For many people, this is the most depressing time of the year.
Spring seems light years away, you’re trying to catch up with all the work/family stuff that was abandoned during the festive season – and if there’s a hamster with a treadmill in your house, you probably know exactly how it feels.
Welcome to the January blues. Depending on your point of view, they’re either a recognised phenomenon or self-indulgence brought on by too much chocolate and too little exercise.
No one who has suffered from clinical depression, or seen its effects on someone they love, would belittle the problems it causes. But if you’re a horse owner who is merely suffering from a seasonal blip in your positive outlook, here are some suggestions to brighten your outlook.
Book yourself an imaginary adventure. If you’re a woman of a certain age, go back to your childhood and re-read all the old pony books that sparked your dreams and enthusiasm. I always thought Ruby Ferguson’s Jill was a bit of a pain, to be honest – and if you don’t know who Jill was, ask your mother or grandmother – but still laugh out loud re-reading Caroline Akrill’s eventing trilogy.
If you prefer modern fiction, try Zara Stoneley. Her Tippermere series – Stable Mates, Country Affairs and Country Rivals – is guaranteed to brighten your day.
Start filling up your diary with clinics, lessons and competitions. If you’ve let your horse’s work programme ease off, which for many of us is inevitable and may even have done him good, it will give you a target to work for.
Feeling that you’ve done yourself a little too well over the Christmas period? Pick up your own fitness programme by finding something you enjoy. Exercise releases endorphins, which boost your feelgood factor.
As you wade through mud, lug haynets, push wheelbarrows and carry buckets, remind yourself that you’re boosting your stamina and strength.
When your horse comes in from the field looking like the beast from forty thousand fathoms, look at your favourite photo of him in all his summer glory. He will look like that again, just as you’ll be able to shed the numerous layers of clothing that make you look as if you’ve doubled in weight since the days of T-shirts and summer jods.
Take all your tack to pieces and clean it. Honestly, you’ll feel so virtuous it will set you up for at least a week.
Remind yourself that by the last day of January, we’ll have gained nearly three and a half minutes extra daylight each day compared to December 21st 2018 – the shortest day. By the end of February, that will have extended to four minutes. To put it into perspective, that’s enough time in which to ride a Prelim dressage test and more than enough to whizz round a British Novice showjumping course.
Book yourself a fortnight’s holiday in an exotic location where the sun is guaranteed to shine all day, every day. I’m only joking – if you can afford to do that, you don’t need a survival guide.
And if you have any January survival tips, please let us know!
If your horse has the January Blues then read here for help