A BIG Change in the Weather

We went from 64 degrees yesterday to 29 degrees this morning. By the time I made it out of bed at 5:20 am Mark had the fire going strong in the wood burner and the house was toasty warm.  I quickly downed 2 cups of coffee to get the old brain working before starting the Berean lunch and once that was cooking made Mark breakfast. I had to quit the walk after the first round in order to get to the Berean office with the mail. If you would like to read about our morning there click HERE.  I made it home just before Rhoda arrived. She was actually sent a text that she may want to cancel for today as the winds were gusting between 30 and 40 miles an hour dropping the wind chill to close to zero. I was glad she arrived though, she went right to work digging out the barn doorway so the big doors could be closed and the indoor arena kept warm.

 As soon as the doors were done, she pulled Ripper out to build on his training yesterday. She didn't care that the wind was blowing so hard, she just felt that would help with the training. Below Ripper was getting mad at that garbage bag. The wind had filled it up like a balloon and he didn't like it hitting his legs. 

 The first few times it would hit him, he would run but Rhoda would keep the bag hitting his legs until he stopped and only then would she remove the bag. Well Ripper is smart and figured out pretty quickly a better way than running to stop that bag from hitting his legs.

 Above as soon as it hit his leg, he quickly stomped on it and then stood there not moving an inch. 

 Rhoda put the bag away, and practiced mounting from both sides. Ripper was allowed to run if he wanted to but he learned very quickly if he runs he has to work and Ripper is either smart or lazy and just stood. 

 Rhoda just walked him today and then ended that training. Karin arrived after work and with the extreme wind, cold and encroaching nightfall, was glad to work horses inside. Below she is working with Zalena. 

 When she finished Zalena was so relaxed she was yawning. 

 Next Karin worked with Rosalie and the clapper. 

 The clapper is plastic hands that when waved make a clapping sound. All of our horses were introduced to that last year. They are trained to not respond to the sound of applause. Karin was just reminding Rosalie that noise is good.  Before leaving for the day, Rhoda rode Indy and ponied Ripper on the trails. Karin rode Rosalie behind them. Below they are just starting out. I was too cold so just snapped that one picture. 

Rhoda told me after the ride the wind was so bad in the bean fields they just turned around and did the trails backward. Ripper decided he was not going to move and Indy was having a tough time dragging him so Karin used Rosalie to remind him to keep moving. He sure didn't want to get run over by that huge mare. Each time he would stop Rosalie would walk up behind him and he would scurry forward.