A blustery day at the barn

With a sub-zero wind chill, John and I bundled up and blanketed the ponies before venturing outside. Of course, the horses couldn't wait to be turned free, spinning away with kicks, bucks, and crowhops. John rode the hay sled down the hill, much to Rolex's glee--she loves to follow it and then see what's good to eat on board. Our gamey little girl had the gang running.

Harley led the charge down the hill, but once the hay sled arrived, he let Rolex take the lead. Here he is, trying to catch up to the girls. The wind scoured a lot of the loose snow in places leaving crusty spots, so it isn't all nice fluffy powder. Vance, not sure what the fuss was, and spooked by the sled, ambled down at a walk, but then reminded everyone who's boss as he went from one hay pile to the next, chasing all of them away. Poor Harley, back to being 2nd in the pecking order!

We dispersed the hay down in the bottom corner of the field by the fence line. Here, the horses can enjoy the sun's warmth and be out of the wind. In fact, I think this is the place where they spend most of their time, judging by the scratchings in the snow. Little clumps of dried grass have been pawed free of snow and munched on. Won't they be happy in another couple of months when things really green up! But before that, we need to finish picking up the slash left by the loggers. I mad a lot of headway before the blizzard, but we need to get the tractor down down in the field to move the piles all together for a big burn. Maybe we can reseed the area torn up by the trucks and skidders too. If it's not seeded, it may not come back very well. We'll have to put the horses in the other pasture so it doesn't get churned to mud this spring. Here I am talking of spring and we haven't even finished maple syrup season yet! But the trees are tapped and we've got our first run waiting to boil.

Since John wasn't inclined to ride, and I'm giving myself a full month to recoup, we trotted off to Lowes for fencing boards and then to Tractor Supply for reduce priced busted bags of wood pellets. Our farrier suggest this--use the pellets where they pee to save on shavings. The pellets absorb much better. Harley is the guinea pig--we'll see how it works in his stall before using them in the others.

John on the tundra

Ruffy's birthday was on Sunday--she's officially six now. Our pretty girl is looking healthy and shaggy. She's grown some nice new feet since we've had her, a testament to John's feeding regimen. And Rolex no longer backs into the stall when you walk by. She was extremely head shy at first. Now she sticks her head out and snuffles your hands and pockets looking for treats. Both our girls seem very happy. Harley, well he's still a work in progress, is Mr Chickenpants. He's happy with his girls, but I think he's a horse that is easily stressed. He can be a handful, and even be pokey at times, yet I've got hopes for him. He's landed in a good spot, regardless of what we accomplish, and I think he knows it. When he's snugged up inside on a cold winter night, he'll rest his nose in the crook of my neck, tickling me with his soft breath. I wonder what's going through his mind.

The winds sounds like it may lift off the barn roof tonight. I rub behind Harley's ears and say, "It's, O.K." then give him a kiss goodnight on his velvety nose.

Mr. Muddy Pants gets a partial bath

A windy January ride

Today was "roll in the mud day", twice if your name is Harley. John and I got to the barn in the early afternoon and were greeted by one muddy girl and an exceptionally muddy guy. Harley had obviously just been down in the mud again, because one area was dry, and one was wet. I thought I'd have to nix plans to ride since his back and hindquarters were so yucky. And given the blowing wind and cold temperature, a bath was out of the question, or so I thought.

John heated up some water and give Mr. Muddy Pants a good dousing on his butt. He quickly scraped him, then tossed on a sheet and his quarter blanket. I brushed off the rest of the dried mud and we were off. That stiff wind was blowing right up the hill at the barn, so we headed up the road and into the woods where we could duck out of the weather.  John gave the fillies the day off  and just groomed the gals and puttered around the barn while I rode. I feel like quite the prima donna when he acts as groom for Harley and me.


I planned to ride over towards North Point, but two loose dogs, bent on chasing us, put a dent in my plans. After hollering at them, and pointing an uneasy mount in their direction, they turned back, but then resumed chasing us. Soon they gave up, figuring they'd done their job--chased us away. Harley, keyed up even more, jigged a ways down the trail, but settled once we were out of earshot. We did a nice little loop in the woods, complete with a nice canter, a few trots, and a little jump (fallen birch from the high winds) even though we saw the dogs coming back at as again!  He was wired, but behaved quite well what with the wind blowing and the dogs chasing him.

The weather is calling for falling temperatures with the mercury down in the single digits. That will solidify all the mud and cushy footing we encountered today. Back to frozen asphalt-like trails--yuck. Snow would be nice around now--soft footing, pretty scenery, and maybe some skijoring!