Horsin' Around

Saturday was all horses, all the time! I had missed riding with my boys.

Saturday a.m., MJ picked Bhen and me (and D), and Nicole up in her big trailer and we went down to the indoor arena just south of us for a lesson with her friend, Jerry, who trains Arabians.  I had been along for the ride, so to speak, on a couple of MJ's lessons with Jerry.  She's fine tuning/rehabbing her husband's race horse.  His real name is something majestic-sounding that has to do with fire or flames, but she thinks he's kind of a dork and calls him (among names I can share here) just plain ol' "Sparky".  She says until he gets his head screwed on straight, he doesn't warrant any high-faluting names.  Fair enough.   

D was kind enough to drag along his camera to get some pictures.  Here's Bhen and me (and MJ with her back to the camera) watching Jerry work some kinks out of Sparky, who was being a dork for a while.  (click photos for bigger)

You can see were were all bundled up, even though were inside.  I had on long underwear, plus heavy leggings, plus a turtleneck and a fleece pullover and a vest, AND my angora scarf.  Jerry helped me get some little things tweaked on Bhen's tack and headstall, and then we did some trotting.

Jerry helped me with some pointers on collection and then we trotted some more.  And then a bit more. (We overstayed our hour by half again as much, but we had the place to ourselves.)

My nose ran almost the entire time, and Bhen didn't like the snow that was melting and sliding off the roof (we had a couple of minor rodeos with that, but that's okay - he's used to be outside and I'm sure he'll get used to it), but we had a blast.  We are going back again next Saturday for another go with Jerry.  I enjoyed working with him immensely.

Later on Saturday afternoon, after a quick lunch, D and I and our friend John took the trotters out for a ride in the snow at the park.  We didn't do much but a nice fast trail walk and a little bit of gaiting.  The footing wasn't great (everything is still snow-covered), and we didn't want to get the crew too sweaty before they had to go stand outside at home in the wind all night.  Both Diggs and Hap did great.  D and John rode along behind me and Diggs, and they had a chance to catch up and chat.  We had beautiful bright blue skies and sunshine, and I think the horses (although they probably wouldn't admit it) enjoyed going out for a bit as much as we did.

All for now......

Comments

[Alarming Female]

pretty white socks!

[Chris]

What a great way to spend time! Finding the right horse: a lot of $$$$. Getting the right tack: another bunch of $$$$. Finding a good trainer? Priceless.

[margene]

It was a great weekend to be out and about. How wonderful you could spend some time with the horses (and Nicole, too!).

[mary lou]

Riding in the snow is great for humans and horses. Behn looks like he has a lovely winter coat. Holley's gets so thick that the snow just sits on her back and doesn't melt, like a well insulated roof.

[Cathy]

It's always cold in an arena. But well worth the time - good for you for doing what you are doing.

[Cheryl S.]

Even all bundled up, you and Behn look pretty sharp!

[Nicole]

Hey--those pics turned out much better than I expected. I'll need to get some tips from D, as most of my attempts at horsey pics when they're in an indoor arena generally suck.

The only part of me that took awhile to thaw after that morning were my feet, even though I had two pairs of socks on. But, they weren't hand-knit socks, so maybe that was my problem. :-)

If you're going to link to me, I'd better start updating my blog again...

[Toby]

That looks like a nice place to ride! Brr...What was the temperature that day?

This is my first Winter at a barn with a fully enclosed arena and grooming area, but get this - it's heated! The grooming area is a nice temperature, maybe 55 degrees. The arena is chilly, but usually wool socks, a thermal top, and a fleece jacket are plenty.

[Karen]

Sounds like you had a pretty great weekend. You both look great!

[Laurie]

Looks cold, but fun. Collection - doesn't the horse have to be trained to recognize the cues, too? I have vague memories of trying it on school horses who had different riders every day. It was an exercise in the theoretical at best.