Two weeks ago it got cold here in Bend, Ore., and started snowing. Then the ground froze solid and it snowed some moreÑa lot more. Winter had made her grand entrance on the high desert, bringing temperatures that dipped close to zero degrees Fahrenheit at night and barely broke freezing during the day.

This is the time of year when I usually give up riding my two horses. Instead, I wrap them up in blankets, feed them mass quantities of hay, and let them know we’ll have fun again in the spring. When the opportunity arises, I do take my barefoot gelding out for a trail ride in the snow or haul my dressage horse, Marathon, to my trainer’s arena to stretch his legs. But, for the most part, my geldings spend winter getting wooly and playing pasture ponies until April rolls along