It’s a Blizzard Out There!

 

Yesterday evening, I brought Apache into the barn for the night because the weather report said we could expect more snow and rain with colder temperatures. I also wanted to take my measure tape up to the barn and see what size blanket I should buy for my mare. Interestingly, Apache was frightened by the measuring tape and jumped and ran away from me whenever I tried to touch her with it. So I decided to desensitize her to the tape, even though I was a little surprised that she didn’t trust me to touch her with it in the first place.

We spent about 15-20 minutes with me just flinging the thin tape on her sides, back, neck, head and legs, until she finally stood stock still and started licking and chewing. Then I began touching her with it using my hands, sliding it all over her sides and back as if I was measuring her. She got nervous again and moved away, so we went back to just flinging of the tape again.

And then I brought out a few cookies and kept reassuring and rewarding Apache while giving her praise, which seemed to work even better to relax her. After another few minutes of that, I moved away from her and went back into the tack room for more cookies, to give her a release from the pressure. Then I came back and started back again with flinging the tape, and moved into rubbing her with it until she stood relaxed, licked and chewed. I was very proud of her and then I was finally able to take her measurements, which were 69”.

I was surprised because that is the size of Baby Doll’s blanket, which I still have. It will be interesting to see how it fits Apache, as she just seems so much smaller than Baby Doll was. Well she’s shorter in height at least, but maybe not in length. I wanted to try the blanket on her, but didn’t want to add anymore pressure  since she had cooperated so nicely in getting used to the measuring tape. I decided to just keep her in the stall for the night instead.

 

Good thing, too, because when I woke up around 3am to use the bathroom, I noticed that there was over an inch of snow on the ground. Thankfully it had all melted by the time I went up to feed everyone. The sun was even shining. But something told me to keep Apache in the barn for the rest of the day anyway. Good thing, too. Because by late morning the skies opened up and it turned into a blizzard up here!

 

 

I noticed that my neighbor D, must have bought a new horse and possibly sold his other three. He’ usually keeps them down in the Rio Grande Valley where he can ride them in rodeo roping events. I felt badly for this new horse, because he probably came up from the valley and isn’t acclimated to our colder spring weather, and his first day here he has to deal with a blizzard.

Can you see him?

  

 

I took these photos from my bedroom balcony glass doors, so I had to zoom in for a better view. See him now?

Poor guy seems to be without any buddies, too. D doesn’t have any real shelter for his horses except for the wall of his yard and a couple short juniper trees to serve as a wind block. When the wind picked up and the snow blew sideways, this poor fellow galloped all over his paddock.

I received an e-mail from my friend Renee this afternoon. She had just gotten home from riding down at Cedar Hill Farm this morning. She said the snow was falling fast and thick and she could barely feel her fingers and toes, but Renee said she had a blast anyway and would do it again in a heartbeat. She’s one tough cowgirl! And that’s the way it is up here in the central mountains of New Mexico, above 7,000 ft.

If you have horses and you want to ride, you’ve got to just get out and do it, or you’ll never get the chance. Our weather can change so quickly. A group of us gals who rode in January, February and March this winter, through snow, rain and wind, call ourselves the Snowy Mountain Cowgirl Club. Seems like a fitting name considering how we get can get snowstorms from October all the way into May, eh?