The cold weather presents a lot of challenges when it comes to horses. We have to concern ourselves with how much they are drinking and if they have enough good quality forage. Shelter from the elements is also a concern.
But there are also questions about how much work we can expect them to do when the temperature drops. There is research being done that suggests some guidelines.
I have a senior horse who’s pushing 30, so he has a lot of issues with some stiffness anyway, and I am in my early 60s so I share that issue. I’m also a bit of a whimp (much more so than my horse), so I don’t ride if it’s less than 20° f. However, we do a lot of stuff on the ground – I love ground work for increasing our ability to communicate with each other, for a fairly low stress way to spend time together, and to help build up his fitness. We do a lot of Pole work and as well as suppling exercises and some fun things. During the nice weather, I’ll ride two or sometimes even three times a week, but during the winter we love our groundwork!