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.