Winter Woollies

Zanny. Dear, sweet girl. She's a bit like me. Not exactly supermodel material, but fabulous anyway. It was a lovely sunny day today when I went out to have a ride. Yesterday was quite warm, so Zanny had some time without her cover. Now, it is the middle of winter here, and it is incredibly muddy on the farm. Yes, she took the opportunity to have a lovely roll, and I had no hope of getting it all off. You can see she hasn't got any shine to her coat because there is so much dust through it. And her legs and neck are very furry. They were caked with dirt. 

 Her tummy is full of foal. Look how round it is getting.

 She is in good condition, even though she looks awful here. I'll have her looking better by the end of the upcoming holidays, because she will get more grooming sessions.

 I'm sure she deliberately doesn't smile for photos. I made noises and tried to get her to prick her ears towards me, but she was determined not to play the game.

In contrast, while we were out for our sedate hack, she had her ears forward the whole time. We had one wee trot, but the ground was quite squishy after melting snow and heavy rain. I can't wait to ride her once she is no longer pregnant, because we will be able to do some more adventurous stuff. That won't be for a long time. Meanwhile, I am having a lovely time because I feel completely safe with her. She never does anything alarming. I know her little quirks now, and cater for her blind side by letting her have a good look when she is unsure, or position her so that she can see what is happening. She looks after me and I look after her. We're the perfect team. 

By the way, I found out in the latest Horse and Pony magazine (which is full of Emily stuff!) that one of their "top 10" NZ Olympic horses was blind in one eye. 

I helped with the feed-out today. I love it, as I get to chat to so many horses - around 17 today, I think. They are always so pleased to have their dinners. A couple have quite rude manners and you get the ears pressed back and a fierce expression, but if you thrust the bucket under their noses they get a mouthful of chaff, and all is well. Al is funny. He looks very scary and waves his head around with the most ferocious expression,  but he is all drama and no action. I don't trust Red though, because he will spin around and kick out. It is heaven helping out. 

I am so looking forward to the holidays. I have had a couple of days out of class on a course last week, so I'm very pleased that my students will have me all week. I prefer it that way, and they do too. We're ending the week with a "wacky mufti day" so I'll have to think of something a little bit extraordinary to wear to raise a few eyebrows.