Surviving Winter with Horses and Cowgirls

Tara Woodall • January 20, 2024

Winter.... yeah it sucks especially when you have to be out in it! 

It's amazing what horses will sometimes survive and oftentimes thrive in.  If you want to check out this theory, just go ahead after a several day cold spell, grab your pony, throw your saddle over and cinch up tight!  Report back your findings.... but don't forget to send us your video!  Joking.  But if you do we will for sure watch. 


However it does cause stress on both human and animal and we have to plan accordingly.  Offering warm water and making sure the horses are drinking enough will go a long ways!  Below are a few things, I have found to make life easier at least for someone who lives in Texas for a reason... and only likes to see snow if she has snow skis on. 


I have owned this jacket for over 5 years now.  I have replaced the battery once.  The first one still works it just doesn't hold its charge like it used to, probably of user error of me not keeping it charged in the summer time.  Batteries like this aren't meant to be left empty or on chargers indefinitely. 

ORORO Heated Gloves Liner for Men and Women, Lightweight Heated Liner Gloves for Riding, Skiing and Arthritis Hands

The gloves below are also a great find.  These are the liners and as a friend of mine said, lets you used your hand like a hand... as opposed to knobby thing to whack on other objects with. 


Now these babies earn their weight in alfalfa... I mean gold, well same thing at this point. 


We have to get pretty creative when putting these in the troughs.  For whatever reason we have some mouthy horses and use PVC pipes to cover the cords out to the heater. 


We have found that our horses drink better when the water is warmer and we also don't have to break ice, which is a big plus!


Big water trough's may take two if they are out in the open and don't have a wind break!

These things are pretty cool.  And to be honest we thought they might be too good to be true.  So we let our cousin who was a plumber try it out first!  Everything was as it should be after the freeze and still is.  We will be investing in several ourselves after his did so well. 

So the best thing with these socks are they not too thick and not too thin.... don't mean to sound too much like goldilocks here.  Riding boots often are too tight for most winter socks. 


Personally, I have a fear of getting drug after I had a cutting horse booger while I was getting on and after that wear my boots far too big.  However I still don't like to ride in super thick socks especially when my horses are extra froggy! 

Ok so I know these are mens but the reason I found them is from my boyfriend.  He had lived in Bozeman, MT for many years and I can say they are well thought out.  Accompanied with the leggings below.  I was pretty warm and toasty.  AND on non-freezing days the below breeches are perfect!  I seldom ride at home in denim... mater of fact I hate it.  Winter or summer. 

Now if I hadn't spent some time in some serious cold country these might be a little overkill for down south.  But I was sure glad I had them during Snowmageddon! I like the ankle booties better!  But these will keep your feet warm AND DRY!

Sorry how did that get in there!  Apologies... I was caught day dreaming of the ocean!  It's too cold and I am ready to get of out of winter.  Till we get back to the regular programming of Texas winter check out the below products too! 

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Pink Buckle Numbers Round 2

By Tara Woodall • October 11, 2020
Here is the second round of the Pink Buckle, the average numbers are coming here shortly. As you will notice there are spaces in some of the horses listed. I have the first round placing horses column hidden at the moment but I kept their spots in place. On the average list I will show which horses places in 1st, 2nd and the Average. Some interesting story lines are starting to crop up. Like Dashin Dynamo's Tiny Dash Of Magic and Riley Parker, who placed in the Futurity, Amateur Futurity, Sale Incentive and Youth for $8543 in earnings for the second round! What an incredible event and incentive to be able to win that with a youth in multiple classes! Many times I feel like people need a big event or something to focus on in order to push them to reach their goals. These events like this are a great example of that. The Pink & Ruby Buckle and a few other divisional races like the BBR Finals and All In Races offer a chance to win big money for many divisional riders. Maybe they are a youth, senior, amateur, or maybe they have never had a chance to ride or own a well bred horse and choose to breed for one, these events in my opinion are a good start at trying to better your horsemanship, your horses pedigree, or just to have a shot at winning some big money! Years ago I was the publicist for Jud Little and got to go to the NFR when JL Dash Ta Heaven & Chicados Cash ran. Although I had been to the NFR before, this was my first time to get to experience it in the mix with some of the barrel racers. And I went to the NFR morning practices and stood in the pearly alleyway of the Thomas & Mac at the ground floor. I had some nice pro rodeo horses prior but never could keep them sound all year. They were older and I had retired them. Just standing there gave me a lot of incentive to keep working on my own horsemanship, my colts, and my future plans. I took a picture, it hangs on my wall and I also put it on a coffee cup that I start every day with. It was taken just outside of where the barrel racers come into alley at from the side gate with what they see before crossing the plane of the alley into the arena. Whatever gives you inspiration I hope you find it!

Pink Buckle First Go By The Numbers

By Tara Woodall • October 10, 2020
As someone who does a lot of Stallion Equine Marketing, the Pink Buckle is a huge event, and I heard on a podcast that it was stated at an AQHA meeting that it's the most disruptive thing to hit the horse world since the All American Futurity. And probably so! I am a huge proponent of usage in Registered Names at EVERY RACE. Even on social media. I run a number of stallion social media pages. And many days I start my mornings with searching a stallions name or hashtag.... only to find that 90% of people use their barn names on posts. So not only do I have to somewhat remember your horses name, its breeding, but also its barn name so that I can market the stallion. Please start posting Registered Names and entering under them, my fingers, boyfriend, horses and dogs will appreciate me not being glued to the phone trying to look up horses! We are one of the only equine events that I know of that breeding is a huge factor that allows for people to enter under a barn name. We have to do better. Even if you think your horse's breeding isn't special, someone somewhere bred a mare to a stallion, weaned your horse, got it broke, and trained it (and sometimes in multiple disciplines) before it got to you. And if your horses breeding is special some stallion owner has paid said stallion into UMPTEEN incentives just so you and FLUFFY can go around and never enter under its barn name bc you can't be bothered to write it down on the entry form or facebook post. Producers need to have registered names to have a chance to send it into Equistat! I think a race has to be 60-70% registered names for it to go to Equistat and count for everyone. Ok off that soap box... for now. Breeders events are getting more and more popular and its creeping out of the aged events section and hitting the open divisional races too. I think the neatest thing with the Pink and Ruby Buckle Races is that once you sell a horse or breed your stallion to someones mare, that is where your control ends. You don't have any control over the quality of home/rider/trainer that horse gets if that owner/breeder decides to sell. With these events and with Future Fortunes, Triple Crown and several others now paying out in the Open and in many Divisions it gives the stallion owner and breeder a chance to earn money on the horse its entire competitive life as long as they stayed nominated or payed in to begin with. Kudos to everyone who won in the first go of the Pink Buckle. As I post this they are running the 2nd Go of the Open. I will have more numbers in the coming days for the 2nd Round and Average. As for me, I'd best get back to editing some ads and websites. I updated one of my favorite tee shirts designs today too. Its a super soft Tri-Blend.