Equestrian

Horse Drawn Boating

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Last week I went for a trip on a horse drawn barge – one of only four left in the country.  It was a wonderfully relaxing trip and the autumn colours were glorious.

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The horse was a beautiful four year old part bred Comtois called Teddy.  He only started working at the beginning of the year and had the summer off as it was too busy for him then.  He just came back into work this month but you wouldn’t know it – he behaved very well indeed.

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He was very keen on all the polos he was given at our half way stop.  I think he must have eaten a couple of packets!

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It was fantastic to be able to travel on a proper horse drawn canal boat.  It was incredibly peaceful, especially when everyone was quiet for a couple of minutes.  A perfect way to spend the afternoon.

Schooling Catch Up

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For one reason or another our schooling has been a bit lax of late.  I have always had a reasonable excuse for not schooling (the builders are here/it’s too windy for Galahad to concentrate on me/the field is too wet…) but I have definitely been feeling a little guilty about it.

Yesterday was pretty windy, the builders were still around (although they had stopped for lunch) and it was raining but I decided enough was enough and Galahad and I marched purposefully into the field.  I was actually pretty impressed with him.  He could have had a bit of a better bend and we had a couple of moments when he tried to nap towards home but in general he did what I asked.  His turns on the forehand even felt amazing, possibly better than ever.  Of course, they may have looked terrible!

We did have one major spook (my entire weight went into one stirrup and it actually felt like we stretched the leather a bit), apparently at nothing.

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I realise there are several potentially scary things in my neighbour’s field but as they have probably been there as long as the pony they seem like a poor excuse.

Overall though, Galahad tried pretty hard and I was pleased with him.

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Sunny Sunday Rambling

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Today has been a mixture of beautiful sunshine and heavy showers.  Luckily, Galahad and I went for our ride in a gorgeous, sunshiny part of the day.

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We had a lovely hack, enjoyed some cantering in my neighbour’s field but also spent some time walking round the field to make sure he doesn’t think we always canter.

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It has been a wonderful day!

Pheasants!

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It seems that pheasant season is upon us.  Almost every time we ride out we are met by a whole flock of juveniles which run along the lane or field ahead of us before giving in and flying over the hedge.  The ponies have got fairly used to them now, although we can still get taken by surprise occasionally.

A few days ago Galahad and I met this little one who seemed younger than the others, as unlikely as that sounds.  It was cheeping like a chick and when the rest flew off it got left behind and just ran into the fence.

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Eventually it managed to squeeze itself through the fence but was then trapped in the lane with us until it climbed into the hedge, still cheeping madly.

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Hopefully it found its way through the hedge to rejoin the rest of the flock!

Pony Reading

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When I am not riding I spend some of my time selling vintage books at book fairs.  I collect books I love for my stand and strangely  a lot of these are pony books!

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I often feel very sad to see them go because I do still enjoy reading them – they are especially perfect if I am feeling a bit ill or low.  I console myself with the thought that I can use the money to buy new books!

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I spent today at the book fair at Appledore Book Festival and had a great time.  I really enjoy talking to people about the books and this is one of my favourite festivals.  Who wouldn’t enjoy this view?

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Autumnal Riding

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It is definitely feeling autumnal around here these days.  Most mornings I am riding out in the mist.

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This rabbit was not at all bothered by the pony bearing down on it!

The mist means there are lots of beautiful, dew covered cobwebs all over the place.  Our morning rides are just magical.

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Having said that, the last few mornings have been bright and sunny so perhaps autumn isn’t quite properly here yet!

Hidden Danger

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It turns out that it is not just the horses on a yard which can be dangerous.  Danger can hide in the most unexpected of places.

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Yesterday morning I was opening Galahad’s stable door and probably thinking more about Cookster behind me than about what I was doing.  After all,  how hard is it to open a door?  Quite hard apparently – I opened it straight into my face and now I have a lovely lump on my forehead.  It was painful!

 The ponies had a day off today which meant I was a little late going out to see them this morning.  They were pleased to see me and I felt very loved.  It doesn’t matter that it was probably all cupboard love!

Getting to Grips with Groundwork

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After Galahad and I had our schooling incident last week I was banned from riding when nobody else was home so I used my riding time for groundwork instead.  This is something I definitely do not spend enough time doing.  Galahad can be very stiff through his hindquarters and exercises like turns on the forehand and lunging over a curving line of poles are very good for getting him to use his hindlegs better.

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His turns on the forehand actually went very well – better than they ever have before I think.  He is starting to step through very nicely and he seemed to me to be tracking up better than usual too – his back feet were very nearly stepping right into the place where his front feet had been which is really good for him.

We even tried stepping sideways along a pole as we failed completely at that the last time we went to a trec event.  Galahad still didn’t really understand what I was asking but we were starting to get there and did manage a few steps in the right direction.  It is definitely something we can build on next time.

I was very pleased with the session.  It showed that we really are making improvements and it felt as though we were working more together and were recovering the bond which had been lacking a little over the last few days.  Galahad has very good manners but even so he had been getting a little tricky to catch and it was starting to feel a bit as though we weren’t communicating very well.  Now we seem to be back where we were and we are both happier for it.  At least, I am – I hope he is too!  It just shows how important it is to make time for groundwork.

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