What's Up Wednesday

 

I feel like this blog is very repetitive this time of year. It's cold, and there's snow. And then it's cold and there's snow. But, well... That's what's happening around these parts! 

Last Friday was a decent enough day. It was cold but not too cold. But then it started snowing Friday night. They said we would get 1-3". I probably got 4. So not the worst. But it was very cold after that storm came through. The morning wasn't terrible, it was in the teens so I got the horses out right away.

 The problem was the wind. It was really blowing out there, and bringing that bitter cold with it. By the time I brought horses in it was down to 10 degrees with a windchill of -8. Miserable. 

The gator wouldn't start, so I couldn't dump manure. Which wouldn't have bothered me that much (remember I bought more buckets last time I thought this could happen?) but I knew the next day was going to be worse. 

And it was! I planned to keep the horses in this day. I hummed and hawed about it, but the wind was absolutely howling, and despite all my layers I could still feel the biting cold. In exchange for having to stay in, they got some extra hay and a super long grooming session each. No one seemed particularly upset about no turnout for a day. Thank goodness. 

Once stalls were done, I kept trying to get the gator to start. Every 30 minutes or so as not to accidentally flood the engine of course. I did have enough buckets for one more day of stalls, but I also didn't want to leave all those full buckets for my worker on Monday. My attempts were mostly unsuccessful but after grooming the first horse I got it to turn over briefly before it quit. I had a tiny bit of hope that after the second grooming session it might come alive. It had warmed up to 12 degrees with a feels like of 0. It was a small grain of hope, but it was there. And guess what?!

It worked! It took some coaxing, but it came alive and stayed that way. I was smart enough to not turn it off until I was all finished and it was parked back in its carport. I had to make two trips because I had so many buckets. It was miserably cold. But I was glad to get that done. 

The good news is that this week it's been in the 30's! And it might even get to 40 today! Possible monster storm again this weekend... but it's more likely to miss us, so fingers crossed it stays away. 

As for the horses, I've been working on cleaning up their manes. TurnoutHQ asked me to make some braiding videos, so I need to get the manes in shape for that. I'm going to do hunter braids on Al (he has the best mane for that job), jumper braids on Shiny, and then training braids on Eros (his mane is a monster). I'll probably use Eros for the tail video too. I forgot to grab photos of Al's mane, but here's Shiny's before and after:

She HATES having her mane pulled but was actually pretty good for most of it this time. She did get in trouble though toward the end. I was doing the bottom section, which I don't need to pull because it's thin down there. So I was using a clipper blade to cut what I needed and that's when she decided she had to rear. Like, really? We get through all the bad parts, and now I'm just cutting, not pulling, not hurting her, and THAT's when she rears? Yeah. Not okay. Just for that I worked on her a little longer than I really needed to, just to make a point. She's a smart mare, she knew she was wrong. 

I had a moment with her on Sunday (a nice one I mean!) when I was cleaning her stall. I almost never do stalls with the horses in them. That's normally when they're outside. But Sunday I had to. Well. I could have crosstied them I guess. But I didn't. Anyway. Shiny's very aware of the pitchfork when you clean her stall with her in it. I strongly believe at some point in her past she wasn't treated nicely by a stall cleaner. The workers at last year's winter barn had mentioned that too, that she seemed uneasy about having her stall cleaned when she's in it. And at first she was that way for me on Sunday, staying as far away from me as possible, and moving away rapidly if I got too close to her. But when I was about 2/3rds done, she stood near my back. Far enough away that I wasn't going to touch her as I was cleaning, but still quite close. It was nice. She trusted me. 

Eros ignored me entirely and seemed bothered when I needed to move him. Al wanted to help. All of which tracks. Haha! 

Anyway, not too much planned for the rest of this week. I have to do Eros' mane still, and then I'll hopefully get started on the videos. There is definitely melting happening outside, so as long as winter doesn't turn too angry again, maybe I'll get to ride again before May! Fingers crossed! I miss it! 

What have you all been up to? Anything fun? How's the weather your way?

Truthful Tuesday

 

Today's confession is that I have a new understanding of cold. I always believed that anything under about 15 degrees just feels the same. But that is very much not true, and I have learned that this year. You see, I experienced -8 for the first time the weekend before last that most definitely feels colder than say 10 degrees in the positive direction. VERY DIFFERENT. Trust me. But here's something even more interesting that I learned this past weekend. I will preface this by saying I understand wind always feels colder, but I always believed if you're out of the wind then it doesn't affect the feel. I now realize that is also not true. Sunday morning at breakfast time it was 0 degrees out which is cold. But the wind chill feel was -20. MINUS TWENTY! I don't even understand these words. I can assure you, it felt much colder than -8 real temp did last weekend. 

