I had to make a quick trip to the barn yesterday to remove the blankets that had been put on a couple of days ago during a cold snap. The temps are finally rising again (Yeah!) and we broke into the 30's by the afternoon.
I pulled Zoe out of the field and actually took the time to groom her since she's had her blanket on for longer than I like (almost a week) - needed to check that everything was still looking okay. She was a good girl, if a little spooky, and seemed happy to have the attention.
But then I took her into the round pen. My plan was to trot her around for only 4 or 5 minutes - just enough to warm her up. The little poop, though, kicked out at me as I was walking towards her! With both back hooves!
So that was the end of my "short warm-up" plan; we were now in for a full on workout until she regained a better attitude and became my sweet little pony again. As I made her move out into the circle, she was snorting and blowing, her tail standing so high it was arched over onto her back. She was a maniac! And she continued to kick towards the middle of the ring a few times.
After 10 to 12 minutes of trotting/cantering, she was finally beginning to calm down and wanted to stop. Which of course I didn't let her do. Zoe was made to trot nicely around for a few more minutes, until she did finally decide that yes, I was the alpha, and yes, she did know how to do her job.
Either the warmer temps were really energizing yesterday, or she's beginning to enter her estrus cycle and I'm gonna have a handful this spring (please let it be the warmer temps, please let it be the warmer temps!).
But I have to say, either way, I love my pony. :)
