Nothing to Prove

Today was cold - low 20s with some sun.  Dawn and I managed to have a very fine ride in the morning - it's great that I can just get on her and ride after two days off, even though it was only about 25F in the indoor.  She was wonderful, very forward and engaged but also nicely soft.  We didn't work long, as that temperature is a bit cold for her without a blanket.

This afternoon the temperature started to drop and the wind picked up.  It was 18F when I left for the barn about 2:30 p.m., and by the time I was on my way home at around 4:30, it was only 11F, and the only (polite) word for what the wind was doing is "howling".  I change from my "people" coat, gloves and headband into my "horse" coat, gloves and headband while standing by my truck - I don't keep my outer horse clothes at home, they live in my truck.  It was mighty unpleasant switching gear this afternoon.

I was hoping to get in rides on Red and Pie since it's going to be even colder, with a lot of wind, over the next several days and it's unlikely we'll be able to do much riding.  Mondays are also one of my favorite days to ride as there is rarely anyone else there and we have the arena to ourselves. It's going to be cold enough tomorrow that I'm even having Dawn kept in her stall tomorrow morning - the wind chill is supposed to be below -10F and she would be cold for sure.  The boys will probably be fine, but I'll be there early to walk Dawn while her stall is being cleaned and can check on them.  Dawn should be able to go out for a couple of hours once the temperature rises a little.

Red and I attempted a ride, after a good grooming.  When it's windy, the outside arena doors rattle and bang and the roof buzzes - we're all used to that.  Today as Red and I started our ride, the wind was howling around the corners and the doors weren't just rattling, they were slamming.  It was darn cold in there, too - barely 20F. We rode for a bit, but then the wind picked up even more and the roof started groaning and there were gusts of wind where snow and dirt were being sandblasted against the sides of the barn.  Red was trying his heart out for me, but would flinch slightly every time there was a particularly loud noise.  Neither of us were enjoying the ride very much, and I decided we should just stop - I didn't need to put him through that even though he would have done it for me.   We've got nothing to prove to ourselves or anyone else.

I jumped off and we went back to the stalls, I told Red what a fine, brave horse he was and he went back to his hay and I enjoyed a nice long grooming session with Pie.  It was a very good day with horses in any event.