After Christmas Slump

Even though we don't officially celebrate Christmas in our household, now that it's over, we're all in a kind of slump. Even Cleo seems to notice the difference. For at least a week, carrots and other goodies kept appearing at her stall door usually accompanied by a card from one of her stable mates. She particularly liked the homebaked cookies from both Kinkaid and Scarlett, but the carrots from Buddy and Kossack were pretty tasty too. But she really doesn't want to work during the winter any more than the rest of us. It's extra damp and cold. Christmas Day was so cold when I went to feed that she and the rest of the horses put on quite a show with running and bucking, rearing and sliding to sudden stops; it was beautiful and scary at the same time. One of the horses across the road managed to slip and slide several feet on her side. Sure enough, when I went to ride Cleo that afternoon, she seemed sore when I asked her to trot, although I don't know if she was hurt or asserting her opinion. So yesterday, she had the leisure to hang out in her paddock. This morning she trotted up to greet me at feeding time and looked perfectly sound, so I may try and ride today. It depends on everyone's schedule. I miss not having Lisa to ride with since her horse is at home being pregnant. In spite of time off, it's often harder to arrange riding dates since none of us is on a reguar schedule. And no one wants to be in the arena during a hail storm or even rain storm since the metal roof makes it sound like a war zone. There are some riders who take the winter off, but I can't imagine retraining Cleo after a four month lay-off. Besides, I'd get terribly out of practice, myself. So I'll have to shake off the winter doldrdums and trot her around today. I always feel better afterward anyway.

The First Day of Winter

Sometimes it's hard to remember summer. It has been raining for a day now with no end in sight. The horses get depressed by the weather too. They slack off on their drinking and eating, and some even get physically sick from the change. Others, like Cleo, can't decide if they are despondent or obnoxious. Today. Cleo was the perfect horse on the ground. She behaved walking from her stall to her paddock and back to her stall. But once under saddle and in the arena, she wanted to be the boss. We rode with our friends Carrie and Artie. Cleo liked being in front with Artie following behind as we walked and trotted around the arena and in and out of the orange cones we set up to practice patterns. But she made it clear she, not I, was in charge. Not okay for a safe and pleasant ride. Artie had his issues too. Lucky for everyone, Emily, our 24ish riding friend, showed up and took a turn on each of our horses. I managed 40 minutes on Cleo and Emily 'finished her off' with a 20 minute trotting regimen of circles and dirction changes. Cleo looked like a regular parade horse. She was round, on the bit, forward, and beautiful. Patrick reminds me it's opnly 90 days until Spring. I remind him I have a mare.......

Having Horses in the Winter

Winter in Humboldt County is marked by wind and rain, two obstacles to happy horse ownership. Although horses are basically cold weather animals, they prefer dry conditions. Their feet and joints don't like too much dampness. So winter here means moving horses to dry spots when possible, putting them in stalls at night to allow their fur to dry out, and then putting them in pens during the day so they can breathe fresh air and stretch their stiff legs from sleeping in a stall all night. Unlike some horses who benefit from a blanket to keep out the cold and wet, Cleo goes uncovered twelve months a year. She has thick, almost long, fuzzy fur all over her body; she looks like a stuffed animal. Her fur serves as an insulator against the cold, but she waits impatiently at the gate to come in at night for her evening meal.

Tuesday, we had a great lesson, but we were both exhausted at the end. We practiced leg yields at the wallk and trot, counter leg yields at the walk and trot, and lots of circles at the trot. That afternoon when I went to bring her in, she appeared stiff and her fetlocks (ankles) seemed swollen. By the next morning, they were visibly 'stocked up.' I fretted all day while at work, but by the evening, they were back to normal as they were this morning even after a night in the stall during a pounding rain storm that managed to keep me awake, and I don't have a metal roof over my head! Horses, like children, require daily attention and concern. That's why I love having them--they require that I get outdoors and think less about myself.