Thursday, January 28, 2016

freeeeeedom!!

Otherwise known as running around through deep snow like absolute children, and loving every minute :D

foes in turnout, but friends under saddle?
First off, our BM managed to clean up the barn's driveway a bit more after the storm (definitely needed since even my 4wd truck had gotten stuck a couple times on the way in the day before...) and all the kids came out to help out since schools are closed. And by this point, more paths had been cleared and the manure pit was finally accessible again.

So after only a few very short days, our barn actually looks more or less like a normally operating facility, rather than the scene of recent disaster. (Just don't try to find the arenas - they're buried. Oh, and watch out for the parking lot too.... in time, folks, in time)

giggling like a child
Only a few tasks were really left by this point (like digging out the trailers...) so who could resist taking a break on a balmy ~40* sunny day to ride around in the snow?!?

isabel says knee deep snow is nbd
Never mind that Isabel hadn't been ridden in about two weeks (first bc of her bruised sole, then bc of the storm...). And the fact that there really isn't anywhere to actually ride except for the field, where horse eating monsters are known to live. We just led the horses up alongside the fenceline and climbed aboard that way (bc let's be honest here, even if my leg weren't recently broke, getting on from the ground is not my specialty lol).

pictured: isabel's preferred method for clearing the snow 
And omg guys - SO FUN!! I've only ever ridden around in snow like this mayyyyybe once before in my life. It's just pure sheer joy :D

wheeee!!!
Isabel was predictably a little, erm, expressive about getting around in the snow, and it didn't take much for her canter stride to morph into a series of small bucks... But nothing malicious - just playing, really.

run mare RUN!!
I think she enjoyed herself tho ;)  Actually - I had heard tell of her tearing around the pasture like a maniac upon first being turned out after the storm too. Apparently there's video, tho I have yet to get my hands on it.... maybe soon?

i love the tail flick
Obviously we weren't really shooting for any real work out there... Even just walking through the snow before climbing up was exhausting for us, so surely it was tiring for the horses too... Mostly I just wanted to play around a little bit and catch some fun photos and videos. Mission accomplished? I think so lol.


My favorite part about this little clip above is that while I'm absolutely getting tossed around in the tack after losing a stirrup and actually coming close to eating shit in a couple places... what you can't tell from the gif is that the videographer and I are both laughing hysterically the whole time. Like, c'mon, look at her go!?! Lol sassy mare!

she thinks she's vurry impressive
I guess we gotta just cut loose and have a little fun sometimes. Especially given that all our implausible winter plans are already unraveling - starting with the cancellation of this upcoming weekend's clinic... Le sigh. I guess we kinda knew it was coming tho, right?

look at that hock action! ha
And it's fairly official that riding at our farm on weekday evenings is absolutely out of the question now, probably through the end of the season (unless we're REALLY lucky with the weather...).

tired horse is tired 
Some readers might recall that last year we shipped out to FV once or twice a week to school, in addition to our weekly lesson at OF. I'm not sure yet what the plan is for this year. Weekly lessons at OF are still on the docket, as are weekly rides with dressage trainer C too, hopefully.

But what about weekday evenings? Will we try a repeat of last year's plan? Idk yet. It's soooo exhausting to have to haul out every time we wanna ride... but then again are the lessons even worth it when we can't school and practice? And is it fair to the horse if she can't be kept in enough work to even maintain a baseline fitness? Idk. Gotta figure it all out, I guess.

gettin by with a little help from my friends
In the meantime tho, priority numero uno was liberating the trailer (and my car, which had been parked directly in front of it with the idea that if you dig one out, the other is more or less free too). And very fortunately, the BM took pity on me and moved most of the snow with the tractor, while our lesson program director R helped dig out the rest.

nothing quite like the sight of a dug-out trailer!
So. Have trailer, will travel, right?

50 comments:

  1. That looks like so much fun! I wish I had been working Annie a little more regularly before the snow because I love bareback rides in the snow. Houston and I had some lovely ones. Maybe next time!

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    1. it's definitely so fun - i'm sure Annie will be a pro at it in no time flat! the other horse out with us was foot perfect and is only a little older than Annie and has maybe been in work for about the same amount of time :)

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  2. Yes!!! 100% agree you have to take a break and enjoy it! Trotting and cantering through the snow like that is the most fun, ridiculous, awesome feeling (and a good workout!) - the only fun thing about that much snow IMO!

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    1. ha yea i'd agree that it's the only fun thing about this snow... glad we got to enjoy it a little bit before it got all icy and crunchy too :)

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  3. So fun! After being sick for most of December and all of January (ughhhhhh) I've decided to throw in the towel and give my guy off until maybe March. I have an indoor, but I'm just not riding consistently, so every ride is a battle :( spring will get here soon, right????

