Despite the snow on the ground, the horses know that it’s spring and are shedding in full force.

Today I had the chance to ride Curly, a Bashkir Curly horse that lives at my barn. I’ll write a separate post on the breed another day, but for the record, they have a lot of hair. Curly hair. Especially in the winter.

Curly’s owner is one of the very nice people who have offered me the chance to ride their horses while Freedom is in recovery. More than anyone else, she knows what it’s like to have a horse laid up with a check ligament injury as Curly had one last year — from which she has fully recovered.

Curly was napping in the sun when I went to ride and it took some coaxing to get her up. Curly is known for her mid-day naps.

Then I went to work on her winter coat. No, there’s not a small animal on the floor in that photo, just a good amount of curly hair.

Curly is quite a different shape to Freedom, which means that my saddle perches on her back like a party hat. She’s the perfect shape for a Treeless saddle — no withers and a round barrel. My Freeform saddle worked really well.

It was a beautiful day for a ride. Maybe spring is finally on its way.