Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Awaiting Another Storm

Or Just Some Wet Sloppy Mess

Now the worry comes. This next storm may be sleet, may be rain, may be snow, or may be a combination of all three.  The big fear, as far as I am concerned, is ice.  Even if the Boys were all decked out in full snow shoes--Scott has not been here yet--or simply barefoot, ice is dangerous.  I am going to have to carefully monitor the situation in case I have to keep the Boys in for safety.

I have to laugh a bit at all of this. I keep thinking about mothers sending their children off to school on a cold morning. They have to make sure the little ones have the right coat, hat, mittens, and boots to ward off whatever weather is going to strike.  The standard cliche moment is the little boy bundled up in his snowsuit who suddenly decides he need to use the bathroom after the long struggle to get him dressed "just right" for the winter.  Or, better yet, if you know the film "A Christmas Story," the little kid so zipped into his snowsuit that he can hardly walk, let alone get up after tumbling in the snow.

Fortunately, our horses give us a little more leeway,  Snowpants are generally out, but the many variations of blankets and hoods certainly do make things entertaining.  "I put my horse out in his heavy turnout today," says a friend. And then you, as a fellow caring horse owner, start to worry that perhaps the midweight turnout your equines are sporting is perhaps not quite warm enough.

Luckily, today, the options for horse clothing is amazing.  "Water resistant," "waterproof," "ripstop," "ballistic nylon,"  "freedom fit shoulders,"  "stable blankets," "turnouts," fleece liners, storm flaps, hoods, and all kinds of strap configurations offer a wide range of choices.  Lightweight, midweight, heavyweight, "breathable," lined and unlined come to mind in the long list of options.

And then there are the colors!  Gone are the simple drab choices limiting you to blue, green, red, or black.  Lavender? Pink? Purple? Floral? Plaid? Stripes?  Geometric pattern?  Not only will your horse be comfy, warm and dry, but now he/she will be stylish as well.

There seems to be a trend among small dog owners to deck their little pooches out in all kinds of fashions. Maybe the equine manufacturers have been missing an opportunity here--fashion foward outfits for horses!

Wonder how Tucker would look in a sailor suit?

(The winter is clearly affecting my mind......*lol*)

5 comments:

  1. Anonymous5:56 PM

    No, no sailor suits.

    You guys have been clobbered this winter. Ice is my greatest fear too. There was a winter a couple of years ago when we had twenty inches of snow followed immediately by two inches of rain, followed by very cold temps. The result was a several inches thick sheet of ice, everywhere - pastures, dry lots, paddocks, the parking lot, everywhere. The only way you could get into the barn was by holding on to the walls or other objects. If you stepped on the ice sheet, you fell down. The poor horses were locked inside the barn for 11 days with no turnout - I did a lot of hand walking in our very short aisle. Finally we got some warming and the top of the ice slushed up. Very scary - hope you get the snow instead although that's a lot of trouble.

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  2. Oh, I think Tucker would look just darling in a sailor suit! Plus, he'd be so humiliated that I doubt he'd get up to any shenanigans! *L*

    I'm not looking forward to this storm, either. I'm ready for winter to be done. Good luck!

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  3. Ice is my least favorite part of winter. Glad I have spikes that slip over my boots or I'd be like Bambi on ice. Hope it's just some uneventful snow but I'm not optimistic. This is getting old.

    I liked your take on the blankets. Not sure I'd do a sailor suit I think I'd like to put my guys in medieval armor though.

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  4. I wish I could share some sunshine with you.

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  5. check caroline's latest photo on her blog for a totally wrecked rug....

    it's a nightmare. i was worrying today that the rug would not prove watertight - happily, it did, but is now off horse and put somewhere to dry...

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