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Hay Monster


Its been hard finding things to write about to continue the blog. I feel like life isn’t that exciting. But then I remember not many of you are traveling outdoor educators who are familiar with life in the mountains dealing with horses. So I guess I'll write about some of the mundane (to me) stuff too!

Its been raining frequently. Its that time of the year here where we should be getting lots of precipitation. Its good to see because that means it’ll help the drought! Last time I was here it NEVER precipitated. It was rare to need a rain jacket… One thing that’s not so fun when its raining is feeding the horses. Ill throw them some hay, it’ll get ALL over me and then will be STUCK to my jacket. I look like a hay monster… lol 

We had a big snowstorm last night. It was mostly sleet yesterday but overnight we got some accumulation. We all woke up to the bright sun reflecting on all the white snow. The mountains had a dusting making the trees look like lace. Even though I am not a fan of snow, I do admit it was very beautiful. I took some pictures too. 
The wash had a big waterfall!

Cacti covered in snow

The river through campus and a snow covered bridge.

Because of the cold temps and snow on the ground, horseback riding was stalled. We instead did horsemanship. In horsemanship, we taught the kids about the “tack” or horse gear and groomed some of the horses. I like doing this with kids better because they really get to know the horses and give them some love. I also like to use some of the horses that normally don’t come out for rides so that they can feel like they’re “working” too. We only bring out about 4 horses and they’re really good at their job. Most of them know when kids are close and stand statue still while the kids brush their fur and comb their mane/tail. It’s pretty cute. 

I do have to say thank goodness for my bogs boots and my snow pants. I don’t think I would have survived the last two days without them! The snow pants are just an extra layer of warmth and the bogs help me tromp through horse mud without a worry. All my clothes are real nasty after a week of horses. My snow pants are covered in mud lol. 

All in all its been a pretty chill week. :)

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Location: Mountain Center, CA 92561, USA

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