Can’t Ride During Winter? Six Ideas For What To Do Instead

Is your riding season winding down? Depending upon where you live, you might be experiencing the start of Winter just like I am. Without an indoor arena to protect from wind, cold and snow, I find it painful to ride at home in Winter. I might enjoy the occasional ride on an unusually warm and dry day, but any hope of regular riding at home is dashed.

Very soon I will most likely have my final backyard ride of the year. I’ve already been making my annual Winter transition to taking lessons at a nearby barn on their lesson horses. I even recently participated in a lesson-horse-only schooling show.

I enjoy my lessons and learn so much. They definitely make me a better rider. But sometimes my budget, holiday schedules, polar vortexes, six-foot snows or a pandemic interfere with those riding plans too. Over the years, I have had many a Winter where I didn’t ride for weeks or months at a time.

If like me, you find it incredibly depressing to have your riding plans sidelined every Winter, read my recent guest-post on The Savvy Horsewoman Blog titled “What to Do If You Can’t Ride in The Wintertime.” Just click the link below for six ideas on what to do instead. While there’s no exact substitute for time in the saddle, there are ways to keep moving forward in our horsemanship journeys even when we can’t ride much or at all.