A Snowy Ride

Winter Storm Nemo ended up leaving us mostly rain with a little snow and ice by Saturday morning.  Like last weekend, it was pretty and not too much trouble, as the sun melted most of it off the roads by the afternoon.  The lasting side effect is mud, which is disgusting on the ground and on my horse's legs and feet.  Harley visibly resists leaving his shed, because he has to walk though ankle-deep mud, churned to a very, squishy consistency by the high traffic of the horses entering and leaving their shelter.

By comparison, the sandy footing in the arena was too hard for much riding.  The tracks of former rides had left stubborn divots and humps in the footing, which are not pleasant to walk over.  After exhausting a few soft patches in the ring and walking one too many circles, I decided to abandon the ring for the woods.

Most of the snow was gone by Sunday, but the dusting remaining among the trees was still beautiful.  We saw some deer, showing their white tails as they leaped away.  I heard a mystery bird answering the "chirp" of my cell phone as I snapped these photos.  I bet she was a mocking bird.  I stayed close to home, but we still had a very nice walk.  The pine needles and dried leaves protected us from the frozen ground, which allowed Harley to march out with flowing strides.  I kept him on a long rein for most of the ride.  Near the end, I asked him to stretch into the bridle.  He raised his back and engaged muscles that we have not been using very often lately.  I am sure that the light exercise felt nice after standing in his shed all day and night.  My body felt great to be carried along by my horse, even though all we had was a simple walk together.

Harley is feeling good with very little coughing, just a couple "woofs" in the barn before we left.

Last Saturday before we tainted the snow with tracks and mud.  With this soft, white footing, the small ring was still fit for riding that day.

I love how shadows on snow look blue in photos and in artwork.