Hacking

A Peaceful Wednesday

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It may have been a busy week but today was my day off and I managed to spend it doing not a lot.

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I did ride the ponies though and we had a lovely time pottering about the lanes. Autumn is most definitely here now but I enjoyed spotting all the signs of summer that are still hanging on.

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There was even still some honeysuckle left in the hedge but it did not photograph well!

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I brought the post back down to the house with us and delivered it through the window.  Galahad was not at all sure about that but he was happy enough to get a polo!

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Jungle Riding

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Galahad and I recently went for a hack along a route we don’t take very often.  You could definitely tell!

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It was so overgrown that Galahad refused to let me ride through it and I had to lead him.  He looked very fetching afterwards!

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We had a lovely ride though.  It was a beautiful day and there was very little traffic.

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We got to meet our new neighbours too which was good.  They have moved into a house which has had empty stables for years.  It was great to see horses there again!

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Rain Stops Play!

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I pride myself on not being a fair weather rider but the weather on Wednesday was a bit much even for me.

Sorry about the video orientation! 

I had been planning to film my next online dressage test for BHS Somerset but I definitely was not going to film in that.  It’s not like we would do a good test in those conditions anyway.

I  gave up for the day, turned out the ponies and went indoors for a cup of tea.  Of course, within ten minutes the rain had stopped and the sky had cleared. I decided it was still too dark to film, plus the field was probably pretty slippery,  but there was no reason why we shouldn’t go out for a hack.

Galahad had other ideas though – I had turned him out and he had no intention of coming back in again!  It took me at least five minutes to catch him but I managed it and we went out for a lovely ride splashing through the puddles.

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It turned into a beautiful evening!

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Controlling the Speed

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I recently took Galahad for a spin in my neighbour’s fields and for the first time I tried riding him there in a kimblewick.   He can be inclined to take off a bit in the field  – he certainly enjoys going fast – and I wanted to try the kimblewick to see if it would help me maintain a little bit more control.

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It definitely seemed to work.  I kept to a walk far longer than I normally would and although he was obviously keen to go found it very easy to keep him walking.  We then trotted for a bit before breaking into a canter.

Again,  it was much easier than usual to keep to a steady canter.  When I finally let Galahad gallop he was more than ready to go and we sped across the field.  Crucially though, he was no trouble at all to pull up again.

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The main thing was that at no point did I feel he was going to take off and I would be unable to stop.  I felt perfectly safe and it was definitely a successful experiment.

An Interesting Week

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For Galahad and I this week has been bookended by interesting rides.

On Monday we went for a hack and had to navigate a pretty narrow gateway.  I knew my right knee was going to get knocked so I steered to the left and we cannoned into that gatepost instead.  That’s something Galahad has always found frightening so we charged off across the field until I could pull up.  We must have looked hilarious!

Then on Friday we set out to do a little schooling.  The field was full of my dog’s agility equipment and as I knew I would be using it again soon I was reluctant to pack it away.  Instead we fitted our schooling around it.

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It was actually surprisingly easy to do and it also gave us a lot of obstacles to use in practising neck reining.  We had great fun!

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The highlight of our week though was Thursday.  I had made sure I got up early enough for a hack before work and I was definitely rewarded for doing so.  The sky was the most amazing blue and everything was looking particularly beautiful.   We had a wonderful, relaxed hack and it was the best start to the day.

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Summer Days

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My routine has changed a little this week.  I have been too tired and/or lazy to get up in time to ride before work so I have had to do so afterwards.  I have been getting home a bit later than normal but thanks to the lovely long evenings there has still been enough time to ride.

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We have had some wonderful, relaxing hacks in the evening sunshine.  The evenings have been very still and beautiful this week and it has been lovely to be outside.

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I have been enjoying myself very much – our rides have been the perfect way to end the day.

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Bothersome Beasts

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Usually by this point in the year I have written at least one post about battling the flies, if not more.  This year we have had much less trouble but part of the reason for that is that the ponies spent so long away from home!

As usual the ponies are in their fly masks, although they seem to spend more time escaping from them than actually wearing them.  I have four at the moment – two are fairly decent, one only has one ear and the other is almost unusable but is useful in an emergency.  If I don’t have time to traipse round the field looking for lost masks I do at least have backup!

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I have also been trying NAF’s citronella gel which appears to have been very effective.  It is obviously more labour intensive than a spray but given how much Galahad hates the spray I am more than happy with it.  For one thing, I don’t have to persuade him it is safe which is a great time saver!

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One of the reasons I have been enjoying riding early in the morning is that there are usually less flies then.  That’s not always the case though – Cookster and I were bombarded the other day and I had to resort to sticking some elder leaves in his browband. They seemed to work pretty well – when he shook his head one side fell out and after that there were definitely more flies on that side.

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Overall we do seem to be winning the battle and it has definitely seemed less of a hassle this year.  The system must be working!

Early Morning Rambling

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Last week Galahad had another back check – just to make sure everything was progressing as it should be.  Thankfully he was showing some improvement but he still had the full treatment and a lot of work on his quarters to try and help them work properly.  I was pleased with his progress though and I just need to keep working at the groundwork.  Obviously I’ll be keeping an eye on him and if I think it necessary he can always have another check.

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Galahad had a day off afterwards and we then spent a few days just going out on gentle hacks.

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Most of our riding has been done in the early morning before I go to work.  I am not really a morning person but once I  have managed to force myself out of bed I love being outside early – spending time with the ponies and hacking out.  Even the sheep have still been asleep!

 

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An added bonus is that there are usually less flies around then!    It has been a wonderful week.

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Getting Kitted Out

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Since Galahad has now done two whole cross country competitions I decided it was time to get a hat cover and saddlecloth to match my cross country colours.

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Obviously that’s just an excuse to treat myself to some horsey goodies  (although I do have another competition coming up soon).

I went through a phase a few years ago when I fell off every time I wore something new.  Even now I still make sure that I never wear anything for the first time at a competition – just in case.

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Naturally this meant that I had to try out the new colours on a normal ride and I am pleased to say that they worked very well and fit nicely.  I am starting to feel like a proper competitor!  Best of all, I didn’t fall off – hurrah!

Springing a Leak

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We have had a lot of rain this week. The tack room ended up looking like this.

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Obviously, this isn’t ideal!  It seems we need to do a little work on the roof.

On the bright side, the torrential rain does seem to have stopped for now and the weather has been wonderful over the weekend.

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We went out for a lovely long hack through the fields.  The rain had flattened the grass and was still sitting in the seed heads.  The whole field was sparkling and it was absolutely beautiful.  I has been a good day.