Winter Struggles

 Just a quick little update this morning, sadly without any recent pictures - it's been dark and rainy and honestly I've been prioritizing just getting the horses exercised and chores done before sunset.

Sophie has been so, so, full of it. It's the time of year where the paddocks are muddy and she's not a fan. So, she spends a lot of time in her stall looking out at the rain. She was starting to sample some not so great habits like eating dirt, chewing on things, and an interesting repetitive rear/spin/stomp thing. Unfortunately, for where we live and the time of year it is, she already has the biggest turnout space one can find (I'm guessing it's about 80'x100'), and it's already available to her 24/7 so I'm kind of limited. The ground is just not conducive right now to the amount of running and playing she likes to do ( it's a little too dug up and slick) so she's frustrated. She's by far the most active and playful horse I've owned (or actually even met - Amanda's Presto looks like a virtual soulmate though!)

I wish we had her big gorgeous fields here!

I feel like half my camera is full of 'Sophie playing in the mud' pictures right now.

 At a minimum, I get her in the round pen once a day for some exercise, and I've had her out to the club grounds and on the trails a few times this week for some exercise and exploration.  I've also given up trying to weigh her hay appropriately into meals so she has an unlimited supply of hay in strategically placed nets and hay balls to eat or waste as she sees fit - I'd rather that than her eating dirt and fences. I'm dreaming right now of finally getting the plans and permits done for our own place and building her a big gallop friendly paddock with a gravel base for winter. Next winter she'll be able to have a proper job, and making time to have her in a full work schedule will have to be a priority. It's not exactly giving me the warm fuzzies right that her living situation is so obviously not suiting her. For now though I will just have to cross my fingers for a few drier days so the ground can drain and she'll have better footing to play on.

Is not starving under that coat, is just bored :(

And then we have Bridget. Also entirely too full of it! She seemed a little 'up' on Saturday, but it's Bridget and I had some decent rides through the week (even being the calm babysitter for a friends young horse's first trail ride), so I hopped on anyway. And, she proceeded to unload me in a very naughty pony type way :) Nothing hurt but my pride (and B's reputation - why is there always someone watching and ready to gossip when weird stuff happens? It's like a built in law of equestrians or something) so I got back on but she just didn't really settle. It's an odd day when I can't tire B out! Yesterday, I opted to longe the little monster prior to getting on and that was a wise decision. Again, not so great of a ride because she was super spooky and wired and honestly despite all the hiking and yoga I feel a bit too unfit as far as saddle time goes to really manage it as well as I could. It's B, though. By tomorrow I'll probably be struggling to wake her up :)

Fairly accurate representation of normal energy levels.

On the plus side, she's obviously feeling fantastic, is at a perfect weight, and to my eye looks and feels 100% and ready for bit more of a work schedule this spring.

On another note, I have fallen off twice recently after a nice hiatus of managing to stay in the saddle for a couple of years. I also have some new riding tights. I have worn them twice. I have fallen off in them twice. I'm not superstitious, but still...they have a 100% fall rate and while it's not exactly unheard of for me to end up on the ground, this seems a little excessive 🙈 Just in case, I think those tights are going to live in the back of the closet for a bit 😏

So, horses in winter in the BC raincoast. This is fun, right?