Ok, so as some of you already know I'm going to be taking lessons again starting next Tuesday (so excited!!). I might possibly want to show next summer in something small, if all goes well, but I'm not sure yet. Anyway, I was talking to my instructor and was telling her that I don't know what I'm going to do in the winter. Lessons will be fine all through the summer and fall because its warm out but what will happen when winter gets here again?
We don't have an indoor arena and its really hard to ride outside. First off, its freezing, and second-off the snow is deep. Mostly everyone at my barn rides on the road and trails anyway, so it isn't an issue for them, but it is for Jubilee and I. I don't want to just give her the winter off because all the muscle I've built into her through the summer and fall with disappear, and its not fair for me to ask her to be perfect again in the Spring. Plus if I want to show (it'll just be flat, not jumping) I need to keep her fit all year.
Sabra, my instructor, suggested that I trailer her back to my old barn (where I used to take lessons). It's the big, fancy English barn in our city and yes, it has an awesome indoor arena. My BO has a trailer, so I was thinking that she could let me use it to bring Jubilee to the other barn for lessons. Once a week lessons would be ideal but I don't know how much money I will have. Plus with school, I'll be working less and making less money. Lessons are around $25/hr. Also, Jubilee is great with loading and unloading from the trailer, so I'm not worried about that. But I don't want to add unnecessary stress in her life. She loves where she's at now.
Do you think trailering her once a week would be stressful for her? She's a TB so she gets a little excited when she comes to new places. She's also approaching 18 and I don't want to her hurt her. She's in great shape and acts like she's 10, but is it worth it? Or am I just being paranoid? I know a couple that trailer their horses all the time to places and they are fine. One of the horses is a TB/cross and he's 21. What do you guys think? I just really want to ride during winter.
Another thing my trainer suggested was sub-letting a stall at the barn. Like I could find someone there who could lend me their stall for 2 months out of the year and Jubilee could stay there. My first inward reaction to this was no. I think that would be too upsetting. By the time she's used to it there, she'd have to leave. Plus I don't feel comfortable with her living there. The routine is so different. At my barn there's 24/hr turnout. At this barn, the horses get out only for a few hours here and there. They are very strict, all the horses are blanketed and clipped (not saying this is what I have to do) ... but do you understand what I mean? Plus, it would be really expensive, so I pretty much ruled it out.
As for trailering, that sounds like a better option for me. If I can't do every week I was thinking twice a month or something. What do you guys think? I know winter is a long time away but I'm so excited about my upcoming lessons and I'm already planning.
Advice would be greatly appreciated and thanks for reading my long-winded post.
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