Still Snow Crazy

Baasha's still snow crazy. That is, I took him for a walk/graze/visit the chestnut mares today, and he let me know he's still full of it by dancing on the lead line, and jumping straight up again. He jumps up and strikes out with a foreleg, it's totally cool, and totally inappropriate for lead line behavior.

I was a little worried about getting kicked if he decided to levitate his back legs too, but he never did. He did respond to me saying "Hey now" so I managed to get him down to our field, and let him go.

He ran with everything he had. As fast as I've seen him, and it was glorious! He skimmed across the snow, which is slushy now and he can really power off of it. He got to the far end of the 5 acres, and came running back to me, whinnying all the while (what does that mean?). I ran with him, and he ran circles around me, and he ran far and wide, and came racing back to me again. I clapped my hands and played with him, tossing snowballs. I ran around a bit on my own, and he dropped into the snow to roll. He got up looking like he'd been through a car wash. This is some wet snow now!

Nils

The neighborhood boys, incl. Nils, were playing "Machine Gun Hide n Seek", where they split into two groups of 3, hide, and then when discovered, there is a shootout and bloodbath. At one point the boys hunkered down right next to my fence, and Baasha was fascinated, we could see the others searching, and we could hear the hiders whispering, under an embankment.

Baasha ran straight toward them, and ran along that fenceline, kicking up snow. He was going so fast I was a little worried he's slip and fall, but everything is all melty here, and the ground below is soft. (In fact, I'm sorry to say our field is a little torn up just from today's fun. Oops.)

I say, those boys really need some laser tag, or paint ball, to get their shots accurate. I was standing right there when two of them attempted to shoot each other in a shootout. As they blasted into each other with self-made machine gun sound effects, it was like I didn't exist.

The fog settled lower and lower, blending everything into white. Ground, sky, and middle, it makes you think you're going blind.






The Chestnuts

Who are the chestnuts? They're new mares in the field across from us. A huge geriatric TB (?) and an enchanting Icelandic, both of them deep red with no white. The Icelandic has this kind of tan colored mane and tail - just gorgeous. This particular Icelandic is one of the prettiest I've seen. They are such unique looking animals, so different than other breeds. She pushed her head as far as possible over the fence to touch Baasha, and her head was slightly bigger than his. Her eyes were slightly smaller, and her coat was magnificent. She was perhaps a hand shorter, but a hand longer. She looked like she could carry me easily. For an equine with mixed characteristics of horse and pony, she was regal. She never squealed even when they breathed noses, but Baasha just wanted to eat grass. I dared to rub her forehead under that expanse of forelock, telling her how pretty she is. I think I'll call her "Sublime."

The big one is really big. As she walks around nervously, circling, her joints make noises. Her eyes are permanently worried. But she's in great shape otherwise, no winter blanket required at all. She has a thick tail banged just above the ground. She's kind of shy and ...well, later I realized I never figured out their heirarchy. I just assumed it was the Icelandic in charge, but I never saw any gesture to indicate that. I will have to study them more. Their bodies make awesome sillouettes on the horizon, and not just at night, but in this thick fog we've been having.

Everytime I go out to my barn, the big chestnut stops grazing and stares down at me. "We have a watcher," I say.

Organized

Today I cleaned and cleaned my barn. I organized the huge pile of baling twine that, embarrassingly, had never been done. What to do with9 months of twine? I have no idea, but we live on a farm now, and I assume we will figure it out sometime.

I dusted everything, including my tack box, all my brushes, and I organized my med kit.

Bedding Problems

I drove to the feed store and bought the expensive bedding again, because my man and I had just *had it* with the Leinstroh. It's cheaper, but we know why. Leinstroh is like mini straw, each bit being less than a quarter inch in length. It's fluffy and crunchy and golden, but there is a drawback. It sticks to everything. I visit my horse often during the day, and each time, little bits of that stuff stick to my shoes, and end up in my house.

I can not vaccuum often enough to clear them all from our floors. They stick to my jeans and end up in my closet. They are just everywhere. There is a path of them from the stall to the house. Outside the stall, it looks like I spread them out there on purpose, from Baasha tracking them outside.

In this photo you can see how it clings to Baasha's blanket all day long.


And of course, they're covering the floormats of my beautiful new car, too. Grr....

It sticks to our socks and even ended up in our bed. That was it! I had had enough when I saw it was in our bed.

So we're back to the pellets. They never came in the house - or if they did - they did it inconspicuously!

I love the smell of the pellets. I'm surprised Baasha doesn't eat them all up.

Finishing a 75

I had a dream I entered Baasha in a 75 (mile endurance race). I've never done that in RL. He did it in 8 hours (what!) and cantered across the finish line, tail up, eyes bright. I remember being so amazed, and happy, and taking him to the vet, who was Xander from Buffy (!?).

When I woke up, I reached over to tell my man, and he was gone. How did he get out of the bed without my noticing? In all our time together, I've never slept through him leaving the bed. I'm a very light sleeper and attuned to him. (For example, if one of us cannot sleep, neither of us does.) This dream was just so cool, or maybe he was just so very careful? I don't know, but I told him all about it! It made me so wistful for my old life, my sport. I told him, "I'll do endurance again, you know, somehow."