February 16, 2015

Winter Friskies

My trainer was doing stalls when I got to the barn on Sunday.  "I'm really surprised you're out here," she said.  It was 10 above and sunny, which counts as a nice riding day in my book.  If I didn't ride today, I might not ride Monday or Tuesday because we're supposed to get 6 inches of snow and more brutal cold, then I can't come out on Wednesdays ever, and suddenly it's my lesson again on Thursday and I haven't ridden all week.  

Forelock is out of control.

We did a nice long warmup to get his muscles moving, although he was feeling the winter friskies.  I started with the 20m circle exercise from last time, then when he was listening to my seat, I moved on to the trot exercise.  Only I ended up doing it at the canter because he was full of it.  He settled in after a while, though.

Bonus: broke down indoor footing was very slightly frozen, which meant it rode better than usual.

Switched to polos for the day because 1) the Majyk Equipe boots are really hard to get on with gloves (the velcro doesn't have tabs on the end, so it's hard to pull it apart with gloves), and 2) the Majyk Equipe boots were pretty much frozen stiff in my tack locker.  They would have warmed onto his legs eventually, but I'd much rather have polos around my legs when it's 10 outside, personally, and I think Connor would agree with me.


His winter coat makes him look like his head is massive next to his clipped body.

14 comments:

  1. Your commitment in the cold is incredible!

    ReplyDelete
  2. he's adorable, fluffy head and all. I totally would have come out yesterday- I only need decent driving weather. :) I test rode a horse on Saturday in that mess and then yesterday all I did was oil my saddle while watching The Man from Snowy River...

    Maybe this wknd pending lots more snow?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Looks like the indoor will be full of lessons, plus more snow. Better to put it off until we can go outside, sad as that is to say.

      Delete
  3. i love him in that blue pad! glad you got a chance to ride despite the cold... taking so much time off between lessons really bums me out too, and we usually avoid it by hauling out... except when the road conditions are bad, the risks don't really seem worth it.. oh to have an indoor at my mare's barn!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is really nice, I try not to complain about the broke down footing, because it's better than nothing.

      Delete
  4. out of control forelock = ADORABLE

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jealous of your gorgeous indoor :) I finally trimmed Bridget's huge beard off and a few people yesterday didn't recognize her - the opposite problem, a big wooly pony with a tiny trimmed head!

    ReplyDelete
  6. You are braver than I was when I lived up north! If it was below 20 I couldn't keep my hands and toes warm enough and riding just got too painful to be fun.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have Reynauds, so I've put a lot of effort into finding cold weather gear that keeps me going, and since 10 didn't feel too bad the other day, I think I found the sweet spot. The best thing for me is footwarmers, and then I run my hands under hot water, along with Connor's bit, then put them straight into my Back on Track glove liners and SSG 10 Belows. It wasn't bad, really.

      Delete
  7. You are a tough lady! Brrrr!! Glad you still had a good ride regardless of weather.

    ReplyDelete
  8. You're more dedicated than I am! I totally don't ride when it's under 15.

    ReplyDelete