BRRR, It's CCCOLD Out There

This is the winter wonderland we got to enjoy from Thursday afternoon till Sunday evening. Sunday it rained freezing rain and then the temperature rose thru the night, which then caused all of the snow to melt with the exception of the big snow piles. This morning I woke up to rain and was it decently "warm", that is, if you call 40 F warm :) We have had temperatures down to zero for the last few days and tonight and tomorrow are supposed to be nice and cold *said sarcastically*. We have temperature of 5 degrees F and a wind-chill of -18. Tomorrow it is calling for the same only a wind-chill of -20.  For some reason when I feed them hay in the run in shed, they waste it. To resolve that issue, I took a big 100 gallon galvanized steel tub to put their hay in. I tied it to the barn using baler twine so they can't move it around. Since it is calling for such cold temperatures for tonight I gave them a full bale of hay, plus a little extra. I want them to stay toasty warm.

I had to laugh at Freedom though. I got my mom to help me carry the tub, even though it is actually pretty light, it is a bit big and bulky for one person to manage. I opened the gate to the meadow and the horses came out of the barn. Then to close the gate we put the tub down and both horses spook from the noise. I had to laugh because Daisy stops in her steps and sort of jumps to the side. Freedom stops, looks and walks away. We took it to the run in and put it down. The horses come over and check out what this new thing is. I brought the bale of hay in and put it in the tub. Once mom and I get out of the way I just stand there to watch them. I put some hay to the side of the trough so the goats can reach some. Well Daisy goes ahead and digs right in, not caring a lick about the fact she has to eat her hay out of something vs. straight off the ground. Freedom, he is a different story. He stands as far back as he can and reaches his head out to sniff it. I guess he bumped his nose against the cold trough and he puts his nose up in the air like all studs to when they smell something funny. And he snorts at it like horses do when they are unsure or not pleased about something. I just stood there and laughed. My dear horse, who I can do anything with and who hardly has a care in the world as far as new things, is not impressed or pleased with this new feeding trough. His reaction was just so funny. Well he eventually settles in and figures he might as well clean up the hay from off the ground :) The little things like this make me smile! Horses can be so amusing sometimes :)

I haven't been able to ride or work with the horses since Thursday, due to how cold it has been and with the snow on the ground. It looks like they might be calling for more reasonable weather later this week into next so hopefully I can drive Freedom again and ride soon.

Hope everyone is staying warm and for those of who live in colder climates and have snow, drive safely!

Christmas Day 2013 Sunset. Just LOVE this photo.