MM> Hmmm, we might have had 2 mornings that were above 32!  
 MM> We don't really blanket
 MM> much around until it gets below 15 or so and stays there for a while.
 From HORSE AND HORSEMAN  (February 1976)
       "HORSEPLAY IN THE SNOW
          For Some Old-Fashioned Fun, Bundle Up, Get Your Horse and Head For 
the Hills!
                                       by Allen L. Bird
     We still receive them - those Chrostmas cards that show paintings of 
horses in a winter wonderland.  They depict horses hitched to sleighs on the 
way to Grandmother's house, a rancher pushing a small herd of cattle down the 
mountain toward shelter and feed, or a cowboy with his lasso looped to a 
Scotch pine that is destibed to bring cheer to the bunkhouse.  All are 
painted from memory of a more easy-paced era and are not just a figment of 
somebody's imagination.  The scenes look like fun and the real action is.
     
     If, about the time the falling leaves are joined in a swirling, downward 
race with flakes of snow, you shut your horse in a stable and head for the 
television set, you're doing yourself and the animal a disservice.  Winter 
time can be fun time with horses and all it takes is a little bit of common 
sense and some warm clothing.
     The sleigh you remember from a Currier and Ives lithograph may be beyond 
your financial or equestrian abilities but that shouldn't stop you from 
thinking about skimming over the snow behind your horse.  The Norwegians have 
long been noted for the sport of skijoring.  If you have a pair of 
cross-country or downhill skis, you're all set for an exciting ride.  A 
mounted friend can dally a waterskiing tow rope around the saddle horn, 
thereby making up-slopes and level ground as good as a downgrade; when doing 
this, don't tie the rope hard and fast for safety's sake.
     Kids will delight in a toboggan ride behind the horse, using a lasso 
dallied to the horse for a tow rope.  Here, as in most snow travel, ice calks 
are available but not usually needed.  The horse travels as well unshod.  The 
primary consideration for the horse is similar to that you would give a 
human. Don't exercise the animal so hard that he gets soaked in sweat.  To do 
so is to invite a cold that is as dangerous for horses as it is for humans 
and it is even more difficult to warm a chilled horse.
     Horses that are to be used in winter activities should not be kept in 
show ring condition.  Let them grow natural winter coats by sparing the 
blanket.  Don't keep them in enclosed stalls.  Shelter from sharp winds and 
from precipitation is all that is required.
     Protection from wind and moisture are also considerations of importance 
for the rider.  There has been little change in the rider's attire from the 
days when horses were the only transportation across the winter prairies.  
Chaps are a must and a good slicker will stop the wind and contain body heat.
     Rubber boots will help keep your feet warm.  It's a good idea to wear 
them since the feet are the part of the body most subject to discomfort when 
riding in the winter.  If your toes get so cold that you have to walk to warm 
them, it is probably too cold to be out on a pleasure excursion.  You may 
have to make a change in your normal boot-buying habits if you usually select 
tight footgear, worn with thin socks.  Wear heavy socks - woolen ones are 
best - with plenty of wiggle room in the toe area.
     The typical Western hat does not usually meet with great approval in the 
winter.  It is authentically picturesque but does little to keep frost from 
the ears.  A stocking cap or one with ear flaps is more practical. Many 
winter time horsemen will like the knitted face masks popular with skiers and 
snowmobile fans.
     Make your snowy excursions close to home when you start this activity 
and be realistic about your abilities as well as your mount's.  Check the 
weather forecasts before venturing very far from the barn.  It could be a 
rather miserable ride home if you find yourself several miles from shelter in 
the midst of a blizzard with the mercury dropping faster than your spirits.  
If you should get caught in a snow storm, with visibility limited to no 
farther than the horse's ears, just give the horse his head.  He'll take you 
back to the barn and you should be able to find your way to the house from 
there.
     Trail riding, one of the real joys of the horse world, shouldn't stop 
just because winter has hit your area.  As hunters in mountain states have 
long known, a horse can easily carry you through a foot or more of snow, back 
into or out of country that you could never manage to see on foot.
     If you add saddle bags to your outfit, you can take along a lunch to add 
to the memories of a pleasant outing.  Put a camera in the bag and you can 
share those memories with your fair weather friends.  They'll probably be 
willing to join you next season."
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     Well, thought you'd enjoy this - but this fair-weather friend'll have to 
stay here and put up with this awful heat here in Phoenix.  My gosh, it was 
74 degrees today!  And it'll only cool down to 50 degrees tonight...may have 
to turn on the A/C!       
     As we say in Arizona, "Just another day in Paradise!"   ;)
--- Maximus/2 3.00
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