Phew, we're home! We had an AMAZING time in Florida (Disney, Universal, AND beach time, all in one vacation!), and while it sucks that vacay is over, it is awfully good to be home. The dogs apparently pitched a fit halfway through our trip and ate all of our wooden blinds, and the mares filled their ENTIRE SHED with a thick layer of poop, but everybody seems to have otherwise survived. I did a lot of cleaning today, not surprisingly.
The timing of our trip unfortunately coincided with a surprise cold front. I haven't clipped O yet, simply because I couldn't count on her to be blanketed while I was gone and I wanted to make sure she was hairy and warm - thankfully the good weather persisted until yesterday, and I was able to come home from the airport and toss blankets on them. Our next driving playday is this Saturday (!!), and the cold weather is supposed to persist through then, and well into next week. She is filthy from a week of rolling in the mud, so she desperately needs a bath before I even think about clipping her, but I doubt it will warm up enough for it within the next two days. I doubt I'll be able to bathe her at all before the show, which I just *hate*. Thankfully it's just a playday and it doesn't matter if my horse shows up grimy and dirty, but I will do the best I can to make her somewhat clean and presentable.
Seriously though, the show is TWO DAYS AWAY! I have so much to do, I don't even know where to start! Today I sent her off on a quickie lunge first thing in the morning to get her willies out (and she had some serious willies after a week and a half off work, plus our 26 degree morning), and then drove her this afternoon. She was very cold and a bit shivery even under her blanket, so she was pretty cold while we were harnessing up, but once she was underway she was very well behaved and warmed up well. All I wanted to do today was to get her moving and listening well, and she gave a very good effort despite not being particularly interested in being out in the cold.
The bitter cold kept us from being out there for too long. My hands were aching from the cold, I couldn't feel my face, and my mare was very politely responding but definitely ready to be finished. I bundled both her and P up in more layers since they were both a bit chilly (the high today was only 35!), and tucked them in for bedtime.
I still have A LOT of stuff left to do - work her tomorrow and Friday, clean out my trailer, clean my cart, clean and polish my harness, figure out what I am going to wear (I'm going to freeze!), memorize my patterns, make sure she is clipped/trimmed/clean, and several other things like wrapping and loading the cart.
I think these patterns are easier to remember than the last set. The hazard is the one I am excited about - it is one like you do in actual marathon, and it confused the heck out of me at first, but I think I get it now!
I better get my butt to bed.... I have an awful lot to do before Saturday!
Wow you have a LOT to do! I'm glad you had a great trip. As for the no bath thing.... wellll lots of elbow grease I guess hehe. This cold weather which came way too early for my liking is brutal! My hands hurt so bad when I come inside and start warming up that it makes me almost cry... I have to start wearing gloves! Stay warm and have fun at the play day! I can't wait to read all about it!
ReplyDeletewelcome home! good luck getting everything together :)
ReplyDeleteThat is so cool! I've been very interested in your switch to driving with the red mare. I've driven for years, Morgans, Friesians, then the Minis, but I never finished Daatje in harness. That's my project for next year! Good luck at your play day and try to stay warm! It was 35°F in New Hampshire this morning 11/13, hard to believe it's colder in TX! :)
ReplyDeleteWelcome back! I missed your posting!
ReplyDeleteOk, I seriously don't understand how you get from C to D to E in the hazard pattern. I get A to B to C, but then I'm lost...
ReplyDeleteThe footnotes say you can go through gates a second time after they have been used properly, so to get from C to D you go through either A or B again and then to E you can hit C or B, playing to your horse's strengths on the turn.
DeleteAny way you can hot-towel Miss O before the show? I find that it really helps steam-clean them AND it brings up a nice shine to the coat. And if you dump a little glug of Calm Coat or lavender essential oil into the bucket of hot water, it's like a spa session (well, not really, but it sure does smell like one!).
ReplyDeleteGood luck, and try not to freeze! I'll attempt to send you some of our Miami warmth. :-)
I second hot toweling. I did that in WA when my horse was grungy but it was too cold to bathe.
ReplyDeleteI need to steal those patterns to suggest to our Draft Horse group for our next fun day.
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