Brrrr, Baby, It's Cold Out Here!

There, there, Brumby, there is no need to be so bashful for the camera! Why? Because you are a camera's dream! How dazzling you are in the white snow! I took this picture yesterday on our trail ride. In truth, I think Lilly is looking back at a rooster howling in the distance. We had a grrreat ride...but it was much colder than the previous day.

Just how cold? Cold enough to make me look like some kind of scary Pink Slasher. Can you believe how ridiculous I look?  The wind was howling like something out of a horror movie, so perhaps it is apt that I myself look so frightening. But without this gear, I simply could not have been out there. It was the kind of day that looks pretty from inside the house, but once you get out in it, without the right gear, you would rather be dead. As it was, I had so much stuff on my head alone, I instantly got a headache.

  Look at my new mittens! See that zipper? That's so I can slide a hand warmer in there! Brilliant! They aren't riding mittens, and it took some getting used to with the reins.But over all? A+ !

Even though Lilly refused to drink from the bucket I offered before we left the barn, suddenly she was dying of thirst on the trail. It is very hard to stay on when she dips down to get water. I have to assume some most challenging yoga poses. And the drinking! It is as dainty as a cat. 

Lilly always has to have a look around at the Big Pasture to see if any of her buddies are within sight. She also likes to nibble at the leftover hay at this gate. 

Bill had spent the previous day snowplowing the road between his house and the BP. It's a dirt road, hardly used by anyone. But it is excellent for horseback riding in all seasons. As we were walking along, big gusts of wind would blow snow off the pastures and right into us. 

Last time I mentioned that Lilly was wearing her Renegade boots and they basically got frozen onto her hooves. So today I left the boots off (had them in a cantle bag, just in case) and she did really well without them...with the exception of occasional build up of snow while we were on the road. After I am back at work on Wednesday, Bill will give Lilly's feet a little trim to keep her flares down, in our continuous effort to get her to become a barefoot horse. One thing is certain: not all horse hooves are equal. Not even close in my opinion.

 For a lot of our ride, we were on a trail that had no footprints in it yet. My brumby slowly trudged through these trails stopping every 10 steps to look around. When we are with other horses, or even when Brandon is out hiking along with us, my brumby moves along a little faster. But when it is just the two of us, we slowly amble along. If the wind hadn't been so bad, I would have brought along my new tree identification book, which not only shows leaves, but the bark and shapes of trees as well. But the wind made being mittenless too brutal.Goal for 2013: learn to identify all trees in the woods!

Oh, pink trail marker! Dear friend! Thank goodness you are out here to guide us through the woods made unfamiliar by all the snow!!!

Happy New Year, everyone!!

may 2013 bring you horse love and adventure through every season!!