Spring

Exploring

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Galahad has had some time off this week as I am just back from a couple of days in Surrey.  I had a lovely time pottering about and found a simply wonderful bridlepath.

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I would love to have that a little nearer to home!

I came back home to some very good news.  Firstly, the grass is starting to grow.

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It’s a bit hard to see in the picture but I promise it is sprouting!

Secondly, the field is finally dry enough to school in.  It is still a little soggy down one end so we have to be careful but today I managed to school both ponies and Cookster and I even had a little jump.

I didn’t jump Galahad – instead we did some semi cross country training.  We went up and down pretty steep hills in a different field and splashed in and out of the stream.

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I had a thouroughly good time and I think Galahad enjoyed himself too.

Spring, Spring, Spring

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I think that spring can definitely be said to be here.  We have had some beautiful days this week – the sun has been shining and things are beginning to blossom.

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I’ve talked about the primroses before but it is a really good year for them!

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I have been routinely riding without a coat and have even brought my short boots out from their winter retirement.  It has been a lovely week.

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There is a downside though – the flies are suddenly about in droves.  It was only a few weeks ago that we were covered in snow.  How can we possibly need the fly masks already?!

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Evening Rambling

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It is very easy, as I have discovered, to come home from work and sit down for a cup of tea and a chat.  Then to look out of the window and think, ‘It’s getting a bit dark to ride really – I’ll have to ride tomorrow.’  Especially when the ground looks like this.

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However, this evening I deliberately did not sit down at all when I got home.  Instead I gulped down my tea, got changed and went straight out to the ponies.  Cookster was sporting some additional decorations!

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It’s just mud splashes – not some dire disease!

It was a lovely evening and Galahad and I very much enjoyed our hack.  He seemed to relish the chance to have a canter on the verge too – they probably aren’t running too much in these wet fields!

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Escape!

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Yesterday was simply beautiful and the ponies took full advantage of the sunshine by simply walking through a gate that was accidentally left open and gorging on the lush grass.  It wouldn’t really have been a problem except that it is quite a steep slope and the ground is still very slippery.  Luckily they were far too interested in the grass to run about!

We thought we would have terrible trouble catching them and dragging them away for a ride but actually Cookster  just stood stock still.

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Galahad was another story and would not let me near him.

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He was quite happy to follow Cookster up to the stables though!  We found some very interested visitors when we got there – waiting for their breakfasts.

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Sadly we didn’t have any for them.

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When we did get out for our ride we had a lovely time.   The primroses are suddenly flourishing  – I thought there were plenty of them before but overnight they seem to have multiplied and now there are whole banks covered in them.  They were beautiful!

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Living the Dream

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After our busy day on Saturday, Sunday was wonderfully restful.

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I had two lovely hacks, the ponies behaved well, the sun was shining and everything seemed right with the world.

My reward for riding and looking after Cookster – my sister’s pony after all – was to find him absolutely covered in mud.

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At first I thought t was highly ironic that I was wearing my ‘Living the dream’ gilet.  Who dreams of spending their Sunday afternoon scrubbing mud off of a pony?  Especially one who is moulting.

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However, as we pottered up the hill, I realised that actually it was an amazing day.  If anyone had told my twelve year old self that one day I would be able to spend a sunny afternoon playing with two ponies and riding them I would have been thrilled.  I really am living the dream.

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Glorious Mud

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It seems to have been raining solidly for the past few weeks and I have never known the ground to be so wet.  We will definitely not be schooling here anytime soon!

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However, on Monday Galahad and I got out for a hack which was miraculously dry.  We got a little further afield than usual and found distinct signs that spring is on its way.

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It’s hard to tell in the picture but there is a whole bank of snowdrops in front of Galahad. It was beautiful!

There have been primroses out since before Christmas and the snowdrops have been around for a while too but a bit further up the road we found daffodils and even some campion.

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Then on Thursday morning I stepped out of the door to find the sky was a gorgeous blue and the birds were singing like crazy.  Make sure you have the sound on when you play the video!

It was a beautiful morning until the rain came back.  Definitely promising signs of spring though – it’s amazing how much better it can make one feel!

Enjoying The Sunshine

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We have had some wonderful weather over the past few days.  The sun has been shining and it has been really warm.

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Galahad has spent most of the days without his rug and he has definitely been making the most of the time – he is constantly covered in mud!

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Yesterday I was out for the evening so it was my Dad who had to put the rug back on.  Galahad did not want to cooperate.   He was apparently quite happy for my Mum to feed him apples but he kept one eye firmly on my Dad and whenever he moved the headcollar Galahad would jump away.

In the end, he had to catch Cookster and take him up to the stables.  Galahad then followed, walked straight into the stable and was quite happy to have his rug put on.  He  is usually fine to catch but he certainly likes to keep us on our toes!

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The forecast suggests that we should continue to have some good weather for the next few days so I am looking forward to some lovely hacking.

Enjoying the Sunshine

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Today has been absolutely gorgeous.

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Galahad and I had a wonderful ride in the sunshine.  We met the postman (and had to backtrack out of his way) twice and stopped for a chat with my neighbour.  Galahad was very relaxed and stood beautifully still for a good twenty minutes.   He is so good at talking to people now.  Not so long ago he would have hated anyone patting him, especially with me in the saddle.

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It wasn’t only sunny  – it was lovely and warm too.  So much so that I rode out in a t-shirt and Galahad got to spend a few hours in the field without a rug which I’m sure he appreciated.

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Sunny Spring Evenings

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The last few days have been absolutely beautiful here.  We have had the odd light shower but most of the time it has been sunny and fairly warm.

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 My sister and I had a lovely hack this evening.  The sun was just beginning to set but it was still shining and the sky was blue.  It certainly makes everything seem cheerful!

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There are lambs in the fields and daffodils everywhere.  The primroses are putting on a pretty good show too.  Spring is definitely here!

Chilly Riding

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It is pretty cold here at the moment but there are signs that spring is on the way.

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The snowdrops have been out for a couple of weeks but now we are starting to see some primroses and even some brave daffodils.

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Galahad and I had a lovely hack today.   It was very cold but a beautiful day and I took Galahad into my neighbour’s field for the first time this year.  Partly I wanted to see what sort of state the ground was in – some of it was fine, other bits were still very squelchy.  I  also wanted to show Galahad that we don’t always have to canter in the field.  When we started riding in there he learned very quickly that it is a place where we canter and he can be inclined to take off sometimes.

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We kept strictly to walk and went round the whole field.  Galahad behaved much better than I expected – he did walk a lot faster once we had turned the corner back towards home but he didn’t try to take off once.  I was incredibly pleased with him and I think it was definitely worth doing.  I really need to remember not to canter every time we go through the field!