To Do This Month: February 2025

Events, barn chores, safety checks, fitness and training tips and pre-show prep to keep you busy during the doldrums of winter.

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While we eagerly await Punxsutawney Phil’s 2025 winter forecast, take a peek at our February To-Do List for exciting events and top competitions taking place this month and to find motivation to knock out some much-needed tasks before we start thinking about spring!

EVENTS

Nicholas Dello Joio and Classic Dream at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida, in 2022. ©Amy K. Dragoo

Ocala Winter Classic: Feb. 4 – 9; Ocala, Florida
Desert Circuit 5: Feb. 5 – 9; Thermal, California
Global Dressage Festival 5: Feb. 5 – 9, Wellington, Florida
I Love Dressage: Feb. 8 – 9; Aiken, South Carolina
Winter Spectacular VII CSI5*: Feb. 11 – 16; Ocala, Florida
Gulf Coast National: Feb.13 – 16; Gulfport, Mississippi
Ledges Winter February: Feb. 13 – 16; Roscoe, Illinois
Old Salem Farm February I: Feb. 13 – 15; North Salem, New York
Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show: Feb. 13 – 23; Scottsdale, Arizona
All For the Horses Expo: Feb. 15 – 16; Ocala, Florida
Adequan® Global Dressage Festival CDIO3* and National: Feb. 19 – 23, Wellington, Florida
WEF Week 8 – CSIO4*, U25, USEF Premier “AA”: Feb 25 – March 2; Wellington, Florida
WEF Sport Horse Auction: Feb. 27; Wellington, Florida
Horse World Expo: Feb. 27 – March 2; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

TO-DO LIST

Deep Clean Your Tack and Boots: Extend your tack’s life expectancy (and save money down the road) and get a jumpstart on the upcoming show season by giving all your tack some extra TLC. This is also a good opportunity to do a safety check for loose threads, cracked leather, rusted hardware or anything else that might compromise your tack’s integrity. While you have your soap and leather conditioner out, you might as well give your boots a thorough cleaning.

Barn Fire-Safety Check: Most barn fires occur in winter. During slower training days this month, help protect your horses and barn with the following:

Winter is the most common time of year for barn fires. Take preventative measures this month to ensure your horses and barn are protected. ©Amy K. Dragoo

Schedule a barn inspection with an electrician and a rep from your local fire department.
Install smoke alarms, sprinklers and fire extinguishers (or inspect your current ones to ensure they’re working properly).
Sweep barn aisles, remove cobwebs and other debris, vacuum dust around electrical outlets.
Unplug any electrical appliances when not in use.
Clean up dead leaves and twigs around the barn.
Store machinery and flammable materials like hay, bedding, fuels and fertilizer in separate structures or areas separated from the horses by firewalls.

For more tips on barn-fire safety, click here.

Get—and Stay Fit: Even if your New Year’s fitness resolution has waned since January 1, use time stuck indoors this winter to get your riding muscles in pique condition. You and your horse will be thankful! In a recent Practical Horseman Podcast, five-star eventer Cornelia Fletcher became an avid Pilates fan during her recent pregnancy and highly recommended it for improving riders’ core strength. If you’re bored with your same-old gym routine, check out these exercise ideas to get out of your fitness rut and improve your game in the saddle. You can also find rider Pilates videos on EQUESTRIAN+ for inspiration.

Get Your Groundwork On: Stuck in small indoor training spaces during the colder months? Incorporate natural horsemanship groundwork into your training routine. It will improve the communication skills you share with your horse, help establish your role as his mentor and teacher and enhance your bond. Try these tips from top eventer and natural horsemanship advocate Tik Maynard.

Eventer and natural horsemanship advocate Tik Maynard incorporates groundwork into his training routine to improve communication with his horses and enhance the bond he shares with them. ©Amy K. Dragoo

Pamper Your Equine Valentine: Treat your heart horse to a spa day—a soapy bath with his favorite shampoo, a thorough grooming session that includes plenty of massage, a mane-and-tail blowout for luscious locks and plenty of leisurely grazing topped off with special treats. More ideas to come!

Show Clothes Eval: Take inventory of your show wardrobe—breeches, show shirts, jacket, boots, helmet, gloves etc.—to determine if any items need to be repaired, replaced or dry cleaned. If you’re in the market for new tall boots this upcoming show season, you might consider purchasing them now to allow for plenty of break-in time. This is also a smart time to get any items embroidered or personalized before orders start piling up as we get closer to show season. If your horse has his own show wardrobe (coolers, quarter sheets, show halter), make sure his digs are in good repair, too.

Tune Up Your Course-Riding Skills: When you’re cooped up due to the weather, check out German show jumper Ronny Riemer’s new video series on EQUESTRIAN+ and learn how to plan your course walks for success, tackle tricky distances and stay open to creative course-riding options.

Mid-Winter Checks: Half way through the cold season, take a few quick moments to do some mid-winter health and safety inspections.

Check outdoor water roughs and break up any ice to ensure horses have access to fresh water. ©Amy K. Dragoo

Inspect your horse’s turnout sheets and blankets for any rips, tears, hardware malfunctions, loose belly bands or leg straps that could compromise their integrity or risk his safety.
Monitor senior horses for weight loss, especially those with long winter coats. Older horses often have trouble maintaining their weight in cold weather and might not get their share of grain if fed in groups with younger, more dominant horses.
Plan to feed more hay (not grain) on the coldest days. Digestion produces heat to help horses maintain their body temperature, and additional forage is a better option than extra grain, which could increase risk of colic.
Check outdoor water troughs and break up any ice to ensure horses have access to fresh water, and inspect any heated indoor water troughs to ensure they’re in good working condition and don’t pose any fire risk.

Organize & Purge Your Tack Room: When you’re snowed in this winter, motivate yourself to knock out some much-needed organization chores around the barn. Trash or recycle old, broken tack; hopeless pads, blankets or coolers; empty containers, expired products or anything you haven’t touched in half a decade. While we all love our mile-high tacks of favorite saddle pads, consider paring down your collection and starting a donation pile. (In addition to equine welfare organizations, you can also donate pads to animal shelters to provide homeless cats and dogs with extra bedding.)

As hard as it can be to get motivated mid-winter, knock out some much-need tack-room organization to ahead of the game. ©Amy K. Dragoo

Clean, store and organize all supplies and tack you intend to keep. Inexpensive Rubbermaid totes and drawers are super handy for tack-room organization. If you’re out of wall space, consider purchasing two or more vertical-scale storage units (you can find at most home improvement stores) and position them back to back in the center of the room to create a storage tower in otherwise dead space.

Happy February, from your friends at Practical Horseman!