Snow and wind

I just got back from taking Mag for a walk on frozen ground with snow boulders still lining the sidewalk and streets. The sun is blaring down but not enough to soften things. It was actually nice to have no mud on the bit of our hour-long walk that was off pavement.

But the wind was gusting, especially on Hohestrasse ("high street"). It's a street that follows the fast road along the ridge, with homes and farms dipping away from it on both sides, including ours off a side road in a hole in the landscape.

If it's breezy at my house, it's gusting terribly on Hohestrasse. I should try to remember this. Earmuffs required - it's 35F out, and hasn't warmed much above that yet.

The challenges were mostly tarps whipping in the wind. Those dead-leaved bushes and trees (beech) are so awful, they make so much noise in the wind. And they look terrible. Why can't they behave like normal trees and drop their dead leaves in the fall? I guess everyone has a least favorite tree and this is mine.

A lady in a parka, hood up, was hanging laundry in her garden. Her whites. They were swinging and whipping around as we passed, putting some sort of laundry soap scent into the air. Nice! (Since most Germans do not have clothes dryers, hanging laundry out in freezing temps is normal. My wet laundry is in our unheated attic, taking about a week to dry.)

I fed the shepherd's 24 chicken clumps of grass, it's s fun to see the clamber over each other for a piece of grass sparkling with frost! I need to remember to bring other snacks for them. And to ask permission to actually feed them...

Back to the blustery Hohestrasse I decided to make a big detour to see if the Arabian and TB who belong to the Ford Ranger people were out in their outdoor stall-runs. Nope, ugh. But, good training opportunity, their next door neighbors are having a new roof put on, and men were crawling all over the roof and scaffolding. Mag was quite upset about it. He pooped twice as I stood there with him. Not too close, I didn't want to overwhelm him. As soon as he settled down, we finally left. A lady with a stroller passed us in that time, no problem, and a jogger.

A walking stick lady was coming toward us on the sidewalk and I put us both in the street to let her pass without having to squeeze by a horse. She was one of the thankful ones, "I could have gone into the street!" - that always makes me feel good to see people act like that.

Since I was determined to at least let him SEE another horse in our  neighborhood, we made our way down the tractor path to the Haflinger farm where we saw 4 fat Haflingers in pastel-colored blankets, as well as Harry the Traber, looking good as usual, but with a terrible clip job, how funny, he must have protested very much! He wanted to say hi to Mag so badly but we kept our distance. Mag had his tail up over his back, and he was snorting in excitement, but he politely followed me up out of there (they're also in a hole).

We passed two bus stops and each time I took the opportunity to sit down and ask Mag to "wait for the bus with me." He certainly doesn't like it, but he's learning. He touches the walls and schedule with his nose, he paws the ground, but he manages. The second bus stop was massively easier for him than the first, I only sat there for a few seconds before he lowered his head and looked at me politely.

As soon as we got onto our little street, I could sense his stress level dropped way down, because he slowed down and started acting curious about things in people's yards. Then this canvas garden shelter whipped loudly right next to him and he spooked in place. "Everyone loves tarps!" I laughed to him.

The neighbor with the huge orange service truck slowed down to let us get off the road, and waved at us. He's so nice.

Once home I tied Mag to clean up poop and then let them go afterwards.

Things to work on:

Hooves - Still, after getting kicked, I dread working on his back feet, but he's never shown an issue since, and the heel cracks are opening up so wide now I can put the hoof pick in. I know that all this walking on pavement is good for his hooves. Or it's moving around in a frozen snowy pasture? Anyway for the first time this week I took a rasp to all 4 hooves, just a few swipes, but enough to show him I'm a trimmer too. We're a long way from tucking his legs behind my knee, or using a hoof jack. But it's a start.

Leading - I don't know why he's not 100% at staying behind me, when I've never let him pass me. I look straight ahead as I walk, and if his nose comes into my peripheral vision, I stop and ask him to back up with a shake of the lead line, or, Peter Pfister style, backing up while kicking up my heels behind me, which is kind of a cute trick because we back up together. I've switched to a nylon halter because I recently realized he doesn't need a rope halter; I never have to pull on it, and he never pulls on it, so the severity is not needed. Oh he looks fine in a Hamilton!

Circling - I still haven't lunged him since I got him, but I do ask for the "circling game" every week or so because it's important to me that he goes where I direct without me moving. Also I remember trying to lunge him at Haegerhof and it was awful, he was very resistant and kept trying to switch directions to show his displeasure at what he considers to be a stupid activity. He's never succeeded with me in actually changing directions, but even at the circling game, he tries. I remember asking the Haegerhof girl to lunge him, and she had to hit him with the whip repeatedly to get a trot or canter. I only ask for 5 circles each direction at this point, just to show him he can.  Finally this week it got a little better, he only hesitates a few times but when I whirl the end of the rope, or when I must, hit his hip with the end of it, he gives in and gives me 5 circles. He really thinks it's dumb, and I understand it's not mentally interesting, but it's a basic he must be able to do.

Happily he's becoming extremely good at backing. In fact, I laughed the other day when I realized that any cue you could think up to request backing, he responds to as if he's been trained. You can shake the rope back and forth. You can tap the air with your fingers in front of him. You can apply light pressure on the line. You can nod (toss?) your head like I do when my hands are full and I need him to back away from the gate. You can look at him intensely, just kidding. I even tried to see how far and smoothly he'd back with me the other day, and the answer was as far as I asked, in smooth, big steps. This is important because he has very little stop in him, and horses can learn to stop well through backing work.

Yesterday I was petting both sides of his face simultaneously and he put his nose on my chest and took my zipper in his mouth. I jerked back slightly and said "That's my zipper!" and he looked away from me and ground his teeth a moment. That's how sensitive he is, he's always analyzing whether I'm pleased with him or not.

Silly horse is still learning to eat the mineral snacks. He sucks on them and spits them out. I think they're too hard for him and he prefers soft food. Or they're too mineraly. My husband works on this with him every day, and has to pick them up off the ground a little less often lately.

I'm anxious to ride, but not enough to rush him when there's so much excitement in his new life. I need to start seeing that lazy horse I met at Haegerhof. Or that horse who lets it all hang out during grooming (which he does maybe half the time now).

I asked S to take a walk with me and our horses but she said in the Winter she doesn't take Bintu out for walks (and she doesn't ride at all in Winter). She just lunges him, because he's too unpredictable. How odd, and how difficult it must be every Spring to re-introduce him to the outside world, and being ridden again.

I'm tempted to feel sorry for myself that I have no one to help me, but then I remember to be thankful for what I have.

He is pretty special, sometimes I look out there and can't believe how beautiful he is.

Although I don't have any Mag photos lately, I found some nice ones online and thought this one was interesting because the horse appears to have a Winter coat, but it's still a pretty shot. (Oh, but the face/ears seem to be clipped...OK then!)