Hacking

Spring, spring, spring!

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It is starting to feel very spring like here.  The birds are singing, the sun  is shining  (not all the time but quite a lot) and the flowers are starting to bloom.  I am very much enjoying the primroses in the hedgerows.

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I went into Galahad’s stable today and wondered why there was moss all over the floor.  Last year some birds started to build a nest on one of the beams.  They never finished it but someone is giving it a go now.  Hopefully they will have more luck than last year.

This week I have been practising mounting from a mounting block – or at any rate the wall which serves as a substitute.  We are going to another trec event soon and since we had so much trouble with this last time I thought we had better work on it.  Typically we had no difficulty all in the yard – if only we could do as well when we go out!  I even managed to get on from the wrong side a couple of times.  That didn’t go quite so well – Galahad moved a little each time – but that was entirely my fault.  I am just very bad at mounting from the off side.  Something for us both to work on.

In which Galahad is a Very Brave Pony

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As Galahad and I went out the other morning I noticed my neighbour’s newspaper waiting at the bottom of the lane. I normally take it up if we have time to get as far as her house so we collected it and went on our way.  We were having a lovely ride and enjoying ourselves very much.  I could hear a saw somewhere but it wasn’t bothering us and I didn’t really think very much about it.

Until we got to the top of the hill.  The postbox is inside a barn.  In the doorway was a tractor with a belt running from it into the barn and powering the saw.  It was all suddenly rather noisy!

I clearly couldn’t get into the barn and I was a bit reluctant to take Galahad through the garden to the front door.  In future I will try to remember to take a headcollar and leadrope with me – then at least I could tie him up.  Luckily, as I stood dithering my neighbour saw me and came out to fetch the paper.  She was very impressed with Galahad  and kept saying how brave he was (he was behaving very well and we were only a few feet from the tractor and saw).

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A Very Brave Pony 

It wasn’t until afterwards that it occurred to me that I had just led him past the tractor without really thinking about it.  A year or two ago I would have been worrying about his reaction to all the noise but now I just assume that he will be okay.  Obviously I am still alert to the possibility of spooking but it shows that he really has improved.  Brave Pony indeed!

A sunny Sunday jaunt

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For the last few days we have been having some lovely weather.  Pretty cold but bright and sunny.  The fields are starting to dry out – hurrah!

This afternoon I took advantage of the the weather to explore a new direction for Galahad.  We hacked right up the hill and had a little wander through the village.  We set out at lunchtime hoping that everyone would be inside having their Sunday roasts and it seemed to work – we didn’t meet a single car on the way up the hill.  We had to walk quite slowly though – Galahad has been that way before but not very often so he had to make absolutely sure everything was safe.  Very excitingly we met two horses going the other way.  That made us speed up!

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The village itself was a (very) little busier but I was so proud of Galahad.  He wasn’t fazed by the cars or the people and we went past a building site and a bonfire with no trouble at all.  Although he is very nervous he is also incredibly curious/nosy which helps a lot!

Coming back down the hill a man paused in his gardening for a chat.  At first Galahad was very restive and wanted to get home but after a couple of tries he stood perfectly still on a slack rein.  Such a good pony!

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We had some lovely views across the valley and beyond that as far as Exmoor.  It really has been a beautiful day.  Galahad was noticeably faster on the way down though.  He doesn’t care much for the view.

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We had a gorgeous ride and I am so looking forward to my next day off when hopefully we will be able to do it again, or even explore a little further!

Light!

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Look what we now have enough light for before I go to work!

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It has been wonderful to be able to ride every day.  No one else is about so it is just me and the pony.  Plus a lot of birds singing.  It is the best start to the day!  We probably haven’t been riding for quite as long as normal but that is no fault of the light – I am just struggling to adjust to the earlier mornings.  They are so worth it though.  We have enjoyed several misty hacks and have seen some pretty dramatic clouds forming.

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Luckily we haven’t got too wet though!  We have however made friends with this year’s crop of lambs.

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At any rate, we looked at them and they looked back.  I’m pretty sure that counts!

Feeling Well Again

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Both ponies seem to finally be over their colds.  They have certainly taken their time!  They are no longer coughing,  the runny noses have stopped and we are all much happier.  Not that the ponies ever gave any signs of actually feeling unwell but they must feel the difference.

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From a selfish point of view it is lovely to be able to ride without constantly worrying about pushing for too much when they are not feeling fit – or even making them cough.  Galahad appears to be back to his normal level of fitness for the time of year  – that is to say not very fit but a lot better than he was.  He can at least trot a reasonable distance without puffing!

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It is so good to have them back to normal.  Once the light gets better we’ll be able to get some decent rides in.  Not to mention that now we will be able to go out and compete again, hurrah!

