It's Spring! No... Wait... More Cold??!!??

Stupid weather!

I could end my blog right there.

That is really all that needs to be said.

It is really amazing how two little words put together can change a person's mood. But not only that, it can totally reek havoc on some great plans that a certain person, namely me, had for the week. Besides the utter frustration that it creates, the weather loves to tease and mock me. With a few nice hours, I start to get my hopes up and my excitement mounts and then WHAM! When I finally get an opportunity to take advantage of the more favorable temperatures, there seems to always be a turn for the worst the second I step outside of the house.

We finally made it through daylight savings. Once again, more dark mornings to do chores. How I know Jake enjoyed doing chores with natural light versus his head lamp. How the dogs hate to go out to the kennel before the sun rises. Just listen to Ruger's howling (which spurs Bailey's barking, and in turn gets Zip worked up and he follows in suit growling at a howling Ruger) for about 10 seconds and you can hear the sheer pain that we have imposed on him. How I hate having to turn on my car's headlamps to get to work and turn off the car only to hear the absolutely annoying beeper interrupting my so-far peaceful morning.

I look forward to longer days this year. It means a regular schedule is ready to get dusted off from the shelf of normalcy that needs to return to our lives and become my timeline for the next half a year. I look forward to leaving work. That sentence gives off false interpretation. I always look forward to leaving work. It means I get to spend time with my baby girl and that is the best part of my day. That, and getting my hug and kiss from Jake when he gets home from work. But with the sun hanging out in the sky a few hours longer each day, that means I actually have time to accomplish something productive outside. I know I can go out right when we get home for 30 minutes to an hour, but it has been cold, or windy...and Makenzie is not to fond of sitting in her stroller when the weather decides to bestow miserableness on our little corner of nowhere.

Does the weather not realize I have things to do?

Important things.

Things that require sunshine.

And no horribly nasty, bone freezing cold wind.

And no intermittent, "whenever we feel like throwing one in" snow storms.

I want to ride so badly. That is my main reason for winter to go into hibernation for the year. To me, this is the most frustrating time of the year. The horses are starting to feel good. Really good. I have three Tasmanian devils on my hands. They act like domino's. Something happens to one and ALL THREE have to respond. It really doesn't help that there is a baby amongst them. Chex is the cause of a lot of troubles. If the girls could talk they would say he is the source of all the problems. Poor little guy. He gets beat up on and taddled on. I sure feel his pain. Whenever Chex decides he wants to release some pent up energy, he releases the sanity that the girls contain as well. When everybody decides to get worked up, a five acre pasture for three horses is definitely NOT big enough. Thankfully as I knock on wood, no one has gotten hurt during play time. I hope that good streak continues this spring. I really don't need any unnecessary vet bills.

I am glad that the horses enjoy playing in the afternoons. Getting them out and working them here in the next few days will be a lot more productive if they actually have a little restraint. However, they have so much shedding out to do. I really don't blame them. 50 degree days and 10 degree nights aren't too conducive to that whole phenomenon. However, it makes me have to constantly be readjusting my plans. And when you have polar bears it takes quite a few days for the brushing to actually look like it is accomplishing anything. I swear, Peaches and Roz look like they have spent the last 4 months in Antarctica. And no, they are not just fat. Well, they are fat but they have ten times the winter coat a normal horse accumulates during the winter. Case in point, Chex was the last one worked last night. When I put him away at 6:30, his coat was a little cool and damp. Nothing that I would necessarily be concerned about. But, when I went outside to check everyone at 11:30, he was even more wet and cold to the touch. Talk about freaking me out and causing me to get absolutely no sleep worrying about the little guy getting sick on me. I can't sleep anyways. Haven't been able to for a few days now. No real reason why...I guess I just have to thank Dad for that little bit of genetic wiring. And unfortunately, I don't function well on no sleep. I'm cranky. And grouchy. And snappy. And kind of mean. I'm not really sure why my husband still loves me on these days. I sure am glad he does though.

Yesterday was our first workout of the spring. Kenzie was all decked out in her baseball cap, her sippy cup in her cubby, a few snacks, her pink Blackberry, and a book. Oh, the life my little girl leads! As she is sitting in her stroller jabbering away to Daddy on her phone waiting on the first horse to come by for her inspection, I can't help but get really excited for next year when she will have a pony of her own. This once again spurs my at work search for a good little reliable pony.

