Darn Cold Out There....at least in the country it is.

Looking out my window I see a beautiful day however being outdoors on a day like today is somewhat refreshing. I suppose I will have to pull out my winter "barn-horse " clothes and acknowledged to the fact that winter is fast approaching. This means that I will only have a month or so of riding. I am not one for winters. I sometimes wonder why I live here however given the recent events in the News lately, I should not complain. If weather is all that I have to complain about then life is pretty darn good.

I am not one to tack up my horse on a windy winter day and go for a ride. I don't call that fun. Especially if the footing is hard and icy. Those that do are not die-hard horse lovers, they are just plain crazy or have falling one too many times on their head!

Not to mention when you have a barn full of horses, you have to go out in -20 degree weather to feed them, put their blankets on, walk them across the field to the pasture, put out the hay (which BTW blows away in about 5 minutes), then fill their water buckets, and then head back to the barn so you can spend the next hour or so freezing your hands off while you muck out the barn. Have you ever tried to push a wheel barrel across the field when the snow is 10 inch deep? If you haven't then I suggest that you continue to board your horse somewhere off your property. Having your own horse on your property is lovely in the summer however our harsh winter can physically exhaust the best of us.

Speaking of physical exhaustion, I suppose now that winter is on its way, I will have to turn my focus once again to training (indoors on my treadmill!) for yet another half marathon (21.1 KM) in the Spring. Don't be sad, I will still have some exciting horse stories for all of you over the winter. I am sure there will be the odd horse that will take down the hot-wire, or destroy a fence or two or maybe ever decide to wander off the property looking for greener pastures. Although given that Peyton is no longer at our barn and Cody went to Boot Camp and now has manners, I am sure Sophie will keep us on our toes this winter.

Remind me to never quit my day job (unless I win the lottery). At times I prefer the mental challenges that work brings compare to the physical demands of cleaning a barn in -20 degree weather. Gee which one would you pick?