You may be enjoying this winter season or it may be dragging on with no end in site. If the winter blues are catching up to you, we have a few ideas that may help pass the time. 

Host a Barn Movie Night

Bring together students, boarders, trainers, and everyone else in your equine community for a barn movie night. Choose a favorite horse-themed movie or clinic DVD – and make the night into a mini-party. Have attendees bring cozy blankets and pillows, as well as snacks, and settle into the heated lounge for a fun night of movie watching.

Host a Clinic

To change up the pace a little, have a clinician come to your barn for a day or weekend. Riders can participate in the clinic with their horses, or you can open the clinic to the public to bring in extra income. For an extra-fun challenge, bring in a clinician to work on a discipline or activity that your horses traditionally don’t participate in, like equine agility or Western dressage.

Audit a Clinic

If hosting a clinic at your own farm isn’t practical, you can always travel elsewhere to audit a clinic. Get your friends involved and make a day of it. Auditing a clinic is a great way to determine whether you would like to ride in a clinic with the clinician in the future, and you can learn a lot without having to pay the full clinic price.

Plan a Tack Sale

Spring will be here before you know it, and what better way to kick the season off than with a tack sale? Start planning a tack sale, and invite riders from other barns to bring their own tack and participate in the fun. Holding a tack sale gives you the perfect opportunity to clean out and organize your tack room, as well as finding other riding supplies you really need at a good price.

Volunteer at a Horse Rescue

Horse rescues are often in need of volunteers, so if you have some free time during the winter because you’re not riding as often, look into volunteering at a local horse rescue. Volunteers often help rescues in a number of ways, from caring for and grooming horses to performing more office-related tasks.

Take a Course in a New Horse-Related Skill

Winter is the perfect time to learn a new horse-related skill, such as massage or liberty training. Look for horse-related courses and get some friends to enroll with you.

These activities should help you get through the rest of winter, and don’t fear – spring will be here soon!