So that's today's confession. Despite my intense disdain for cold weather, I was very ignorant about it. I am now better educated. And my disdain has grown.

Thursday's Threads

 

Another week out of the saddle means another grooming outfit today. I reached into the archives today for a fun bandana print theme. Here it is:

I've been avoiding jeans with distressing on them because it's been THAT cold out. But this week we made it just above freezing for a few days so it was okay this time. Plus these holes are patched. 

Sweater: Madewell

I'm not usually a red person, but I make exceptions here and there. Bandana print and buffalo plaid are favorites of mine, and I also allow it for Valentine's day sometimes. Though pink usually wins out there.

Belt: Lucky Brand

Isn't this cute? I've had it for ages and wear it a lot. There is a Lucky Brand outlet nearby which is where I found it. 

Jeans: Judy Blue

Aren't these cute?! The patches behind the distressing are bandana print too. They're a little brighter red than the sweater, but whatever. Close enough. 

Boots: Ariat

Yep, still wearing these. Sad news though, they have rotted through at the crease near the toe. I found a pair on clearance though that should arrive this weekend. I didn't want to have to replace these until next year, but I need shoes without holes to go traipsing through the snow on chore days. So here we are. 

 And that's it for this week! We have arctic weather coming in again this weekend as well as an inch or two more of snow. So I imagine we'll still be donning grooming clothes next week. I have seen mid thirties in the ten day forecast though! It's funny, I did get to ride some mid January, so it's only been a few weeks since I've been on a horse. But it feels like AGES! I hope we all (me and the horses) remember how to do the horseback riding when spring gets here. Haha! 

What's Up Wednesday

 

Negative temps is what's up over here. Sheesh. Winter is really wintering this year. I was SO relieved that the latest storm went north this time and didn't clobber us with another nor'easter just yet. That was giving me a real panic when I heard about its potential. So let's see... what have we been up to?

This seems unsafe

Last Wednesday night I actually left the house and went out in public! I went to see Suffs which was FABULOUS. Highly recommend if it's touring in your area. It gelt particularly poignant given the current political climate. 

As for the horses? We're just doing the best we can over here. They really aren't doing much of anything other than turnout and grooming, but none of them seem particularly bothered by the lack of enrichment. Which is a relief! 

A few things I was stressing out about was getting my manure bin emptied and my hay delivery with all the snow and ice everywhere. For both things, a relatively large truck needs to back down a narrow driveway that pitches down hill. Prime conditions for a truck to get stuck, especially once it's deposited its load. To further complicate things, I can't really take a hay delivery until I've pretty much entirely used up what I have because the full load fills my hay barn completely. I am fortunate to have one of the greatest hay suppliers though. I had reached out that I had about a month left a few weeks ago. So when he got an order from my neighbor, he offered to drop me off 50 bales while he was in the area to get me through the worst of winter. 

This was a perfect solution! So that happened on Saturday, and I'm happy to report he did not get stuck. Which was wonderful because my dumpster guy was being a real weenie about the driveway. He was so sure he'd get stuck. But since I had proof that my hay guy with the exact same size and type of truck didn't get stuck, it was easier to convince him to give it a go on Monday. And he also was able to get in and out with no issue. The only trouble there was that the bottom half of the bin was frozen solid so he was only able to empty the top half. Better than nothing though. It will also get me through the rest of winter, so the next time they need to come we should have a clear driveway again. Remains to be seen if I get billed the full amount for the empty... I can see both sides of the coin. He did the same amount of work, but I used up only half the space at the dump site. I mean, I'll pay whatever the bill is. But it would be nice if they discounted it a little since I'll need to have it done sooner than usual. 

I'm feeling much less anxious about the rest of winter now that those things have been attended to. Which doesn't mean I don't hope it's over really soon. Early spring would be lovely! (Eff what the ground hog says, what does actually know?) 

The weekend was brutal. When I went out to feed Saturday morning the actual temp was -8 which I've already told you yesterday. I've just never seen that number on my thermometer before! It's crazy! Fortunately, it warmed all the way up to 17 that day which felt pretty nice. Sunday at least never went to negative degrees so it was a better day. Plus I already told you about my non stop dance party. Great day all around.

