Bad weather in Ohio has made for a tough time getting out for little Val. She and Khandle have spent a lot of time in the paddock and pasture this past week, but the paddock is surrounded by knee-deep mud, and neither of my girls like to get their feet muddy, evidently. They haven't yet ventured out of the paddock, through the mud, to the pasture. They just stand around on dry (kinda) ground and look bored. 
However, the green grass of the front yard is an entirely different matter. Khandle nickers thankfully and plunges her face into the fresh, green grass, and Val runs and kicks and leaps and bucks. The word "frolic" comes to mind, it should be synonymous with "foal"!
Of course, this crappy weather has made for some very soft lawn cover, and Val hasn't yet learned to replace her divots. I tend to follow her like a caddy, doing my best to fix the holes in the yard that she leaves behind. Her path is usually irratic and full of Lippizanner leaps and twists, a physical trail of crazy that must be patched and fixed so that more crazy can follow later. The soft, drenched, drowning ground can't handle too much of crazy filly at one time!
Not that she doesn't also enjoy some good, sweet spring grass like her mama. She hasn't yet learned to use those incisors yet. Khandle expertly bits the grass off short and leaves the roots to recharge and grow more, while Val simply grabs a hunk of grass in her baby teeth and pulls, so that she gets roots and dirt, as well. Now that I think about it, her grazing path leave holes not unlike her running path! Only problem is, she eats the divots.
All in all, Val continues to enjoy life, bad weather and all, because she has yet to discover the beauty of sunshine and warmth that many of us can vaguely remember and dream of having again one day. Just think what joys are in store for her when she discovers how nice sun can be!
