I have a couple of girlfriends that want to meet Gem so they were going to meet me at the stables tomorrow, watch me attempt to ride, and then the plan was to go for lunch. One of these ladies is quite impressed that I have taken up riding at this stage in my life. She thinks I am brave. Crazy is still the word that regularly jumps to mind when I think about this adventure. Up until hearing about the weather, my biggest concern was what to wear in case one of my girlfriends decided to take pictures. :-)
I may not be a great example of what riding should be, but I am a bit of a keener. I brought a change of clothing to the office yesterday so I could head out to the stables right after work. Fridays are usually not a riding night for me in the winter. Quite often I am the only person there, and I won't ride in the arena by myself for safety reasons. It took a while to put on my 5 layers of clothing, but I managed to accomplish my Michelin Man look and off I went. It was about -20C. When I arrived, I saw LA bringing in some of the older horses from the fields so that they could overnight in the old barn. I asked her about riding in this weather.Me: Do you think I can ride Gem on Sunday?
LA: No.
Me: But I have some friends coming and they want to see me on him.
LA: No.
Me: OK, I won't do any trotting. I will just walk him around, maybe a little leg yielding stuff.
LA: No.
Me: I will blanket him when I walk him to the arena and, of course, after.
LA: No.
Me: So, I guess what you are saying is that I shouldn't ride Gem in these temperatures.
LA: (sigh) If you can't breathe in this weather, your horse can't breathe.
Me: Got it. Thank you.
Thank goodness I have LA as my voice of sanity! I have canceled tomorrow's visit. This weather is not just hard on us; it's hard on all of our fur companions. The Dog House has some excellent suggestions on how to help our pets be safe and comfortable in these temperatures. For those of you who's weather mirrors mine, keep warm!
What was I thinking....?
All I can say is WOW!!!! How do you survive in those temps??? That makes Spokane sound like Palm Springs and we're at 32 degrees!!
ReplyDeleteHello Wolfie, thank you so much for the award, very kind of you. Will 'sort it' in the next couple of days. Apologies for not visiting for ages but haven't had a very good start to the year.
ReplyDeleteLove the pix of Gem in the snow, playing football.
I cannot get my head around the temps you're having!! I'm getting goosebumps just reading about it. So you too manage to sport the Michelin Man look ;o)
Stay safe & warm!!! xx
Great post. Very good point from LA - if we can't breath, they can't either - a good test!
ReplyDeleteI'm very impressed that you were game though :)
Now I feel like a whiner. We only had -3 today and I didn't want to ride because it was too cold. Bundle up and stay warm.
ReplyDeleteHey Wolfie -- What a surprise! Thank you for linking back to my blog. :-)
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post, I feel that I should not complain about our weather -- "only in the single digits." However, I'll complain anyway!
Stay warm.
Brrr. Cold here, too.
ReplyDeleteYeah, those non-horse people think we are crazy. But do you ever look closely at those our age or younger who have no desire to do something as challenging as horses? They look old! Horses keep us young!
Wow. You are a brave, brave woman to even think about riding in that kind of weather!! I just posted on my blog, whining about temps that are frigging cold but still above 0 degrees Fahrenheit! I feel like I should retract, lol!
ReplyDeleteWere the same down here Wolfie, I feel your pain! January always seems to be a write-off as far as getting 'work' done. Stay warm!!
ReplyDeleteGood afternoon, everyone!
ReplyDeleteWell, my girlfriends and I decided to go out and see Gem anyway this morning. I know... insane, right? It took forever for the car to even warm up. We have Gem a good brush and he loved having 3 females fussing over him. It was COLD outside, but the barn was actually not bad. There were more horses in, of course, which helped with warmth. We went for lunch afterward and grabbed a table next to the fireplace. Ahhhh....
Stay warm!! Bailey's and coffee is a good start... :-)
I'll bet Gem enjoyed his visit. Glad you made a day of it anyway. Surely spring is on the way!
ReplyDeleteDon't worry, CFS. Spring is definitely on the way...I am sure of it!
ReplyDeleteOh man, it was -15F here this morning. I was SO glad I put out extra hay last night. Fortunately the super cold snap is supposed to pass today, hope it moves by quickly for you too!
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, it looked gorgeous outside all weekend. Too bad every time I went outside I lost feeling in my face almost immediately.
Hi Shannon - The cold actually took my breath away yesterday morning when I opened the door to let the dogs out. It's supposed to leave us on Wednesday, I believe. Can't be soon enough. I would rather put up with snow if it means warmer temps! :-)
ReplyDeleteWolfie, Good for you to brave the cold and see your boy! I know what you mean about looking like the Michelin man; I, too, feel like one when I put on all my layers (LOL)! Hang in there, this weather can't last too long (I hope)!
ReplyDeleteHi Jan - We are starting to get some relief from this cold spell today. The high is -7C today....and with warmth comes snow. :-)
ReplyDeletedunno... we're bracing for another weekly storm on the east coast :(
ReplyDeleteJust checked, LW. Lots of snow and rain for Atlantic Canada. I will need to check in with my relatives in Newfoundland! Keep dry and warm!!
ReplyDelete