It's been a rough 4 weeks limping along with a case of bronchitis, but am on the upswing currently. Horses are enjoying their Christmas vacation and don't seem the least bit concerned about not being worked. It's a time to recuperate from the holidays and to reflect on equine goals for the new year. Here's a list of my top ten.
1. learn more about horse anatomy; the hooves are a good place to start and here is a website: Fran Jurgis Hoof Blog
2. worm in a more timely manner
3.buy a water heater for the barn for more comfortable grooming
4. practice yoga more often as this has helped my posture and my balance more than anything
5. convince my husband that a few lessons will increase his enjoyment on trail
6. work more diligently on ground manners
7. take better control of my allergies for spring and fall riding
8. clean out the barn of all unused junk
9. drive my Haflinger and cart more
10. have more fun; ride new trails
Happy New Year and Happy Trails, Kathy
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Sweet Dreams
With pastures either frozen or under snow and ice, it would be easy to assume that our horses crave something fresh and tasty. My local produce market sells "deer apples", you know the less than perfect ones that are just as sweet. Horse don't inspect for the tiny imperfections and I've not heard one complaint about the off color.
Have seen some recipes recently for more creative treats like apple banana snacks which involve cutting up the fruit, drizzling with honey, dusting with powdered sugar and refrigerating until firm. Another simple treat is to take plain rice cakes, drizzled with honey, then adding grated apple or carrot to the top. The horse version of kisses would require 3/4 cup of molasses, 1 C of feed, 1 C of oats, 3/4 C of peanut butter. Mix together and roll into balls that you wrap in foil and freeze.
From my horse loving home to yours, Happy Trails
Have seen some recipes recently for more creative treats like apple banana snacks which involve cutting up the fruit, drizzling with honey, dusting with powdered sugar and refrigerating until firm. Another simple treat is to take plain rice cakes, drizzled with honey, then adding grated apple or carrot to the top. The horse version of kisses would require 3/4 cup of molasses, 1 C of feed, 1 C of oats, 3/4 C of peanut butter. Mix together and roll into balls that you wrap in foil and freeze.
From my horse loving home to yours, Happy Trails
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Creating a New Routine
Even devoted horse lovers have lives that intermingle with their hobby. We just returned from a vacation to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. We ate sushi for Thanksgiving dinner and took one hour Yoga classes every morning on the beach of a beautiful tropical island. We snorkeled, hiked in a rain forest, ate seafood at the edge of the Caribbean, felt the constant soft flow of trade winds.
With the challenge of holidays approaching, and winter knocking at our door, we need to create a new routine for our equine buddies. They've been on a 2 week sabbatical, not that they've minded. But horses are like gardens; if you don't tend to them they can slowly become unruly. So it's time to make arrangements for indoor riding where the land is soft and dry, so that when the weather breaks, and it often does in the winter, we can ride the trails that we know are well drained.
We've expanded our driveway to be able to keep the trailer closer to the house to avoid having to track it over too soggy or too icey ground. This will mean walking th horses about 200 feet to the house, but it's the best solution for our freeze, thaw problem here in Northeast Ohio. No effort is too great to be able to experience the joy of riding.
With the challenge of holidays approaching, and winter knocking at our door, we need to create a new routine for our equine buddies. They've been on a 2 week sabbatical, not that they've minded. But horses are like gardens; if you don't tend to them they can slowly become unruly. So it's time to make arrangements for indoor riding where the land is soft and dry, so that when the weather breaks, and it often does in the winter, we can ride the trails that we know are well drained.
We've expanded our driveway to be able to keep the trailer closer to the house to avoid having to track it over too soggy or too icey ground. This will mean walking th horses about 200 feet to the house, but it's the best solution for our freeze, thaw problem here in Northeast Ohio. No effort is too great to be able to experience the joy of riding.
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