We seem to finally have found ourselves in a bit of true winter weather. While I don't love the bitter cold and winds I do appreciate the frozen ground. I don't have a lot of deep mud but the areas that stay wet get very slick being a clay type topsoil. Its annoying to walk through and it sticks to everything, yuk! I don't want to jinx our chances but I have heard that there is a chance we might see some relatively significant snow for our area overnight tomorrow and in to Sunday. Being from Western NY I LOVE a nice snow storm and if we get what they say expect to be bombarded with horse pics in the snow! In prepping for the potential snow I got a load of hay on Wednesday and stocked up on feed and bedding today.
I have been encouraging Taylor to do more and more of Pebbles handling as I think it's good for both of them. Pebbles has come a long way in 6 weeks but she still requires deliberate and careful handling to make sure her experience is always positive. Every day her walls lower and her boundaries shrink and I don't think it is an over exaggeration when I say that she truly does like our attention and being with us. For Taylor this is the first horse she has been around that wasn't well handled and it's making her more aware of the things we tend to take for granted with the boys. Safety has become a topic we discuss regularly, both ours and hers. This awareness is making Taylor a better handler and equine care giver. On Pebbles end it is good because she gets handled by different people who have slightly different expectations and requests. This morning Taylor haltered Pebbles and did her grooming. I busied myself with stall cleaning so that I wasn't tempted to hover or offer unwanted advice. I could hear Taylor talking to her and periodically I would peek my head out for a look. Pebbles started out a little fidgety but a few minutes in she settled and tackled her hay bag in earnest. When I was finished Taylor mentioned that it would be nice if Pebbles could have a blanket for the cold weather. We talked it over for a few minutes and then I decided to go get one I thought would fit and give it a try. Taylor held her lead rope while I held the blanket up and moved it around a bit so it would make noises. Pebbles reached out to give it a sniff and as soon as she did I told her good girl and pulled the blanket away. We repeated this a few times until Pebbles was stepping up to me so that she could continue checking the blanket out without me removing it. At that point I started lifting it and rubbing it on her neck. She really had very little reaction other than flicking her ears back and forth so I switched sides and tried again. Still nothing so I decided to give it a go. I had scrunched the blanket and Pebbles is short enough that I could easily lift it over over her neck so I just sat it down on top of her withers. I guess I was expecting something more, lol, but as has been the case with Pebbles in most everything once you show her something she gets it and its not a big deal. In about 3 minutes she was totally blanketed and looking absolutely adorable if I do say so myself. Pebbles seemed extremely content with her new coziness and went back to her hay. I half wondered if when I fed that evening I would find the poor blanket shredded somewhere in her field but it was just as we had left it on her. I know that her winter coat has been enough and I also know that many horses don't wear blankets but it makes me feel better knowing she has that added protection from the elements.
Comments
Post a Comment