January 14, 2012

Want to join us on a winter ride?



I got inspired by Mugwumps "BraCam" and thought that I could try and make a video of Fame and me hacking out today.
I decided on the easy option though and just hold the phone in my hand while riding.
So do you wanna come with us?

Unfortunately hard wind and milder temperatures have made the trees lose all the snow, we don't have much snow  and we did not see much of the sunshine today either...but never mind, it was nice weather for a ride!

You'll just have to take it as is :-) ...no such fancies as music and headings, the post as editor is vacant at the moment.
So please join Fame and me hacking out today!
Here we are heading down towards the creek:




Horses are by nature afraid of ice, just as they are on any insecure footing like bogs etc.
It's logical - a horse in the wild that gets stuck or hurt the legs by all likelihood ends up dead.
Two years ago, a rider from one of the other stables rode out on the ice on a lake at wintertime.
The ice couldn't bear the weight, and the horse tragically ended up dead.

So you have to build confidence with them over time, and on this day we had weak ice which is the worst.
Fame was a good girl though, and we found a way over.
Had to keep both hands on the reins going down to the water though.


Looking back on the water, I saw something floating? Oh no, my glove....
Not exactly the right time for a bath. What to do?
I just had to turn Fame, and see if I could get hold of it.
It floated merrily downstream, but luckily ended up on one of the icy part in the middle, and I managed to fish it up with the dressage whip. Yes!
And up on the other side...with a soaking wet glove. Nice.
Couldn't keep it on, and couldn't put it in the pocket either.
I finally decided to hang it as a tree decoration until our return.



So my next project was to try and video at canter.
Bear in mind that I was riding bareback, and my horse is an agile spooker.
So, halfway down the video you hear me squeak almost falling off as she spooks over a small darkish pine tree, silly girl.
I apologize for the video quality as the wind made a lot of noise and the camera man did some shaky footing.
Fame was actually a good girl and kept a nice controlled canter apart from the spooking. I believe she was a bit puzzled about what I was doing though.



We continued up, and did some more canter intervals at a higher speed, and this time I decided to be a bit more sensible and keep both hands on the reins and my concentration on the horse.
As usual I jumped off at the top, and walked beside her on the way down.
When I hack out I normally ride her bitless, either on a sidepull or as here on a hackamore.
I have exchanged the chin chain with a leather strap though, it is a softer solution which works fine.




Finally found a stone and was able to get on Fame again  so I did not have to splash through the creek by foot.
Found the glove as well.
It was frozen stiff, but I managed somehow to get it into the pocket of my jacket for the last part of the ride home.

Thanks for joining us!


January 11, 2012

Winter....wonderful!


Wonderful weather on Sunday, riding home from a training session


We are in the middle of January, and the best part of the winter lies ahead.
It took me some years, but I actually do like the winter!
I would be happy to shorten it though, to exchange November (when we often have sleet, rain, fog and darkness) and January (when it often is very cold AND dark) against two more months of summer.
That would be perfect!

The creek is still open


But from now on the temperature normally is stable below freezing point, and we normally have snow.
The days are getting longer, and in February we can get some marvellous days with azur blue skies and glistening snow.
I love, love, love a beautiful scenery and we get some amazing winter landscapes if the weather is right.
And I love the snow as it brightens everything up, and is super to ride on!
(Yes, it is cold and unpractical too, layers of clothes and a cold and icy car and icy ground and snow shovelling and whatnot, but the winter comes every year so it's better to enjoy it, right?)

I love the colours of winter too, the subtle hues of blue and grey, the instensity of the sprakling white.
Up here in the north the colour of the sunshine is much more white than further south.
A winter day with full sunshine is sprakling like a gem. It is so light your eyes hurt.

We had a wonderful day today, with a clear sky and full sunshine.
I had to drive home early, and remembered that I have a video function on my cell phone. So I took a video driving through the valley, and I was hoping to be able to upload it here.
No such luck, unfortunately.
(It is in MPEG-4 formate, I thought that would be OK? Suggestions anyone?)

...but the days are short :-(



Keep warm, and enjoy your winter everyone!