Ice Ice Baby

Well, it was only a matter of time before our fantasy winter with temps in the 30s and 40s came to an end. We had one warm day - Tuesday - when it rained all day. Then of course, on Wednesday the temperature plummeted, and our world froze. Everything at the farm is coated with a sheet of ice.
Since my horses have not yet learned to ice skate, this presented a problem. They spent yesterday morning stuck in the barn, while I waited fruitlessly to see if the sun might melt the ice sheet that blanketed the back paddock and pasture. By noon, that clearly wasn't going to happen.
So I got a long rope and a large barrel, and made a makeshift fence to keep them in a small area of the paddock just beyond the run-in shed. I sanded and salted thoroughly, and even even tossed around some old hay and manure for added traction.
They were able to go outside in this little area, which I hope helped their sanity at least a little bit. When JD got home from work, he improved my arrangement by making it a little bigger and sanding a bigger area.
But it was only 5 degrees this morning, and it's not supposed to get much higher than the 20s today. So my poor horses are going to be stuck for a while longer with a space not big enough to run around in. But the way I look at it, it's much better than going outside to find a tragedy.
Wish they could understand that, but there's not much else I can do.

Riding Mr. T.

Titan was kind enough to pose for me yesterday after we took a mid-afternoon ride. The weather was super - sunny and about 45 degrees, which is as good as it gets up here in northern New York in January. The two of us are coming along as partners. He is learning what I want and seems to want to please me. From what I've gathered from riding him, he was never ridden with any finesse or equitation skills. He neck reins like a dream, but leg cues are somewhat mysterious to him.
We've been working on simple transitions, like going from a trot to a walk. At first, he would continue trotting even when I cued him verbally and with my seat that his gait should change. Yesterday he was getting it, becoming consistent at slowing to a walk when asked. In the spring, I'm hoping to find an instructor who will come to my house to give us some lessons to refine these skills. He also needs help with collection, which is apparently something that has never been asked of him.
He's such a good boy, so pleasant and best of all, so unflappable. Learning new skills at 16 years old has been a little challenging for him, but he is trying. I can tell when something is new to him, because he furrows his brow like he is trying very hard to figure out what I want. I get the feeling he was always told he did everything perfect. Now he's being told that while his old ways were OK, he has to work a little harder to step it up to the next level. Without anthropomorphizing, I think his feelings get a little hurt when he is corrected. I make sure to praise him profusely every time he gets something right.
His papers from the APHA arrived the other day, so now he's officially mine! I'm looking forward to some great times with this big guy.