White Christmas with problems

Central Europe is paralyzed by large amounts of snow.

In Belgium they haven’t seen snowing like this since 1945 (in the Ardennes Offensive, “Battle of the Bulge”, the temperature in January -45 gave large problems)

Many are spending their third night in a row at Brussels airport.
The airport has run out of de-icing fluid as the trucks can’t get through due to bad road conditions.

Heathrow, Schiphol and Frankfurt are affected too, where many of the long distance flights take off.

Weather like this is always bad, but my thoughts go to them that are longing to see their near and dear ones for Christmas and can't get home.
I hope the snowing subsides, so the airports can resume their normal activity again.

Days of relaxation...and some extra entertainment

I have had some very nice, relaxing days, with much food but also much riding.
Lovely.


When the snow comes it makes all the difference for us riders, so right now I am a happy girl.
Before we get the snow it is dark after work, and the ground is either frozen (and often uneven) and before that it is muddy. It is not easy to work the horses.
With the snow it is light even when it is dark, and we have a very good surface to work on.
Hooray!





Fame and I have been really enjoying our trail rides again.
We have been happy both of us, Fame striding out, full of energy and with toppled ears and me enjoying the ride and the scenery.
I had planned to do some dressage work too, but until today we have been dashing through the snow instead.


Yesterday after we had passed the frozen creek and were on our way up to the stable, a large male moose was laying down in the snow, just beside the path.
I stopped Fame to see if he was interested in moving.
He was not.
He only moved an ear, staring straight at us and stayed put.
I could not take any photos, because I had my hands full trying to keep Fame in place.
She either did not see the moose (which I doubt, even if he was laying quite still), or she just did not care as she was heading home to her food.
She was one impatient horse.
I finally had to make a detour through the winter jungle, emptying a lot of snow laden trees in my neck (of course) but we came home safe and sound, and Fame got her food...



I have mainly been riding bareback. It has been very cold, and it is the easiest way to keep warm.
Even if Fame has been full of pep I have managed to survive sideways crow hops at full speed and suddenly stops from canter, and all the other fun things a happy horse can entertain herself and her rider with.
But yesterday it was a close one.
We were on our way home, and I had asked her to trot.
Her trot (by magic) increased in speed and I resigned and asked her for canter instead.
Riding bareback it is absolutely to be preferred. Hehum.
Anyway the canter increased in speed too (by magic! has nothing to do with being on our way home) and we reached a T-junction path.
Toot-tooot.
We managed to negotiate a steep turn and Fame gets so elevated by this so she has to launch a series of bucks.
Due to the cold I was riding her with a hackamore, which makes it hard to get the head up. I did my best anyway and in addition growled "NO" loud and clear, trying to stay on, sitting more and more loose for every buck.
And she goes "What?? Oh, sorry" and stops bucking, but I can tell she is quite smug with her little self.
Stupid thing.




In addition to some quality time with the horses, I have been busy with a long standing project.
We listen to audiobooks a lot in the family.
Unfortunately when you have audiobooks in CD formate, sometimes a disc go missing, in particular if you have kids in the house.
I have finally taken the effort to rip the CDs over to mp3-files.
It takes some time, but then we have a safe and versatile copy.
It makes us able to play the books both on our mp3-players and in the car, where the player also can handle mp3-files. Suddenly you don't need 10-20 discs, just one or two which makes life easier. Being audiobooks you can compress down to 48Kbps, which downsizes the files considerably.

I got two very nice Christmas presents from my sister this year.
In the beginning of the 80'ies Trevor Nunn's and Royal Shakespeare Company's version of "Nicholas Nickleby" was sent on TV.
It is a theater show, a marathon performance of 9 hours, divided into several episodes and recorded at one of the world’s most historic theatres, London’s Old Vic.
It was very, very good and we were stuck to the screen while it lasted.
This year I got the show on DVDs and a box of safran and almond biscotti to follow.
Coming in after a cold ride it has been wonderful to creep up in the sofa with a hot cup of tea and some biscotti.
The show was just as good as I remembered it; the cast and the adaption is nothing but fantastic, and the sofa is now full of crumbles...



The spruces are majestic now.
It is my favourite winter tree.
So beautiful, and provides shelter and food to the wild animals too.


Enjoy your winter everyone!

A Magical Moonlight Ride

I got a very special Christmas gift this year; lots of snow, clear weather and a full moon.

I wish I could teleport all my blog friends, to accompany me on a Magical Moonlight Ride.

It is my favourite riding experience, and I am so happy if I get such a ride during the winter.
It is not easy to get it all at the same time - it has to be new snow, so the trees are heavy, a full moon and clear weather so you can see the moon.

Yesterday it was.

Come with me!

Even if it to my eyes is almost as light as in the day, it is too dark to take pictures, so you have to imagine it all...

First, it is evening.

It is very cold outside, -20C/-4F.
We have put on wool underwear, nice warm boots, chaps and our best winter jackets.
We can feel the cold in our faces, it is biting in our noses and chins, but we are comfortable in our warm clothes. For now.
We bring out the horses.
Today we ride bareback, with bitless bridles. It is better in the cold.

It is completely still outside.
No sounds can be heard.
The moon is shining bright, and it is a clear, starry sky.

