First Snow Ride of the Year

I think winter is about to finally be upon us.

I am waiting for the temperatures to go down and stay down before I clip Brooklyn, but he's being blanketed, so he's ready. As a final preparation for winter with a working horse*, I went to Dover to pick out a quarter sheet.  I have been wanting a Rambo Newmarket quarter sheet since pretty much the dawn of time, but I couldn't really justify it when there are perfectly good quarter sheets available for $30 or so. Luckily for me, Santa was very generous this year and I was able to splurge on something I want instead of something I need.**

While at Dover, I picked up a dressage girth***, stirrup leathers, and a loose ring bit to finally put together the dressage saddle I picked up over the summer.

On Sunday, Mike and I braved the cold so I could ride Brooklyn for the first time in several days. Becky arrived at the same exact time we did. Everyone gushed over how cute Brooklyn looked in his refreshed outfit while I tacked up.

It wasn't long before Becky and I headed to the indoor to warm up together. By then, the snow was coming down steadily, and I wanted to take the chance to ride outside. Brooklyn was on his very best behavior so that's exactly what we did. Becky joined me and we went on to have a lovely ride.

Of course, I posed for some photos with my handsome guy. This horse is lucky he's pretty. He'd be SoL if he was broken and ugly.

Mike also snagged some really great shots of Gambit. Becky has switched over to English riding for the time being. She's waiting for her side pull bridle to arrive so Gambit is wearing his very best mix-match outfit. This horse is nothing but a reminder of how versatile standardbreds can be. He can ride English and trot around on a loose rein, or he can go western and gait with the best of them. It cracks me up.

Of course, I waved Becky over so we could get a photo together.

Mike finished off with some gorgeous artsy fartsy photos before we headed back inside.

Becky and I rode back to the indoor, laughing and chatting up the driveway. The horses have really started to hit it off, which makes riding together that much more fun. Meanwhile, Mike was apparently taking some candid photos.

I went back out and rode Brooklyn again last night. When I arrived, Evie was getting tacked up, which is when I found out that she was dressed as Brooklyn's mini  me. We couldn't resist.

We had a productive, but not necessarily easy ride. Brooklyn is great with other horses or by himself, but he has a hard time handling being left alone in the ring. He works happily if there's nobody else there to begin with, and he's fine if other horses join us or are already in the arena when we arrive. Last night, he was trotting quietly around while Evie galloped, did lead changes, and jumped cavaletti. He even moseyed on a loose rein. When Evie was finished, however, Brooklyn got very distracted by her leaving, and I had my work cut out for me to get his attention back on me. I ended up lunging him to remind him that work doesn't end just because another horse leaves, but we finished on a good note with some nice cantering in both directions and some leg yields off the right (more difficult) leg.

Anyway... no real point... mostly just photos of my horse looking adorable in his new quarter sheet.

*It has been years since I had a horse of my own in serious work during the winter months.

**I am pretty sure I can count on one hand the pieces of pricey tack that I've bought out of desire, not necessity. My fleeceworks full pad, which I got on sale when I first got Ozzy in 2007, my endurance bridle, and now this quarter sheet. I'm the girl with 80+ saddle pads, six or seven saddles, ten or so bridles, and two full sets of blankets for her feral, naked horses, so that's saying something about my horse shopping habits. I am very good at getting bargains (and gifts) and I am not one to spend freely at the tack store.

*** Can somebody please explain to me why nobody seems to make an all purpose English girth that is black with black fleece? I can get black with white fleece, or a black fleece girth cover for a leather girth, or black with no fleece, but no black with black fleece. This is common in dressage girths so WTF? I am going to make a black fleece girth and market it for $500 a pop. I'll give it some snazzy name and make a killing. Am I the only one who wants a 52" black fleece girth? Maybe I'm a freak.