Is it even viable to ride in the dead of wnter? My coach is saying they go to shows in the winter but how do you even keep yourself or horse in shape for a show if the weather is bad? I’m in NJ, so winters are not horrendous, but still. And as I am getting closer to 50 I don’t do well with weather extremes like I could in my 20’s! Wondering if I should ride elsewhere in the winter or stay put and hope for some decent weather here and there. I don’t own a horse, just lessoning for now with the goal of leasing/owning soon.
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Depends upon the horse. We had one (a POA pony) that every day was a new day, blank slate while the others never seemed to forget anything.
I’m in Maryland, but winters have been getting milder and milder over the last ten years. It used to be a struggle but now as long as you have decent footing it’s not bad. If you can be flexible time/day-wise it’s even better-- there’s almost always at least one or two afternoons each week that are 45 degrees plus.
Assuming the Winter shows are indoors, you use the warm-up to check the gears, pop over a fence & see what will need work for the showring.
Like @clanter said, depends on the horse.
For the rider, you can ride outdoors until it gets below 30F.
Horses are comfortable at 40F,.
You? Maybe not so much.*
*says wimpy rider who quits at 40 
I spent many winters riding without an indoor, including when I worked all day and it was dark outside with no lights. This was in far northern NY and VT. It can be done - I certainly didn’t cut off at 40! For years my cut off was 8 F. As I aged it rose to 15. Never had an issue with a horse. Just warm up and cool down carefully and use a quarter sheet. I had a horse who tied up so kept him fit all winter. The biggest issue was footing - if you have ice, that’s tricky, even with little studs. Borium was better but not common anymore, at least up here.
That said, nothing wrong with riding somewhere else with an indoor for the winter!
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It isn’t the temperature that will be the issue (for the horse) - it’s the footing conditions that you will have to consider.
In New Jersey you might be able to get away with it. Further up in the Northeast, you would have to contend with ice, snow and long stretches of frozen ground that limit riding outside during the winter.
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I live in NJ, and my first year of taking lessons as an adult, I rode at a barn without an indoor because I didn’t know any better. I hardly rode.
Usually, barns without indoors are pretty bare bones, and in bad weather, taking care of the horses versus maintaining the ring is the priority. Snow, ice, freezing rain, and storms don’t just rob you of a day of riding, but can make the ring unusable for weeks.
It’s one thing if you have your own horse and need a budget board solution, can bomb around bareback in a blanket at the walk, or can trailer elsewhere for lessons. But as an adult rider who only lessons or leases and can’t go off-property, it’s frustrating.
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May I suggest a wool quarter sheet for your horse, a down jacket and fleece-lined breeches for yourself, and a talk with your farrier about equipping your horse for traction in the riding conditions you have available?
I’ve done this (in Maryland, not NJ) and kept going successfully through the winter, but my horse likes firm footing, doesn’t mind doing his work on frozen turf, and the arena footing was also well-maintained such that it rarely froze solid. The farm would arrange trailer-out days where riders would rent time in a nearby arena. Yes, there were times where we wouldn’t do flatwork for 2 weeks in a row because there was a sheet of ice on top of the ring, but it never hurt the horses to go do a bareback trail ride down the road bundled up in all their blankets. It worked, and it was a workable tradeoff for the rest of the situation.
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Go fox hunting in the winter! That will keep you and your horse going.
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I totally agree for people with their own horses who can plan ahead with creative solutions, it’s do-able, and even good for the horses’ brain to trailer to different locations and ride around, but it sounds like the OP is in a similar situation to myself–horseless and lessoning, and in my experience, keeping the ring viable over the winter at struggling lesson barns that can’t afford indoors is often pretty low. Worth a conversation with the barn owner, at least, if she says they do go to shows.
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My whole junior and 1/2 my adult riding career we were in the NE (Pa) with no indoor and showed (inside). My trainer (BO) was meticulous about footing and keeping it ridable. Now- at 51 and in the MidWest (for work) I prefer indoors in the winter only bc my footing needs to be re-done for drainage. But even last winter, once I figured out the mag flake ratio for my outdoor, I missed few riding days (and the days I missed I wouldn’t have ridden anyway) 
Thanks for asking about this, OP. Does your barn have at least a round pen that wouldn’t be as expensive to maintain in the winter? I don’t know what footing is best for ice/snow, though, but a small round pen would definitely be cheaper. It’s too small for jumping, but you can get creative and do obstacle type stuff to stay fresh.
MA based and I feel like 20 years ago I would have said “No problem!” – I grew up with no indoor in that period.
But now, winter is changing. We don’t have the snow cover we once did that softened the hard ground for riding. It’s now much more common to have long stretches of frozen ground, no snow cover, or worse: slick ice under a very light snow covering so you can’t SEE the ice.
It’s not the cold for me, it’s the footing. I do know some very industrious barns that go to massive lengths to keep their outdoors ride-able with intensive maintenance…but if that’s not your barn then footing may be what sidelines you.
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Connecticut here. I agree that the winters have tended more and more toward icy. Back when indoors were not so common, many people “rested” their horses over the winter. Those of us who worked faced riding at night - colder and icier even if you had lights! Now the issue is that so many instructors head South in the winter!
If you and the horse are hardy, you can ride in the cold - but frozen icy ground is a huge problem many years.
Yes there is. I’ll ask about that!
Exactly. I typically ride after work so things get colder and start to ice up!
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I’m in Upstate NY, so winters are worse, but I also ride after work. By the dead of winter it is dark when I go to the barn, let alone am tacked up ready to ride. Ignoring the fact that the outdoor is frozen December-March, the dark makes an indoor necessary for me (personally!).
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I’m in southern PA and in a mild winter we can ride but not jump. It just gets too hard or when it thaws a bit only the top layer unfreezes and it gets slippery. I agree the dark is the dealbreaker.
Southern NH here, and it’s doable but dang it sucks sometimes.
We have lights, we plow the ring, we drag the ring when the temp gets high enough, and when things are dire we’ve salted the ring; clean legs and hooves well if you do that. Personally I find under 20F with any kind of wind going and I start getting pretty whiny. No equine complaints, but they’re out 24/7 (blanketed!) so it’s not totally novel to them. I have a photo somewhere of me riding a dressage test a few years ago in one of those sideways-blowing sleet storms with ice building up on the reins, but the funny thing was that we were both enjoying it in a weird way, I always whine at first but always warm up when I start working hard. (They started closing highways when I was on my way home that day, that was pushing it a little far. Also selling that horse was dumb, he was amazing, sigh.)
We have the advantage of hauling to the beach if we want to gallop on good footing, too, but also a brand new indoor. It sure as heck is nice.
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I’m in SE PA, and the barn has a slightly lit outdoor and no indoor. It’s usually no problem through December, especially now with lights. I do lose motivation when it’s both cold and dark. January through February or March I ride weekends when it’s not awful, and do a lot less when the ground is frozen. I half lease and his owner is able to ride weekdays.
We all sort of get a mental break over the winter. Lots of hacking out instead of dressage and jumping. Riding in nice snow is pretty. I still hate winter but it’s doable. I am very grateful to everyone working at the barn
Last winter I did start doing some weeknight lessons at a different barn with an indoor and it was pretty great. I also foxhunting occasionally, but skip that when it gets too cold.
Really good winter gear helps, too.
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