Road Walking For Sanity

There was another that storm blew through this last week and left the wonderful present of somewhere around 6-8" of snow.  I am really not sure how much snow we got because there were clear areas and areas where it drifted high enough it was well over my knee.  I was quite thrilled when I stepped there because it was dark and I couldn't see.

The horses seem to be settling in the barn, Stinker has shavings on him in the morning so he is laying down at night.  At the old barn he very rarely would lay down at night despite being in his stall all night all winter.  Cowboy seems to be walking his stall less and was begging to go into the barn.  The begging might have more to do with the amount he shed out and less to do with actually liking the barn, but I will take it.

Sunday morning I couldn't take it anymore and decided I was going to go for a ride.  My biggest problem is Stinker always balls the snow in his front feet.  And it isn't just a little within 15 minutes he will have 2-3" packed up like stilts.  So I don't feel comfortable even walking him in the snow.  Luckily the roads had cleared off so I decided to take him around the neighborhood.

He has gotten so much better about traffic and dogs.  Most vehicles get the suspicious eye and occasionally he will scoot away from them a bit, but I can't blame him there.  I would probably scoot if I heard a massive diesel engine roaring behind me too.

I was so happy with the way he handled a loose dog.  I don't know where the dog came from, but it came barreling at us barking and growling.  I honestly thought it was going to lunge at Stinker, but luckily it kept a few feet back from us when I told it to get home.  Stinker just kept walking along.  He didn't get excited or spook or give the dog any reason to chase us, despite the fact I got tense and nervous and was using my you are in so much trouble voice.

We went on about a 40 minute loop and while the snow was stunning, I was wishing for some sun glasses for the glare.  It was amazing how much that 40 minute walk improved my mood.  The amount of stress and lack of riding had been doing a number on me.  While I can't really control the stress, riding regularly helps me to manage it a little better.