Finding Inspiration (& sanity!) in the Winter

[ClassyJumper]

I hate winter. I moved fairly far south to escape it. Although, here we are having an uncharacteristically dreadful December. January and February I usually write off, but losing typically temperate December has me cranky. I think I do suffer from SAD. Anxiety/depression run rampant in my family and I think the more mild climate and horses is probably the only reason I have not had to reach for medication (and still would prefer not to).

What things do you do in winter in the time you normally spend riding? I know I should probably workout, read, organize my house, etc. But it all feels like a chore compared to riding. I feel like I need some substitute hobby that I actually enjoy. Anyways, how do you get through winter?!

[NaturallyHappy]

I break it up in my head into chunks. Get to Christmas, get through January, March right around the corner, etc. I keep my routine pretty much the same, otherwise. If it’s too cold to ride, I do other things w my horse.

[Texarkana]

I’m not the best one to talk because I have the same problem. But some things I tell myself:

1. You can still ride in bad weather. I make all sorts of excuses, but I used to do it all the time when I was younger and braver. Bundle up. Wear a rain coat. Road hack or walk the perimeter of the fields. Go bareback if it’s so bad you are worried about your tack. It IS possible.

2. You can still ride in the dark, too. Wear a headlamp. Put your headlights on the ring. Get creative.

3. Learn a new horse skill from the ground. Get into groundwork. Teach them tricks. Do desensitization. Learn equine massage. Practice your braiding. There are literally tons of skills to learn on the ground.

Do I take my own advice? Rarely.

[NancyM]

Create artwork. Whatever you like… There are no rules, options are open. May be fabric art, wool or yarn, painting or drawing, or??? Just create. I do clay work. Not on a pottery wheel, strictly hand sculpting. Just because I got into it early in life, and it never went away. There have been times that I didnt have time to do this, even in winter. But I do have time now, and I definately have winter too! Take a course offered in your area in something that you may find interesting and fulfilling.

[Libby2563]

What @Texarkana said, plus have you tried light therapy?

[Scribbler]

Get outside in the daylight you have and ride your horse in the snow. Our days get down to 8 hours sunrise to sunset but if you can get outside for 3 horse hours in the light it helps you not feel like you are in perpetual darkness.

The right gear helps.

[ClassyJumper]

Yes! I love my light. I do so much better when I keep up with it, even if it means getting up earlier.

[PaddockWood]

You gotta work it. Make sure you get sunlight. Listen to your favorite music - uplifting music.

Today I’m wearing a sparkly christmas tree tee and just bought a powder pink hat with a faux fur puff on top. You can only be so sad wearing a hat like that.

Do something for others. I learned today the local TSC is having a pet portrait fund raiser so I’ll help raise awareness.

Oh, and when you’re with your horse get back into your 10 yo self and be that girl. When you were 10 life was easier. Let’s be 10 again - even if it’s in our heads.

[RhythmNCruise]

@PaddockWood

Oh, and when you’re with your horse get back into your 10 yo self and be that girl. When you were 10 life was easier. Let’s be 10 again - even if it’s in our heads.

I went for a few years coming up with every excuse for not riding, and it was one of the most depressing periods of my life. I had a change in situation and started riding more, and there was another rough patch when both my horse and I (due to things outside of control) were anxious and miserable. Riding became a chore. Just going to the barn became a chore. Not good. And on top of that, I was trying to do things with my horse that I thought I wanted to do, but in reality was just what I thought everyone else expected me to do with him (showing, dressage, etc). He wasn’t happy. I wasn’t happy.

It was hard to be motivated even in the best weather under these circumstances. But eventually things worked out and I wound up doing the BEST thing I could have…I bought western tack and made it my riding goal to have fun! That was a couple of months ago and the dressage saddle hasn’t left the tack room since the western saddle’s arrival. I now make up excuses to leave work as early as possible so that I can get to the barn in time to sneak in a ride. We just ride around the property. We canter down the wood line behind the pastures. We jog past the chicken pen at the neighboring farm (sometimes we teleport across the driveway if a chicken flaps unexpectedly, but we’re having fewer of those episodes now, lol). We just…ride. We’re both so much happier. And honestly, the horse is in the best shape of his life because I ride him more often and for longer periods than I ever did before. I can’t fathom ever going back to riding in a ring.

I definitely embrace my inner 14-year-old self when I’m with my horse. I may not be quite as brave (ignorance is bliss) as I was, and I might creak a little when I get off now, but it’s still fun to bundle up on a cold afternoon and go riding. Just being on his back, even if it’s just to walk around bareback for a few minutes, makes me happy. I can tell if I’ve gone too long without riding. My mood definitely sours, and I feel depressed.

[PaddockWood]

I love your post and laughed at the teleporting. And like you said, our horses NEED us to be 10 again because they need that fun! And isn’t it amazing how they WANT to be with us when we’re going to be loving, forgiving, and FUN.

