Two Out of Three Ain't Bad

And What Do I Need to Ride?

Above freezing temperatures, no precipitation and good footing.

Well, we had the weather. We did not have the footing. With the snow starting to melt, I am back to semi-frozen slop in my arena. The trails through the woods are still snow covered, but the snow packs quickly in the shod Boys' feet, so unless the snow is fairly deep, which it no longer is, all the snowballs do is make it difficult to do anything but mince along.

Now, the good news is that it's supposed to be up around 5oF tomorrow and into the upper 60'sF on the weekend, so the snow is going to disappear really fast. Christmas Eve, when the temperature went up to nearly 70 F during the evening, the snow and ice were gone in a few hours. With the daylight sun, that should happen even faster.

But, how much mud will be left behind? I didn't see any significant winds predicted so I'm not too optimistic. The only possible advantage might be that this snowstorm landed on thawed footing so it's possible the water will soak in quickly instead of lying on the surface creating the above-mentioned slop.

I will be going to watch a lesson at a new indoor not too far from here on Saturday. One of the women who rides with my trainer when he is here and not in Florida, is taking a lesson with someone new. The indoor is supposed to have fabulous footing so I am really interested. And I will also be interested to watch the training session. Maybe it will inspire me to get back in the saddle...well provided I have the third item I need for riding....good footing.

Meantime, my little herd has developed a new temporary dynamic. Toby and Tucker are hanging out together and Chance is off "doing his own thing." The two were on one side of the barn in the paddocks by the driveway and Chance was off alone in the paddock by the arena.

This kind of social interaction fascinates me. I would think a real herd would tend to stick together, but here, I often find one horse off by himself. Most of the time, though, Tucker seems to be with a buddy. Does that suggest a sense of confidence or a lack thereof. Toby is definitely the alpha horse and Chance. not at all assertive, seems quite content at the bottom of the pecking order. And yet, he does not seem at all browbeaten despite the fact that Tucker does try to bully him around.

But that's just Tucker. He tries to bully me around. We address it constantly.

And someday I will actually win. *lol*