01/14/2026
"With so much chatter across the wider industry about the future of the horse business, kids not wanting to work, the shortage of barn rats, and people being priced out of horse shows, I’m starting to wonder if everyone is missing the heart of the issue. What if we just made it about the horse? And learning? What if the future of the horse business isn’t in the huge show barns, but with the little guys, the ones with a handful of horses and riders that work together in all seasons?
My very small community of riders understands my reasoning when I say that we are done riding for the winter, but the parents are eager for their kids to continue to learn about and love the horses and ponies in my barn. There is nothing “boutique” about my philosophy. The riders that are part of my world are here for it. In a tiny sample size of one small barn in rural Massachusetts, I’m pleasantly surprised to be living a sleeper success story when I thought I would be in hibernation this winter.
With no indoor, my afternoon lessons ended when the clocks changed this fall. Even our weekend riding season came to an end as winter hit hard and fast this year. We humans had barely finished our Thanksgiving turkey leftovers when the ground froze and snow came—months sooner than the past several years. My small outdoor ring, which is nestled in the midst of lovely mature trees and stays shady all summer, is now a sheet of ice, buried under inches of snow. As much as I was ready to say “see you next year” to my riders, give my horses round bales and allow everyone, including myself, to hibernate for the winter… the kids and parents had other ideas. The students keep coming, and, importantly, the parents keep paying.
I’ve been completely honest with everyone from day one that I have a small, seasonal program at my home. I’ve grown up with horses, lots and lots of horses. In the past, I headed up a year-round, busy lesson program with riders of all ages, levels, and goals. We had lessons through every season, and kept busy with shows and clinics in all weather to pay the bills. I do not have that capacity or drive at this stage in my life.
With a day job in a local school, I have some wiggle room on the horse-based income. I feel strongly that there is much more for people to learn about horses than just riding, so I’ve pivoted to offering “Stable Management” lessons on Saturday mornings at the same price as my riding lessons. Not one person has questioned the price. I may not be banking millions, but I’m covering some of the expenses for horses I own anyway, during the coldest and snowiest winter in recent memory.
So far this winter, I’ve had a small but dedicated group of girls show up, bundled in their snow pants and layers, ready to learn and help. The first Saturday we met was 11 degrees. Their parents say “thank you” when they drop them off and again when they pick them up. As I chatted with a few of my young, beginner riders about their goals for next year, I talked about how we could work towards horse shows, but what are they looking forward to doing next spring when it warms up again?
“I’d like to pick more feet,” said one girl, opening my eyes to lessons from her perspective. Wake up on Saturday mornings, rush to be on time for the lesson, quickly brush the pony, tack up to get as much riding time in, only to untack and head out to their next busy part of the day. Each weekend, I hear about sleepovers and birthday parties, visiting cousins, or running errands with their parents to be ready for the rest of the week. It all sounds exhausting. These girls want to just spend more time with their equine friends!
The girls are enthusiastic about filling haynets, learning how horses heat themselves from the inside out. We’ve practiced using a weight tape to make sure the horses are in good weight for a New England winter (spoiler alert—not many ribs to be found in my herd!). Instead of the horses waiting inside when they arrive, ready for tack and work, the kids are walking with me to the pasture to catch the horses: trudging through the snow, learning how to approach slowly, pat the horse on his shoulder, put the halter on from the nose up, even if I have to help them reach to put it over the ears, before they lead them back to the barn. The girls take their gloves off only long enough to practice tying a slipknot before brushing the chubby, hairy horses. And yes, we pick more feet, feet that are never dirty as they have been walking in snow for over a month, and likely will be walking through snow for several more months.
These kids and their families don’t know about rising entry fees, rule changes, No Stirrups November, or the difference between WEC and WEF. The parents know their kids are safe, learning about horses and responsibility, getting fresh air and exercise, and that they get back in the car with pink cheeks and updates about how they helped take care of their four-legged friends for another day.
The kids know that riding ba****ck helped them stay warm when cooler weather came in. They know that anything under 14.2 is a pony and anything over is a horse. They know which pony wears the pink halter, which donkey loves his ears rubbed, and they understand why I leased one of the ponies to a different program to keep him in work and lighten my feed bill this snowy winter.
They enjoy spending their mornings helping me with the farm chores. They have learned how to open and close a pocket knife used to cut haystring. They are cleaning stalls, scooping frozen p**p that lands with a thunk in the wheelbarrow, and adding bedding to the stalls. They are eager to spend some future Saturday mornings in my cellar cleaning tack (I promised music and snacks) even though it may be months before they get to actually use the tack again.
But when the weather cooperates, and we are all ready to go back into so-called “real work” the kids will be ready for it, having spent their winter working alongside me to care for the horses they love and are learning from every day."
📎 Save & share this article by Diane Raucher Miller at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2026/01/12/id-like-to-pick-more-feet-getting-back-to-basics-during-winter-in-massachusetts/
