Paying for it today!

[carthorse]

We had a lovely hack out with a friend yesterday, out for a good 2 hours and most of it was round a country estate that was all completely new to Luka. He was very good, led a lot of the way despite my friend being on a 17.2 ex racer, and is clearly fitter than I thought given that he was still posing and high stepping on the lane back up to the yard. We had a nice but short canter that went well apart from a sidewards leap at a very threatening water trough, he didn't break stride just did a massive leap to the left which left my heart in my mouth as it was also down the side of a bank but fortunately he managed to keep his balance and popped back up onto the track a couple of strides later! I'd forgotten he can be a bit spooky and maybe canter in a strange place where the sides are overgrown isn't the best idea . He dealt very well with lots of walkers, woodland and open spaces as well as a squeeze gate that he wasn't sure he could squeeze through - I love how trusting he is and will have a go if told it's ok and reassured. He did light up a bit and do some enthusiastic bouncing when he realised we'd turned for home, but even then he didn't try to buck or run off, just bounced and bounced and bounced with very high steps in front and behind for good measure! Oh wow does he step! When we got to a better place he was allowed to trot slowly - have to think of the ex racer! - and that settled him beautifully and he was back to forward but sensible after that. My friend loved him and said she wouldn't mind a ride on him one day, high praise indeed from someone who broke her back coming off her very unpredictable cob. And I have to say I couldn't have had better horse company than that ex racer who didn't mind going front, back or level and was completely indifferent to the shennanigans.

I'm feeling it today though! My thighs are so sore and aching, he can't be ridden off the rein so it all has to come from leg and seat when he gets wound up. I'm a lot fitter than I was, but clearly I still have a way to go to match him since he was bright as a button afterwards and positively hyper today. Oh to be the human equivalent of 8!

 

[Mary Poppins]

Sounds like a fun ride.

 

[carthorse]

It really was @Mary Poppins . I don't like doing longer rides on my own, I feel that if anything did happen and people were expecting me to be gone a couple of hours I could be somewhere a very long time before I was found, but at the same time I have to trust my company - some people have no riding manners and that can cause a lot of problems! This was just perfect with someone I like and trust, a lovely horse and a really nice place to ride too. Next time I may trot and canter more, but it's a ride with a reputation for a buzzy vibe and I wanted to keep him calm the first time he did it. It's also a place I've had some crashing falls in the past so it was quite a big deal for me too!

 

[Skib]

It's also a place I've had some crashing falls in the past so it was quite a big deal for me too!

My big deal comes next week. There is no way I can hack our winter routes without going to the place I fell off. My only hope is that we ride the route in the opposite direction.
But I work on statistics. If you have ridden that route many times? And only had one or two crashing falls? Probability of it happening next week may be comfortingly low.

 

[carthorse]

You'll be fine @Skib, didn't you say you were going out with an escort this time? And surely you can say which way you want to ride it if it's just you and a paid escort. Try to stay relaxed and believe you'll be fine, maybe some long steady trots before you get anywhere near the area you're concerned about to take the spring out of her would help?

My issues with this ride go back to Jim so it's silly to take it forward to Luka, but I ended up with several A&E visits as a result - part of the "problem" was that it took a lot to get me off so any falls tended to be at pace and with the full force of a big horse doing massive bucks and spins. I'd probably have been better off if I came off more easily . Little Un I never came off in there - I think I only came off him twice in all the years I rode him, and that included backing - but he was spooky there and very excitable. But Luka, for all his posturing and bouncing, is actually pretty solid as long as I stay calm and keep him moving, ad while he can be spooky his build - touch wood - does tend to take me with him. He's a good lad.

 

[Jessey]

Sounds like lots of fun indeed

 

[MrC]

Love a long hack sounds line you had a great time Can’t wait to be doing it again this winter has been very stop start hasnt it x

 

[carthorse]

Another new ride today, this time a bit over an hour since we did all bar the main road in walk and also had a few stops to chat, and just us. He's such an honest trusting lad, a couple of times he was very unsure about things but a chance to look and he carried on with not a lot of fuss. One lady we went past asked where my lovely Welsh stallion was standing since a friend was looking for one to cover her mare - sorry but he's a gelding (admittedly cut late) and actually only half D, though the last couple of days he's been looking very full of that sort of presence so I can completely understand the mistake. The irony that Little Un was pure D and people often assumed part bred while Luka is part bred and people assume pure!

High point of the day, apart from being so good on his own on a new and decent length route, was how he coped with a leaf blower when the man using it hadn't seen us and was getting ever closer - I was so pleased with him because while he clearly wasn't happy he held it together so well. I think we're going to have fun this summer