...where you meet everything you could possibly meet out on a hack round your local area?
I had said I'd hack a friend's highland pony, Jester, from her old yard down to his new one (where I keep Rubic) at the weekend. Now I've ridden him a handful of times in the past 4/5 months and hacked him years ago but he hasn't hacked properly for a good while! He can be a bit insecure and spooky so I popped my body protector on and thought positive thoughts!
As we were leaving the yard he had to step over a tiny bit of pipe (looked like a hose or something like that). He doesn't do poles and I could feel him tense up a little. I was beginning to prepare myself for a spooky hack. He shot over it but calmed down immediately after. We went along the road that is quite dark and spooky (as it has lots of trees surrounding it) and he was fine. We met another horse coming back a hack and he didn't nap towards them. Then we met a dog walker and his rather bouncy GSD, didn't bother with them either. We splashed through some puddles on the way to the main road. As we were going through the village many cars went past, followed by a van and a rattly flat-bed truck then 2 buses. Again, no bother:happy:
We turned out of the village and headed along the country road towards our yard. I met a few walkers and some big brown barrel-type plant pots (he had a little look at them but nothing more). We then had ringing church bells, more cars, a very noisy motorbike, a kamikaze royal mail van. We went past an antique's place with an "open" sign swinging in the wind (which had really picked up by now!) and he had a little spook at that. More cars then we had to turn onto our yard road which had a couple of wheely bins at the entrance. One of the lids had blown open and a bin bag was rustling in the wind and on the other side of the lane were two rather bouncy squealy connies who were very happy to see a little hairy highland pony! He felt a little tense as the cantered up and down the fence beside him but other than that he was fine.
I figured we were on the home straight now and could relax a little then a deer came bounding through the field and jumped infront of us (a few 100 yards up the lane luckily) and jumped into another neighbouring field and off into the distance. I thought it was odd that the deer seemed a bit panicked and was alone and then I remembered that the hunt were out that morning and were going to be near our yard:banghead: I could not believe I had forgotten that! So we proceeded with a bit more care. We got closer to the yard and reached the field that Rubic and her friends live in. I was a bit furious with my horse who lead the gallop up towards poor Jester and there was much playing around before they galloped back toward the farm. Poor Jester didn't know what to do. You could hear the dogs and hunt horns going on one side and then the ponies were galloping around on the other. Apart from a very small jog he didn't put a hoof wrong, again:happy: Then another deer jumped into the path infront of us and got a bit of a fright at the sight of a horse and rider, didn't seem to know what to do and was bounding around in circles before it eventually jumped the fence and ran through the ponies' field. We finally reached the yard where the noise from the hunt was even louder and there were tractors and cows and bale wrap flapping in the wind. He had a bit of a moment at that and started to reverse, we'd get 2 strides forward and he'd reverse again. The farmer switched the tractor off and I think that helped a little. We walked through the farm and to the field he'll be in isolation in. I untacked and let him go and he just went straight to the grass even when the horses in a nearby field were galloping around like loons!
I have to say how unbelievably impressed I was. He just didn't really put a hoof wrong the whole time. Even with lots of stuff going on around him. And to top it off, the sun shone the whole time we were out!:biggrin:
I had said I'd hack a friend's highland pony, Jester, from her old yard down to his new one (where I keep Rubic) at the weekend. Now I've ridden him a handful of times in the past 4/5 months and hacked him years ago but he hasn't hacked properly for a good while! He can be a bit insecure and spooky so I popped my body protector on and thought positive thoughts!
As we were leaving the yard he had to step over a tiny bit of pipe (looked like a hose or something like that). He doesn't do poles and I could feel him tense up a little. I was beginning to prepare myself for a spooky hack. He shot over it but calmed down immediately after. We went along the road that is quite dark and spooky (as it has lots of trees surrounding it) and he was fine. We met another horse coming back a hack and he didn't nap towards them. Then we met a dog walker and his rather bouncy GSD, didn't bother with them either. We splashed through some puddles on the way to the main road. As we were going through the village many cars went past, followed by a van and a rattly flat-bed truck then 2 buses. Again, no bother:happy:
We turned out of the village and headed along the country road towards our yard. I met a few walkers and some big brown barrel-type plant pots (he had a little look at them but nothing more). We then had ringing church bells, more cars, a very noisy motorbike, a kamikaze royal mail van. We went past an antique's place with an "open" sign swinging in the wind (which had really picked up by now!) and he had a little spook at that. More cars then we had to turn onto our yard road which had a couple of wheely bins at the entrance. One of the lids had blown open and a bin bag was rustling in the wind and on the other side of the lane were two rather bouncy squealy connies who were very happy to see a little hairy highland pony! He felt a little tense as the cantered up and down the fence beside him but other than that he was fine.
I figured we were on the home straight now and could relax a little then a deer came bounding through the field and jumped infront of us (a few 100 yards up the lane luckily) and jumped into another neighbouring field and off into the distance. I thought it was odd that the deer seemed a bit panicked and was alone and then I remembered that the hunt were out that morning and were going to be near our yard:banghead: I could not believe I had forgotten that! So we proceeded with a bit more care. We got closer to the yard and reached the field that Rubic and her friends live in. I was a bit furious with my horse who lead the gallop up towards poor Jester and there was much playing around before they galloped back toward the farm. Poor Jester didn't know what to do. You could hear the dogs and hunt horns going on one side and then the ponies were galloping around on the other. Apart from a very small jog he didn't put a hoof wrong, again:happy: Then another deer jumped into the path infront of us and got a bit of a fright at the sight of a horse and rider, didn't seem to know what to do and was bounding around in circles before it eventually jumped the fence and ran through the ponies' field. We finally reached the yard where the noise from the hunt was even louder and there were tractors and cows and bale wrap flapping in the wind. He had a bit of a moment at that and started to reverse, we'd get 2 strides forward and he'd reverse again. The farmer switched the tractor off and I think that helped a little. We walked through the farm and to the field he'll be in isolation in. I untacked and let him go and he just went straight to the grass even when the horses in a nearby field were galloping around like loons!
I have to say how unbelievably impressed I was. He just didn't really put a hoof wrong the whole time. Even with lots of stuff going on around him. And to top it off, the sun shone the whole time we were out!:biggrin:
