snow day!

No need to take any photos - the blog itself is exactly what it looks like here right now. We woke up to 5 inches and it is still snowing - gorgeous landscape but of course we know what it means to horse folk: extra mucking, a week of mush and mud, and sometimes, a few grumpy equines.

Inside the house I am grateful for the two LL Bean Waterhog door mats I finally got - should have gone ahead and gotten 2 more for the laundry room!

Corgis are bringing in balls of snow on their bellies every time they go in and out. Mystic is outside in bliss - he is one snow-loving feline.

And the power is off and on, so I'm going to go ahead and hit send before it catches me.

Will close with one of my favorite poems from childhood - which reminds me what I wanted so much way back then, and now have, and thus I can end on a grateful note:

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.   

His house is in the village though;   

He will not see me stopping here   

To watch his woods fill up with snow.   

My little horse must think it queer   

To stop without a farmhouse near   

Between the woods and frozen lake   

The darkest evening of the year.   

He gives his harness bells a shake   

To ask if there is some mistake.   

The only other sound’s the sweep   

Of easy wind and downy flake.   

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.   

But I have promises to keep,   

And miles to go before I sleep,   

And miles to go before I sleep.

merry christmas!

I still love Thelwell's ponies after all these years! Here's to a very happy holiday weekend for all. We may get snow for Christmas tomorrow - and then in a week highs in the 60s!  Crazy weather but it keeps us on our toes.

Best holiday wishes and a happy 2011 to come.

winter solstice 2010

Without doing anything special, I began celebrating this year's winter solstice yesterday just after sunset. I was at the barn, preparing stalls for horses and donkeys, and as the geldings came in to gather beneath their shelter off the back of our barn, I let them through so they could join Salina and the donkey boys in the big barnyard.

As I did that I noticed the big yellow moon rising behind the back field, as though she knew she would be eclipsed later in the evening and needed to shine especially bright as she ascended.

This is why it takes me so long to do chores. I end up stopping: to watch floating horses, laughing donkeys, felicitous felines, luscious light, and fancy full moons.

Cody let me know that he was ready for a clean stall with a full manger when he began to try getting into the hay tent from the side. As strong as they are, I quickly imagined him ripping the entire tent in half, so trotted out with a lead line and asked him to come on in. His stall was ready. He went in gladly.

After a few minutes, Keil Bay sauntered in, assuming his, too, was ready. And it was, so I opened his stall door and waved him in.

Salina came in, followed by the donkeys. Their side was ready too, but Salina was too busy guarding the barn door so the painted pony couldn't come in to notice. The painted pony was so enjoying the barnyard he didn't really care that his stall wasn't ready yet.

Since the wheelbarrow was full and I knew my husband would be home at any second, I decided to wait and let him dump the last load so I could get started on grooming.

Every few minutes I walked out to the barnyard to look up and see how high the moon was and how she had changed from yellow to an almost uncanny blue/white.

Keil Bay was fairly well covered in dried mud so it took awhile to groom him. Cody was thankfully not so dirty, and Salina and the pony were miraculously very clean. The donkeys had no mud - it would never occur to them to roll on wet ground - they save the rolling after rain and snow for the barn aisle, where they are sure to get some good dust worked into their very furry coats.

They did have some hay tucked into their fur, and they love the feel of the brushing, so I gave them each a good turn.

Although it wasn't yet the longest night, I felt as though it was, and decided there is no better way to spend an evening than just the way I'd spent it.

A well-used (in terms of manure and urine) stall transforms to a fluffy, clean one with fresh hay and water via the fairly meticulous application of hay fork and muck rake.

Dirty (and happy) equines come clean with a little elbow grease.

The checking of water troughs and the night-time rituals of bringing rinsed feed tubs in to the feed room, where they are lined up in order, the removal of hoses that are laid out down the hill so they don't freeze up overnight, and the pause to listen to horses munching when I turn out the lights.

All guided by the magic of barn time and marked by the rise of a very special moon.

Although we will celebrate today's solstice proper with intention and some special rituals, it was last night's impromptu celebration that marks, for me, the shift toward longer days and light.