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    1. aw i'm sorry to hear that you've been so ill. your plan makes sense tho - and maybe will even provide some relief so you don't have to worry or feel guilty or anything like that when he's not getting ridden. and the time off for isabel did her a world of good, so perhaps it'll be the same for your guy? good luck!

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    2. I swear I've had every cold/virus in MD! There was one really nice week in Dec where I felt good :) it is a relief - now that I'm just not riding, I don't feel guilty that I should be. Although starting him back might be interesting...

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    3. well hopefully once you're ready to start riding more regularly again, the weather and turnout situations will have improved enough that he won't have quite as much pent up, erm, *enthusiasm*?

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  4. Someone was having fun kicking up her heels in the snow :)
    I'm glad you have your car and truck free but that sucks about the clinic. Hopefully the rest of your winter plans don't get derailed.

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    1. ha kicking up her heels indeed! i think she had a blast lol :) and yea it's disappointing about the clinic but hopefully they'll reschedule?

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  5. Hehehehehe I couldn't stop watching the video of Isabel porpoising through the snow, that GIF is perfect! I'm thrilled you got to experience the sheer joy of playing in the snow with ponies!

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    1. lol sheer joy is the perfect word for it, as is porpoise hahaha

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  6. That looks like a blast, and that video is SO awesome!

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    1. lol she knows how to enjoy herself i guess ;)

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  7. That looks like so. much. fun! And yay for liberated trailers!

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  8. Wheeeeeeeeeeeee! I love this. All of it.

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  9. Brilliant. Looks like an absolute blast. And hey, even if you were to fall off (which kudos to you by the way, for sticking on a majestic snow dolphin like Isabel), you wouldn't be eating shit- you would just have the fluffiest, most hilarious, coldest dismount ever!

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    1. hahaha 'majestic snow dolphin' ... lol! and yup that is absolutely the truth - and was pretty much exactly what was going through my mind at that moment

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  10. This. Is awesome. I'm super jealous of your snow romp!

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    1. it was sooooo fun haha - one of those things that little kids with ponies do all the time without a second thought, but that we adults who missed out on that kind of childhood can only relive while feeling slightly ridiculous. oh well, totally worth it!

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  11. I love playing in the snow! We generally have 4-5 months where we can count on snow so it's pretty much a guarantee we will get out a few times just to goof off in it. It never gets old.

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    1. glad to hear it never gets old bc while i'm hopeful the snow will melt soon, it's not suuuuuper likely haha :)

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  12. Hahahaha! Snow leaping should be a sport. Ya, hauling out to ride is shitty, especially when you can't ride at home in between. But as long as there is snow, maybe you can use the time to train her to pull you on skis? :P

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    1. ha that would be awesome! sadly tho the real issue is that we don't have any daylight 5 days of the week, esp considering weekends are lesson days. so even just playing in the snow is kinda not possible most of the time

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  13. Hahahahaha! I love deep snow like that. Running through it is SO MUCH FUN. We just didn't get enough to merit a run through so we worked instead :-p The mare is hilarious.

    And yay! Your car and trailer are dug out!

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    1. lol she definitely thinks she's pretty funny! having the trailer and car free are definitely major bonuses too - both have already been put directly back to work (along with the mare haha)

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  14. Haha that looks awesome! I've always wanted to ride in snow like that, but here we always get a gross rain/freeze cycle pre-snow, so the footing underneath is dangerous if you can see it, and worse when you can't. Sad face.

    Keep living the dream!

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    1. ya know, i didn't even think about that - but that must be the reason why we never get to do this, since icy rain and crusty icky snow/ice is WAY more typical for our area than this awesome perfect powder. for once, winter did something right for us lol

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  15. I want to ride in snow like that!

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    1. ha meeee too. it might be my favorite EVAR lol

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  17. Running around in the snow looks like so much fun.

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  18. That looks like fun! Also, if you did come off, you'd land on a mattress of snow!

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    1. haha yup, one of my barn mates actually figured that out the hard (soft?) way too.... sassy ponies!

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  19. I hate snow & cold, but i do think your spin looks like tons of fun ☺☺☺☺
    Fingers crossed on plans being formed and base fitness being maintained for equines and humans alike.

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  20. That looks like so much fun!

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  21. Love!!!! Isabel is such a funny girl- you should start calling her Barbara ;) hahaha jk- but love the snow leaps! And heck if the snow sticks around you can just ride in it all the time and I bet it would get the ponies super strong really quick with as much work as it takes to trot through it (and maybe get more fun videos of snowy Izzy???)

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    1. ha we'd be super fit if we rode in the snow all the time. alas, there are no lights in the evenings after work (and on weekends we haul out for lessons, much preferred). so quite frankly i'd like it if the snow would *not* stick around lol

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  22. I grinned like a fool during my one snow ride too. Just something about that white stuff combined with horses!

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    1. ha there's nothing quite like careening through the powder like children :D

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