Coughs and Colds

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Both of the ponies have developed a cough and runny nose.  It is not really surprising given the weather and they are actually fine but it can’t be very nice for them.  I want to tuck them up in bed with a lemsip!  They however are behaving entirely as normal and getting absolutely covered in mud.

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Our rides have now been reduced to a gentle poddle along the lanes.  I think a bit of exercise is a good thing but we can’t do too much.  I am rather enjoying myself!  I have withdrawn from the dressage at the weekend though.  For one thing, nobody would appreciate me taking a coughing pony to spread his germs!  He is also obviously even less fit than he was and it just wouldn’t be fair to him.  It is a shame but there will be plenty of other things we can do in the future.  Hopefully by then there will be more light, I’ll be able to ride a bit more and Galahad will be rather fitter!

Here be Monsters

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As we started up the hill the other day I could see three sheep in the road at the top.  I wasn’t worried – after all, Galahad lives next to a field of sheep.  In reality he was a bit reluctant to head towards them but yielded to persuasion.  When we got a bit closer they jumped into the hedge which I thought would put an end to it.  I was wrong.

Galahad immediately stopped dead and refused to move.  He couldn’t possibly go any further because there were monsters in the hedge.  It took a lot of work to persuade him to carry on and even then he kept stopping – at least until we were almost level with the sheep when we shot past at top speed.

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From then on we had a lovely ride until, coming back down, we met the sheep again followed closely by our neighbours’ car.  We had a bit of impatient twirling which was worse than it should have been because I managed to completely entangle my reins, whip and hands in Galahad’s mane.  We trampled on the neighbours’ grass a bit but luckily didn’t seem to do any damage.  I’m not quite sure how.

Once the car was past it was my turn to follow the sheep.  I didn’t dare trot because we were heading towards a main road and I didn’t want to panic them onto it.  I thought at one point I would be able to overtake them but they shot forward again and I was just debating when to telephone someone to block their access to the road when they jumped back into the hedge.  This time we had no trouble getting past and we very much enjoyed the last few minutes of our ride.

It was certainly an exciting time.  Evidently being accustomed to something doesn’t make it any less scary!

Finding Inner Peace

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Whenever I ride out from here I have to go up a hill.  Which means that at some point we have to walk back down again.  I have discovered that riding at a walk is incredibly soothing.  Providing you aren’t workigng hard at schooling obviously.  Grooming can help in a similar way – it is a good stress relief and the pony benefits too.

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No matter how stressed I am feeling – or how late I know I am going to be because I decided to squeeze in a ride – walking down the hill completely calms me.  It starts to seem almost meditative and I am sure it must be beneficial.  I feel so much better afterwards and I would recommend it to anyone!

Galahad Goes Paddling!

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On New Year’s Day my sister and I planned to go for another tinsel ride, this time with half time snacks and hot chocolate.  However, the weather was absolutely vile and the idea of standing about in the driving rain wasn’t exactly appealing.  We scrapped the snacks part but still rode – we are not fair weather riders!

There was a rather large puddle at the end of our lane when we went out.  More of a flood really as there was no way round it.  By the time we came back it had visibly grown and we had great fun splashing through it.  I did anyway.  Galahad wasn’t too sure at first – he thought the main road looked more fun but was persuaded otherwise.

I am actually wearing a riding hat underneath the hood but I didn’t want rain going down my neck!

When we got back I had a go at practising the dressage tests for an upcoming riding club event.  The fields are definitely too wet to do any proper schooling but I ran through both my tests in walk just so we could get the shapes.  The first test is Intro A which we have done a couple of times before but the second is Prelim 12 which I have never actually ridden.  I am a bit concerned about remembering that one.  I run through it in my head all the time and am constantly drawing it in the air but it isn’t the same as riding.  I won’t get a chance to do that until the competition itself so I’ll have to hope for the best.

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Galahad behaved fairly well.  He was a bit cross as my sister’s pony had gone back to the yard and he doesn’t really like being ridden on slippery ground anyway but in general he was listening to me.  There wasn’t much more I could ask of him.

When we got back we had our hot chocolate and mince pies indoors.  It wasn’t quite the same but much warmer and very cosy.

Tinsel Riding

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Ever since I was small my riding instructor has held tinsel rides at Christmas.  We used to dress up the horses, go for a long ride and if we were lucky we would get mince pies or sweets from parents’ houses along the way.  This year we weren’t able to go on hers but we did hold our own.

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It wasn’t quite as long as her group rides but we had a lot of fun.  We even got a mini canter on a verge which Galahad enjoyed – once I could persuade him off the road.  Apparently the gateway was rather scary!  It was a nice companionable lazy hack and I loved it.

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I did order some glitter for the ponies but forgot to do it in time so we made do with our usual antlers and tinsel which was just as good really.  We had a great time and the ponies were very relaxed about the tinsel.  We even met the alpacas again which the ponies found rather boring this time – very good news!

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