Exmoor

Sunshine and moulting ponies!

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At the moment it seems that every time I ride after work this is the view I get.

20150610_195855It doesn’t matter where we go, I always manage to be riding directly into the sun and I can’t see a thing.  I was congratulating myself that at least the cars I met would be able to see me when a car behind approached us rather too fast.  It then dawned on me that cars going the same way as me couldn’t see either.  Not very comforting.

We didn’t have that problem today though as instead of riding we had a mammoth grooming session.  Galahad’s summer coat has always been rather slow to come through and I decided it was about time I attempted to do something about it.  I’m not sure I really had much of an effect but hopefully the pony will feel a bit better for it.

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I am thinking of making a horse hair cushion!

I am thinking of making a horse hair cushion!

I also did some in hand work with him.  We have been doing a lot of it recently, particularly turns on the forehand.  He needs to build up muscle in his hindquarters and his off hind is particularly weak.  He really struggled with these at first but is starting to move really nicely now.  He is even beginning to get them when ridden, at least when he is moving away from my left leg.  The other way still needs some work but there is a definite improvement.

The picture doesn't really do him justice, he is doing well with his turns on the forehand now.

The picture doesn’t really do him justice, he is doing well with his turns on the forehand now.

A Misapprehension…

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I have rather naively always thought that grooming a pony was the way to keep it clean.  In fact it turns out that all it really does is move the dirt around a bit until he is a nice uniform grey colour.

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The ponies have just spent a couple of weeks away so they could see the dentist and have their backs checked.  They got turned out a lot in the school and they loved rolling in the sand!  Although it looks like I haven’t got anything off him his footprints clearly show that I was achieving something.  Just not very much.

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The ponies are now home again and are relishing being back in their own field.  It is very obvious that they have been away – sand is no longer a problem but the grass is!  Waistlines will have to be kept under strict supervision.

We went for an early morning canter through our neighbour’s fields yesterday.  The grass has also grown rather a lot there since we last rode that way.  Galahad only has little legs and it was an odd feeling riding with my feet dragging through the grass!  He seemed to love bounding along though and we had a lovely time.  This is what makes all the hard work worthwhile.

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Firstly – An Introduction

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Galahad is a nine year old Exmoor gelding.  He was born on the moor and taken off at six months in the annual round up.  He came to me at eighteen months and we have grown up together.

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When he first arrived he was petrified of everything.  A sneeze would send him across the field and once he jumped the paddock fence because he took exception to my grandfather’s hat.  It took a lot of work to gain his trust and it was very easy to get too confident, push him a bit too much and make him panic – undoing all our hard work.

We devised many obstacle courses to get Galahad used to lots of scary things.

We devised many obstacle courses to get Galahad used to lots of scary things.

When it came to backing him it felt like we were starting all over again.  He would panic and completely explode.  I had some crashing falls and once terrified my sister when I was so winded I couldn’t breathe, let alone talk.  She kept asking if I was okay and all I could do was groan.  I knew I was fine but wasn’t capable of saying so!

It took a lot of time, a lot of help and numerous back checks but last summer I was finally able to start riding him properly.  It turned out that when he was branded as a foal the brand may have damaged the muscle underneath.  He is not in pain now but he will always walk a bit oddly.

We worked through it though and once he was rideable started getting him used to all sorts of things – he can still be scared!  The first time I was given a drink whilst sat on him I had to throw it across the school before he exploded.  Luckily it was a plastic beaker.  Sitting still was important to start with too – not waving my hands about when talking was very hard but necessary if I didn’t want him to run off.

It has been a lot of work but we have come so far in the last year.  Galahad now (mostly) trusts that I won’t do anything or make him do anything that will hurt.  I (mostly) trust that he won’t do anything silly that will throw me off.  We are improving all the time.  Just a few months ago I didn’t feel safe enough to open a gate whilst mounted – he couldn’t cope with me leaning over that much.  Recently I opened a gate for which I needed to have my weight so far forward that if he had moved at all I would have been on the floor.

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Playing gymkhana games was an excellent way to prepare for gate opening!

The last few months have been fantastic.  I have been living my childhood dream and I can’t wait to share the rest of our adventures.