Heat!

It won't sound at all impressive to those of you who read this blog in hot sunny climes, but Exmoor over the last few days has been BOILING (by our standards...)!  I normally stop clipping my horses by the middle of March, because by then (a) I am very, very bored of clipping; (b) they are growing pretty summer coats and (c) normally, the weather on Exmoor in spring is sufficiently uncertain that they don't actually get too hot even though our hunting season normally carries on till the end of April.

This week was the first time that I began to think again.  On Tuesday it rained all day, and by 8pm I had several sets of soaking tack and 3 changes of clothes to dry out.  Not a problem and certainly no need to clip horses.

On Wednesday the sun came out, it warmed up and everything started steaming.  I rode Charlie that day and on Thursday, when Oscar and Dilly were ridden by their owners, and although we didn't really go very far, Charlie was warm when we got home, purely due to the temperature.

Yesterday the wind dropped even more and the thermometer hit 18 C or the mid sixties for those of you Stateside.  It may not sound like much, but its been less than 10 C up till recently (the 30s or 40s F) and none of us (the horses included) are used to hot weather.

Now, for sitting around thats a very pleasant temperature indeed, but for galloping up steep hills for miles at a time, its really rather warm.  Fortunately Exmoor is blessed with streams, rivers, puddles and bogs  - as well as many troughs for stock - so there is always a chance for horses to drink while they are out but even so, I am starting to wonder whether I need to clip again, even though the season ends in just over 2 weeks - AARGH - there are better ways to spend the odd free hour on the weekend!