Roz was the first victim. Not only did I know she was going to take the most time, but that let the other two nimrods get some more energy out running around the pasture. Sigh. Roz. I wish that mare could talk and tell me what is going on in her little head. I would love to know. She stood great while I checked her over and brushed her out. She didn't even give Chex and Peaches running around acting like idiots the time of day which was great. I threw the lunge line on her and we started working on desensitizing her hindquarters. I don't think she got the message...Lesson of the day: DE-sensitizing, emphasis on the "DE". Everything I did resulted in movement. When I asked for a hindquarter yield and two eyes, she responded so quickly. Then I would get back into position to desensitize and I would get two eyes. So I would move back into position and I would get two eyes. Can you see where I am going with this? So we spent over a half an hour with me tapping her hindquarter waiting for her to relax and stop. Unfortunately, this is where our problems start. The more tapping I did, the more nervous and upset she got. She tried to stick her nose out and pull. She tried a couple rears. She tried a couple shoulder pushes. Everything but stopping. Just standing. That is all I wanted and it was like I was trying to kill her. That mare thinks WAY to much. But if we can't master a hip yield and then waiting calmly for the next direction, how do I expect her to slow lope and lead change and do turn arounds if the simplest task is too much. I have a feeling I will be doing a lot of desensitizing in the next few weeks. I only have myself to blame for this. I have worked so hard the last few years trying to force Roz to do what I ask and in exchange I created the bay monster I now have on my hands. Roz not only is very opinionated but she doesn't like to be in trouble. She tries to keep moving in order to avoid getting told what she is doing wrong or what you want her to do next. So in order to start changing this, I need to work on the little steps and making her do what is asked instead of changing my plans to Roz's whims. I hope once Roz learns this little Golden Rule of Horsemanship maybe, just maybe we will make some progress.

Peaches was next. I was covered in peach fuzz (literally) by the time I was done brushing her. Her hocks and stifles were definitely stiff from not being stretched out all winter so I really need to remember to do that everyday for a while again. We started out working on the same things as I did with Roz. Poor Peaches. She was so nervous and concerned. Since I have started her, we have had the same routine. She gets brushed, saddled and lunged to get rid of her energy before I start working her. And we didn't do that yesterday. Once she realized she wasn't going to die, her hindquarter yields were not as snappy as Roz but she was much better about relaxing for the desensitizing. We have to work on putting a little more effort into our maneuvers. Peaches loves to do as little as possible and sometimes that makes her a little sloppy in her res ponces. We also worked on following direction from a distance with a point. She is going to move through this stuff much faster than Roz. It is really important that I don't move her too fast through it all. She needs the confidence that is going to help build. She needs the praise (and lots of it) and reassurance that she gets after providing the right answer to the direction I give. Plus, I think it will help her react to more subtle movements correctly without so much effort on my behalf.

And finally we Meet Colonel Reminic. Chex led out of the pasture...kind of okay. He needed a little restraint to not run me over on the way to the round pen. He stood great while I brushed him out. Besides nipping a few times when I ran over the ticklish spots, he stood like a statue without any restraint. When I started to sack him out, he thought we were playing. Buck. Kick. Trying to run me down. That ended that course of action on my part. Plan B: I pulled the lead rope off and started to just push him around the round pen. He is definitely not the same little guy that we worked with last fall. There is a little bit of spit and vinegar there now. So, we worked on respecting the lunge whip. We didn't run around too hard but we did end on a great note. He jogged two laps both directions, nice and soft without any misbehavior. Once his nose was flaring a little bit, he stood much better to get sacked out with the lead rope while he was gathering his air. He walked back to the pasture worse. A little antsy to get back with his girls and the second the lead rope was off he went right over and bit at Peaches. Boys. Whatcha going to do? But all in all, for being two and the first day out he did really well. I have to remind myself to not expect too much out of him too fast and that he is just a baby.

I also had a little daylight left to work the pups. Zip was first. Boy, that kid is fast. He almost beat out the Frisbee on just about every throw. We are working on sitting down before the next throw. Zip had a moment of disagreement but after a firm correction, the respect was a little more visible. That is our biggest issue right now: respect. Hopefully, more consistent work will result in a little more balance relationship. He actually did really well and after about 20 throws he was tuckered out. Ruger was ready to go. He was so good! We worked on sitting and STAYING sitting for the Frisbee. He is such a cheater. He loves to get a head start on the throw. Then we threw some from the down position. I also made him come right to me and sit down once he had the Frisbee in tow. Sometimes I feel like I am too hard on him. Ruger can be kind of a dead head so he needs the reminders of what is expected. I don't feel as bad after giving him the praises he deserves after a very successful play time. Both of these boys are really going to benefit from the agility equipment once we get it all built. I think they are going to have a blast playing on it. Poor Bailey. There was no Frisbee for her. Her hip is really starting to put a damper on her range of motion and I am really starting to get worried about her. She really guards that leg and sometimes I think she is in more pain then she lets on. She is one tough little girl. She did get to help with chores. That made her happy so I was happy.

Yesterday was a great day. Tonight, everyone gets to have a break. Makenzie gets her FIRST real haircut. So, we get to visit with Great-Grandma and Grandpa for a while and then off to get my hair chopped off and Kenzie's first time in the chair. So, that puts us to Wednesday for another good workout. Thursday, the farrier comes and then we are off to see baby lambs at a friends. Friday, another evening for a good workout...but NO, it has to snow and be cold and nasty. Saturday and Sunday are supposed to be nice so hopefully, (fingers crossed, knocked on wood) everything cooperates and we have a little time to work everyone around all of our other plans.

So, we shall see. It is all in the weather's hands now. There are my plans. Are you going to let me keep them or do I have to curse you from behind the windows of my kitchen. I guess only time and the weather will tell...