Oh I LOVE the snow pictures!

I can imagine Puika was happy happy to roll in the snow

In my area last year, we didn't have snow, but we had a week's worth of hard freeze well after the trees and plants had bloomed. 

The leaves on our ancient oak tree turned black and fell off.  It did grow more leaves back, but not nearly as full.  From there we went into a drought summer that we are still trying to recover from.

The man I buy hay from generally gets 1,000 bales off his fields.  He only got 250 last year and he only sold me 200 because the other 50 were so bad.

We are hoping for a much better year this year.

I hope this late snow for you won't mean late-occuring hard frosts that will damage or ruin your crops.

You know, all our winter crops have been drowned already so farmers need to re- seed the most of the fields, sadly. This cold will not do any damages, at least it looks like that as all is covered in nice snow now - it is protecting everything.

Hay must be good this year, as everything is so wet so grass will shoot out mad and probably the first hay will be collected at the beginning of June or so. Grass grows mostly great her, but we always have troubles with drying it properly - small, nasty rains are very popular here during the summer.  

Last year it was perfect, we got one perfectly dry week for the first hay, it still looks very green now. The second cut was worse, but at leats a lot - nobody is short of hay this winter. I have about 50 acres roughly under pastures, so one horse will be never starving here even on the worse summer as he always can get the best grass around the ponds - it will save Peter moving there :)

At present everything is so wet that even on the best pastures horse is sinking in the ground about 10 ". Puika just walked through the lawns around the house andnow I'm waiting the snow to melt to repair the damages (about ten wheelborrows of top soil will be needed at least! :) )

Haha, just think of it as free soil aeration!!  ;-P  Brrrr, those snowy pictures make me cold -- it's almost full spring here and was quite warm today, I was sweating when I got on the horse!  Puika looks so happy to have a job now, it's fantastic!! 

WELCOME!! Your horse is so beautiful.

Just wanted to let you all know how we are doing. So far so good. Nipping is stopped, he is still heavy on groundwork but overall much better! 

And the main news - I rode him today for the first time. So far I had just one riding lesson, so I'm mad , but I did it! So, my second riding lesson was on Puika! We walked and turned, and walked and turned then trotted and stopped, then trotted again... We did it!

Peter is really bad photographer so even with digital camera he managed to make just one bearable picture with me, after the riding when I was just standing to calm him down before I unmount him.

And here is Peter riding him today (I'm a bit better photographer) :D Cool boys both!

Hello Anna!  Great to hear from you!  I was hoping all is well with you

Congratulations on riding Puika, who is looking very handsome  He looks like is slimming down a little more

Yes you do take the better pictures.   Like you, I generally need my husband to take about 30 pictures in the hopes of getting one good one

Woohoo!  Congrats on the riding!  Puika is looking in so much better condition with his weight -- kudos to both of you for your care.  :-)

And, by the way, Puika needs a buddy.... but I do not like goats very much... so on Saturday buddy will be here – introducing Shella!

She will be my princess! (She is just 11 yo, 16.6 hh, complete sweathart, very well trained former eventer). Hope it will help to keep Puika happy!

Wow, two horses already!!?  She's a pretty girl, so tall!  But by the way -- 16.6 hh doesn't exist, you can only go up to 16.3 and then you are at 17.0. 

16.6 doesnt? Then I got it wrong, indeed - Sorry. Found some calculator from cm to hands, and it was saying so. Well, tell me then the right thing - she is 166 cm at withers.

So she is 65.4 inches, which would be 16.1 and a half if I counted right.  Perfect size! 

(1 hand = 4 inches, and the number after the decimal isn't a true decimal, so 16.1 is 16 hands and 1 inch, 16.3 is 16 hands and 3 inches, then you go straight to 17 hands -- 16 hands and 4 more inches)

They met in the boxes, and Puika LOVES her! No sign of agression both sides, so I'm happy and relaxed now.