Snow Days

 

If you follow me on Instagram (@hppress) things have been very horse-oriented lately. Sorry not sorry for the equine spam! As of today, I'm 14k words into my new standalone project, but I'm still not ready to share anything about it, so I thought I'd fill the voice with more farmy content. 

After a week of bitter cold temperatures, Friday marked the first true snow day in Georgia since 2017. It began as two or so inches of fluffy powder in the morning - but then, this being Georgia, that couldn't last; it shifted to freezing rain in the afternoon, which made for a thick, icy crust overtop of everything, far too slick for the horses to go outside. 

This was the young girls' first time seeing snow. They were a little nervous that first day, mostly thanks to the crunching of my footsteps and the manure cart's wheels. I was nervous about putting them out two days later when there were still slippery spots, but, like with fireworks, and gunshots, and most things I fret will spook them, they handled it like little champs. 

Life with horses - with any large, outdoor animal - is just different than life with cats and dogs alone. Having them forces you to take all sorts of things into consideration. "I love being snowed in!" isn't anything horse people say. Snow days don't involve books, and hot chocolate, and cozy socks; it means sliding down hills on numb toes and chapping your hands pulling ice chunks out of water troughs. It's worrying that your horses will colic, toting warm water, tossing hay over and over. It's a life all horse people choose, but it's one that doesn't leave room for sleeping in, or vacations, or making plans that don't revolve around turnout and feeding times. 

In the midst of watching the fire coverage coming out of California, I can't help but feel heartsick over the horse evacuation efforts. What can anyone say about the horrors of it? What can any of us do, save pray for everyone affected, and donate to the brave souls on the ground putting in the hard work? That's all we can do. It's heart-wrenching. And as shattering as it is to see people lose everything they own, the horse owner in me can't imagine the panic and terror of not only losing your home and your belongings, but trying to move your animals in the midst of hell on earth. The videos of people leading their horses down the street, the staggering kindness and generosity of those who've come with trailer in tow to haul horses out of harm's way, the farms and show grounds that have offered a safe place to land...in the midst of tragedy, there are glimmers of the very best of humanity. 

Hugging my babies extra tight, and praying for California ❤