Gone with the Wind

Whew! It was such a windy and blustery day, none of us rode our horses.

I arrived at the barn first and just felt happy that I wasn't blown off the road on the way. I decided I did not want to deal with the rattling barn and arena from the saddle. I was going to be a whuss and longe with side reins. Turns out it was a good decision. I had all the excitement I needed when Phantom got loose in the arena while I was trying to attach the side reins.

I had longed him first without the reins to get the "piss and vinegar" out of his system. He took off a couple of times when the wind slammed into the end wall of the arena and I just let him race around me. Well, the wind shook the arena again while I was occupied with the side reins and he bolted. At least he's contained in the arena, you say. Um...well...our arena doesn't have a gate. So the first thing I did was run to the open gate and block it. Fortunately, Phantom had no intentions of leaving. One trip around and he was willing to let me rescue him from the "bogey wind."

We returned to business and Tracey the trainer arrived well into our longe session. She didn't want to ride either! Just when the lull in the wind lured one into relaxing -- whoosh! -- it shook the end wall again. By the time I was ready to leave, another boarder had arrived and she, too, decided against riding. She had Cody rigged up in surcingle with side reins.

Funny how we all decided we could wait until the storm blew through to return to the saddle.