weather dependent

I forgot that all that outdoor riding depended on the proper conditions: fluffy snow that is kept cold, and does not have a crust on the top of nasty sharp ice. We got more snow on Wed, with a final coating of freezing rain, and we are back to what i think of as "normal New England": thick crust that supports no weight and chops up the fronts of you shins. I keep thinking there has to be some way to groom riding rings in NE winters the way snow trails are groomed - maybe a snowmobile or something? - that would break up the ice and compact the snow and make a trottable surface out of it. I don't care if I can't go faster, but trotting without wobbling would be really lovely.

I thought I was going to the Y yesterday but my car took me up the hill to the ponies instead. I hopped on baby Ruby and we walked about the trails they had already blazed through the icy crusty snow and the older mares followed along behind to see if anything interesting was going to happen. Ruby is such a couch to sit on, and so cute I can hardly stand it. Kaboose is home again, and she had a proprietary interest in the the contents of my pockets that was sweet, and greedy. She looked incredibly relaxed back in her home territory.

I'm going down to a different lesson today, with Mara-from-last-spring on (probably) one of the springy arab mares. I need to ride someone, anyone, and if I can't get on the Canadians at their house I guess I'll have to pay to ride where I can. For the moment.