The Polar Vortex Arrives

 Real winter just hit. 

Not so much in how much snow we've got, but in that it's going to be freezing cold this weekend.  This is probably going to be the coldest weekend of the year - nighttime temperatures will be close to -40 (which is the same in F and C) before windchills.

I made sure to get out to the barn on Thursday evening to check on blankets and put on their new Bucas heavy hoods that I picked up on sale around Christmas. 

These hoods will be known as their "turtlenecks" going forward.

The medium hoods were out of stock so I grabbed large ones and figured I could get them shortened. Once I compared the length to their current hoods though I decided not to - there's only an inch or two difference in the length. So they are just a wee bit long at the moment, but once they break in I think they'll be fine. They will only get worn on these super cold days which is only a few weeks a year.

I spent some time with each horse and the Sure Foot pads. 

Cisco was a total twit. There were far too many blankets to pull of the walls, noses of stalled horses to sniff, or kitties to chase down the aisle to be able to stand still for more than 2.5 seconds. I kept trying but it was kind of futile.

Phantom was a bit off - just not herself. She left a few bites of food left in her dish - she does this sometimes, so it's not unheard of from her, but not normal. She also didn't walk up to me or talk to me when I went out to get her which she's been doing consistently lately. I might have just caught her at a bad moment - she and her buds were at the far end of their paddock where I seldom see them in winter and her BFF Pete was lying down with her standing next to him. Maybe it was just bedtime? I offered her some warm water just in case she wasn't drinking and she took a mouthful but that was it. 

Anyhoo, she was quite happy to stand on the pads.

Ignore the poopy leg.

Well, sort of on the pads. She seems to like the slanted pads in front, and gave herself a bit of a slant on the hind. Lots of snoozy moments were had.

And then she peed a lake worth of pee in the aisle. And splashed a bunch on her blanket that was parked on the floor behind her. Thankfully, it wasn't the blanket that I was putting back on her, but I'll have to bring it home to wash. Even more thankfully, I had picked up my winter coat literally two minutes earlier from that same pile, or I would have had a coat covered in pee. Yuck. Also phew.

I'm taking this weekend off from pony stuff and am planning to do some baking while listening to the Hamilton soundtrack for the umpteenth time and binging something new on Netflix. I'll have to brave the cold on Monday as Cisco is going to get his first bodywork session!