And we’re there...

First proper home to home solo hack, not perfect but he did really well 🥰
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The gap in the fence, 10 meters from my driveway, that we use to cut through into the estate every time we go out has always been somewhere he might stick. It’s a 4ft gap with a metal pipe half buried in the dirt, then a pretty low kerb onto the road at the end of a culdesac, not currently helped by some fly tip in the bush right there. We had a little argument there, nothing dramatic, but annoying as I led him through without hesitation before going back to get on.
He was a bit jittery for most of the 20 minute loop, looking at all sorts, lines and cracks on the road mostly, but the woman jet washing her driveway didn’t get a glance 🙄 but overall I’m really happy, another couple of times and he’ll be fine 👌
He wasn’t so fussed about going home, I was messing about taking that picture and he marched right past my driveway 🤣
 
Tacked up at tea time tonight having done nothing in a week (I’ve been silly busy) and went out again, he was a little worried about the fly tipped rubbish again but went by with some encouragement, and today certain drains were horse eating ones 🙄 but generally he walked out with much more confidence, and he was really good with passing cars and having to stand and wait for one to pass too. Really happy with him today, you wouldn’t know he’d had the week off, I really want him to be consistent like that 😁
Planning to ride again tomorrow and the following day and am quite looking forward to it 🤞
 
He’s got his head in the game at the moment, being a little trooper 🤩
I got a search and rescue shout earlier so flew in and fed/turned him out, then we got stood down on route, so I went back and pulled him in, and he’s completely unfazed by change.
Hopped on and off we toddled, did 40 minutes/2 miles around the estate, went a combo of roads we’ve done in hand quite a bit but first time I’ve ridden that way and he was great, interested and nosing but happily marching along 😁 even had a couple of lovely trots, really felt the power he’s going to have for the first time as he let the anxious hand break off 👌 I had to chuckle when we stopped at a junction and he could see his reflection in the window of the house opposite, he was most interested and put on his cutest look at me face 😆 and again when we rounded a bend and his shadow came in front of him and he couldn’t work out why it was there 😆 he’s very sweet and polite about things that worry him though, and soon plod’s on with a little reassurance.
 
He’s on a roll 😁
This is the look I get when he’s waiting for me to give him a treat
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🤣🤣 he’s a plonker!
Another good 40 minute ride out today, without any thought I popped into a rising trot for the first time and he didn’t even flinch👌
 
The things that make him wide eyed are odd, man crouching down quietly looking at his fence = scary, dustbin lorry (first time he’s met it) emptying wheelie bins in the back = no problem
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Yes - dog walkers very kindly go into the bushes to get out our way - Ramsey and Hogan think they're lying in wait - to POUNCE!
 
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I could understand if he was hidden at all but he wasn’t, wasn’t even looking at us. Monkey doesn’t like when people are coming along the road at a distance and the trees block the view of their top half so you can just see legs coming towards you, but I can understand how that might be strange to him!
 
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He was wired today, eyes on stalks and snorting at things. As we passed a manhole that often has noisy rushing water under it he was locked on it, then a dog barked in the house next to us and we got a 180, not ideal but he came back to me and carried on without much fuss so I’m pleased with that.
The weather is funny here, with wind that feels like it’s bringing trouble, so I’m just putting it down to that.
We did manage to ride past a field of horses, another first, and he wasn’t fussed when one came trotting up and we passed a van and trailer and a crane lorry without drama so overall a successful ride.
 
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Billy was always funny about the drains when first backed. I eventually took treats and made him stop and sniff the drains. He got rewarded for that and soon associated drains as nice things. So eventually got passed spooking at them.
 
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Billy was always funny about the drains when first backed. I eventually took treats and made him stop and sniff the drains. He got rewarded for that and soon associated drains as nice things. So eventually got passed spooking at them.
He’s only funny about 1 in 10, the rest are fine 🤣 most days they’re all fine to be fair, but if he’s got ants in his pants and is looking for horse eating monsters, drains are his go to!
 
A right of passage today, our first proper hack in the forest 🥰
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On the way out the manhole that sounds like it has a jet wash under it started whooshing right as we got to it, so he had a bit of a panic, but we got past without too much drama.
I thought he might put the handbrake on when I turned left for the forest instead of right for home, but he didn’t, he confidently wandered along and didn’t change demeanour at all, and was chilled enough to stop for a couple of grass snacks while we were out there. The only thing he wasn’t keen on was cobwebs in the face, but I agree with him on those so the odd little rub of his nose is acceptable. And we rode back past the naughty ponies today, no fuss at all 🤩
 
Just looked back to see how many rides Niko’s had, 12 before his break and 12 since, I’ve been terribly inconsistent with him! On purpose though.

Took him out today after 10 days off, and he’s beautifully consistent, no shenanigans at all. He’s now feeling much stronger, more in control of his legs and ready to knuckle down to some proper work 🤞so we did a lot more trotting and I’m just starting to ask him to soften his nose. I’m looking forward to riding with a friend in 2 weeks, it will be his first longer hack.

2 big beetles dropped out of a tree onto his bum while we were out and there was tail swishing and glaring but he held it together (in the field he would have been bucking and throwing himself on the floor) and let me flick them off for him, then a sigh of relief 🙂 he’s getting good at telling me something needs sorting out 🥰
 
Just looked back to see how many rides Niko’s had, 12 before his break and 12 since, I’ve been terribly inconsistent with him! On purpose though.

Took him out today after 10 days off, and he’s beautifully consistent, no shenanigans at all. He’s now feeling much stronger, more in control of his legs and ready to knuckle down to some proper work 🤞so we did a lot more trotting and I’m just starting to ask him to soften his nose. I’m looking forward to riding with a friend in 2 weeks, it will be his first longer hack.

2 big beetles dropped out of a tree onto his bum while we were out and there was tail swishing and glaring but he held it together (in the field he would have been bucking and throwing himself on the floor) and let me flick them off for him, then a sigh of relief 🙂 he’s getting good at telling me something needs sorting out 🥰
Good lad! I'd have been throwing myself around if two big beetles landed on me lol lol
He sounds like a great character and you are both doing so well from the sounds of it. How to "make" a lovely riding horse.😍
 
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Met a friend up the drove today, it was a sandwich kind of ride but overall a success.

Tried to go straight down the drove but I’ve not ridden him that way yet and all the horses in the paddocks very interested so I doubled back through the estate to avoid them. Just around the first corner was a bt man working both sides of the road, fine until one of the work barriers went flying over in the wind 🤦‍♀️ Got past that and a bike whizzed up silently behind and scared him again 🤦‍♀️

Met our friend and had a fabulous ride
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found ourselves up near the river and figured why not!
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No hesitation going in and had a drink and loved splashing, I got soaked! 😁 mooched back through a sleepy village and back into the forest
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He was a rock star throughout 🤩
Left our friend and decided to come back along the drove, got to the naughty ponies, who wandered to the fence, we stopped to have a little look and mooched on, got 3/4 of the way along their 10 acre field and the hooves came thundering behind us 😬 Niko tried to tank along with them, I managed to get him back to a not pretty sideways trot, but they kept playing next to us, so I got off when I could and walked him past them and the next 2 fields of horses. Managed to get back on from the ground (first time I’ve done that on him) and ride the last little bit nicely.

It was his longest ride to date at 2 hours and he really was a poppet for 95% of it, just a shame the naughty ponies set him off at the end, but I call them the naughty ponies for a reason!
 
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