So, I am STILL waiting for my horse.  No one's fault but old frakin' man Winter.  Storm after storm has rolled through in the past couple of weeks and it just hasn't been safe to travel overall, plus both ends of his trip involve secondary, country roads without a great deal of snow removal service.

In the meantime, he is safe and I am still not having to do winter mucking.  LOL. 

His stall is now plush.  I'm thinking about a stall toy, even though he won't be in there for extended periods of time.  Sam got me a bunch of horse stuff for Valentine's Day.  And in the true spirit of us both deeming the holiday a day for amateurs I got him a coffee pot for his studio.  LOL we are practical people!

I'm thinking this week may be the lucky week.  It is supposed to actually NOT snow for three days in a row! 

So I called my barn today to just, you know, say hey this is the girl with the empty stall, full locker and no horse and I'm still looking because I actually secured the stall three weeks ago and didn't want them to think I'd skipped town. 

As it turns out the weather has everyone down.  The girl with the horse that is vacating my stall (due to a new job and move on her part so it is a positive relocation) has yet to be able to get her horse moved.  On the first day he was to go we got the Polar Vortex.  On the second day she picked we got another storm that brought 10 inches of snow.  The third day she was to try was today and last night into the morning we got two more inches and the temp has been in the single digits.  So, it is just as well because horses need to be safe. 

The barn owner also told me that yesterday the horses went out in the morning and by 1PM she decided to bring them back in due to the wind and temps and having had their romp time they were more than ready for their stalls.  Water buckets are frozen, de-icers aren't even working that well and the daughter of a lady I was supposed to meet with about a horse tomorrow fell on ice at her own barn last night and broke her elbow. 

So, right now, I guess I should be sort of happy that horse duties are vacant from my life during this less than perfect season.  It got me thinking about how this is indeed the first winter in a decade or more that I have not had at least a few days per week of mucking frozen shit piles, chipping ice out of buckets, pulling on Carhartts caked with frozen mud and dirt and carrying out the duties of horse care looking like Ralphie's little brother on the way to school. 

Winter is NOT a fun season to have a horse.  All those picturesque, perfect depictions of people riding horses in the winter?  Happens maybe once or twice per season.  Every other day is misery.  LOL.  Not for the horses, hell they don't care so long as they are healthy, can seek shelter and it isn't Polar Vortex cold.  Horses are two things in the winter.  Mud Collectors and Shit Machines.  LOL.

Due to the single digits, broken elbow, another "snow event" on Saturday, horse meeting appointments have been postponed until next week.  One day is looking promising.  Another iffy.  I keep thinking it has to quit snowing and blowing sometime.  Right?