01/20/2026
While some ponies will not be worked in the winter months, some of us do enjoy winter driving! So how do we go about working our ponies when it’s cold out? Especially when we don’t want them to get sweaty?
"I find winter to a great time to work on our walk. We spend many miles and many hours walking in the winter. I will do this on a lead rope, on long lines, and in cart or riding in the sled. We focus on a nice swinging walk, relaxed and super forward. Sometimes it’s less about the amount of miles we go and more about the quality of the walk we accomplish. Sometimes it is about the miles and we work towards a certain mileage goal for the month. It’s rare that a good swinging walk will make Zorro sweaty. Maybe at first if he is very out of shape when we start but normally he won’t come home sweaty at all!" - Mindy
"I too like to slow down a bit with workouts in the winter. However, I do try to keep my ponies exercising so they don’t lose all of the fitness and endurance we’ve build up over the warmer months. I especially like to take advantage of the snow when we have it. As long as it is not too slippery, working your horse in the snow is very similar to working in deeper sand. It gets them picking their feet up and engaging their hind end a little more to get through that deep snow. Just think about how much harder it is for you to walk through the snow – the same goes for our horses. Plus, they are usually willing to stretch down to investigate the snow and get a better look at where they are placing their feet! I generally keep this work light since it is something they are not used to which makes it a harder work out even for a short time." - Kirsty
It's also a good idea to give horses a much longer warm up period when working in the winter. This can include a longer grooming session, more massage and stretches before starting work, and much more walk work with halt transitions before going into any trot or canter work. All of these things combined will help your horses muscles to loosen up and literally warm their body up to get ready to work!
Depending on the terrain you normally work on, you may have to think about the condition of the ground in the winter months. Take advantage of the nice days you have, but understand that frozen and icy conditions sometimes make us slow down or pause on training.
Take this time to focus in on ground work, like strengthening whip and voice aids (which can be done in the barn if you have enough space), and good quality walk work like Mindy mentioned above, especially out on the roads where there are lots of hills to walk up and down. Even good quality walk work can sometimes leave ponies a bit sweaty.
Be sure to care for your horses properly if they do work up a sweat in the cold. For some, clipping may be a good idea. For others, a cooler may be enough to dry your horse off. You can also keep a hair dryer handy in the barn to help dry your horses faster. Just make sure the dryer has either a no heat or a cooling temperature feature so that you do not overheat or burn your horse.
Keeping your ponies in shape during the winter can sure feel like a daunting task at times. So just remember to take it a little slower, and have fun! Winter is, after all, a time of rest in nature, as the earth prepares to re-grow and flourish in the spring. All of the quality walk work you do in the winter WILL pay off come spring when your horse is fit and ready to go!
