A new day, with a little snow...Merry Christmas!

Ruffy & John

We got in our Christmas ride, just barely. With dinner to prepare, family coming, we had to get an early start today. And the frost on the storm door gave us a hint at the temperature! By the time we left for the barn, the mercury had crept up to 26 degrees and it was beginning to snow...Brrrr!

Rolex didn't want to come up to the barn with Harley, so John went and grabbed the next available filly--Ruffy. The promise of carrots was enough to lure her up the hill. Given our shrinking window of opportunity, we decided to go for just a short ride. The ground is so frozen it sounds just like the pavement. So rather than traveling the well-packed Orris Falls Trail, we headed over towards North Point where the footing is a bit more forgiving. And rather than crashing through icy puddles and muck, we crossed (or in Ruffy's case, led) where the muck is just a narrow frozen brooklet. We hooked a loop back through the woods and through what might be someone's deer camp, a trailer complete with lawn furniture, an outhouse, a bathtub (?) and propane tanks. Of course, Harley took one look and the empty chaise longe frame and whirled back towards Ruffy.  With  his new bitless bridle, I'm not concerned about holding him in place when he tries to whirl. And of course, he realized it was not that scary and pranced past it. Always testing, testing--that's what I get for not riding him hard when we approached the place. I should have known he'd pull one of his little stunts. The other good thing about the bitless bridle is he doesn't pull his head down and start grinding his teeth and champing the bit, a sign he's agitated or anxious--he calms down much quicker, relents and moves forward. And anyway, what's a winter ride without at least one whirl! That's my boy!

A grinning gal and her horses on Christmas day