I love this time of year as we start the brr months, the leaves start changing colour and nature will bless us with a symphony of colours beautiful reds, yellow and orange colours that will give us a fiery delight and as they slowly fall the leaves will dance in the air landing on the ground forming a colourful blanket and we will walk or ride along hearing the crispy, crunchy leaves under our feet or hooves that will make music as nature slowly goes to sleep. The mornings are cooler, the evenings earlier and the familiar smell of hay, leather and damp seems to hang around in the crisp air. The sweet smell and fresh air carries a breeze to it, Autumn is in the air and it is a magical season.
The horses notice it too, shedding season is in full swing as their coats begin to thicken and their fluffy teddy bear winter coats arrive, their breath hangs in the chilly morning air and they embrace the cooler weather with renewed energy. The change in season brings a slower cosier rhythm to life at the stables and there is nothing quite like the sound of horses munching on their breakfast while the yard slowly wakes up. And of course autumn means mud lots of mud, boots that were clean five minutes ago are suddenly covered, wheelbarrows seems to find every puddle and keeping the yard tidy from fallen leaves scattering around the yard and mud becomes a daily battle, but muddy boots are part of the charm. At the end of the day, when we return home cold, muddy and hearts full of love we welcome the cozy nights in curled up under a blanket, candles lit and drinking hot chocolate or pumpkin spiced lattes.
You don’t have to own a horse to enjoy the season, autumn is one of the loveliest times to be around horses, whether you ride every week, take the occasional lesson, volunteer at a local stables or simply love horses from afar.
The Simple Pleasures of Autumn
The best part of autumn isn’t the riding it is enjoying the beautiful scenery and the colours autumn brings. Horses teach us to slow down, ground ourselves and enjoy the simple pleasures and autumn reminds us the exact same thing.
Some ways to enjoy the simple pleasures, which can make time around horses so special, can include
- Putting on a favourite pair of boots
- A warm drink after a chilly ride or walk
- The sound of horses happily munching hay
- The first time you see a horse all cozy in its winter rug
- Walking back from the field as the sun starts to disappear
- The sound of rain tapping on the stable roof
- Golden sunlight streaming through the trees in the late afternoon
- The satisfying feeling of horses being turned out into fresh crisp fields
- And of course coming back home at the end of the day with cold hands, muddy boots and a happy heart.
Make Your Own Autumn Horsey Rituals
It doesn’t matter if you own a horse or don’t own one, you can still create your own rituals and even if your daily routine doesn’t involve stables, hay bales or a four-legged companion you can still learn from horses and the season and slow down, ground yourself and channel that same crisp, rustic and outdoorsy energy through simple grounding habits.
- Book an autumn riding lesson or hack
- Ask your local riding school if they need volunteers
- Visit a horse sanctuary
- Take a country side walk near a stables to watch them graze from a distance or take a hike along public bridleways.
- It is time for nesting, for making your come as cosy as possible before the cold months ahead, so get horsey blankets and cushions, some candles and make your place as cozy as possible with horses.
- Get cozy and curl up under a blanket and read a horse story or watch horse movies with a hot drink, of course in a horsey mug.
- It is time for warm food so bake autumn cookies using seasonal flavours such a cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, maple and pecans and use a horse shaped cookie cutter or bake pies such as apple, pear and pumpkin and use your horse cookie cutter to cut horse shaped pastry to decorate the top with.
An Autumn worth Remembering
Autumn at the stables isn’t really about owning a horse it’s about the connection, the people, the animal, the countryside and the routines, that make you feel like you belong somewhere. So find your warmest jumper, put on your boots, spend time with horses either at a stables or from afar and be prepared and enjoy getting muddy while you walk through the fallen leaves.
As the leaves continue to fall and the evenings draw in we can look forward to everything this season brings and find joy in the little moments, cozy horsey evenings, crisp rides or walks, plenty of hay and lots of happy horses. Enjoy the beautiful autumn season while embracing your love and passion for horses.
Here’s to Autumn with horses
