Maybe a bit too much talking!

C

carthorse

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Jan 6, 2006
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Today was one of those rides when I kept bumping into people I know. Clearly I stop and talk too much because by the fourth time someone said hello Luka stopped and put himself into planted mode expecting not to move for a while šŸ˜‚.
 
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Mine will sigh if I have to wait for three cars.
She likes me chattng to people, though you get the odd day when she wants to do some work.
 
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@newforest the polite waiting didn't extend to anything else just chatting. Maybe he thinks they're admiring him rather than talking to me :D
 
Isnt it rather good to have a horse that is willing to wait and stand still out hacking? Military horses do it. Ella will do it but I seem to remember being told when I taught Maisie to halt, that it was quite rare in RS hacks except at road junctions.
 
@newforest the screaming infant school and pre school kids that run up to and into the fence are certainly more interested in the horsey, but we don't chat to them because the sheer numbers and noise tends to worry him. He's getting better, but I'll keep it realistic. Other people tend to talk to me first, unless they know him Luka doesn't always come across as the cuddly pony type.

@Skib of course it's good to have a horse that will stand and wait hacking, but maybe slightly less ideal when they stop dead from trot because someone has said hello and the last few times that had been accompanied by a request to stand. It wasn't exactly a jog trot either šŸ˜‚. I can't see why it would be unusual for a school hack to do that, in fact I'd say it was a needed skill for them since they have to take varying levels of riders and if in a group you can't have riders milling around all over the place. Certainly school horses I've hacked from different places have always been mannerly, if maybe a tad lazy for my liking - which may say more about me than them.
 
carthorse said:
Today was one of those rides when I kept bumping into people I know. Clearly I stop and talk too much because by the fourth time someone said hello Luka stopped and put himself into planted mode expecting not to move for a while šŸ˜‚.
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Same! Hogan will stop if someone says hello, but in fairness, if I'm on the ball I can keep him going. It pleases me that he does stop though - for the longest time he would act up if I stopped to chat - swinging his bum towards people or pawing the ground, so the willingness to stop is a mixed blessing! He also rather enjoys any petting now, where it used to make me nervous, as he used to throw his head about, so I asked people not to - for their own safety!
 
That's it with us too @Huggy , before trying to keep him standing still for any length of time was a nightmare and on one memorable occasion he ran back partway up a bank and tipped us both over when the wet footing gave way. He's been getting better at it for a while, but what made me laugh today was the way he slammed the brakes on unasked thinking he knew the correct reaction. People fussing him is something he's less comfortable with though if he's seeming relaxed around someone I'll give them a treat to give him then say stroke his neck or shoulder. I don't let little kids around him though, I'd worry they'd get knocked or hurt. Give him time though, he's already come a long way!
 
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