[Happyhooves]

You might find having a horsey pen pal to be helpful. I have a horse friend pen pal (via email), and we write pretty regularly, mostly short emails. It helps spur me on to get out to ride even when the weather isn’t great. I know I need to write something to her to help bolster her too. We pretty much stick to horse related things, and tend to coat the setbacks and absurdities with humor. Kind of helps us laugh at problems big and small. (The most recent chapter was The Saga of the Girth) I also pull out the kid horse book fiction to keep in touch with that inner horse crazy kid. And doing art like Nancy M. suggested is the best. Get some paper or sketchbook, cheap markers, glitter pens, watercolors, glue, scissors and do goofy, upbeat things. Look at mixed media Youtubes for inspiration. Do it for fun, not to show to anyone. It’s a flexible hobby that can be done for five minutes at a time in between other things.

[outerbanks77]

I go for walks at night and listen to podcasts in the winter. And I try to get up and do 15 minutes of whatever around the house (cleaning, small tasks), which usually turns into more than 15 minutes,a nd my to do list is shorter on the weekend. Anything to avoid getting glued to the couch.

[goodhors]

If you think you would like painting, I have a lot of fun “freshening up” the paint on some of my yard ornaments. Just acrylic paints from the craft section, cheap brushes. I have painted the cast iron, hitching post, horse heads to match our horses. Painted some stepping stone flowers into colors, not “aged” greys. There are a couple little garden statues who have weathered, need painting back to bright colors. Your choice in colors or nuetrals, there are NO WRONG CHOICES… Plus a couple cast iron animals, big turtle and goose, that will look lots better in color instead of black. They are about the only unfenced ornaments the puppies don’t move around!! Ha ha .

I also have sewing projects that I enjoy, enhancing pillow cases. They make great gifts for weddings, graduations. Have you priced nice pillowcases lately? Plain in good fabric, $70 the pair!! Brides seem to love lacy trimmed ones. I have also painted iron-on designs, drawn my own pictures, on pillowcase edges. Same acrylic paints, an embroidery hoop with paper towel under fabric to soak up extra paint dampness.

Junk jobs include cutting up old tee shirts, sweatshirts into rags for the shop. Rotary cutter on my cutting mat speeds up the job over scissors. We ALWAYS need tough rags keeping mechanical things running smoothly on the farm. I reuse my old, big hole hay nets to hold rags. Easy to pull one out. All our hay nets are small hole now, so big hole nets got new uses. A bag of rags is a good gift for mechanical person! Silly but so useful! Shirts are too worn for goodwill, unwilling to throw them into the landfill. Buying rags by the box is expensive.

I have chink chaps on my to-do list this winter. Been looking at all the fancy ones, deciding what I want on mine. Got the leather at a sale, cheap. This will be fun! Almost done cleaning out the cat’s room so it can be a crafts room instead. Tables will let me layout the leather and cut it easier.

You might try one of the light bulbs that give a sunshine effect, in the lamp you sit under. This PLUS being outside in what daylight is available. It truly does help lift your mood if you can get an hour or more of outside daylight during walks or just moving around. I check fenceline by walking them weekly to keep things shipshape. *÷#& deer cause problems here, fix it before horses get hurt. Watch and identify the birds you see, check for varmint trails.

[PaddockWood]

I’ve been adding this adorable Peanuts Christmas image to my emails. Again, working it.

Just an idea.

Oh, and playing Dean Martin’s Christmas songs. A voice like silk and he was from Steubenville Ohio and just a regular guy who made a big impact on the world.

Dean Martin Christmas Songs Playlist - Best Of Dean Martin Christmas Songs -...

[Pokerface]

@NaturallyHappy

I break it up in my head into chunks. Get to Christmas, get through January, March right around the corner, etc. I keep my routine pretty much the same, otherwise. If it’s too cold to ride, I do other things w my horse.

This is what I do, except I focus on the daylight. While winter solstice is really the start of winter, the days do start to get longer after then. So, while the weather is colder and still pretty awful. I focus on the daylight. Then I remind myself that January and February are prime hibernation months, and I let myself just be a bit of a hermit. March come and while still cold, the hints of spring are there if you look.

[eponacelt]

I do all of these things. I usually find February to be the hardest because while I’m more or less OK doing “less” in January, I’m chomping at the bit by February. Admittedly, this is why I’m spending that month in Florida this winter.

But other things I do:

• Invest in the warmest, overkill clothes to get me out the door. This year it was a knee length down coat for riding. Do I really need to ride in it? Hell no. I live in VA. It gets cold, but really, if its in the teens, I’m not riding anyway. But I used to subscribe to the school of thought that I want to be a little cold when I walk out the door, otherwise I’ll be hot in 20 minutes. No more. Now I bundle myself up just to get out the door. If I peel off layers in the barn, that means I’m IN THE BARN! WINNING!

• Puzzles. Last January I set up a 2000 piece puzzle and did that on dark mornings, before dinner, whenever. I was sick. It was too cold to ride, and the puzzle was an amusing diversion for a month. I may do another one.

• Leave - I can’t tell you the restorative benefits of even a short sojourn in warm, sunny climates. A few years ago, we spent 4 days at an all inclusive in the DR. Went to Puerto Rico another year. I’ve often spent a long weekend visiting friends in Wellington. Just that short break, in the month you need it the most, is helpful and you feel ready to jump back in when you get home.