After a very wet and wild winter it is good to remind ourselves that spring is just around the corner. Something all equestrians love to hear. The muddy gateways, soggy socks, windswept hair, so much hay and straw in your boots that you could start to bale your own! Soon to be a thing of the past! To say we are all looking forward to Spring, would be an understatement and here's 10 reasons why!
1. Longer Days
The daylight hours have been drawing out for a little while now and it has been great to gain an extra few minutes of daylight hours each day. More daylight hours means more time for riding and that can only be good, right?! We'll get in to that later!
2. Warmer Days
What better to accompany our longer days than warmer ones! After a truly awful winter it will be amazing to see some sun and warmer drier days. Although it hasn't been the coldest winter ever it certainly has been wet so these Spring days will bring a welcome relief. Soon we will be complaining that it's too warm and we're being harassed by flies!!
3. Green Grass
Maybe not a positive for everybody, especially those with chunky ponies, but for the majority of us we'll be pleased to see our fields, which mostly resemble potato patches at the moment, turn back in to the luscious green pastures that we love to see.
4. Less Rugs
Spring time gives us that awesome time between winter and summer where we can take the winter rugs off and allow our horses to soak up some of that good ole vitamin D. The dreaded horse flies haven't quite arrived yet so the fly rugs can stay safely tucked away for just a little bit longer. Ours love to have a good roll around without their rugs on, it not only helps with moulting but I personally think it's great for them mentally to be able to have some time without being covered up!
5. No More (or at least less) Mud
I think its fair to say we have all had more than our fair share of mud this winter. Every other Facebook post is some other poor bugger pleading to see how everyone else is coping and praying that someone has come up with some kind of mud miracle spray. With Spring comes drier ground and ultimately less mud. Think of all those poor Grey horse owners!!
6. More Turnout
A lot of livery yards don't have the luxury of 24/7 turn out. Some horses are in from November to March which isn't ideal for our horses' well being (but that's for another time!) Others may have to be in for long periods in times of severe wet weather to save their fields from turning into the aforementioned potato patches. And of course there is a plethora of other reasons which result in horses being stabled for longer than the ideal in the miserable winter months. More time spent mucking out, more money spent on bedding, hay, boredom breakers, the list goes on. We will all be glad to see the Spring, but those that have had to endure 5 or so months of mucking out at least twice daily and spending their holiday fund on their horses extra bedding and hay, will be ecstatic to see the Spring time!
7. More Riding
The thing that we all like doing, (well most of the time) and the reason that we put up with so much during the Winter, is so that we can spend some quality time with our horses in the Spring and Summer months! For those of us that have forgotten what a saddle looks like and would probably get on our horse backwards, the Spring time brings the welcome relief that we will actually get to ride and enjoy our very expensive pets. We've spent all winter tending to their every need in wind, rain and very little shine, and now it's our time to enjoy our horses in the suns!
8. Smaller Feed Bills
With more grass comes less expense! Spring marks the start of being able to cut down on some of their forage intake and in some cases hard feed too. It also means we can start saving for that all important holiday..or more realistically put it to one side ready for next winters feed bills!
9. Riding in the Evenings
Those of us without flood lights have forgotten the lovely feeling of being able to ride in the evenings, albeit a bit chilly in the winter. There is no better feeling than being able to going out for an early evening hack without having to worry about getting back before dark! As an added bonus it is often warm enough to wear just a t-shirt (and your high vis of course!). For those that work 9-5 it really does mean getting to enjoy your horse and actually see them in the daylight! Who knows, you may even get home with some daylight to spare!
10. Competitions
And lastly, for those of us who love the thrill of competing, it marks the start of a new season. Yes, there are winter shows and with the ever improving arena surfaces there is often competitions on every weekend all year round. However if you aren't actually able to even think about riding in the winter (let alone bathing in the cold, damp miserable weather) because of one of the reasons touched on above, then competing will be even further tucked away in the back of your mind! Now it's nearly Spring time though, those thoughts will be slingshotted to the front of your brain and before you know it you'll be getting the calendar out and booking up every available weekend to drive up and down the country with your four legged friend spending even more of your holiday fund. It's all worth it!!
Have we missed anything? What do you look forward to in the Spring Time?
Here's to an awesome, sunny and warm Spring!
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