Ready to ride!
My friend, Don on Traveler, & me on Magi, years ago in Chesterfield, County, Va. This was the blizzard of 2000. In Virginia, 10″ of snow brings things to a screeching halt unless, of course, you have a buddy with a 4-wheel drive vehicle and a good horse. I’ll never forget this particular day. It was soooooooo cold outside, but we had a ball. I’d pulled Magi’s shoes, leaving him barefoot for the winter so his feet wouldn’t pack with snow or ice and off we went. Magi was always particularly spunky during cold whether and he loved to frolic in the snow. That made two of us.
I had so many clothes on that day, I had to stand on top of the hitching post to climb aboard. The upside to winter is that if you fall off your horse, you have plenty of padding when you hit the ground. LOL. Thankfully, there were no falls that day, just lots of fun for us all.
orples 
I only made some horse back ride during summer – never did that in winter – must be wonderful!
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If you can stand the cold, winter riding is much nicer. The horses are more energetic and there are NO BUGS! If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend it. If you ride in snow, it is wise to pull your horses shoes off so they won’t pack with snow and ice. If that is not possible you can grease the underside of their feet and the frog with cooking oil or lard to ‘help’ repeal the snow. I’ve seen horses walk on snow balls due to packed ice and it can cause bruising to their feet, believe it or not. They are also more likely to trip due to packed feet. Thanks for dropping by. Thanks for dropping in and chatting.
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I would like to HEAR such a ride – that must be fascinating too!
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I’m impressed, most people that don’t ride, don’t realize the many sounds actually accompany the experience. Besides the birds singing, the squirrels rustling about, and other obvious sounds, when the ice breaks the branch, or little clots of frozen snow fall from the pine boughs, even the wind through the tree branches create quite the symphony. Do you ride?
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what a great photo for ready… ready to take on the snow…
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That was such a memorable ride. We rode for 4 hours that day.
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Horses – all legs and teeth 😉 Actually I love horses but they give me a serious hystamin reaction if I try helping with grooming them. I’ll stick to photographing from distance 🙂 Sounds like your mount enjoyed the outing 🙂
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Magi loved the snow for sure. It’s too bad you are allergic, thus being denied the joy of the horses up close. When I die, I’ve asked that my children brush my ashes into the back of a horse. Morbid, huh? LOL.
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Great shot … I can almost sense what a fun-filled day this must have been!
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Indeed! Although, our other friends thought we’d lost our minds. It was about 18 degrees outside that day.
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very good portrayal, and great character showing through.;)
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Thank you Gerry. It was a fun, fun ride.
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>I’ll never forget this particular day. It was soooooooo cold outside,
– Hmm. Could this have been the day that Mel Lastman (then Mayor of Toronto) called in the army to save us from … the snow? Somehow, I think it was the following year.
Being just a lil’ further up north from you, I know *exactly* what you’re talking about. I love snow. Now if only it weren’t *so* cold. 😉
Kate
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Hi Kate. Here in Virginia, we don’t get too, too much snow, and what you’re seeing in the photo was the begins of the snow storm we got hit with. It snowed on and off for a couple of days, totaling a whopping 10″ by the time it finished snowing. That is a big deal in this part of our State. When the snow did fall, we went out of our way to enjoy it. It was a lot colder than usual on that ride. The rest of the gang refused to come out and play due to the extreme (for Virginia) temperatures . . . their loss, for sure. Of course, I was so heavily dressed that day, I could barely move. LOL. Now that I think about it, we haven’t gotten any snow at all this year. 😦
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It really looked cold but I bet it was a fun ride. Hugs
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18 degrees cold. But it beat sitting in the house all day. Thanks for dropping by,and hugs right back to you. 😉
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How wonderful to ride in the snow – must be cold
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It was freezing, but well worth it. Riding in the snow is a blast even if you do sometimes have to dress to the hilt to stay warm through the duration of the ride. Layers is the way to go. Thanks for dropping by, so good to see you.
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