Dark Evenings

Hurrying Along

/ ponydreamer / 2 Comments

On Wednesday I was racing the light to get a ride in before it got dark.  I was so short of time that I didn’t even bother to change my boots or put on my gloves.

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I was cutting it very fine light-wise but we just about made it home before it got too dark to be safe, for which I was very grateful.  I’m not sure Galahad knew what had hit him though – he’s never been hurried along quite so much.

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I had such a great time – as I was not worried about changing into all the right clothes, I was very relaxed.  I felt like a child again just having fun with my pony.  It was wonderful and I would recommend it to anyone.

Darkness

/ ponydreamer / 2 Comments

This is what the world looks like when I get home from work these days.

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It got dark in the evenings so suddenly!  One week riding wasn’t a problem, the next I couldn’t ride at all!   I am down to riding two days a week on my days off now. The ponies will be less fit over the winter and I’ll start building them up again when it gets lighter in the spring.

One bright side is that I am playing games with the ponies more.  I started trying to teach my sister’s pony to bow and he is already better than Galahad which is irritating.   He is very food oriented so it isn’t really a surprise.

Today was my day off though so Galahad and I went for a relaxed evening hack and had a lovely canter through the fields.   Even though it isn’t all that high it sometimes feels like the top of the world, especially when things are a bit hazy like they were today.   It was very calming and peaceful,  the perfect end to the day.

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Light Thickens

/ ponydreamer / 2 Comments

I really need to get a move on in the evenings.  I mentioned that a week or two ago but it has suddenly got more urgent.  Term has just restarted which means that a) I have less evenings free when I can ride and b) If I am free my sister isn’t so I have two ponies to deal with.  I don’t get home until just after seven and if I let myself get distracted – as I did last night – it can be eight o’clock before I am in the saddle.  It doesn’t help when I bring Galahad in from the field looking like this.

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Horses always know when you are in a hurry!

I had to cut the riding a bit short but both ponies had a good session.  They were listening from the start which was most welcome given the time constraints.  It was pretty dark by the time we finished, although not as dark as the picture suggests – I only had my phone on me and it couldn’t cope with the bright sky and darker landscape.

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Today I did much better and was onto the second pony before eight.  The good news is that it is still light enough to hack out both of them.  In general I prefer to school one and hack the other which is better from a light point of view too – less light is needed for schooling than hacking!  Today though I had two lovely evening hacks which ended my day perfectly.

What a difference a day makes!

What a difference a day makes!