Hacking

Shiny New Road

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We had a very exciting time this week – the lane up the hill was closed for roadworks and we had our own private set of traffic lights.

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We went out for our hack once the men had all gone home for the night and got to meet lots of scary things.  There were plenty of traffic cones – some with lovely raised ironworks.

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We had to have a close look and a snort at all of them and Galahad felt very tense the whole way up the hill.  He didn’t actually spook once though so I was very proud of him.

There were some very good surface changes for us to practise on too – although they were apparently not nearly as scary as the signs and the cones!

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When we went out for our ride this morning the road had been finished and we had a lovely, brand new surface to explore.  We did have to be a little careful coming back down though – new roads can be slippery!

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Hurrying Along

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On Wednesday I was racing the light to get a ride in before it got dark.  I was so short of time that I didn’t even bother to change my boots or put on my gloves.

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I was cutting it very fine light-wise but we just about made it home before it got too dark to be safe, for which I was very grateful.  I’m not sure Galahad knew what had hit him though – he’s never been hurried along quite so much.

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I had such a great time – as I was not worried about changing into all the right clothes, I was very relaxed.  I felt like a child again just having fun with my pony.  It was wonderful and I would recommend it to anyone.

Recuperation

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After my very exciting hack with Cookster last week, this week has been a lot more relaxed.

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In fact, I haven’t been able to ride all that much as I have been having to work extra hours.  I have managed to get out a few times but the ponies have also been spending a lot of time in the field.  Not that they mind that at all!

We had a lot of rain last weekend but for the past few days we have been back to glorious sunshine.  It has been perfect for riding and when I have managed a hack I have very much appreciated that!

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There is nothing quite like a gentle hack to make one feel happier and relaxed.  I would recommend it to anyone.

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Great Excitement

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Cookster and I had a most exciting ride on Monday.  We got to the top of the hill and were walking along happily when he suddenly noticed that the alpacas were back in the field on our left.  Then he remembered how terrifying they are and spun around to go home.

I stopped that idea and we faced the alpaca again.  We took a few tentative steps and then stood stock still, head in the air and eyes bulging.  He has a very ewe neck so his head can go extremely high when he chooses!  In the end I got off to lead him past.  I could probably have eventually forced him to be ridden but neither of us would have enjoyed it and it wouldn’t really have done any good.

On our way we stopped to look over the gate at the awful animal.  By then Cookster seemed pretty calm but kept staring off along the lane – it wasn’t long before a van turned up and we had to scurry out of the way.

We continued our hack – at a very fast trot – and had a lovely time until we had to pass the same field going home.  By then the alpaca was nowhere in sight but Cookster was wary in his approach and as soon as we got past the spot where it had been earlier he was ready to fly again.

I had to keep very awake to stop him bolting for home.  We had to navigate a steep downwards slope and despite my best efforts we descended at a very fast walk!

Of course the whole thing was my fault – I hadn’t been feeling too well but wanted to ride anyway.  Stupidly I had said, ‘I’ll just sit on a pony and ride up the lane.  What could happen?’  That’ll teach me!

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For obvious reasons I took no photographs on this particular adventure.  Instead, here is Cookster looking beautiful in the evening sunshine.

A Gentle Week

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We have been having a pretty quiet week here.  After the excitement of a show it is good to have a bit of a rest.  Galahad and I have been out for some lovely hacks.

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We have been working too though and have had some successful schooling sessions.  It does however currently seem to be my fate to get absolutely soaked whenever we jump.  I don’t think it has rained any other time I’ve been riding this week but when we had a play over the jumps there was an absolute downpour.

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Galahad has been having fun too – he seems to permanently have a mane full of burrs and I have to spend ages working them out.  I then have fingers full of splinters for hours afterwards.  It is pretty painful!

Some good news – and a change

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On Thursday Galahad had his six monthly back check.  For the first time ever he was fine and didn’t need any treatment.  I was so pleased!  It is wonderful to know that we are doing something right.

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Apart from the obvious benefits for him healthwise, it is great news as it means I have been able to ride him instead of giving him a week off.  We had a lovely hack out on Friday evening and even managed to arrange a jumping lesson yesterday morning.  Galahad flew around the jumps in a lovely, flowing round.  Things are looking up.

I have mentioned before that I have a vintage book stall which I take to local shows.  I have now started a blog to go with it and have started to struggle a bit with the schedule of maintaining two separate blogs.  Therefore, I am going to cut this blog back from twice a week to once a week.

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If you are interested in following my bookish adventures you can find them here.  Otherwise, I will be back here with Galahad next Sunday.

Exploring New Horizons

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On Thursday Galahad and I were very lucky and were given permission to ride in a field on our neighbouring farm.

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We were very happy to set out exploring and it was wonderful to have such a big field to play in.

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There is a wood along one side of the field with lots of little entrances I would have loved to explore if I hadn’t had Galahad with me.

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In fact, I did dismount and take him along this path.  It led to the most delightful glade.

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It had been a pretty stressful day at work and by the time I got home I was not feeling great and wasn’t even sure I wanted to ride.  The lure of the field took me out though and before we got round it once I felt so much better.

In fact, the only (unimportant) downside was that my boots filled with grass seeds.  They look so beautiful though.

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It was the best end to the day.

Jungle Pony

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One of our hacking routes takes us up a very overgrown lane.  Galahad used to object strongly to walking up it but now he amazes me by the way he so willingly walks through a wall of greenery.

He normally comes out the far side rather well decorated. I haven’t managed to get a great picture but he does tend to look very pretty!

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It is definitely worth fighting our way through though – we get to go much further afield this way and the views are stunning.

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We have been having some lovely hacks, meandering through the countryside. It is too hot to do anything too strenuous but we are enjoying exploring nonetheless. I think Galahad enjoys his baths afterwards too!

Keeping Cool

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It is rather hot at the moment and we are doing everything we can to keep cool.  Even when the ponies have full access to the field they more often than not choose to spend the day in the stables as it is so much cooler inside.

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So far this week I have ridden at eight in the morning and eight in the evening.  It is still very hot at both of those times – 28°C this evening!  That’s uncomfortable enough and I’m not sure Galahad and I could cope with riding in the middle of the day.

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We are therefore taking things pretty gently at the moment.  We have a very steep hill at the end of our lane which we normally trot up but we have been walking for the past few days.  One benefit of overgrown hedges is that when the sun is getting low they provide plenty of very welcome shade.

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I hope you and your ponies are managing not to overheat!

Visiting

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As I mentioned in my last post, the ponies went away for a few days so they could see the dentist.  Before now I have always been at work when they have seen him but this year – although I didn’t see him with my ponies – I managed to get a look him working with the other horses.  The tools do look a little bit like instruments of torture but it was fascinating.

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While the ponies were there though I took full advantage of the facilities.  I managed to school one pony every day and I had a lesson almost every day.  I worked on quarters in with both ponies as they both need to use their hindquarters more.  The exercise definitely helped both of them and Cookster in particular was working better (and straighter!) than I ever remember him doing.

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As well as the school, I also had access to plenty of hacking.  It is always nice to have a change of scenery so every day I hacked out with whichever pony had not been schooled.  Most of the time that was with company too which was lovely.  We had a great time!20180621_122131