Crazy weather today. We started out at near 40 degrees this morning and the temps have been falling steadily, and rapidly, all day. It's now a frigid -6 degrees air temperature, -34 with the windchill. And what a wind it is. I felt like I was going to be blown away when I struggled back from the barn just now.
All of the horses got blankets on tonight, save for Gimli whose coat is thick and shaggy and who always shimmies out of blankets anyway. Hopefully the big boys will let him huddle up with them for warmth tomorrow if he needs it. Myf now wears the one that was first Merry's and then Gimli's. Merry was surprisingly very good about having his sheet put on. He must've been grateful for it, 'cause usually he's at least a bit of a fusspot about having it put on and tonight he stood totally still for it. I wish it was a little more weather-proof (like Annie's nice new turnout sheet), but he doesn't seem to ever need much of a blanket -- just a little extra layer to help hold the warmth in.
After I went and voted this morning, I spent the bulk of the afternoon in the barn. I'd taken the whole day off a) as one of my last chances to take PTO before the busy season at work kicks into top gear and b) because I really didn't feel like hitting the polls at 7 and then spending a large chunk of the morning stuck in the worst of rush hour traffic. Voting after work? Forget it.
Anyway, I ended up pulling Annie out of the paddock, tacking her up, and going for a very short ride on her after I'd cleaned a couple stalls. Since it's been who knows how many years since she's been ridden, I didn't want to tax her overmuch, so we just walked around the arena doing circles and serpentines. She would have trotted, had I given her any encouragement.
She's pretty used to getting her own way most of the time and is pretty pushy on the ground. Under saddle, though, she was great. After only having ridden someone who doesn't know much for the past few years, it was quite amazing to be able to just shift my weight like so, nudge with my leg there, close my fingers on the reins a bit and, voila, circle! I definitely think I could use her as a lesson horse when she's done having babies.
I had tried my all purpose and the Aussie on Annie the other evening. Both fit, but the Aussie, with its higher cut pommel fit her the best, so that's what I'm using here. First time I've ridden in it, actually. Toad's old racing bridle fit her pretty well, too. I was concerned that I might not have a bridle that fit, given her face is proportioned quite differently than my Arabs' heads.
Merry, of course, was a busybody and had to watch.
Annie really seemed to enjoy getting out for a ride. Sadly, with the weather we've got forecast for the rest of the week, I'm rather thinking this may have been my last ride until next spring. We'll see.
Today I took Gimli and Myf out into the arena together so they could get to know one another. I may start putting Myf in with Gimli at night. Annie can get a little cranky with her at times and a 12 x 12 stall is really more room than one little Shetland needs all to himself.
I had hoped for a bit that they'd both get a little wound up and play -- take advantage of the big space -- but this was the most action from either of them.
Meanwhile, other people were having snits...
It amazes me the way she respects that little fence even in full snit mode. She and Merry are two of a kind, though. Bossy-boots, the pair of them. In the end they were hollering back and forth to each other about how upset they were more than they were talking to their respective missing redheads. Gimli and Myf paid no attention to their carrying on.
While Gimli does play with the big boys, I think it's going to be nice for him to have a buddy who is, at least temporarily, his own size. She'll get bigger, but not as much bigger as Merry and, to a lesser extent, Zahr.
Here the girls are following me along the fence line as I use the Deere to move straw bales 'round to the back of the barn. It was pretty cute -- Myf would actually trot along to keep up.
Looked Annie up on the Pedigree Online database; her pedigree is here. Several of her ancestors have photos and info on them, which is quite interesting to read.
Here's Myfanwy's dam's pedigree, and her sire's is here. (take a look at the photo for Louisiana Lagniappe - gorgeous!)
An finally, the pedigree for the stallion Annie's in foal to.
Yesterday went something like this:
- Got up at 0500 hours; fed the multitudes.
- Left the house at approx. 0600 hours.
- I, thankfully, was not the one doing the driving (light as the Brenderup is, my Jetta cannot tow it), so I listened to music on my iPod until it got light & then I read the book I brought along.
- Made a few stops along the way (filling up the fuel tank, taking potty breaks for both humans and the terrier who got to come along for the ride, eat lunch)
- Spent outrageous amount of money on gas.
- Arrived at pony farm a little after 1300 hours.
- Loaded ponies in trailer and headed back towards MN (total stop time 15-20 minutes).
- Stopped once to let the dog pee and to check on the ponies and once to refuel (& check on ponies). Finished reading book.
- Arrived home at approx 2000 hours.
- Unloaded ponies (much to the amazement of Crickhollow's current equine residents) and let them stretch their legs in their paddock off their stall.
- 2045: gave horses their supper slightly early (very light supper for ponies) and closed up everybody in their stalls who get closed up for the night (i.e. everybody but Merry & Gimli -- I won't start shutting them in at night until it gets much colder). Went in house to give indoor cats their dinner.
- Approx 2200, had dinner. Sent e-mail to woman I bought the ponies from so she'd know we arrived home okay.
- After dinner, darted out to barn to check in on everybody. Myf was curled up in the corner of her and Annie's stall (it's 10x14 and they're small, so they get to share) on a thick bed of shavings, sleeping. Annie was standing, relaxed, towards the front.
- 2300: went to bed.
I've taken a few pics of the girls so far this morning (it's overcast & threatening to rain, so it's actually good light for photo-taking), including one of Annie enjoying a roll in the paddock. I'll be taking many more in the next few days, and I'll try to have a few posted before I go back to work on Thursday.
One week from tomorrow, and I'll be headed into Wisconsin to pick up my ponies. There are some new pictures up of Annie's filly from this year on this page -- she's the second one listed. She's a full sibling to the one I'll have out of Annie next summer, and she's gorgeous. I'm getting very excited about my ponies. Can't wait to bring them home!
Yesterday I bought the two ponies I'd been looking at. Annie is in foal, so in the end I'll have three Welsh ponies. (I'm going to have more ponies at Crickhollow than Arabs!)
Since the filly wasn't registered yet, the gal I'm buying them from let me choose her name (or the bit that goes behind her prefix, anyway), so she's going to be Trevethan Myfanwy (pronounced: mih VAN wee).
I'll be picking them up October 11, which should give enough time for their coggins and Myfanwy's papers to get back. I have a few things to pick up & do to get ready for them, but I fear it will be a long few weeks until then. I'm taking off work so I'll have time to hang out with them at home for a couple days after & get to know them. And take pictures. I'm sure I'll be taking lots of pictures.
In the meantime... I shall be shifting lots of hay this weekend. I want to get a pile of the stuff from the first couple cuttings up to the barn so the third cutting (or most of it at least) can go in the hay shed. It's cut and waiting to get baled, so I need to get a move on. It's questionable whether or not I'll have time to ride this weekend.
