I had to take advantage of the sunshine yesterday to saddle up Gussie and go for a little putt. The day before I took her for a stroll in hand up the driveway to gauge her emotional state - she had been calling out for Ruby when she left so a stroll was how I wanted to see if she was calmed down enough to ride. Need not have worried, it was a lovely stroll.
She was a bit head up as she looked around, but never put a foot wrong.
Turned her loose in the round pen to see if the energy was the same and yes she was pretty relaxed.
So the next day we saddled up and off we went. No prep in the round pen, but it is where I mount up as my step stool is frozen into the ground there. So that gave me the opportunity to work her on opening the gate and ride through it- she tends to get in a bit of a hurry so she got the one step at a time treatment and relaxed into it.
My route was a short one, up the long driveway and into the hayfield for a little tour.
Here are a couple videos that speak better than words.
Out onto the hayfield. We still have 2 ft. of snow out there that is a bit crusty, but where the tractor plowed to get at the feed bales it was bare and getting really soft. I may have to wait a bit to ride out there once the snow goes as she could sink in too far. Don't want cranky farmers complaining about pock marks in their field!
I have started prepping the foaling pen, raking up the old feed and the manure so that the ice underneath will melt. We have 5 days of snow in the forecast starting on the Vernal Equinox- go figure, spring comes in with a remnant of winter- but by Tuesday the 26th it starts to warm up again. Hopefully NO MORE SNOW after that!!!! Because , you know, Velvet is due mid April, so just a month from now.
I will be keeping a close eye on her as she starts to bag up- I have been checking, but no sign of it yet. I have never foaled out a 24 year old mare so I am hoping all will go well. I think this is her 10th foal so she knows her job.
Stay tuned for the foaling contest by the way, I have a really nice prize for it. 😏
6 comments:
Nice ride! You still have lots of snow! Ours is almost all gone and back at home they have gotten only an inch or two all winter, so it is dry.
I loved riding with you. Thanks. I wish we had some of that moisture.
I can't wait for seeing your new foal!
Glad you enjoyed a sunny ride with Gussie.
April will be here in the blink of an eye. Truly hope the weather is decent for foaling. How exciting!
the view from the saddle of big red! amazing! 😊👍💜
She really is the whole package. I’m glad you had a nice ride. I can’t wait to hear about the foaling contest.
That’s definitely a long driveway ! Great place to ride for now. Very exciting about April.
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