We've actually made it just over freezing the last couple of days and will again through Friday. But then it all comes crashing down. They're expecting wind chill temps in the negative 20's for Saturday morning. Like.. really? I just ordered myself some fleece lined jeans and more wool socks. I'll probably do what I did last Saturday and wait to turn the horses out until we get above zero for the actual temps. When it's that bad out, I've been layering their heavy turnouts over top of their heavy stables, and they seem content that way. It's 900 grams of fill total... which seems like a lot. But Al and Shiny had a fun romp just before I brought them in last weekend and neither was sweaty. So I think it's a solid set up for this insanity for them. They're all shedding like crazy, so they aren't especially hairy. 

That's about it from here. We're just doing our thing over here, trying to stay warm and sane. So far we're doing okay on both. Let's see how long we can hold on for!

Truthful Tuesday

 

Today's confession is that I stepped away from the real world for a few hours on Sunday. I stayed off socials, didn't listen to any news, and just spent the morning with my horses. I had made a new playlist Saturday night specifically to have an enjoyable day in the barn the next day. Saturday was a challenging day of chores as the actual temperature was -8 when I went out to feed. Not the wind chill. The ACTUAL temp. It was stupid. 

My playlist was comprised of only songs I knew the words to so I could sing along and have a dance party ALL morning. The vast majority of the songs were real bangers. I'll probably make a more mellow version for summer when it's too hot for dance parties. The playlist spanned the decades too. Music from my childhood all the way up to now. SUPER FUN!

So yeah, while the horses were out doing their thing in the snow, I was inside singing and dancing like no one was watching, and it was great fun. Put me in a great mood! Got me all pumped up for when the horses were back in and I had to go treasure hunt for all the poop buried in the snow. My last area to hunt was up on the hill in Shiny's paddock. Once I had picked up the frozen poo balls up there, I took a good look at that little hill... It's very steep. And very covered in snow... I had snow pants on... So I made a childlike decision. I threw my pitchfork down to the bottom of the hill. Sat down. Put the poo bucket in my lap.... And slid down the hill on my butt! It was delightful! 10/10. Highly recommend. As long as your'e properly attired of course. 

So that's it! That's today's confession. I unplugged and acted like a child for a few hours this weekend. And then I was ready to face the collapse of civilization once more. 

Thursday's Threads

 

We've reached the point in winter in which I have no idea what day it is. Thus, for today's non riding outfit I needed something to help me keep track of that. Here's what I wore today:

I took pics in the house because I wasn't shedding my layers for barn photos today. 

Sweater: No label

During the pandemic I invested in a sweater for each day of the week, and honestly they still come in handy when all the days start to feel the same. Each sweater is a different color, so that's fun too. 

Belt: Levi's

This bad boy is vintage. I think I got in the summer of 2000, but it may have been a year before or after. It's fun, each of the little leather sections is a replica of the leather label that Levi's jeans have on the back of them. It's fun! Funny story though, this technically isn't my belt. One of my barn friends and I went shopping at the Levi's outlet in Vermont when we were at the horse show and I saw these belts. I got one that was blue and white check with brown leather tabs similar to the ones on here. My friend really liked it and wanted to get one too, but when we went back they didn't have any left so she got this one. At some point she wanted to wear mine so we traded temporarily but then we never switched back. I kind of miss the actual one I got. I keep checking poshmark and ebay now and then in hopes that I might find it again some day.

Jeans: Kensie

I have these in two colors and I thought these were not the same ones I wore last week, but turns out, they're the same ones. I did laundry on Tuesday though, so at least they're clean!

Boots: Ariat

I'm pretty much wearing these exclusively at the moment, unless I have to traipse through the snow in which case I need something considerably taller. 

That's it for today. The horses are wearing the same thing as last week since we're not doing anything exciting these days. Short and sweet blog post today!

What's Up Wednesday

 

You know what's NOT up this Wednesday? The temps outside! That's for sure. I don't think we've climbed out of the teens since... Who even knows. Also, did you know it's still January? How many days are in this month? 600? Feels like 600. Anyway... Let's revisit the last week, won't be a long one since we're not doing much around here. 

Okay, so I guess we were above freezing for a few days last week. Thursday I was able to take the horses out for some grass, and I think I hand walked them in the snow on Friday. 

Then it got stupid cold again. And then on top of being stupid cold it snowed. Saturday was one of those single digit days, though I think it did eventually get to 11. Which is double digits and I should appreciate that. But the day wasn't without drama.

