Snow excitement

[altivo]

We got about 4 inches of white stuff last night, the fluffy kind that kicks up into the air when you walk and blows into drifts from the slightest breeze. Fortunately, today being Lincoln's birthday, I didn't have to go to work, so we cleared snow and did the usual chores. Sled works great for hauling water over 6 or seven inches of snowpack. ;p

This evening we were removing Tess' boots, since they had been on for 24 hours with her hoof treatment stuff. Got the first one off and Gary was cleaning her frog while I held her head and she got upset and pulled back, then reared up. Her halter has a breakaway crown and it split, turning her loose. Out of the barn she ran into the snow, and immediately she was all excited and (as kakoukorakos puts it) very much >:D >:D >:D as she galloped around the yard and barns kicking up snow and all.

Then she tried to cross the frozen creek and slipped on the ice, going down in snowdrift. Fortunately she seems to have been unhurt, and she got back up and galloped toward the road, which did concern me more. She stopped short just as two passing cars actually slowed down for her, and came back toward me. She didn't stop, though, and went all the way around to the back of the arena, where she usually goes in when she's been in the pasture. Gary had already shut that door, so she turned and came back to the front, getting trapped between the two of us and the sheep pen. She then went into the arena through the little service door, which is just barely wide enough for her. We quickly shut the remaining doors and then she let us halter her again. She'd lost the other boot, but I found it out in the snow a few minutes later.

It could have been bad if she got into the road, but she didn't. (I think she's smarter than that, actually, unlike the boys.) The whole thing only took about five minutes.

In other news, my meeting in Rockford for tomorrow morning was cancelled due to the snow and the dire warnings about more snow tonight. We shall see if that materializes. If it does, I may end up with tomorrow off from work as well. At least it's warmer now. Today's high temperature was about 29°F./-1°C. That's a lot warmer than it has been, though once these snow storms pass through we are probably headed back into the deepfreeze.

Comments

[alaskawolf.livejournal.com]

its time to go find some hills and go snow sledding :)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Or cross-country skiing. We talked about that today, but as usual, there was too much other stuff to do.

[quickcasey.livejournal.com]

Thankfully Tess is okay.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Unless she comes up lame in the morning from that fall, but I think she's OK, yes. I love her dearly but she can be a brat. I know perfectly well where her daughter got those tricks.

[songdogmi.livejournal.com]

That's an awful lot of drama for one horse. I hope she got it out of her system for a little while, at least.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

She was miffed because we delayed her dinner to take the boots off and clean her feet. Otherwise, I think she would have behaved. Horses are very much creatures of routine and they don't like having their routine disrupted. You should hear her yell at me in the morning because now that we are hauling water out on a sled, I go to fill her water in her pen before bringing her grain in her stall. She can see what I'm doing, but it's in the wrong order and of course, getting her breakfast is the most important thing.

[songdogmi.livejournal.com]

Oh, so it's YOUR fault. <ducking> Just when she thought she had you trained.

[ducktapeddonkey.livejournal.com]

I think we're getting your snow storm today. :)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

We're still getting it here. Two more inches fell between 5 and 7 am today, and right now there are near whiteout conditions outside my window at work.

[kakoukorakos.livejournal.com]

Horses are funny that way, nothing like the prospect of an escape caper to get them all excited! Fortunately, my girls have been behaving, which is quite saintly of them since they could pretty much just step over the fence.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately that's twice in the last year that she has pulled that particular escape routine. I'm going to have to get her a halter without the breakaway strap before she figures out that she could do it any old time she wants.