Healthy horse standing in pasture with environmental water conservation symbols, promoting sustainable horse keeping practices.
Take the HCW Winter Solstice Chore Efficiency Test
Matt Livengood walks his horse through the snow on their way back to the barn, followed by a miniature Australian shepherd

Every year, I like to take a candid look at our chore efficiency to see if there are opportunities to make improvements. Winter Solstice is a great time to do this, since it’s the shortest, darkest day of the year and weather is often at its worst. If horse chores are managable on the Solstice, they should be a breeze come summer!

You take the test at the end of a workday nearest to Winter Solstice. This year Winter Solstice is Sunday, December 21st, so you could take the test on Friday or Monday. After work that day, head out to take care of your horse(s), then come back inside and take this test while you warm up with a hot drink.

The test is a practical and literal one: how easy is it to do your chores and work with your horse? If you pass the test, you have done your homework and prepared your horse property well for year-round chore efficiency.

Winter Solstice Chore Efficiency Quiz

Choose the option that's closest to what you experienced during your horse chores tonight.

Picture of Alayne Blickle
Alayne Blickle
Alayne Blickle is a lifelong equestrian, ranch riding competitor, and the creator and director of Horses for Clean Water. Well-known for her enthusiastic, down-to-earth approach, Blickle is an educator who has worked with horse and livestock owners since 1990, teaching manure composting, pasture management, mud and dust control, water conservation, chemical use reduction, fire preparedness, and wildlife enhancement.  Blickle and her husband raise and train their mustangs and quarter horses at their eco-sensitive guest ranch, Sweet Pepper Ranch, in sunny Nampa, Idaho.
Picture of Alayne Blickle
Alayne Blickle
Alayne Blickle is a lifelong equestrian, ranch riding competitor, and the creator and director of Horses for Clean Water. Well-known for her enthusiastic, down-to-earth approach, Blickle is an educator who has worked with horse and livestock owners since 1990, teaching manure composting, pasture management, mud and dust control, water conservation, chemical use reduction, fire preparedness, and wildlife enhancement.  Blickle and her husband raise and train their mustangs and quarter horses at their eco-sensitive guest ranch, Sweet Pepper Ranch, in sunny Nampa, Idaho.

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