Thursday, December 10, 2009

Brrr! Winter Has Arrived

I feel like it just became winter all of sudden. I mean we have had medium temperatures until Saturdays rain/snow storm then boom magically it was high 30s / low 40s and freezing. Sunday especially was frigid. I had to bust out my layers, which are my best friend this time of year (besides toe warmers of course!).

The only good thing about winter is getting to use all my winter supplies for Satin and I. Along with the layers and toe warmers came the bit warmer, riding the pony bareback in her blanket, her new cooler, and my embroidered "Satin" jacket. This year I plan to invest in two new winter tools. One is a winter helmet cover that wraps around your face. I had one about two years ago which somehow got lost in the shuffle, but I definitely miss it! Today in the blustery cold and wind I tied a scarf around my face to simulate that protection. It worked, but was much less efficient and more difficult to put in place and keep there. I also plan on getting a fleece seat cover for my saddle. My old trainer used to use one in the winter and said it helped keep her toasty (plus is comfy too!).

Though I would trade the use of fun winter supplies in for some warm weather any day! I am definitely not looking forward to the cold weather still to come. Yesterday was tease. It was rainy and gloomy all morning then around noon the sun came out and it was 60 degrees! I almost wasn't going to go out to the farm because of the morning forecast, but the afternoon turn changed my mind. And thank God! It was a gorgeous day to ride. I mean really, how many 60 degree days do you get in December? So K and I hacked around the farm and then did a few barrel dashes. Satin was very hyper and feeling her oats with the warm break in weather. She took off full force for the barrel, crow hopping all the way. Such a silly girl. She is always out to prove that 20 is the new 2!

So this weeks riding log includes a schooling ride on Sunday. Satin had a beautiful jog and lope, though I should have worked on one handed, as well as, two. Then we worked on quarter turns, 180s at the jog, and rollbacks as per Renee's instructions and she did well. The rest of the week we mostly hacked around the farm, including Wednesday as I already mentioned where we added some barrel work. Today we rode in the ring bareback in a halter. We also did some brideless work and she was pretty good. She got a little quick at the canter, as she usually does bridleless, but was otherwise very responsive. We even did some bridleless spins, which were very nice as usual. I hope she is hiding in her shed tonight as I can hear the wind blowing full force outside my window. Tomorrow she will get the day off to relax.

On Sunday I also my friend's STBD Larry. Larry as I may have mentioned has not been ridden in over a year pretty much until the week before when I climbed back on. Larry is a very nervous boy. I call him the boy in the bubble! So Sunday we head into the indoor with our friend M and her mare. We were unhappily surprised to find that there were three large hyper thoroughbreds having a jumping lesson and a fourth joined shortly after. Our two nervous greenies who had not been ridden in a week were obviously "hot" especially on such a chilly day. Larry was very nervous with horses cantering past in all directions and tried once or twice to go up. R fixed the situation asking for the horse turned out in the outdoor to be brought in. The outdoor arena was mucky, but parts were decent enough to ride in. It took a few minutes to get Lar settled in and in a work frame of mind, but once he did he was very good. He gave me a nice ten minutes worth of trot which is very good for an out of shape pony like him. He also backed beautifully and walked several times over a cavaletti with very little protest. I hope to ride him again this weekend as we are shooting to have him ready for April showing!

These last 2 weeks have been super busy at school with the semester ending. I have been buried under papers, projects, quizzes, etc. I am so glad that today was my last day of classes. I handed in my final creative writing piece, though I still have the portfolio to complete for next week. I did my group presentation for International Media too, which I think went well. Now besides for my portfolio I just have Astronomy and Women Writers finals to prepare for. Unfortunately my exams are on the last two exam days write before Christmas, but the only good thing is it gives me almost 2 weeks to study.

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