Happiest of solstices to everyone!

warmer, sunshine, and poetry in motion

This morning I was getting feed tubs ready for mixing. Salina had already come in to her stall to wait, and the donkeys were lining up as well.

Cody had gone through the open back gate into the arena, where he'd been herding Redford a few minutes earlier, so I asked Kenzie to open the closer arena gate so he could come through into the paddock and get ready for breakfast.

She opened the gate, but Cody didn't come out. He tossed his head in his characteristic circle toss, inviting both Keil Bay and the Little Man to come in and play.

I was shocked when Keil Bay accepted the invite, since he tends to be so focused on breakfast he is nearly always waiting at his back door, ready to bang if need be.

But this morning, after all the wet stuff that came down yesterday, I guess he welcomed the no longer frozen footing, the sun beginning to shine, no ice in troughs, and a generally warmer day. The knowledge that breakfast was coming was such a sure thing he was willing to forego it for a little romp.

Cody trotted around the arena, soon joined by Keil Bay. The Little Man really didn't do much except hunt for acorns, but my guess is he'd already done his morning exercise.

Although I am usually pretty focused on serving breakfast, I dropped the tubs I was carrying and stood watching the two big boys move. At one point they trotted toward the center of the arena from opposite ends, whirled their heads at one another, pivoted, and bucked, each kicking one hind leg up, completely in sync. It looked like they were doing a dance, mirroring one another's every move.

Keil Bay started at C and cantered straight up center line, doing an absolutely gorgeous collected, balanced, powered from behind canter. Cody trotted like an upper level dressage horse, with absolutely gorgeous suspension (and he's a Quarter Horse!), and that elusive schwung that is hard to describe but when you see it in action you absolutely stop and hold your breath it's so beautiful.

I recently tweaked their minerals, tightening the ratios (Ca:Ph and Fe:Cu:Zn:Mn) even closer to the "ideal." I have no idea if this is why they are looking and moving so beautifully or if they just both hit their best strides at the same time on this welcome morning. Whatever the reason, it captivated me. Even Redford stood and watched, as if appreciating each step.

Sometimes when I watch competition dressage I am disheartened by the mechanical movements that seem to get the high scores. The whole discipline begins to look labored and the horses look constrained and unhappy.

And then I see what Keil Bay does when he feels good and wants to show off, and what Cody does too. The fact that what they are doing with their bodies so obviously FEELS GOOD to them is all the difference between classical dressage and competition dressage.

Watching horses in double bridles, muzzle to chest, looking like something is going to literally explode out of their necks, always causes me to tighten up. I feel the muscles in my shoulders clench, feel my own neck draw up as though it's being pulled out of alignment with the rest of my body.

But this morning, watching the Big Bay and Cody, my entire body relaxed. I felt like my legs had taken root in the earth, and yet at the same time my upper body felt free and flowing. It occurred to me that this is the way to judge what you see when you watch horses being ridden. How does YOUR body feel?

With every step the two geldings took this morning, I could feel the movement as if I were riding it. And I wonder, when I get back on either/both, if that sensation will carry through and bring my own lightness and balance up a notch.

I suspect it will. Even now, writing about it, my body feels soft and supple. Poetry in motion. A simple but profound gift.

wild angel water bucket cozy

Last week I went looking for water bucket and trough insulation ideas - I have never been willing to try the electric bucket or trough warmers due to my paranoia about either electric shock or potential for barn fires. 

I found THESE.
 

I only ordered one, so I could see the quality in person, and so I could try it out. UPS was on the road very late tonight - with snow and ice and now rain, I am impressed that they kept delivering! - and the bucket insulator arrived.

It is very nice - excellent quality, aesthetically pleasing, and I will try it out tomorrow and see if the Big Bay gives it his stamp of approval. Then, if it works, I will order a couple more!

I'll have to figure something else out for the donkeys and Salina, who drink from big HorseTech buckets on the ground.

And the water troughs, although I discovered that filling them to the brim before sunset and removing every chip of ice in the a.m. and on through the day help immensely.