Monday, March 9, 2009

Frosty Freeze







Brrrrrrrr... Don't these photos just make you shiver??

Over the weekend, we suffered through an “arctic event” that blasted the area. As a result, there were no “Photo Shoot” opportunities to get pics of JB’s feet like I had hoped.
Have you ever tried to feed off round bales with a fork while getting through gates and dodging grumpy,hungry horses with 35- 40 mph winds? Well if not, than I don’t suggest it. It had me cursing like a sailor!
The cold blast was supposed to only last only through Saturday evening and let up by yesterday but this morning, the winds continue to rip and tear at anything in its path. Tonight, we are the lucky recipients of yet another arctic air weather pattern to hit the area with wind chills reaching -20 to -30. Is Al Gore scheduled to appear somewhere in the area to talk about Global Warning or something?? Hahahaha!! Seems everytime he is scduled to speak , his meeting gets cancelled to due to record cold temps… The big man clearly has a sense of humor! Ok- enough
Our morning attempt to get to work, aleady behind schedule due to the extra time it took to feed in the hellacious wind, was eventful since all the east west roads were drifted shut. A few braves souls also attempting to get to work the “back way” had attempted the usual bust through the drifts and pray you make it out on the other side without landing in the ditch maneuver (since the plows don’t always show up until later). Unfortunately, this time, it was a bit deeper than they had bargained for and they found themselves stuck. I turned around and had to try 3 different routes , all of which had snow drifts that had captured other victims. I finally back tracked and had to get out onto the main highway, although I was tempted to just go back home and go back to bed. By the time I had gotten out to the highway, it was 20 after and the 8:00 traffic was full on. Oh Joy. Usually I am at work by 7:00 a.m! Here are some photos of what our place looked like over the weekend.












Posted by ************ at 11:25 AM
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1 comments:

Stephanie said...

I thought we had it bad in Chicago area with torrential rains for 2 and a half days straight! You sure beat that with arctic blasts!

March 9, 2009 6:34 PM

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About Barbs, Etc

Greetings and welcome to my blog. I began riding at the age of 5 and haven't stopped since. By the time I was 8, I was involved in the local Pony Club and remained until my teenage years. As a junior rider and then into my young adult years , I went on to train, ride and work with a variety of different trainers and stables, eventually landing in Northwest Montana, where I now call home. Over the years I have been fortunate to experience many different disciplines including hunter/jumper, equitation, dressage, reining, western pleasure and showmanship as well as breeding and training.

Along the way, I grew partial to the Spanish Colonial type horse and through a series of interesting events in my life, became the owner of a few Barb horses, a relatively rare and unknown type of horse. The history of the Barb horse, as best we know it, can be found here.

Join me as I chase down a long time dream to ride and compete in the sport of Endurance racing with my Barb gelding, El Gato Rojo JB. We began our journey in this sport in 2008 and continue working towards completing a true AERC limited distance together.

Barbs, Etc will focus on the sport of endurance as well as journal all my other experiences along the way with my horses here at Acer Farms.

2008 Accomplishments

  • October- JB had xrays to make sure there was not a coffin bone fracture causing lameness. Xrays were negative and lameness due to stone bruise, soles were only 7 mm. We had pads put on JB to offer him protection while his bruise healed. On 10/5, we participated in a poker ride which was 9 miles. JB did well with his pads and had no sign of soreness.
  • August 9th would be our first limited distance ride ever. We completed the first 15 mile loop in 3 hrs and 32 minutes. At lunchtime vetting, JB was exhibiting the slightest soundness issue. Due to 10 more miles of difficult terrain and rocky footing I chose to pull him. He recovered and the rest of August continued with conditioning. On August 28 we had completed a conditioning ride of 14 miles at 2 hrs and 15 min. Out next limited distance competition would be on 9/7
  • July- we began the month doing 4-5 miles which was taking us 1.5 to 2 hrs. Over the course of the month we gained distance and did a few hill workouts. Our last ride in July was 10.5 miles at 1.5 hrs. That was also the first time JB went into the river.
  • September- we were covering 8-10 mile conditioning rides regularly at 1.5 hours or better. JB was gaining quite a bit of muscle now and getting well conditioned. 9/7 we competed in the last limited distance ride of the season locally and once again , Jb came up lame after 8 miles. We later discovered it was a stone bruise that had flared up again after the August ride.
  • June was mostly arena work due to snow, icey roads, very limited conditioning
  • 5/24- Herron Park Limited Distance- opted to do 12 mile pleasure loop 2.5 hours
  • April- JB started on conditioning schedule; arena work, dressage lessons a few 2-3 mile rides at walk with some trotting