WHERE'S THE SUN!!
I guess we are paying for the beautiful summer we had - sun all the way through October - many wonderful trail rides with the warm sun shining on our back. I have a problem with trying to stay happy in the winter - the short dark days nearly put me into a depression. Since the replacement of a big pipeline that runs through my pasture, I have had to board my horse until the reseeded pasture forms a thatch. The place I am boarding is so lovely, very quiet and well organized, huge covered arena. There are quite a few horses boarded but very few riders so I have this perfectly groomed arena with a wonderful music sound system to ride in - I practice my dressage in the winter and with the music it is so much easier to get a nice steady rhythm at all gates. I don't have any visions of grandeur with my cranky little quarterhorse, Jango, but he is learning and we may just do a few schooling shows in the spring. But I REALLY MISS my trail rides with my friends Penny and Toni. Oh spring, where art thou?. Toni, Penny and I are going to Anacortes on Friday to look at a new horse for Toni. Leon, her current sweet horse, is recovering from white line disease nicely but he has some arthritic issues, so she is retiring him. It will be hard to find her a horse as nice as Leon - just the perfect little trail horse. We are in the midst of a very wet and windy November. Storm system after storm system keeps traveling through. Lots of flooding in the lowlands. The wind was very strong today - I tacked Jango up, took him into the arena to longe him a bit before riding - and all of a suddent a huge gush of wind came up and blew open the arena doors - they are very heavy and big - good boy Jango just looked at them as he continued around his 20 meter circle. Didn't spook at all. That's why I bought this cute, cranky little quarterhorse!! But I just put him back out in the pasture - with the wind blowing like that there was absolutely nothing to be gained by riding him. The storm was getting worse and it was time to get home. The wind has died down, so I will try it again tomorrow.