Monday, August 17, 2009

Riding in Dense Fog



I absolutely love mist, fog, overcast damp days, a nice misting rain, and cool riding weather. Horses react so differently to dense fog. John's ears are on high alert when the visibility goes down to about 20 yards, and he is more reactive to sudden sounds.

We had planned to trailer out to Spirit Mountain on 2 mornings this past week, with plans canceled due to fog. I get nervous hauling a white (fog-colored) horse trailer at my normal trailering speed, which is fairly conservative,, with a precious horse inside vulnerable to a rear-end collision.

On both these mornings I rode the "home" trails alone, and since there was such a dense fog everything looked exotic and different.



In this above picture we are in one of those eerie little clearings, about to re-enter the magic land of "I can't see anything". The air is so soft it caresses your face almost tangibly, and little tiny beads of condensation appear on John's mane.

He really didn't need his fly mask on these rides as it turned out, but a gelding in pink ears is always a heart-warming sight to me.

And now I will show you John's fashion disaster:


What you are seeing is a peach-colored crochet earnet, a hot pink rope halter, and a palomino horse. This combination, the result of buying things on clearance with a bad eye for color, actually causes the flies to become nauseated and flee into the shrubbery to vomit. This is very effective except it has something like the same effect on all riding companions. John however keeps his cool, as always.

Finally, here's a photo of my ex-horse Montana enjoying a swim with his new owner on a hot day last week:

If you click on the picture and get a good look at his eyes, you will see why this photo made me so happy.

13 comments:

3pennyjane said...

Montana was born to be a mermaid, this is clear. How wonderful to have a difficult decision, made through some static as it was, confirmed again and again as having been the right choice. Does Johnny swim, or is he still holding out for the pink-and-orange crocheted maillot?

Flying Lily said...

3PennyJane: That pink and orange maillot almost put me on the floor. I'm sure he would love one, with great platter-shaped neon flip-flops to match. Yes, Mr, Montana looks content. How are you faring in Mexico and how are they horses?

Stephanie - Siouxzeegirl Designs said...

Monatana looks great! It must feel good for you to know that he is happy and healthy and loved!

ANd John, what a good sport... al those girly colors and he puts up with it :)

Anonymous said...

I love the fog, too! Sometimes when I go to the barn in the morning it's lovely and foggy - I like how the fog leaves drops on everything.
Montana does look very contented!

OnTheBit said...

Montana looks like a cartoon horse his eyes are so bight and expressive...with just the perfect almost human face. I was hoping he was doing well with his new owner (who clearly LOVES him). And I too love the top picture of pink Johnny ears looking out into the fog!

3pennyjane said...

Mexico is grand, and I wish Morelia would stay an open secret forever. Growing up an inch above sea level seems to have done me no favors; even at just 6,000 feet, I've had a searing headache most of the day...which hasn't been helped by mad-dogs-and-Englishmen trekking about in the noonday sun. But the food is wonderful and they still make Coke with pure cane sugar, so life is good (if horseless, sigh). Doc would say hello if he knew you had any apples.

lytha said...

so, that's the trick, get the flies with fashion sense, those are the ones that cannot abide the color choices!

where does one get those flies?

wow, you do not have to zoom in on that photo of montana to see how happy his expression is. i have never seen a horse so happy in that much water! how is he doing otherwise? do you get updates from his new owner?

tell john it takes a big man to wear stuff like that! or did he make an exception cuz of fog?

°lytha

Zoe said...

Wow. That is such a wonderful photo.

Sandra said...

I think John looks wonderful in his pink garb! The horse in the water almost makes me want to jump in. Almost. : ) Very nice blog.

Once Upon an Equine said...

Real Geldings Wear Pink! Very GQ...that's Geldings Quarterly. John can pull off any look.

Unknown said...

LOL. That's a clearance sale look, very fitting for our frugal times.

Some horses just love water, don't they? What a great swimming hole.

Emmi said...

Hey there Flying Lillies,

I have just discovered your blog and I must say that it is just wonderful! I will definitely keep reading :)

Doug Stewart said...

Hi

I'm the owner of www.wowhorses.com. Wanted to ask if you would exchange links. Can't seem to find a contact form for you. As an example of my work, reference the pink fly mask, here is an overview of sheets and masks: http://wowhorses.com/horse-fly-sheet.html

If you want to exchange, please use the contact form on my website.

Best regards,
Doug