Trotting Down the Trail: Not again!

With a tiny bit of guilt, I rescheduled my Subaru's service appointment to Friday (weather forecast: COLD!) and played hooky from my responsibilities for a little while yesterday afternoon. You are getting tired of me saying it, but the winter heat wave was still with us and driving home from an early afternoon patient, my car thermometer read 48 degrees! If you guessed I threw on riding clothes and headed to the barn, you'd be exactly right.

As a side note, I have been finding dressing appropriately this winter to be extremely difficult. I'm used to piling on the layers, and this winter's warmth has befuddled my wardrobe. I've been hit or miss with choosing correctly; for example, on Monday afternoon, Gesa and I took Cricket and Sefi for a handwalk around the neighborhood just at dusk. I had a single polarfleece top plus my winter jacket, silk long underwear bottoms beneath my winter riding tights, and my lightweight winter boots. I was steaming - unzipping, unbuttoning, unsnapping, and even shedding layers just while grooming. With that in mind, yesterday I dressed a little lighter, with "fall" tights instead of winter over my long underwear and two thin layers on top plus a light jacket. I rode around the same time we'd walked the day before, and it was about the same temperature. Yesterday, by the time I returned to the barn, I was very much on the chilly side and looking forward to cranking the heat in the car.

I was loading my tack into the car at Gesa's, on my way up to Red's barn, when I realized that, like Sunday, I'd forgotten Red's bit at home AGAIN! Geez! I leave it there so it will be warm for him, and I can't seem to remember to bring it. It doesn't matter that it's warm when it's sitting at home. Planning a road ride, I knew I needed a bit not just his rope halter, so I threw Cricket's bridle into the car along with saddle, pad, girth, rump rug, and reflective vest (for me) and leg bands (for him).

It's amazing how different Red looks in Cricket's bridle! He has the longest head of my three, as I had to let it out a bit to fit him. Also, Cricket's curb bit is a 4 1/2" and a 4 3/4" bit fits Red better. Despite the strange bit that didn't fit, he seemed perfectly content in this bridle. I have never ridden him in any other bit besides his snaffle, so I don't know if he has any experience in a curb bit or not.

Ready to go and mounted up in no time, we set off down the edge of the icy driveway. I had high hopes for the state of the gravel road, given our streak of spring-like weather and sunny days to melt the road surface, but, alas, I was wrong in my prediction and we ended up with a short 2 1/2 mile walk. The sunset was lovely, and we enjoyed being out, so I didn't really mind. Who can complain about riding in January like this?