Wow. That’s all I can
say as I think about horse keeping over the past 30 days. Cold winter weather makes all horse care
activities exponentially harder, but this winter, so far, has bumped it up a
notch more.
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| Cold-weather selfie with DeCato. Nice sleeve. |
I have been doing it for 10 years in New York’s Twin Tiers,
and was an active helper when my family kept horses, in my youth, in the foothills
of the Catskills. So I have tried every
just about every product made for winter horse keeping on the market. Most of these revolve around watering horses
and keeping water from freezing – heated buckets, heated hoses and the like.
But there is also one’s personal warmth to consider, and
this year’s double-digit-below zero, so called “polar vortex” tested the best
of us in this department.
If you’re in the Twin Tiers, you probably have your own
system (which may include, wisely, full-care boarding at someone ELSE’S barn!),
but, just in case you’re still searching for the best cold-weather gear for
horse chores, here’s how I roll:
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| These, plus a matching long-sleeved top. |
First layer: I just
bought some of the new, skin-tight, moisture-wicking, techno thermal top and bottoms from Dick’s Sporting
Goods. Not only do they work really
well, but they are black, so when I wear them without a top layer, I become a
Ninja and turn invisible. In terms of
type and brand, I avoided anything with cotton in them. As much as I love cotton, it tends to get damp. My top is a different brand than my bottoms,
because I could fit into a kid’s top and it was about half the price of the
lady’s, but I couldn’t fit into the kid’s bottoms! But they are the same materials, so a good
match. They are Reebok and Addidas.
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| These. |
Socks: Anything
that is mostly wool, especially merino, 70 to 90 percent, with just a touch of
stretchy material so they don’t sink or wad up.
I wear wool socks all year long now, because I love them so much. And yes, even a pair of light wool hiking
socks cost around $15, so you have to be a serious sock geek to dress yourself
in these all the time. To me, they are
worth it because they help your feet feel dry and comfy under every type of boot,
sneaker, shoe. I grab them on sale and also ask for them for Christmas, birthday, Valentine's Day, anniversary...
Pants: I wear men’s
Wrangler work jeans from Tractor Supply for barn work. Why is it that the denim in men’s work jeans
is so much thicker than women’s? The
trick is finding some that fit. Men are
not built the same as women, apparently, especially around the hips. But I squish my hips in and these things last
forever.
Shirt: A simple
cotton turtle neck suits me on top of the techno underwear. If necessary, a second, bigger one goes on
(it’s purple and has a Vikings logo, being cast-off from my husband, so I only
wear it if desperate. Go Pack).
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| Usually these. |
Next: Insulated
overhauls (Schmidt, from Tractor Supply again). These are boring brown and have
elastic suspender straps. I have had
them for years, when I was a size large, so they are very big on me and the
crotch hangs at approximately my knees. But these are the best for going out in
the real cold.
Coat: Winter work
coat, also by Schmidt/Tractor Supply.
Ancient, stained, bleached, still going strong.
Gloves: For the
super cold, below-zero, I switch from waterproof Schmidt gloves to the women’s Goretex Pinnacle Gloves from
Cabella’s (They are on sale now: here.) They are no good for work requiring fingers,
but are good for mucking and carrying buckets.
They are the warmest I have found.
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| Always these. |
Boots: Cold toes
are a big problem for me. I have
searched and searched for THE boots that will keep my toes from turning white,
and I know now that those boots don’t exist.
I use Wildcat boots from LL Bean. They are warm (for normal people with normal toes),
light and waterproof, and I can happily hike in them as well as do barn
chores. Sometimes I switch to my pair of
the huge, bulky, Sorel snowmobile boots, but they are not as necessary, thanks
to the next essential items:
Toe Warmers: I
pretty much don’t go out for any period of time when the weather is below 45
degrees without these little chemical pads adhered to my socks. It solves the cold toes problem, and allows
me to wear the lighter boots. I put them
on the sock on TOP of my toes, not the bottom.
They work better that way. I buy them by the case from Amazon. These also double as…
Hand warmers: I
started using them in my gloves this year, when we got to zero and below, and,
again, they were a lifesaver. They keep me from resorting to using my mares'
butt cracks to warm up painfully cold fingers, so the mares probably like them
too.
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| With Crabby. Warm day at 33 F! |
Hat: Just a
simple winter cap, with the coat hood up on top of it as needed.
Headlamp:
Fantastic invention. Don’t forget to turn it off when you want to snuggle your
horse’s face, or you’ll blind them!
Scarf: I add it
in the below-freezing weather to cover my face. I may look for a ski mask for
this purpose though.
How about you? Do you
have any fantastic cold-winter gear tips that you want to share?
Stay warm, peeps!