Beautiful.
The breath from us and the horses are clearly visible in the moonlight as we sit up.
In the air you can see tiny, tiny chrystals that shimmer. The air is letting go of surplus moisture in a wonderful way. Even the air is glittering.

The horses are eager to go, and we cross the road and ride into the small path on the other side.
As we have had much snow the last days, the path is narrow and with much snow, but the horses are walking energetically down the slope.
My horse suddenly jumps as one of the trees beside the path click in the cold. Another tree further down clicks higher, it sounds almost like a gun shot.

As the trees closes in, the lights from the stable gradually fades away, and we are left with the moonlight.
It shines brightly, so brightly that it makes the shadows from the trees turns black and crisp against the snow, and the snow on the heavy laden spruce branches glitters like diamonds.
We can see the path clearly as it winds between the trees.
The only sounds we hear are from the soft footfall from our horses, and the sounds from our coats where the outer layers feels brittle like paper in the low temperature.
As we approach the field in front of us, we can see the cold mist closing in on us. Suddenly the cold can be felt even more, it bites in our brows, noses and chins.

We gather the reins, we have to get a bit warmer by trotting.
Our horses are lifting the legs high in the snow, and I can feel Fame increasing the stride length, eager to go.
Suddenly she stops.
In front of us two moose are crossing the path, majestically moving over to the open field.
After a while they stop and turn their heads to look at us.
Their shapes are almost black against the glittering snow.
We watch them slowly continuing their way over the field, and the horses relax and we resume the trot.

I can feel Fame wanting to go, and I ease up a bit on the reins and let her turn into canter.
I grab hold of her mane as her whole back is moving under me through her forceful strides in the snow.

We slow down as some smaller trees and branches in front of us are almost blocking the path as they are low, burdened with snow.
I can feel my fingers slowly getting colder.
My eyelashes and eyebrows are full of frost, and Fame has got small icecles around her nose.
We decide to turn around, and head for home again.

Aahhh.

Summer is nice, but winter too.

In spite of the cold.

Midvinternattens köld är hård,

stjärnorna gnistra och glimma.

Alla sova i enslig gård

djupt under midnattstimma.

Månen vandrar sin tysta ban,

snön lyser vit på fur och gran,

snön lyser vit på taken.

Endast tomten är vaken.

(Hard is the cold of the midwinter night

the stars glitter and shine

Everyone sleeps on the lonely farm

deep into the midnight hour

The moon silently follows his path

The snow shines white on pine and spruce

The snow shines white on the roofs

Only the "tomten" is awake)

Viktor Rydberg:Tomten, illustrations by Jenny Nyström

(Click the link in the poem to see what Tomten is.)

Astrid Lindgren made a children's book out of the poem, "The tomten" a beautiful book.

The elusive art of riding

And finally...we have got snow!

It is just a thin layer, but together with some cold, clear weather and a lovely FULL MOON - I am a happy girl!

Sometimes I dream of living in a more southern part of Europe, but when I get all the rain like we have had lately, I change my mind.

I want a real winter.

With snow that lights up in the dark.

Frozen, nice hard ground, not mud where your boots get stuck.

Ok.

Maybe the Alps then.

A nice, white winter, but a shorter one, and closer to the Mediterranean.

Wouldn't hurt.

I think I might have found the reason for Fame's antelopiness.

If so, it is embarrassingly simple.

It has been so muddy lately that they probably stand still most of the day when outside.

Hence, too much energy when ridden.

*headdesk*

I did not think of it until today when one of the girls remarked that Fame and Othello had been playing around a lot when she was to take Othello in. (The ground is now frozen.)

Oh, well.
We'll see.

After riding her half an hour down to the new riding hall on Sunday, working her over an hour and riding back again she still was bursting with energy.
Taking moose-length steps when walking, pretending to get scared and jogging, and when I let her canter up a small slope she just took off, jumping left and right and playing around like a two year old.

Stupid thing.
But she did concentrate a bit better in the work, TG.

Riding is an elusive art.

This autumn I have learnt a lot, but it has also been frustrating at times.

Fame has become stronger but also tenser, which has forced me to evaluate my riding.

The horse I had this spring, is not the same I have been riding this autumn.

Conclusion is: I have been fiddling too much with my hands, and too little with my legs when trying to get her to relax.

I feel that I am still out on an exploring trip, but we are closing in on the riddle. I had a good session on Monday when training for Annie.

I also have to be quicker to give the rein. It is so easy to tense up yourself when your horse is tense.

I had another good session on Sunday, with another trainer, AK.

I liked her too.

My tool box is always ready for a refill.

AK wanted me to take another approach when Fame tensed up. She asked me to collect and then ride forward and soften on the hand.
While Annie wants me to ride through it, keep the leg on until Fame softens.

I do not find the contradiction frustrating.

No horse is alike, no situation is either.

We just have to find out what works best on that horse, at that particular time.

I suppose that is why riding is so intriguing.

"Ever changing, each horse is different, each day, each hour, and each moment. Few activities can be so full of surprises as riding. Nothing can be less predictable than a horse.(...)
We never reach our goals in riding. Riding is like shooting a moving target, and if, and when, we hit the bull's-eye the thrills are incredible"

Dressage Principles Illuminated, Charles de Kunffy