Brrrr

So Saturday morning, I was walking Shiny down to her paddock. I have a concrete pad down there that the manure bin sits on and the pad extends to the crest of the little hill down there. What I couldn't see was that the entire concrete pad was black ice. Shiny didn't notice it either. Once we got onto the pad, we both just started sliding down the hill. Pretty much out of control. We were on different trajectories, so I just let her go. I figured if I pulled on her lead rope, we'd both go down and that would be worse than a loose pony. Which turned out to be the right choice. She's a very smart pony, so she took her time trying to get her footing and then got over to the edge of the pad where she could find some safe footing. And then she just waited for me. What a good pony. I retrieved her and we climbed down the snow covered grassy hill to get to her paddock instead. She was so smart and patient while I carefully navigated that... She's really such a good pony. Thankfully neither of us were injured in that bit of trauma. The rest of the day was mostly uneventful. I spent a decent amount of time trying to source more muck buckets locally because I really wasn't confident the gator would start in the cold. Tractor Supply near me claimed to have no stock, so I got some flexible tubs instead but they only had 5. Which is like one days worth of stall muck. So I also got a few of the Walmart version. And then, but some miracle, the gator worked and I didn't need them. But you know what? Better to be prepared than not. I'm sure they'll be of use in the future at some point. You really can't have too many buckets in a barn. 

And you might be thinking why not use the truck if not the gator? Well, when I went on vacation and didn't drive it for 10 days, the batteries both drained. So that particular piece of machinery is currently a lawn ornament. I'll get it tended to soon, I just am out of extra cash for that this month. (That's a lot more expensive than buckets.)

Sunday morning was supposed to be clear until 9, but the snow started at 8 instead. Because of course it did. But that was okay, I got all the horses out (using the grassy hill with Shiny to get down to her paddock) before it was sticking. That was easy at least. By the time chores were done and the horses were in we had several inches of snow on the ground. The gator once again started up for me with a little encouragement. MVP right there. Good little gator!

Photo from early Sunday morning

It was nice to get chores done before it was too bad out. I must have groomed that day too, but honestly who can remember. Not me. All the days feel the same lately. It snowed all day and night Sunday but we did get some mixing with sleet late in the night. When I went out to do night check I planned to shovel my way out there, but it was so much snow and so heavy, I finally gave up and just trudged my way through. It was exhausting! 

I did shovel out the doors though. Nothing worse than the doors freezing shut. Thankfully when that has happened in the past, I can get in from the covered walkouts. 

I gave my worker a snow day Monday because I figured my plow guy wouldn't be here early enough for my worker to get in the driveway. Which was true. We did shortened turnouts on Monday, and I didn't take Shiny to her paddock. Instead I put her in one of the covered walkouts while the boys had their time in the ring, then put her in the ring for a bit after them. Musical turnouts if you will. 

I also waited to do stalls/turnout until after the plow had come. Just seemed better. It would be a little warmer, and easier for me to get around. They didn't do the best job with the plowing, but they came back Tuesday to finish up and I think we're in good shape now. The horses weren't thrilled with this amount of snow. Eros was certain it was too deep to walk in (it's not) and even Al was like, phew this is a lot of work. The only one who really meandered a bit was Shiny. THE SHORTEST ONE! Haha! Girls rule. 

I didn't groom them that day because it was nearly dinner time by the time everything was finished. I had done a lot of shoveling (I had to redo most of the paths the plow guys did because they were barely a person wide, not big enough for horses, and I also had to shovel out to the propane tank, Rita needed a path, etc) and the chores were so much harder with all the snow. Like getting the muck buckets into the dumpster was a whole level of hard I'm not used to. With the snow, I had to lift them higher than my head to get them up there. Silly. I hate this. Anyway, I was exhausted by the time chores were done so the horses didn't get groomed. I think they'll survive though. 

Tuesday I took off from horses. I mean, I made hay bags for Shiny, fed/watered/did all the meals and all that. But I didn't do anything else. My body was needing a wee break. It deserved it! This little farm is a lot when you're by yourself in a snowstorm like this. 

But there are bonuses to being alone for these things.  I didn't have to stock up on groceries. Oh no I didn't! Instead, I ordered enough Chinese food Saturday night to feed me through Monday. Best decision I've ever made. No regrets there!

Today we'll do some groomies though and give the horses a bunch of attention. We really can't do much of anything in the ring, there's over a foot of snow out there. I saw them moving around a bunch more in turnout this morning though, so their getting some exercise which is good. 

It will stay really cold here all week and we might get another storm Sunday. Hopefully we do not. Ugh. I need to get a hay delivery and the manure bin emptied, which will be a challenge after all this snow. So more will not help those endeavors. Next week we could see temps reach the low 30's so that will be a nice break before more arctic air returns for the week after. Boy, I really picked the wrong winter to keep the horses home! But hey, at least the barn is warm!