Hello Dear Humans, today I want to speak about winter. The arrival of winter, in my world, is announced by the arrival of cold weather and me getting all my fur clipped off. Yes, it’s true. Just as it gets to be freezing all my fur gets buzzed off. I know…it seems odd doesn’t it. Well the reason is that I grow lots of fur to keep me warm but when Ma Leueen is riding me and we are working then I get hot and sweaty and then I get chilled when I go back to the stalls and get cold. So my winter fur is removed and then I can work without getting too hot and sweaty. Of course I have a wardrobe of warm weather clothing to wear and I will tell you more about that later.
So when I saw snow on the ground, when Barn Manager Carl took me out to my paddock in the morning, I knew it was prophetic.This would be the day my fur would be clipped off. When Ma Leueen arrived she showed me a photo of what it looked like at her house. She had snow too.
Anyway….on with my story. After our lesson with Coach Belinda Ma Leueen gave me a bath with soap and scrubbing and everything. I have to be squeaky clean for the clipping. Ma Leueen put some special blankets on me to help me dry out. Then Friend Sue arrived to do the clipping. She turned the overhead heat lamps on and I was quite relaxed.
You can see here how Friend Sue leaves my fur in the area where the saddle sits. It’s like I have my own little saddle pad!
It takes a very long time to finish the clip and I was a bit worried I would miss dinner. I knew Barn Manager Carl had put all the feed bowls out in front of the stall doors. My neighbor Fluffy was eager to get his and was stomping about. But I realized that Barn Manager Carl was not going to feed anyone until my clipping was finished. Carl’s a great guy! As soon as Friend Sue had finished Ma Leueen put on my black fleece pullover and then a soft quilted blanket on top of that.
Then I was taken back to my stall and I had my delicious dinner. This is what the grooming stall looked like after I was gone. That’s my fur all over the floor.
Ma Leueen swept it all up into a pile. Look how much there is.
I think the only other horse in the barn who could produce that much fur would be my neighbor Fluffy. He has really hairy legs. He tells me his is a different breed of horse from me and his breed always has hairy legs. His breed is a Per Cher On or something like that.
As I was eating my dinner I could hear Ma Leueen discussing my wardrobe for turnout to my paddock tomorrow. I will keep on my pull over fleece and padded blanket and on top of that Barn Manager Carl or Groom Lexi will put my stunning silver blanket with the smart navy blue hood. I shall be quite warm.
Stay warm ,Dear Humans, if you live in a place with cold winters.
I’d love to hear from you!