So far I have had the opportunity to try the Old Mac's twice and I have to say that they do have better traction than the Easy Boots. Also, I notice that the sole is thicker and Little Love doesn't seem to feel the bigger stones as well as before, which of course is great!
These past few days our biggest challenge has been the weather. It has rained, hailed, stormed and been extremely windy on top of it all. The paddock is a mess, there isn't a dry spot anywhere. Luckily the mud is still fairly shallow at the bottom of the hill, which is where the four horses huddle together under the trees most of the day. I've made some attempts to go out for a walk, but yesterday I had to turn back after 15 minutes because the amount of water coming down from the skies was overwhelming, especially since the wind made it all come at us sideways. Today, on the other hand, we were surprised by a hail storm, which freaked Little Love out quite a bit. Luckily I had the saddle on, so I was able to hop on and trot most of the way home. Movement always helps Little Love deal with difficult things.
Despite the rain, we did have a really nice morning on Thursday when Melissa and I were are the barn together. Thursdays Melissa and I have barn duty, meaning that we put the horses out in the morning, muck the stalls out, fill waters, feed lunch. We also do something with Little Love together, such as long reining or taking a walk. Last Thursday the morning was cold and the fields around the barn were frosty. The sun, a novelty at this point, was out and the forest was very still. These are the best moments in life, moments I can share with my two best friends. I took a picture of Melissa walking Lilo down the road.
Here's another picture of my two dogs, Chai and Chili, warming up in the tack room after our walk together.
Welcome to the start of winter *sigh*
ReplyDeleteIt's truly amazing how our horses love to be out in this stuff though.... It was sleeting pretty good here the other day when I went out to see Grif (and our pastures are pretty much like yours..MUD) Grif was enjoying his time at the buffett table (Oops...I mean round bale) and had no intention of coming in with me, even though the weather was crap. When I trudged up the hill to get him -- he turned tail and took off to the other end of the pasture. I just hung out with the other horses until he was ready to come back....and it just amazes me sometimes at how comfortable they are in this stuff. All the horses in the pasture were completely content in their wooly coats munching away (I love that sound...the munching....maybe I'm weird, but I find it to be a very relaxing noise to listen to :-D).
Your dogs are adorable!!! How could we live in this life without our animals to keep us sane? :)
You know Carol, I think you are right. Little Love doesn't mind the rain, but she really hates the deep mud. I don't blame her, since you can get stuck in it really easily (happened to me two days ago, I lost my boot and ended up stepping shin deep in mud with my sock!).
ReplyDeleteWhen I had horses in California they lived in an open barn situation where they could choose to be outside in the rain or under cover. They were ALWAYS standing outside in the rain, by default, even during the worst winter storm!
Ps. Love the sound of horses eating, it's hypnoptizing :-)
I have one horse that will stand outside (with the food) no matter the weather; the other one sprints for the barn at the first drops. I'm pretty sure he thinks he'll melt in the rain, silly boy!
ReplyDeleteAnd your dogs Chili and Chai are adorable!
My two love being outside! I rug them as other than trees there is no shelter. Willie always hated being in a box and like jenj, I knew a horse who would run for his box at the hint of rain.
ReplyDeleteOld Macs are the best K! My friend uses them on her QH mare and they work the best. Sierra goes totally barefoot but we're lucky there!
Our horses will choose to stand out in the weather too, especially if there's food to be had... the almighty lure of food! :) Although, when the rain and wind is really coming down, they go into a large three sided shelter that's perfect. Imagine 6 horses jammed into the back of a shelter, all dozing comfortably, breath steaming out, wooly coats up against one another... now that's a sight to relax me!
ReplyDeleteK, your dogs are adorable!