Field

Evening Gallops

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On one of my rides with my sister this week we went for a canter in our neighbour’s fields – for the first time in ages.  Galahad can get overexcited when we do that and has been known to take off across the field from a sheer love of going fast.

20160831_193854.jpgThis time however,  he was incredibly steady and his canter was in fact slower than Cookster’s trot.  We had a thoroughly enjoyable time and I was never worried about him running away.  We even separated the two ponies so my sister could take a couple of photographs and they were both as good as gold.

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Later in the week I took Galahad in the field by himself to see if it was just the company which kept him steady.  He did go considerably faster that time but I still felt pretty much in control and was very happy with him.  It has been a lovely week!

Sunny Schooling

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Recently we have been having some absolutely glorious weather and it has been lovely to spend time outside.  It has often been too hot to ride except in the evenings or early mornings which is perfect for me when I am working!  The light is beautiful in the evenings and we have had some very enjoyable schooling sessions.

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I have very much enjoyed having the jumps back out again after we got the fields topped.  Galahad seems to have been enjoying them too.  His jumping has definitely improved in the last couple of months and he is taking off much further away from the jumps.  It feels rather odd still at the moment as I have got so used to him getting in close to the fences but it is a great step forward.

Having a Trim

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The grass has definitely been growing recently!  It really became noticeable whilst the ponies were away just because there was nothing eating it.  Now they are back it has been getting back under control, although we have obviously had to keep an eye on their waistlines.

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However, we get quite a lot of docks in the field which the ponies do not eat and which can make it difficult to school as we have to weave between the plants.  The rain lately made it impossible to get a tractor in to cut them but we have had enough of a dry spell to get the field topped this week.  It has made a huge difference and the field is now looking beautiful.

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I didn’t get any pictures of the actual topping as we were busy introducing the puppy to the noise of the tractor.  She kept an eye on it but was really much more interested in playing with  a flowerpot!

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Playing in the Sunshine

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We have had some simply glorious weather this week.  I don’t think there was any rain at all and although the last couple of days have been distinctly chilly we have had some wonderful sunshine.  The fields are beginning  (touch wood) to dry out nicely and things just seem a lot more cheerful when the sun shines.

The ground is really a bit too cut up for serious schooling but I have taken advantage of the drier ground to vary our rides by hacking round the fields.  It makes things more interesting for the ponies and it means we can have a bit more of a canter than the six strides we can fit on the verge.

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It has also allowed us to have a paddle in the stream which is something we don’t do very often.  Strangely,  although Galahad has an aversion to puddles, he is quite happy walking into the stream.  Granted his head normally goes straight down to play with the water but at least he isn’t worried by it!

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We had a lovely relaxing ride with no pressure to school and no worry about cars.  A perfect afternoon.