Landcruiser
Well-Known Member
I set out this morning on my rather spooky (big Nelly to be honest) 14.3, who's a bit full of it because he's in at night and until recently has had 24/7 turnout. He'd also been clipped, just before we set out. We pootled along, and met a cob coming the other way, on the single track lane. The rider of the cob stopped and we passed the time of day for a few minutes, before carrying on our separate ways.
About 3 minutes later, still on the single track, my lad suddenly stopped dead, head shot up, and then he spun - to show me what he'd seen/heard. The cob, now riderless, galloping up the lane towards us, hotly pursued by a white van (which turned out to have the cob's rider in the passenger seat).
Well. my boy Tuga stood rooted to the spot, goggling at this horse tearing towards him, saddle flapping. Then as the cob passed, he spun and spooked HUGELY, before trying his level best to follow - "If he's off, I'm flippin' off as well
We carried on, and he became a little more relaxed, until a couple of minutes later, he stopped again. "What is it this time, Tuga? Ah, a tractor idling just behind this hedge, in the spooky little yard that has the chickens, goats and sheep in assorted ramshackle housing." And then, with no warning at all, a shed - yes, a SHED
Well, I stayed on, and I stopped him, and I yelled at the youth driving the tractor to "WILL YOU JUST WAIT A MINUTE!!!!!" and we somehow got back and past the damn thing, all of 17 hands now. And off we went and soon I stopped shaking and we managed the rest of our hack with no more that a few startles and a quick dive into a field to avoid a tractor towing a huge load of wrapped bales and another hot on its heels with a wrapped bale up in the air on its front lift.
Until very recently we were at a yard on the Downs, with no road work. I DOOOOOO miss it