Michigan is in a deep freeze. That is not uncommon for this time of the year, but it doesn't make it any more fun. Forecast for the next days are highs (!) of about 3F (minus 16 C). My cut off used to be much more generous, as in "no riding if it's below 20F". Well, in the last weeks this would have meant hardly any riding. The new threshold is "no riding in single digits".
So now any day above 10F is a good riding day. All the horses are coping well with the cold. We make sure to feed hay four times a day, plus soaked hay cubes at night check. But I can feel there is some boredom setting in as they don't run and play as much outside when it's icy (luckily!!).
Remy has been surprising me lately, even when high winds smashed snow and ice against the arena walls he kept his focus and worked well. He feels supple and relaxed. We always do our routine of lots of warm up with lateral work in the walk, which gets both of us 'in the mood' (most of the time...).
Today Remy started where we left off yesterday - supple and relaxed. I thoroughly enjoyed the feeling despite having to gasp for air. In this extreme cold the arena can't be watered so the dust just aggravates my allergies even more. Judy got worried and told me several times that it would be absolutely OK to stop: "I don't want you to die here!".
No worries, Jude, "If I die here today then at least I die with a smile on my face!".
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