Farewell to cold hands — and other reasons we couldn’t be happier that summer is here

Summer is finally here (for the moment) and with it comes the light, warmth and much more besides. This is what we’ve all been waiting for...

1. The light

It’s simple, but light is something we all crave during those dark winter months when fitting in your horses in just a matter of hours while it is light is pretty much impossible.

2. Less mucking out

You can now chuck your horses out in the field 24/7, guilt-free, knowing that they are unlikely to get either cold or wet. And of course this means no mucking out (*cheers*). Ok, so it means you now have to traipse around your horse’s field poo-picking more than you would like to. But remember that you are saving a small fortune on bedding too. Every cloud…

3. Farewell to cold hands

Goodbye woolly gloves — your hands are al-fresco and it feels great. Dexterity is restored now that you don’t have to try and complete horsey tasks with thick gloves which if removed will inevitably mean your fingers fall off with frostbite.

4. Tan (lines)

Riding and completing horsey chores are now your prime opportunity to top up your tan. Sadly your riding hat and t-shirts mean that your forehead will remain white and your upper-half will rival that of the local farmer, but it still counts. And for goodness sake, riding in shorts will never be ok. Not only do you look ridiculous, but the ensuing pain will always be too much to bear.

5. Fewer rugs

Now that your horse no longer requires 10 zillion rugs to keep him warm, you can wave goodbye to the daily grind of removing and replacing them. At most you will have to contest with a fly sheet and as a result you can welcome back about 15 minutes of your day that you had lost during the winter months.

6. Au revoir mud

You can put your wellies into storage for a few weeks. Mud is no more and hallelujah. You will no longer need to adopt your very own long-jump technique in the gateways of fields and you can wave goodbye to the fun daily competition of thawing out the hose in order to wash off muddy hooves.

Continued below…

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7. Gleaming coats

After months of clipping and moulting you can finally stand back and admire the sheer beauty of your horse’s shiny coat. Marvellous.

8. So long snow/frost/ice

Any one of these elements can cause a number of conundrums. Whether it’s clearing snow for hours just to create a path to get your horse out of its stable (only for it to snow again 10 minutes later), being unable to hack due to frosty roads or the daily argument with the frozen tap. You can now paise the weather gods and forget about these problems for a while.

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Gemma Redrup

H&H features, racing and point-to-point editor

Gemma is an experienced journalist, having been part of the H&H team since 2014, who is passionate about all equestrian sports, including racing and point-to-pointing. She has enjoyed riding out for top trainers Nicky Henderson and Charlie Appleby and took part in a charity Flat race at in August 2018. Gemma’s reporting talents have taken her to numerous five-star events around Britain and Europe, as well as European championships.