Not Too Bleak Midwinter

Ooh doggies, it was nippy today. It wasn’t that cold, really, but the wind was fierce. And it kept drizzling all day. What a great day for horse lessons, right?

It hadn’t felt too bad in the morning, but it got worse and worse. By the time Tarrin got to my house, I think she was glad to go in the tack room and warm up a bit. I needed to defrost from scraping the layers of mud off Apache. He literally had mud balls hanging from his mane and scattered across his coat.

That was the least pleasant grooming session I can remember. And he was not a happy guy at first. As you can see, he was physically great. But mentally he appeared to be elsewhere.

It was pretty hilarious when I rode him. The wind was whipping through my layers and my teeth were chattering, but I soldiered on asking him to walk briskly then stop, a thing he is normally fine with. Nope.

He got to do it a lot until he deigned to stop like he should. Then he got to do something else. Hooray. Funny boy.

That’s Drew in his new fancy rope hackamore that Tarrin re-tied after I botched it. Knots are not either of our strong suits. It’s pretty, though! I now know how to loop it and stuff. What a cowgirl.

It was not ideal to learn to use the new bridle and two pairs of reins with frozen hands, but now I figure it will feel great when it’s nicer outside. Drew was very patient getting his chin strap put on (it came from my surplus collection from when I got the trailer, so it doesn’t match yet), then with me putting the bridle on and off repeatedly.

Drew was way more cooperative than Apache, since he’s used to riding in bad weather. We even side passed better. I’m working on reins, but getting there. It’s fun learning with him. He tries and so do I!

After Tarrin got to go home, we took a road trip to look at yet another potential mobile office for Lee. The weather was spooky. That’s what got “In the Bleak Midwinter” going through my mind. It was gray on gray.

Nonetheless the day was saved by the treat of going to dinner at the famous German restaurant in Wahlberg. We hadn’t been in years. I sure enjoyed my Hefeweizen and the sauerkraut. Ahh.

The place wasn’t too crowded, so it didn’t feel all germy and they had a huge fire in the fireplace. I even enjoyed the Wahlberg Band, which featured much excellent yodeling. No, honest, it was good! What a pleasant change of pace.

Tomorrow should be sunny, so it won’t be so bad riding and exercising. Maybe Apache will act like his mature self! If not, I’ve always got crochet and football.

PS: hi to my step-sister and spouse. Loved your card.