Caught in a blizzard, Mag's first time

It would be a better story if I'd been on Mag's back, but maybe next week.



Remember a while ago this Winter when I took Mag out into a rainstorm for his first time? He was adamant that it's not possible, he kept turning his butt toward the weather. How cute. Now let's keep going.

Today I braved Hohestrasse with Mag on a lunge line (cuz of his new-found fear of big trucks), I glanced to my left, and started exclaiming, "OMG" and "This looks to be exciting!" to Mag because the sky over there was black, like nighttime! The sky to my right, the south, was brilliant with sunshine.

Then I saw the blackness coming toward us and I knew we were in for it.

A few snowflakes swirled by and I laughed, "Let it snow, how pretty!"

And then the storm hit and it was thrashing us with icy pellets. There were no flakes, just ice balls. I had a hoodie on (woefully not enough) and was glad, cuz I put the hood up. The snow was finding its way down my shirt, but we trudged on.

Mag kept trying to turn his butt to the storm, and ducking his head. I wondered if Ani would cancel on us. A normal person would not be out in this. But my phone had no messages.

Finally we reached a bus stop and I pulled Mag into it, he just barely fit. It was extremely loud, because the wind and ice were banging into it. Mag was so nervous about it he pooped, twice, right there in the bus stop.

Mag doesn't normally poop in fear, cuz he doesn't suffer from typical horse fear. This bus stop with its lashing winds and snow balls (LOUD!!!!) scared the literal crap out of him. I had to push the literal crap away from the bus stop before we left, and that was not easy. But again ,Mag seemed to understsand, "Hey, you cleanin up after us....here! Ok then." While snow pelted down on us.

But he seemed to understand that we were sheltering, and he did not try to leave.

He did however try to eat the plants/bushes on the other side of the glass. This bus stop was made completely of glass, and apparently Mag doesn't get glass. He kept reaching to take a bite, bumping his nose, and saying, "What is this force field!" *lol* No, it would have been funny if we weren't so miserable. Cuz the shelter was too small, and the snow was circling into it, pelting us. Just the wind was reduced, so we stayed there perhaps 10 minutes.

I could see TP's barn across the street but it seemed an unbearable distance to me, to go to it and wait out the storm. We toughed it out, Mag and I, at the bus stop.

Finally we had to go, and we ran into a big underground construction site with several trucks and workers, some  hiding at the church from the snow, some under ground already. There was no room, we had to pass right by. It would have been worlds better if I'd felt traction under my feet, to reassure myself that I could contain my horse at the end of his much-longer lead line. One guy had an enormous umbrella under the sidewalk with him, that we had to pass ---over him. Nice. I believe they are upgrading the Internet here, so I shouldn't complain. And those poor guys were out there all day INvoluntarily. I was there cuz I'm nuts.

I thought I saw two people walking on the other side of the street, it was hard to make out through the snow. I looked again and realized the second person was a horse of unknown shape and color. OMG, that's Anja and Mira! We crossed the street to them.

Mag was covered in snow, and Mira too. Ani had her black cape on, but was miserable, she had no gloves!  I wasn't dressed for snow, but I at least had gloves.

She said she doesn't like riding in "blizzards" (she knows the English word, I don't know the German). I said, "I like it, but I had no idea this would happen!"

I could tell she wanted to just go home, but she said I could pick the route. I found the shortest short cut back for us.

On foot, I was having a hard time on the street (slush) and on the trail (mud/slush). I had to slow down and Mag was driving me crazy trying to press me on, not staying back as much as I'd like. I slipped along, and Mag too (a few times I thought he'd actually fallen down, but no, he'd just slipped and lost his hindquarters on a slope).

Mira was literally, the first time, out of control. She did not want to be out in this storm, and Ani could not hold her back, she was dancing away from us, and again I really think she has gaited horse blood, from the look of her dancing away. Mira is arthritic and has a very compensating gait, if you will, so it was my first time seeing her move out.

I had no chance on foot in that slime to keep up.

And so, I lost them. They just got farther and farther away, and I just worked on staying upright and keeping Mag from running into me. He was actually quite good, considering, he wasn't rushing me as much as I was just fumbling along in the long black mud stripes left by Mira's Renegades.

Oh, and then the weather broke. The sun came out, glinting on the snow, dazzling us.

I finally found Ani and Mira waiting for us, and then Mira spooked at this garage, taking Ani right into the bushes to avoid it. Mira doesn't  usually spook.

I wish I could have talked to Ani more today, but her horse wanted nothing more than to be home in her barn eating her mash, and Ani was a passenger on that mission.

I walked her almost all the way back to her barn, but it was enough. We'd only been out together for one hour! But I'd say that was our most failed ride yet. Oh, am I "jinxing"? *lol* I don't believe in jinxing.

Mag came home with me politely, and we did some tying in the woods exercises as well as standing off-trail for practice on a slope so muddy he literally couldn't stand there where I asked, he ski'd down into a hole.

Once home, I put the hot epson salt compress on his back, and a cooler because it was spitting snow still, and tied him up for an hour with a hay bag, and the donkey loving his being tied up and not the boss of her: )

Ani asked when I'll ride again. I guess next week? Scared of that! Since I stopped riding he has become difficult to simply lead on that street. But I have changed his diet to more hay cubes and less beet pulp, so maybe that will help.

I am finally warm again, but it took hours after that, several overlapping wool socks, feather blanket, flannel shirts also overlapping, tea, my nose was ice cold for so long. Now I'm OK, and my world is pure white.

Not the horse part of that world, he's disgusting.

: )

Another pic from one year ago, where Mag demonstrates to the brown horses (Argo and Alexi) how to become brown if you weren't born that way:






This is a candle for Puzzle, that I keep lighting this week.



Well, my animals are fed and Mg is wearing his blanket that I warmed on the radiator. And my cat just sits on the window sill, observing the chaos. A salt truck drove by, we will not let the snow stop us from our lives, that is why our taxes are so high.

I did say a prayer for J that he makes it home tonight.