barn aisle so there's no place to work there with the exception of pivots and backing. This must be why Minnesota and us really northerners don't schedule shows until July!

 

[kaykay]

We are right there with you

We keep our show prospects on show feed all year round. This imo is the best way to get and keep a show horse in condition. Also we are showing young horses this year and as long as they get out to play stay in excellent shape. I have 2 yearlings that are looking fantastic. I know when the fur flies they are right where I want them. Also have a 3 year old pony I may show and she is also looking great. Feed, feed feed!