Well. It’s 2019. We are 1.5 months in and wow. It’s been a doozy. I think I can safely say I have spent less time with horses in the last eight weeks than at any point since I purchased Steen. The only other time that even comes close to comparing was my honeymoon, when Brian and I spent a month walking across Scotland and then attended my brother’s wedding in northern England. I had zero horse contact during that time. But at least we were having fun.
The dry spell has been painful
So far this year, I have been on the back of a horse exactly two times. Two! This is insane. But first I contracted the flu during our Christmas travels. This progressed into acute bronchitis, which left me able to do very little for about six weeks.
On top of that, we had the polar vortex. That was INTENSE. I mean, I know I grew up in a desert and therefore perhaps I am not as resilient to cold as might be ideal. But we had a couple days that seemed just too cold to be true. I’m pretty used to negative single-digit highs. Those happen most winters, if only for short stretches. But negative double-digit highs is a totally different kind of cold.
I miss this face.
Fortunately our horses have great care. No boarders were allowed in the barn for a while because the conditions were so extreme a single, tiny mistake could literally cost lives. But we got regular video updates and I am amazed at how well our herd handled everything.
Now the polar vortex has moved on. Instead we simply have a sheet of ice coating the entire world. We’ve had sleet and rain and snow on top of that. This has made the road out to the barn too treacherous to risk. The last time we did make it out we could barely open and close the gates and doors needed to get our horses inside.
My saddle – one of two measly times I’ve gotten to sit in it this year.
So yeah. Presumably we will someday see our horses again. For now, here’s hoping your winter is going a bit better than ours!
When you can’t ride … read!
Oh! One silver lining though. Tipped Z #4 just had a very successful launch. If you haven’t grabbed your copy of Vaquera’s Haven yet, you’ve got choices! Kindle, Nook, iBooks, or good old paperbacks abound. Click here for links.
I will admit I was kinda dubious about the whole polar vortex thing, but negative double-digit highs? Wow.
I don’t think I’ve ridden this year yet at all, even though I’m at the barn almost every day. Hopefully after DST goes into effect! I need longer afternoons!
Good luck getting some more riding time in, but don’t stress it if it doesn’t happen. The horses don’t really mind either way. 🙂
I don’t usually put much stock in these weather events either. But that was some really serious cold. On our coldest day, the high was -13°F. We had multiple nights that got down around -26°F. And that doesn’t count wind chill, which I don’t totally believe in, but we were having gusts up to 30 mph. Even inside with the heat running, you could feel the cold in a way I’ve never experienced before. Those two nights, the whole house was making bizarre creaks and snaps. It was actually a little spooky. But we made it through. And yeah. The… Read more »