Horseback riding in the winter

I have two horses.  One is a leopard skin Appaloosa.  Sugar is very beautiful and gentle.  Her foal is part Paint and Appaloosa, though she looks just like her father the Paint horse.  Blazie is very spirited and has not been ridden very much.  In fact, I cannot ride her.  The only time she gets ridden is when my cousin Janie comes down to Georgia for a visit.  Janie is down for about three days which means it is time for Blazie's tri-yearly ride.

I was a little worried about the ride today because it is cold and windy.  The horses are always full of energy and a little jumpy when the weather is cold.  So, we started out in our usual pattern.  First, we ride the horses around in my make-shift arena.  If all goes well, we head out in the pasture and try to ride around our pond.  This can be a challenge because when the woods open up into the large pasture, Blazie thinks it is time to run and jump.  We usually make it to the pond then inevitably Blaze will start her running.  Janie rides her out, leading her in large circles until she wears herself down.  However, since it was so chilly today, she didn't seem to wear down.  Usually, Sugar will not lead she always prefers to be the follower.  However, today she was rearing to go!  Janie asked me to take the lead hoping Blazie would settle down and follow her mama.  To my surprise, Sugar took the lead and in fact wanted to run!  I had to hold her back the entire way.  We were able to ride around the pond twice and the second time coming out, we took a new route up to the barn.  They both did great today!  Sugar challenged me a little by wanting to run - when I never want her to run.  But I was very pleased with our progress today.  Afterward, we rode into the front yard to snap a few pictures.  We will see how things go tomorrow! :)