We are on a temperature roller coaster down here in North Carolina.  It is around 75° F today, but on Monday morning they are predicting a low of 19° F, if not lower.

Last Monday, when I rode Mia, it was warm, so warm I put on my technical fabric cool riding shirt, and by the end of my ride I was wishing I’d put on my ice-fill sleeves too since I was sweating.  Two days later when I got to the stables for my lesson it was in the 30’s F with a stiff North wind blowing.

I had just gotten Mick a Back on Track Exercise  Sheet, the one that goes around the saddle and covers the horse’s back down to the tail and has the ceramic in the fabric to reflect the heat back to the horse.  For years I had been feeling sorry for the horses when I rode them in the cold, especially Mick.  His back right behind the saddle really stiffens up in the cold wind.  I was looking forward to see if the exercise sheet would help, but when I got to the stable Darryl told me that Debbie had to run up to Tennessee because her daughter had meningitis and someone had to take care of Debbie’s granddaughters.  He said I could ride anyway and offered me help, but I wimped out, it was just too cold and windy.  Since it was pretty windy I did not want to introduce Mick to the exercise sheet without Debbie being there to help me, and without the extra warmth on Mick’s back I would have had to leg him on every stride of the walk to keep him moving.

Luckily I had ridden Mia on Monday, right after getting home from a weekend trip to see my son, daughter-in-law and grandson.  Mia was not terribly pleased with me, she kept contact and let me try the shoulder-in aids again, but nothing was working right.  Around halfway through the ride Debbie brought two little home schooled girls into the ring for their lesson.  I try to grab chances to work Mia in the ring with other horses every once in a while so she will be prepared when Debbie has to use her as an emergency horse.  Well, on Monday, Mia just did not feel like playing at being a beginner’s lesson horse.  The other horses were walking maybe 1-2 miles per hour, and Mia saw no reason why she should slow down her 4 mph walk and trudge behind them.  Then I started sweating, though I had my summer shirt on I was wearing my FITS all-weather breeches and I started overheating making my hands and my coordination worse.  Hey, it got up to 78° F later that day, and I felt like I was riding on a summer morning instead of one in the late fall.  I decided that I was too hot and too tired from my trip to ride Mia decently and I ended my ride a little early.

Of course Wednesday morning it was cold and windy.  I was bundled up and I still felt too cold and weak to ride.  Over the past few years my MS symptoms have gotten worse in the cold.  When the wind is cold I feel like all the strength in my body is being sucked out of me.  I USED TO get better riding in the winter, but now I seem to do better in the heat of the summer.  A few years ago I would have shrugged my shoulders and gotten on with my riding even in a cold wind, I’m from Northern Virginia after all and I spent decades of winters happily riding my hairy horses in the cold.

I had been thinking about getting the horses exercise rugs for the last few years even though none of the horses I ride have their winter coats clipped.  Since I am now so weak in the winter I find it hard to trot the horses enough to get them warm.  When I have to rest and the cold wind is blowing the horses tell me that it just is not FAIR to them to expect them to stand in the cold, howling wind when they could get warmer by moving around.  Mia lets me rest for about a minute before she pointedly tells me that it is time to start moving again.  Mick reluctantly stops and his back muscles freeze up and I have to use a lot of energy and leg to get him moving out again.  Cider gives me about 10 seconds of rest before she starts going “Lady, it is TOO COLD to just stand around!”  Yes, I am hoping that the exercise sheets will help the horses feel warmer as we plod around the ring and that they will be more willing to stand for a minute or two while I rest.

I had to go online to buy the Back on Track Exercise Sheet to use at Debbie’s stable.  Today I went to the tack store and got a Rambo Competition Sheet for Cider to use at Shannon‘s stable.  I try to use different pads or blankets at each stable so I do not transfer any skin problems between the stables.  The Rambo Competition Sheet has a nylon shell with a Polar fleece lining.  The Back on Track exercise sheet is just fleece, but it has the ceramic in the fibers to reflect the heat back to the horse.  With both of these I can bring the sides over my thighs and Velcro them at the pommel of the saddle.  I am hoping that by warming up the muscles of my thighs that I will be able to ride better in the cold.  I hope the horses like being warmer too!  By the way the English used to call these exercise RUGS, not sheets.  A rug sure sounds warmer than a sheet!

The Back on Track Exercise Sheet is expensive, around $200 USD, I just hope that it lives up to all the good reviews I’ve read about getting the horse’s muscles warmed up so Mick can move properly in the cold.  Mia does not need it for her muscles, but at 27 her arthritis acts up in the cold and her joints get creaky.  Luckily for me the Rambo Competition Sheet was much cheaper at around $70 USD, and since Cider mostly seems to want protection from the cold wind it should be enough for her (hope, hope, hope.) 

I HAVE to keep riding in the cold.  If I do not my leg muscles loose condition and it becomes harder for me to walk.  I WILL NOT let the cold weather defeat me, I WILL ride if it is above 25° F at dawn, and now, with the exercise rugs, maybe the horses won’t feel like they are suffering in the cold (and I won't feel as guilty about riding them in the cold.)

Sunday will be my test day, 27° F at dawn and probably around freezing when I get to ride Cider.  Monday I won’t be able to ride Mia, it will be 19° F or lower at dawn, that is just too cold for Mia’s creaky joints.  Hopefully Debbie will be back by Wednesday so she can help me with Mick, but if she isn’t maybe I will try introducing Mick to the exercise sheet by myself.  I am already sick and tired of wimping out because it is cold.  
 

Have a great ride!

Jackie Cochran