Too hot

I feel bad for all you guys experiencing Winter weather because today we hit 68F. The last couple weeks have been the warmest I've felt in February and it's just messed up. I grazed Mag in a hayfield today that was completely full of mosquitos doing their mating dance, as they are doing in my front yard right now. It was miserable for me to stand in the sun so Mag's graze got shortened.

He came home from a 3 hour ride with Ani and Rudi and drank more than I've ever seen, taking in water like an endurance horse in central Oregon. And this after drinking on trail!

Two of my neighbors were out lying in their yards trying to get a tan. Skin cancer on purpose?

My next door neighbors are blasting country music in their yard right now.  Garth Brooks, if you can believe it. It always makes me feel weird when Germans play country music. Then again, my favorite bands sing in German.

Rudi's "panties" were dripping sweat, glistening in the sun, eyes "crying" and foam between her legs. I do believe she has Cushings (she has all the symptoms).

I found a tennis ball on the other side of a barbed wire fence and immediately squatted down to get it, but lost my balance and sliced open my wrist and thumb, shallow but scary looking. That fence was so sharp I almost didn't feel it. Ani was like, "What are you doing down there?" "I'm fetching this ball. Though, I don't have a dog so I don't know why."

Later on our ride Mag was one step away from walking into a tangle of barbed wire! I said HO and he slammed on the brakes and I got him away from it. Holy crap that was close. Later I fixed it - in the two places the wire had leaked onto the trail/street, I carefully put it on the other side of the remaining fence. Another chance for Rudi to learn patience. I'm not gonna let anyone ride their horse into barbed wire on the ground.

We did that 10.3KM loop today that gave me so much frustration last Tuesday. Today the weather slowed Rudi way down. But Ani still could not get the mare stopped when Mag would stop to pee or drink. Rudi got angry and started dancing off the trail! It was cool when I wanted to catch up, I just thought about trotting and Mag did it for me. He knows the difference between when I think about trotting, and when I think about thinking about trotting. No kidding!

Re: Pink. At one point I was off, leading Mag on a paved portion of trail, and we encountered a couple having a picnic on a bench. They said, "Oh, did he toss you?" Then the lady said, "SHE, not he" as she noticed the pink fabric in Mag's braid. I said, "Oh, he's a boy. He just looks good in pink!" Later Ani laughed at me, "I told you so!"

Mag was just so itchy all day, but little does he know about work and real sweat. He was only wet under his girth, saddle bags, and bridle.

68F used to be my favorite temperature. But this is ridiculous. I have not had my quota of Winter weather yet. I only shovelled snow once this year. I dread Summer so much (every year seems more humid than the last) I cannot enjoy this heat wave.

Ohhh, now it's 70F.