If you are anything like me, your poor feet hate the damp and cold of winter; my sorry feet suffer horribly with the irritating itch and pain of those dastardly chilblains. If I don't manage my feet I can end up with chilblains adorning every one of my toes for most of the winter months! Winter parties can become a bit of a trial as finding beautiful party shoes that hide my now swollen and hideous feet is depressing and nigh on impossible! So, what can be done about this debilitating problem?

According to the NHS, if you suffer with this irritating problem then prevention is key.

Below are some suggestions to help guard against chilblains:

• Limit your exposure to the cold. This is sage advice if you don't own dogs or horses and enjoy an outdoor lifestyle.
• Look after your feet. Well as the old adage goes, "No foot, no horse" so surely the same can be said for us, "no foot, no horse getting fed or exercised!"
• Keep active ‐ well again, if you own horses or dogs and enjoy an outdoor lifestyle, then you are probably already active.
• If your skin gets cold, it's important to warm it up gradually. Heating the skin too quickly ‐ for example, by placing your feet in hot water or near a heater ‐ is one of the main causes of chilblains.
• Invest in good quality thermals such as Equetech's Arctic Thermal Underbreeches or Thermal Stirrup Underbreeches
• Warm your shoes on the radiator before you put them on -this is one of my favourite pieces of advice, I love warm shoes and boots, as it makes me feel very decadent! However, I'm not sure that heating on the radiator is particularly good for leather.
• Keep your house well heated ‐ waft this piece of advice under the nose of a partner that always turns the thermostat down!
• Wear good quality long winter socks, like Equetech's Winter Tech Riding Socks.

Hopefully following this advice and investing in some good quality underbreeches and socks will help prevent the misery of chilblains this winter.